Shiva (36 page)

Brandt stepped in front of Rebecca.
“
You know who I am. Who
we
are.
”

The man
’
s neatly trimmed beard parted in a smile.
“
Of course, we have been expecting you.
”

Rebecca could feel Brandt
’
s muscles tense. This wasn
’
t at all how this was supposed to go.

“
And you are Dr. Nyura Saramias?
”
Rebecca asked.

The man nodded vigorously
,
leading them over to a wet bar.
“
We do not frequently have guests that drink alcohol
.
H
owever
,
I have brought in fine brandy and whiskey.
”

Clearly
,
the guy was not exactly clear on what Americans really drank or when.

Levont broke away from the group, checking
out
the rest of the room.

Nyura just smiled.
“
Ah, yes, please check. But be assured
,
after this long
,
we have our antibugging protocols down.
”

We?

Then Rebecca noticed a figure standing behind the desk. Her burka seemed to blend in with the mural of the Middle East that covered the back wall.

“
My wife,
”
Nyura stated as he urged them to sit.

None of them did.

“
How did you know we were coming?
”
Brandt demanded
,
apparently deciding small talk was not needed.

The man ignored his question. Instead
,
he looked to Rebecca.
“
What do you think of
h
er? Is she the one we have sought for so long?
”

“
I don
’
t know,
”
Rebecca stated. At least being able to tell the truth.

“
Please,
sit
,
”
Nyura insisted.

Awkwardly
,
Rebecca sat down and urged Brandt to do the same. Levont
,
however
,
seemed pretty intent on standing guard by the door.

“
I know that you are worried,
”
he said,
“
b
ut my only concern is for the girl. And to make sure that she does not fall into the Disciples
’
hands. I will help in any way that I can.
”

Rebecca could feel Brandt
’
s distrust wafting off of him. It beat against her skin. She could only imagine what Nyura felt. The sergeant was a lot of things. A delicate negotiator was not one of them.

“
I assume that you would want something in return,
”
Rebecca stated.

Again
,
the man
’
s bright smile illuminated the room.
“
Of course, of course.
”

“
And that would be?
”
Brandt rumbled.

“
A strand of hair,
”
he said.
“
That is all.
”

Before Rebecca could answer
,
Nyura
’
s wife moved across the room, offering them tea in dainty porcelain cups.

“
If you will not drink my whisk
e
y, please, have some tea.
”

Rebecca took the cup but had no intention of drinking it. Brandt waved off the woman.

“
I asked,
”
Brandt pressed in that tone of his that threatened violence if he wasn
’
t answered
,
“
h
ow did you know we would come
here
?
”

“
You really do not know?
”
the man asked
,
looking to each one in turn.
“
The girl, she sent word two weeks ago.
”
Off their shocked looks
,
he chuckled.
“
I am only teasing. A little Messiah humor, sorry.
”

This Nyura was definitely not what Rebecca
had
expected. For one thing
,
they were in a room filled with light. That right off the bat was weird. These conversations usually took place in caves or run
-
down tenement buildings. And certainly not with someone as forthcoming as Nyura
appeared
to be.

* * *

“
If the stand
-
up routine is over,
”
Brandt stated,
“
w
ould you like to answer my question?
”

The man sombered, but not much.
“
The earthquakes were our first indication the Messiah may be ready to reveal herself.
”

The older man, his hair more salt than pepper
,
smiled that smile of his. Perhaps it charmed some. Rebecca seemed to be buying into
it
at a least a little, but then again
,
everyone knew her soft spot for older gentlemen.

This guy hadn
’
t stayed alive this long without some serious ability to manipulate. The congenial yet affluent fa
c
ade had probably served him well over the years. Not today
,
though. Brandt smelled a rat. Like
,
literally. There was something off about the office. The smell of fresh paint was one of them. Someone had gone to a lot of effort to make this space feel occupied, but Brandt doubted if it had been used for more than a week.

There was another smell. An odor that made him nause
ous
and hungry at the same time.

