chapter six: perseus' prize

The crew on the freighter was killed by a new, deadly, strain of flu, Holly signed when Kilmer arrived at the Vault on Saturday morning.

"Flu?" Kilmer's eyebrows rose in disbelief.

A superflu.

"You ever read 'The Stand'?" Angel asked. "Scary stuff."

"What about Mo and Tim?"

CDC wants to keep them quarantined for a few more days, just to make sure they weren't infected.

"What can you tell me about Ali Hassan?" Kilmer asked. He hadn't slept much, unable to stop thinking about Frankie and what she was going through.

Jelani tapped at the keyboard, bringing up the relevant information. "He's twenty-four years old. Came here last summer from Abu Dhabi on a student visa. He's enrolled at Georgetown University—"

"Didn't Fasil fly here from Abu Dhabi?" Angel walked over to them.

"Do you think there's a connection?"

"I don't know. Jelani, see if you can link Fasil and Hassan."

Kilmer and Angel were quiet as Jelani typed in the request. "They're half-brothers. Same mother, different fathers."

"Damn it." Kilmer sat down. "What do they want with Frankie?"

"This is just a wild guess but Frankie was all over the news when she was on trial. Maybe they figured she'd be a good target because of what she does." Angel looked at the group and shrugged. "Just a theory."

Kilmer stood, beginning to pace. It was either that or punch something. "Okay. Let's go with the assumption that they're working together. We need to find out where they could have gone. Jelani, get me a photograph of Hassan."

He had a hunch. Depending on what Ally Jackson said when she saw the photograph, they could have a lead.

Fasil was working on the bomb when Hassan woke up. He watched his brother for a while, then sat down.

"Someday you must teach me to build that."

Fasil looked up and smiled. "After this. There is time."

"I do not understand why it has to be so soon."

Fasil stopped working. "It has to be Monday. Allah wishes it so."

Hassan bowed his head. "I will not argue with Allah. But, brother, I am curious. I do not understand why the woman is so important."

"She is, what do the Americans say? Window dressing." Fasil laughed. "Her death will be like poetry."

Angel watched Kilmer leave with Hassan's photograph. "Is he usually so obsessed?"

Lark looked up from the file she was reading. "Kilmer? He's always focused but when it comes to Frankie . . . well, you see what he's like."

Holly chuckled. It's like the rest of the world doesn't matter.

Angel nodded. That was a pretty fair assessment. She pulled up a chair next to Jelani. "Anything exciting happening in DC the next few days?"

Jelani opened a new window. "Quite a bit. The Supreme Court is meeting on Monday morning. In the afternoon, there's an anti-war demonstration at Dupont Circle and the Pentagon has called a press conference. On Tuesday the President is meeting a few injured soldiers at Bethesda . . . no, wait, that's been moved to Monday as well."

"And Fasil could have picked any one of those." Angel leaned back in her chair. "The injured soldiers, where were they transferred from?"

"Baghdad."

Holly banged the table to get their attention. Hassan has been renting a farmhouse in Virginia since January.

"Do you have the address?"

I'm printing it now.

Angel grabbed it from the printer. She turned her earpiece on. "Kilmer, listen up."

"I need insulation tape."

Hassan held his hands up, palms facing outward. "I have no more."

"Take the woman more water. I am going to the shop." Fasil picked up the car keys and headed for the door. "Do not let her tempt you, brother. Remember what she is."

Hassan nodded. "I will not let you down, brother."

He thought about the woman in the cellar as he filled a glass with water. She had not tried to plead for her life. Nor had she thrown herself at their mercy. Instead, like a man, she had stood up to her fate and accepted it. She was certainly like no other woman Hassan had encountered in his time in America. Perhaps she didn't deserve to die. He was impressed that she had been able to quote the Qur'an.

But she had denied Allah. That was unforgivable.

Hassan hardened his heart and took her the water.

Ally frowned as she studied the photograph. "I don't know. I wasn't really paying that much attention."

"Please look again. It's Frankie's life at stake."

Ally bit her lip, tilting her head to one side. "The pizza guy was wearing a cap. But . . . yeah. It is him."

"You're sure?" Kilmer couldn't afford to take chances with Frankie's life.

"Yeah." Ally pointed to the photograph. "I remember thinking he was cute, in a George Clooney kind of way. That whole strong jaw thing, I guess. But like I said, the guy was rude, so I pretty much forgot about him."

Kilmer's smile was genuine. "Thank you."

Angel's voice was in his ear, "Kilmer, listen up. We have a location on Hassan."

Frankie watched Hassan leave. Time was running out, of that she was sure. With trembling hands, she brought the glass to her lips and sipped the water.

"Don't give up on me, Mrs. Kilmer."

Frankie smiled, glad Kilmer was back. "If you stop disappearing."

"I'm here now."

"What will you do if I die?"

"You're not going to die."

She coughed. "I might not have a choice in that."

"Frankie, if you even think about dying—" Kilmer hugged her. "It's not going to happen."

"I'm so tired."

He kissed her cheek. "Then sleep. I'll take care of you. I'm not going anywhere."

Frankie closed her eyes.

Hassan was praying for wisdom when the lights went out. He went around to the back of the house, hoping that the power had just tripped. Fasil would not be pleased.

"Don't move." Something cold and metallic was pressed against his neck. Hassan wisely did as he was told. "Where's Frankie?"

Hassan said nothing.

"I'm going to find her. If you tell me where she is, I might not have to kill you."

Hassan had no desire to be a martyr. He hoped Allah would forgive him. "In the cellar."

"Good. How many people are here?"

"I am alone."

"Where's your brother?"

Hassan squeezed his eyes shut. How did this man know everything? Maybe Fasil was wrong. Maybe this woman was special.

"He went to the shop. For insulation tape."

"If you're lying—"

"I'm not!"

Hassan felt himself being handcuffed. A different man took him to a van and shoved him inside.

Hassan prayed.

Kilmer hoped Hassan had been telling the truth. He slipped into the house, Angel close behind. She searched the other rooms, letting him be the one to find the cellar.

And Frankie.

He swung the door open and shone the light down the stairs. Frankie was curled up at the bottom. She was too far away for him to tell if she was breathing. He hurried to her side.

"Frankie!"

He shone the flashlight over her, horrified at the damage he saw. She was bruised and the right side of her face was covered with dry blood. She was freezing and her skin was damp. But she was alive.

"Frankie!"

He picked her up, needing to get her out of here as soon as he could. She moaned, curling into him. "John . . . knew you'd come . . . like Perseus . . . knew you'd save me . . ."

Angel was waiting in the kitchen. "How is she?"

"Alive."

"There's an ambulance on the way."

Kilmer was already halfway out the door. "I'm not waiting."

"Kilmer! Don't take her to Bethesda."

Kilmer stopped and turned around. "Why?"

"A hunch. I think that's Fasil's target. I don't know if he'll still try, but . . ."

"I'll see you back in DC."

Kilmer carefully laid Frankie on the backseat of his car and covered her with his coat. Then he jumped into the driver's seat and sped off.