"My houseboat is not equipped to contain prisoners," Massarde snapped. "You should have taken them off my hands when you had the chance."
Kazim stared directly at him. "Be that as it may, my friend, mistakes were made. It appears that after the NUMA agents stole your helicopter, they flew to Bourem where I have reason to believe they sank it in the river, walked to the village, and then stole my car."
"Your old Voisin?" Massarde pronounced it Vahsaan.
"Yes," Kazim acknowledged through taut lips. "The American scum made off with my rare, classic car."
"And you haven't found it or apprehended them yet?"
"No."
Massarde finally sat down, anger at losing his aircraft mixed with delight over the theft of Kazim's precious automobile. "What of their rendezvous with a helicopter south of Gao?"
"Much to my regret, I fell for their lie. The force I positioned in ambush 20 kilometers to the south waited in vain, and my radar field units detected no sign of aircraft. They came instead to the Gao airport in a commercial airliner."
"Why weren't you alerted?"
"It did not appear to be a security matter," Kazim answered. "Only an hour before sunrise, Air Afrique officials in Gao were notified that one of their aircraft was making an unscheduled landing so a group of tourists could visit the city and take a short cruise on the river."
"The airline officials believed it?" asked Massarde incredulously.
"And why not. They routinely asked for confirmation from company headquarters in Algiers and received it."
"Then what happened?"
"According to the airport controller and the ground crew, the aircraft, flying the markings of Air Afrique, supplied the proper identification on approach. But after it set down and taxied to the terminal, an armed force along with a weapons vehicle shot from the plane's interior and gunned down the security guards on the military side of the field before they could resist. Then the weapons vehicle destroyed an entire squadron of eight of my jet fighters."
"Yes, the explosions woke everyone on the houseboat," said Massarde. "We saw the smoke rise in the direction of the airport and thought a plane had crashed."
Kazim grunted. "Nothing that ordinary."
"Did the ground crew or controller identify the assault force?"
"T
he attackers wore unfamiliar uniforms with no badges or insignia."
"How many of your people were killed?"
"Fortunately, only two security guards. The rest of the base personnel, maintenance crew, and pilots were on leave for a religious festival."
Massarde's face grew serious. "This is no mere intrusion to find contamination. This sounds more like a raid by your rebel opposition. They're smarter and more powerful than you give them credit for."
Kazim waved his hand in a gesture of dismissal. "A few dissident Tuaregs fighting on camels with swords. Hardly what you'd call highly trained special forces with modern firepower."
"Maybe they've hired mercenaries."
"With what funds?" Kazim shook his head. "No, this was a well-conceived plan carried off by a professional force. The destruction of the fighters was purely to eliminate any means of counterattack or interception during their escape after picking up one of the NUMA agents."
Massarde gave Kazim a bitter look. "Forgot to tell me about that little item, didn't you?"
"The ground crewmen reported that the leader of the attackers called for a man named Gunn, who appeared out of the desert where he'd been hiding. After Gunn boarded the aircraft, it took off on a northwesterly course and flew toward Algeria."
"Sounds like the plot for a second-rate motion picture."
"Do not be facetious, Yves." Kazim's tone was smooth but with a sharp edge. "The evidence points toward a conspiracy that goes far beyond a search for oil. I strongly believe both our interests are threatened by outside forces."
Massarde was hesitant to completely buy Kazim's theory. Their minimal trust was built on respect for each other's shrewd mind and a healthy fear of their respective powers. Massarde was very leery of the game that Kazim was playing. A game that could only end with the General on the receiving end. He looked into the eyes of a jackal while Kazim gazed into the eyes of a fox.