A light flashed red in the corner of the room. Something or someone had triggered an alarm.

  With some difficulty, Valentina rose and took her pistol from a low table next to the chair. She clicked off the safety. Pain shot through her injured leg. She hobbled over to the closed door to the room and moved off to the side. Someone coming through the door would see the television and the chair in front of it. He wouldn't see Valentina leaning against the wall.

  Then she realized that if Baranov was out there, come to kill her, he would think of that. She moved as fast as she could across the room into the adjoining bathroom and pulled the door partway closed. From where she stood, she had a narrow view of the door to the room.

  The television blared with the high-pitched scream of two fighter jets maneuvering at full throttle. There was no way to hear if someone was coming down the hall.

  She waited, feeling the familiar flush of adrenaline light up her body. She took slow breaths to calm herself. Her mind was sharp, clear, her heart pumping. The sound of a massive explosion came from the television as one of the Russian fighters was destroyed. She didn't have to see the screen to know it wasn't the one the hero had been flying.

  She watched the door. It eased open a crack and stopped. The sound of the hero's plane as he headed home to safety echoed through the room.

  Baranov could see nothing of interest through the narrow opening. He listened to the sound of the TV and paused. Something felt wrong, a sudden pricking sensation at the back of his skull. He hadn't lived as long as he had by ignoring that feeling when it came.

  He'd disabled the alarm, but what if he'd missed something? What if Antipova was waiting for him? Where would she be? Where would he be, if the situation was reversed?

  Behind the door.

  Baranov kicked the door open with his foot and came through the opening. The door slammed flat against the wall. Too late, he realized she wasn't there.

  Valentina fired at the figure dressed in black, three quick shots aimed at the center of his body, the pistol kicking back in her hands. The bullets struck Baranov and drove him backward. He pulled the trigger on the Skorpion as he went down, blasting a trail of holes into the ceiling and across the room. The television exploded in a shower of sparks and went dark. White plaster dust rained down upon him. He lay on his back, struggling to breathe. Blood welled out from his chest, spilling down onto the floor. The gun fell from his hand.

  A wisp of smoke rose from the shattered television.

  Valentina came out of the bathroom, holding her pistol pointed at the black figure on the floor. She kicked the Skorpion away with her good foot, bent down, and pulled away the ski mask.

  "Ilya. I thought it would be you."

  She spoke in Russian.

  Baranov coughed. He looked up at her and tried to grin. Blood ran out of his mouth.

  "Valentina..."

  "You should not have come here, Ilya. Now you will never leave."

  "Remember...our...competitions? I won...many times."

  "Not this time."

  She looked down at him.

  "You're dying, Ilya. If you believe in God, make your peace."

  "We all...die."

  He turned his head to the side and coughed blood onto the carpet. He looked up at her.

  "You should have stayed in Russia," Valentina said.

  "I'll see you..."

  "I don't think so, Ilya."

  But Baranov was beyond hearing.

  45

  The alarm in Virginia sent a signal to Elizabeth's phone. She was at home, reading an intelligence brief on the development of hypersonic weapons in the Russian Federation. Her holstered pistol lay on the table where she was sitting.

  The first thing she did was activate an emergency response team from Langley. It would take them twenty minutes to get to the house, but that was faster than she'd be able to respond. The second thing she did was call Valentina.

  There was no answer.

  Elizabeth called Stephanie. The call went to voicemail.

  "Steph, something set off an alarm at headquarters and Valentina isn't answering her phone. I've called for backup. Meet me out there."

  She disconnected, picked up her pistol, and went outside. She got into her Audi and headed for Virginia. Once she was across the Potomac, she stepped on the accelerator and began breaking speed limits. Elizabeth had a bad feeling about the alarm. The pistol pressing into her side felt useless. It didn't do any good to have a gun if you were too late to use it. Whatever was happening in Virginia was already over. She hoped this was only a false alarm.

