"Asshole."
"Yeah, Ronnie. He'd fit right in down in Washington."
They got in the car. Carter and Monroe in front, Selena and Ronnie in back.
"Weapons check."
Nick had a new H-K .45. The others had their Glocks. There were MP-5s in Ronnie's duffle. He handed them around. They all wore armor under their jackets.
"All dressed up and nowhere to go," Lucas commented. "Where do we start?"
"The closest point across the river from the UN is the waterfront in Queens. If he's here, Sabbah will want to get as close as he can."
They studied a map.
"That's a lot of waterfront." Ronnie had his small deerskin pouch out again. Selena reminded herself to ask him about it. Maybe it was like worry beads.
Nick pointed at a green space on the map.
"There's a park right across from the UN Plaza on the east side of the river. Let's start there."
They left La Guardia and followed signs to the Brooklyn Queens Expressway. They crossed Queens Boulevard and turned onto the Queens Midtown Expressway toward Manhattan. Snow and slush lined the side of the road, turning dirty gray. Carter kept the wipers going.
Traffic was bumper to bumper. They hit the flashing lights on their suburban and wove through the mess. The lights didn't help a lot. They exited the expressway before the Queens Midtown tunnel and took Vernon Boulevard north.
Nick saw a subway station. Marked with a number seven in a circle. Like in the dream.
He shivered.
"What's the matter, Nick?" Lucas gave him a curious look. "You look like someone just walked over your grave."
Nick said nothing.
They turned on 48th. The park opened directly ahead of them.
They drove to the park and got out. A cold wind blew off the East River. Sudden sunlight flashed on glass across the water.
The UN Headquarters building.
The park was almost deserted in the raw weather. Two giant gantry cranes dominated the landscape. Four long piers jutted into the East River. The polluted water shimmered in rainbow colors around the pilings. Beyond the piers a wide wooden boardwalk curved along the shoreline. Paths branched off the walk at intervals, ending in circular spaces where people could sit and enjoy the view.
The Manhattan skyline stretched across the other side of the river, a human fairytale, a soaring collage of cement and glass and steel. A view Braque or Picasso could have painted. No one seeing that could doubt they gazed on one of the great cities of the world.
The clouds parted overhead. Patches of azure blue began to appear. The day was beautiful and cold. Maybe the last day.
Nick's ear began to itch.
"We're close," he said.
Selena watched him pull on his earlobe.
"The ear thing again?"
"Yeah."
Monroe decided to keep his mouth shut. These people had strange ways of doing things.
CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN
Stephanie sat in her office and brooded about the bomb. There were too many places, too many people, too many areas to check. Four people had about as much chance of finding Sabbah as she had of winning the lottery. Probably less. They were talking potshots in the dark at a target that might not even be there.
She looked up as the door opened. She looked at the figure in the doorway and a vast sense of relief filled her, a wave of release. Her face lit with pleasure.
"Elizabeth!"
"Hello, Steph."
Director Elizabeth Harker looked pale. She had elfin features, like some magical creature that seldom saw the sunlight. Elizabeth hadn't seen much sunlight in a while. She'd been in intensive treatment at Bethesda for a bullet wound and a rare illness. She had a fresh scar over the ridge of her left eye. Her raven black hair was shorn close and a bald patch marked where the surgeon had gone into her skull. She was thin, fragile looking. But she was here. Her green eyes glowed with their old intensity.
"Your office is the same." Steph jumped up and hugged her. "We kept it for you. You're all right? Are you back?"
"I'm fine. And yes, I'm back. No marathon runs, but they've halted the disease. No damage from the bullet, except a little weakness in my hand. I can work again. Rice asked me to come back when I was ready. He's pleased with how you and Nick have handled things." She paused. "You don't mind, Steph? Because if you do…"
"Are you kidding? You couldn't have picked a better time."
Stephanie filled her in. She followed Harker into her old office. Elizabeth's silver pen still lay on the desk. The picture of the Twin Towers was still there. Harker sat down slowly in her chair, looked around. Then she got down to business.
"Put Nick on the line, Steph."
Then she said, "Thank you. For everything." Stephanie made the connection. Elizabeth picked up the phone.
"Nick."
"Director. Is that you?"
"In the flesh, what's left of it. I lost twenty pounds. Give me an update." Harker picked up her pen and tapped on the desk.
She listened while Nick told her where they were and what they were doing.
"I think your guess is good, that the bomb is on the east side of the river. Sabbah is probably in a van or holed up in a building. What are you going to do?"
"We can't find him in a van, or a building. Our only shot is if he comes out into the open. That's why we figured open space across from the UN."
"What's your plan?"
"Canvas the park. It's the closest location to the UN on this side of the river. Check all the vehicles. There aren't many. We can cover it quickly."
"Any buildings, apartments?"
"Yeah, several. There's a big complex just east of the park and another right across from it. There's a Hertz rental joint and some kind of commercial building. Beyond that are vacant lots, streets, the rest of Long Island City. Oh, yeah, a huge Pepsi sign. You can see the whole New York Skyline from here. Hell of a view. Including the UN."
"All right. If he's not in the park, check out those buildings. Check the parking garages. He could drive out into the open."
"There's no way we can check every apartment in time. We'd need a thousand cops."
"I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, keep me posted."
"Roger that, Director." He paused. "Glad you're back. You don't know how glad. Out."
"Steph, get me NYPD in Queens."
While Stephanie was on the phone, Harker settled into her chair, an old friend, the contours familiar and comfortable. She'd missed this. She hadn't realized how much. It was good to be back, good to have her life back. The Project was pretty much all she had.
The clock ticked on Armageddon. Her father, the Judge, would have had something to say about it. Elizabeth had spent many hours in this chair, some of them with the memory of her father's plain wisdom. She knew what he'd say now. She could see him sitting in that big green chair in his den.
You can do anything, Elizabeth. Just remember, never give up. No matter what, never give up.
Elizabeth nodded to herself.
CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT
Hassan-i-Sabbah sat with his back to a wide window, ominous in black robes and a black turban. His beard was black and narrow and streaked with gray. His eyes were set back in the hollows of his thin face, dark and lit with righteous anger. Behind him, the unmistakable skyline of Manhattan rose on the other side of the river. Sabbah knew that would give away his location, but it didn't matter. Whoever came would be too late. The world needed to see the impotence of America. What better way than to show the heart of The Great Satan in the background?
Before it was destroyed.
"Begin, Jamal." A red light came on in front of the camera.
"My brothers," he began. "The time is here. Allah's vengeance and His mercy will cleanse the world of the false prophets and apostates of the Faith."