“
Once Dr. Monroe found the Viking runes in Iceland,
”
Nyura explained
,
“
I knew that it would only be a matter of time that you would come knocking on my door.
”
The man leaned back in his chair.
“
Then
,
of course
,
once the Disciples kidnapped you and sent men into the Congo after a little girl, well, we do understand our arithmetic. One plus one and all.
”

“
And if we refuse to give you the girl
’
s hair?
”
Brandt asked. With a man this skilled at spy craft
,
there was no reason to beat around the bush.

Nyura glanced to his wife, indicating he would like a refill on his tea. He took a nice long drink
,
then sighed.
“
Americans
. Always the bottom line. Always testing the size of our relative reproductive organs. How big a stick am
I
wielding? That is what you wish to know?
”

Okay, Brandt would have put it another way, but he could roll with it.
“
Yes.
”

“
As I said, I only have the girl
’
s welfare at heart.
”

“
Bullshit,
”
Brandt said
,
gaining the first frown for the day from Mr. Saramias.
“
I
’
m a decent, moral guy,
”
Brandt went on.
“
And even I don
’
t have
only
the girl
’
s welfare at heart. I
’
ve got to balance the safety of my team, my superior
’
s orders, and a whole crap load of regulations.
”

Nyura leaned forward
,
far more intense.
“
Ah, that is where we differ, Sergeant. I have no superiors. No regulations. And no team. I have me and my life
’
s work
,
which is centered around this Messiah.
She
is my only concern.
”

Brandt glanced to Rebecca. What harm would giving him a single hair cause? Nyura could have taken the girl in the parking lot if they had really wanted to. Yet something tugged at Brandt
’
s gut. If somebody wanted something this bad
ly
, it invariably was far bigger a deal than they let on.

So why hadn
’
t they taken Vakasa when they could have? Did they stay their hand
,
as Nyura
had
stated
,
due to safety concerns
,
or was this impressive office just a front? Were they incapable of pulling off the grab?

“
You supplied Bunny with this address,
”
Rebecca stated breathlessly as if she had just had an epiphany. Brandt liked it when she had epiphanies. It meant his brain didn
’
t have to work overtime understanding what in the hell was going on.

CHAPTER 14

═══════════
═══════

Giza, Egypt

9:03
p
.
m
.
(
CAT
)

Rebecca watched as Nyura
’
s expression went from affable to guarded.
“
Yes, yes
,
we did plant it for her to find.
”

She had read Bunny
’
s e
-
mail. Rebecca had followed the logic tree that
had
got
ten
them here. But now that Rebecca was sitting in this luxurious office with a man offering to spill all of the Disciples
’
secrets for a bit of Vakasa
’
s DNA, the trunk of that tree felt like it was branching off at a odd intervals.

Obviously
,
Brandt was worried
about
the man
’
s motives. That he would either take the DNA by force or not give them the knowledge he
’
d
promised
,
even after they
handed
over the hair. Rebecca felt the deception went far deeper than that.

The dynamic between husband and wife
,
for one. If he truly was a Disciple, that meant he was Jewish
—
hardcore, super
-
traditional Jewish. Which his wife was. For Arab visitors
,
Rebecca could see why they would keep up the Muslim traditions. But in front of Brandt and
her
? Why? Why not take off the burka?

It felt
as though
she
were
in the middle of the play
Hamlet
. That this scene was staged for some benefit, only Rebecca couldn
’
t figure out for what purpose. In her mind, she traced back the lines of logic.

The Viking article by Nyura that she and Bunny followed. The anagram name switch. The German building.

Wait. Only the last name was switched. The first name seemed intact. Her Arabic was seriously rusty, but wasn
’
t Nyura…
?

“
Nori,
”
Rebecca blurted.

The woman couldn
’
t help but turn in her direction. The woman tried to cover the recognition of her name by spilling some tea, but Rebecca had no doubt what she had uncovered.

“
What just happened?
”
Brandt asked, jumping to his feet.

Rebecca noticed that Nyura
’
s, or whatever his real name was, expression lost its joviality.