  The big gates leading into the grounds stood open. Up ahead, flashing red and blue lights lit up the front of the building. Two black Suburbans stood under the portico, doors open.

  Langley's response team. Two men in tactical gear carrying submachine guns stood at the entrance, watching her approach. They separated as she got closer.

  Lights were on all over the house. She parked her car and got out.

  "That's far enough," one of the men called. "Stay where you are."

  Elizabeth held up her ID.

  "I'm Elizabeth Harker. I called you."

  "Come forward, please, ma'am. Keep your hands where I can see them."

  They were being cautious. The other man had her covered, his weapon pointed toward her. The first man examined her ID.

  "It's okay, Sam."

  The second man lowered his weapon.

  "What's your name?" Elizabeth asked.

  "Adam," the man said

  "Brief me, Adam."

  "One dead. The woman is okay."

  Elizabeth let out a sigh of relief.

  "Thank you. Did you kill him?"

  "No, ma'am. The lady that was here did that."

  "I'm going inside."

  "Yes, ma'am."

  She found Valentina in the kitchen, making coffee. Acting as if everything were normal.

  "Valentina. You're all right?"

  "I am, thank you, Director."

  "What happened?"

  "Ilya Baranov. I told you about him. I will not have to worry about him anymore."

  "You killed him?"

  "He was careless, I think. Yes, I killed him. It is what happens."

  Valentina poured a cup of coffee. She took out a second cup, filled it, and handed it to Elizabeth.

  "You look like you need this."

  Elizabeth took the coffee.

  "Thanks."

  She just killed a man and she's making coffee. She must have ice water in those veins.

  Valentina looked amused.

  "You are wondering why I am drinking coffee instead of being upset."

  "The thought crossed my mind," Elizabeth said.

  "If you were Russian, you would understand. Life is temporary. Every Russian lives with this every day. It is part of what makes us strong. Ilya knew what risk he was taking. It was his job. He made mistake, he paid price. There is no point in being upset about something like this."

  "It could have been you."

  "Yes, but it wasn't. I am still here. He is not. It is that simple."

  It didn't seem simple to Elizabeth, but she decided not to say anything more about it. Her phone rang. It was Stephanie.

  "Elizabeth, I got your message. I'm on my way."

  "Take your time, Steph. Everything is under control."

  "What happened?"

  "Baranov tried to kill Valentina."

  "Is she alright?"

  "She's fine. A lot better than he is."

  "I'll be there in half an hour."

  Two men from Langley's backup team came down the stairs. Adam had a brief conversation with them. Then he came over to where Elizabeth and Valentina were standing.

  "The house is clear, ma'am. Would you like us to stay?"

  "That won't be necessary," Elizabeth said. "The immediate danger is over."

  "Do you want us to take care of the body of the...perpetrator?"

  "That would be helpful," Elizabeth said. "The dead man's name is Ilya Baranov. He's a professional assassin, sent here from Russia to kill this woman."

  She put her hand on Valentina's shoulder.

  "I suggest you keep what happened here to yourself and your immediate superior. I'll talk with DCI Hood. I'm sure he will appreciate your discretion."

  "As you wish, ma'am," Adam said.

  A few minutes later the men were gone, taking Baranov with them. Valentina and Elizabeth watched them go.

  "Were you ever friends? You and Baranov?"

  "Not friends," Valentina said. "Colleagues, perhaps. Friendship is not encouraged in schools where we trained. We were rivals. He was very good. Sometimes he beat me in competitions. Sometimes I won."

  "Well," Elizabeth said. "It looks like you won the only competition that really counted."

  46

  The underground cavern seemed to go on forever. After they'd been walking for an hour, the roof began to drop toward the water. The river flowed out of a wide opening two feet below the stone. The water foamed and bubbled as it emerged from the opening.

  "Oh, oh," Lamont said.

  Nick looked at the water.

  "Yeah. Take a break."

  "Maybe we should have gone the other way," Ronnie said. "Saved ourselves the walk."

