The Storm (NUMA Files 10)

“Silence!” Sabah shouted.

Jinn raised a hand as if to say it was all right.

“It has been an interesting day,” Jinn said, “more so for you than for me.”

His English was good, tinged with an accent, but he’d definitely been schooled, perhaps in the UK.

“It’s going to get a lot more interesting when we don’t turn up at our extraction point,” Kurt said. “A lot of people have their eyes on you, Jinn. And getting rid of us will only make the scrutiny more intense.”

“Resigned to your fate, then?”

“Unless you’re here to let us go,” Kurt said.

“Not afraid to die?”

“It’s not on our to-do list, but we’re not kidding ourselves. The question is, are you?”

Jinn looked puzzled, a good thing in Kurt’s eyes. Though he had no idea where he was going with this, anything that put their host off balance would be helpful at this point.

“I do not kid, as you say,” Jinn replied.

“Sure you do,” Kurt said. “You build toys in your basement and blow them up. You’re playing some kind of game and you’re oblivious to how rapidly it’s coming to an end. NUMA is onto you. That means the CIA, Interpol, Mossad will soon be onto you as well. Especially when we don’t turn up safe and sound. Kill us and you’ll have nowhere left to run.”

“What makes you think we are running, Mr. Austin?”

“If you’re not, you should be. Trouble’s coming at you from all sides. Your attack on our catamaran proves that you’re desperate. The firefight tonight and the two guys you killed prove your vulnerability.”

A soft, rumbling laugh bubbled up from somewhere inside Jinn. “I would say your position is far more vulnerable than mine.”

“And I’d tell you we have a way out for you.”

Joe glanced at Kurt from the corner of his eye as if to say “We do?”

Kurt was grasping at straws, making up a story as he went along. It was the only card he had left to play. He needed to sow a little seed of doubt in Jinn’s mind and make him believe, however preposterous it sounded, that Kurt and Joe and NUMA could help Jinn avoid the trouble th

at was surrounding him.

Jinn moved to Kurt’s left.

“I neither want nor need whatever it is you’re attempting to offer me,” Jinn said. “I simply came here to tell you that you were going to die.”

“No surprise there,” Kurt said without batting an eye. “But let me ask you this: Why do you think my government sent us instead of a squadron of predator drones or Stealth fighters carrying bunker-busting bombs? Come on. You might be safe here from some of your enemies but not from the U.S. government. You know that. You’re on the A-list now. Like the reactor and enrichment facilities the Iranians are building. And you’re no different than dozens of other threats they’ve eliminated over the last few years. There are no borders for a guy like you to hide behind anymore. But you have something the Bin Laden’s of this world don’t. You have something to barter with. Technology.”

Jinn held his place. Clearly he was thinking about Kurt’s words, a fact almost too good to be true. Now Kurt had to push him. If he could just buy some time and some freedom, he and Joe might have a chance.

“You expect me to believe what you’re saying?”

“Let me be clear,” Kurt said. “I wouldn’t give you the time of day. You’re a killer and a thug. But I work for Uncle Sam, I do as I’m told. Our orders were to come here, infiltrate and report back. To make contact with you later if possible through third-party channels. They want what you have.”

“Do I look like a fool to you?” Jinn asked, growing angry.

“I wouldn’t answer that,” Joe said.

“Your government doesn’t make deals.”

“You’re wrong about that,” Kurt said. “We’ve been making deals for two hundred years. You ever hear of Werner von Braun? He was a Nazi, a German scientist who built rockets that killed thousands. We took him under our wing after the war because he had knowledge we needed. Viktor Belenko was a Russian pilot who brought us a MiG-25. We take baseball players, ballet dancers, computer programmers, anyone with something to offer. That might be unfair to the poor farmers and peasants who want to come, but it’s good for you. It gives you an out.”

“Enough of this.” He turned.