Mediterranean Sea
7:15 A.M.
Adrian, Nick and Julien hit the deck.
Adrian and Nick crouched low and moved toward the rear of the boat, returning fire.
“Julien!” she cried. “We need to go—now! We’ll cover you!”
She and Nick kept their weapons trained on the approaching boat, firing, as Julien brought the boat’s engine to a roar and sped off.
But the other boat kept on them, gaining distance fast. As it got closer, she could make out the figures of Yara, Leonid and two other men; they were the ones who were firing.
Soon, they would be on them.
Adrian and Nick ducked as the men kept up their fire, returning their own fire when they could. But Adrian knew they couldn’t hold them off for long.
Keeping low, Adrian peered over the edge of the deck, focusing on the driver of the boat. She crept along the deck, dodging bullets, making her way to the very rear of the boat.
“Adrian, what the hell are you doing?!” Nick shouted.
“Trust me!” she cried. She ignored the surrounding chaos, the cacophony of her heartbeat, and honed all her focus on the driver. She remained low to the deck as the other boat got closer . . . closer still . . .
And then she took her shot. Aiming her weapon, she trained it on the driver of the boat, firing off several shots.
The driver of the boat slumped over, immediately causing it to veer off course, buying them precious time.
“Julien—go!” she cried.
Julien sped up the boat, and it raced away, getting closer and closer to the docks. She had bought them some precious seconds, but it wouldn’t be long before Yara’s boat was once again on them.
She made her way back to Nick, who gave her both an impressed and scolding look; she returned it with a grin before readying her weapon and returning her focus to Yara’s boat that was thankfully getting smaller in the distance.
“Julien!” she shouted over the roar of the boat’s motor. “As soon as we get back to the docks, run!”
“You don’t have to tell me twice!” Julien returned.
They made it to the docks moments later, with Yara’s boat racing toward them in the distance.
As soon as they arrived, they leapt off the boat and dashed toward the parking lot, with Julien leaving the motor running—time was precious.
They stopped at the first car they reached as soon as they hit the parking lot, an old Volkswagen that screeched to a halt when Nick leveled his weapon at the stunned driver.
Wide-eyed and terrified, the driver stumbled out of the car, his hands up, as Adrian, Nick and Julien scrambled inside, with Julien taking the wheel, pressing the gas and speeding out of the parking lot and away from the docks.
Embassy of the United States - FBI Offices
Cairo, Egypt
8:02 A.M.
Sebastian embraced Mira, holding her close as she wept into his arms. Celeste hovered next to them, her brown eyes shimmering with tears of her own.
He’d been at the FBI’s headquarters in Cairo for at least two hours as Farino and Briggs grilled him about Adrian and Nick’s whereabouts and their activities during his time with them.
He’d told them all he could, except for where they were going next. Briggs didn’t seem satisfied, seeming to sense that he was withholding information.
Finally, Sebastian had refused to say anything more. He wanted to see his wife and daughter, who had just arrived at a hotel close to the embassy.
Mira pulled back, wiping her tears away and giving him a rueful smile.
“Maybe you take a break from the academic conferences for a while,” she said. He chuckled, touching his wife’s face. He loved her so much; it terrified him how close he’d come to never seeing her again.
“Yeah, Dad,” Celeste said, stepping forward as he embraced her. “Maybe try not getting kidnapped again.”
Her voice was light, but he could detect her undercurrent of fear. He pressed a kiss to the top of his daughter’s head.
“I’ll try not to, kiddo,” he said.
There was a sharp knock on the door of the conference room they were in. Briggs entered, his gaze hard as he focused on Sebastian.
“There’s been a shooting at the Alexandria harbor,” he said grimly. “From eyewitness accounts, it sounds like your former student and my rogue agent were involved. If there is anything you know, Professor, now is the time to be honest with me.”