  "I don't think so," Selena said. "The current goes right to left. The source must be to the right."

  "You think it makes a difference?"

  "I don't know."

  She looked at the dark space where the water emerged. For the first time since they'd entered the cavern she allowed herself to think they might not get out. The thought shook her.

  We're trapped. She thought of Jason and Katrina. I'll never see them again. Stupid, stupid.

  Sudden sadness wrapped her like a shroud. She put her hand over her eyes and choked back a sob.

  Nick put his arm around her shoulders.

  "It's all right. We're going to make it out of here. Don't think about anything except that."

  "Nick..."

  "It's okay. We'll get a little wet, that's all."

  "The twins," she said.

  "I know. The twins are fine. We'll be home soon."

  "We should move," Ronnie said. "The batteries are failing."

  The lights they carried were sealed, waterproof. That was good. What wasn't good was that the batteries were losing their charge. Nick's light was noticeably dimmer than when they had started.

  "Right."

  Nick bent down by the water and stuck his arm in, feeling for the bottom.

  "Ronnie give me a hand. I want to know how deep it is."

  Ronnie held onto Nick's arm as he slipped into the water. When his feet hit the bottom, the water was up to the middle of his chest. He climbed out.

  "The current isn't bad. It feels a little slick underfoot. The water is cold, but we can handle it. We'll rope together. I don't want us to get separated in there. I'll lead. Ronnie, you bring up our six. There's plenty of room to breathe."

  "What if the roof comes down to the water?" Selena asked.

  "We'll deal with that if we come to it."

  When they were all tied together, they got into the water and headed into the opening.

  The water flowed around Selena, tugging at her clothes. The cold went right to the bone. Her legs began to feel numb. The surface under her feet was slick and uneven. Nick was directly ahead of her. She kept her hand on his shoulder.

  The blackness of the underground tunnel closed in on them. Gradually the passage narrowed. She struggled against the current. It was stronger here, pushing against her legs and feet, trying to sweep her away.

  Ahead, Nick's light showed the tunnel roof coming down to the surface of the water. He held up his hand, signaling them to stop.

  Selena's heart pounded in her chest. It was hard to breathe. She struggled to keep panic at bay.

  "I'm going to swim under that," Nick said. "There's a chance it doesn't go very far before it widens out again."

  "What if it doesn't?" Selena asked.

  "Then I'll come back. I can hold my breath for several minutes, so don't panic. Ronnie, pass me the rest of the rope."

  Nick untied himself, added the new length, and knotted it about his waist. Now he had almost a hundred feet of slack.

  "If it opens up ahead I'll tug on the rope, twice. Then swim to me. Pull once to let me know you're ready. I'll keep the rope taut and help pull you through."

  "What if it doesn't open up?" Ronnie asked.

  "If I pull on the rope three times, haul me back. Fast."

  Nick began breathing, filling his lungs with oxygen. Selena watched him, shivering, stuffing her fear. He took a final breath, dropped under the surface and disappeared into the tunnel. Selena held the rope in her hands, letting it feed out behind him, feeling him on the other end.

  Praying he would be all right.

  47

  The sides of the submerged tunnel were worn smooth by centuries of flowing water. Nick kicked steadily against the current, feeling his lifeline trailing behind him, trying not to think what would happen if the tunnel narrowed so much that he couldn't get through. His light didn't help much. All he could see was darkness ahead. Bits of silt drifted by, caught in the eerie light like creatures from an unknown world.

  He'd always been a strong swimmer. You had to be, to get through Recon. There had been one instructor in particular who'd pushed him hard. At the time, he'd thought Staff Sergeant Ramirez had probably learned to swim somewhere in the lower depths of hell and was making sure his charges knew it. Now he was grateful for the strenuous training he'd been forced to endure.

  The tunnel narrowed. If it didn't open up soon, he'd have to go back. There was barely enough room to turn around.

  He kicked, feeling his lungs starting to strain.

  A little farther, he thought.

  Suddenly the stone roof of the tunnel opened up and he was in the open. He took a deep breath and pulled himself up onto the rough stone floor of another cavern.

  Nick took a breath, then pulled the rope taut. He yanked on it, twice. Seconds later, he felt an answering tug from Selena in his hands. The rope went slack as she entered the water. He pulled it tight.

  They're good swimmers. They'll make it.

  Maybe, another voice said in his head, Maybe not. It's a long way. What if Selena has trouble? She's first. The others will get caught. They'll all drown...

  Shut up!

  He pushed away the doubts and hauled on the rope.

  Selena emerged from the tunnel, gasping for air as she came out of the water. Then Lamont, then Ronnie behind him.

  "Man," Lamont said. "I don't want to do that again."

  "Should have been easy for a squid like you," Ronnie said.

  "It would have been easy, if I didn't have to drag you behind me."

  Selena turned on her light.

  A hundred feet away, water boiled up out of the ground, the source of the underground river.

  "End of the line," Selena said.

  "What's that smell?" Ronnie said. "It really stinks in here."

  Selena moved her light. The floor of the cavern was covered with a thick layer of dark brown substance. She poked it with her finger, smelled it.

  "It's guano. Bat droppings."

  "Bat shit?" Lamont said.

  "If there are bats, there's a way out of here," Nick said.

  Selena's light faded to a dim glow and went out. Ronnie turned on his flash. It glowed yellow in the darkness. He cast the light up at the ceiling of the cavern.

  "Holy shit, Batman," Lamont said.

  Fifty or sixty feet above them, the ceiling of the cavern was covered with thousands of bats. Large bats, crammed together, hanging upside down. Their eyes gleamed in the light. When the light struck them it sent a ripple of movement through the colony. Disturbed, they began making chittering and clicking sounds.

  "I hate bats," Selena said. "I hate them. One got in my hair once and I couldn't get it out."

  Without thinking she ran her hand through her hair.

  "Made you batty, huh?" Nick said. "Explains a lot."

  Selena punched him on the arm.

  "Ow."

  "Smart ass."

  "Are those vampire bats?" Lamont said.

  He eyed the bats hanging overhead.

  "They're probably fruit bats," Selena said. "They're pretty big. I think their wingspan is around two feet."

  "As long as they stay up there, they'll be fine," Lamont said.

  "What do they eat?"

  "Fruit, leaves, insects."

  "Fruit? Around here?"

  "Probably not right around here," Selena said. "They can fly a long way to find food."

  Nick looked at his watch.

  "It's almost night. Isn't that when they feed?"

  "That's right," Selena said.

  "That's a lot of bats. Seems like they'd need a pretty big opening to fly through."

  "That figures," Ronnie said.

  As they watched, the colony began to stir. Bats began moving, dropping down circling.

  Guano fell on Lamont's head.

  "Damn it."

  He reached up and wiped it away with his hand. They all laughed.

  "Yeah, right, go ahead and laugh. I'll remember this."

  Suddenly a collective wave rippled through the colony. The bats began to move.

  "Watch which way they go," Nick said.

  "My light's giving out," Lamont said.

  The bats took wing with an ominous flapping sound and headed away to the right.

  The light went out.

  "I've still got a little juice," Ronnie said.

  "Better save it," Nick said.

  They sat in the dark.

  "What's the plan, Kemo Sabe," Ronnie said.

  "Wait for morning."

  "And?"

  "Daylight will show us where the cave opening is. Then we'll climb up there and go home."

  48

  Elizabeth had just sat down at her desk when Clarence Hood called.

  "Good morning, Clarence."

  "Actually, not so good," Hood said. "I spoke with Hopkins and convinced him that whatever is in that tomb cannot fall into terrorist hands. I'll give him credit, he's deployed a Marine unit to protect the site. Needless to say, the Egyptian government is raising hell about that and the attack on Masuda's camp. All the usual blather about violating national sovereignty and killing innocent civilians."