“You worry too much, Dani. The fact that there’s a party only tells me our intelligence is correct. He’s there now. Even better, they’re probably all drunk.”

Dani shot Stein a hard look. “And you worry too little. We need to do it before sunrise.”

“You have something in mind?”

“There’s a party tonight,” Dani said. “Maybe we can catch him outside having a smoke. I say we split up. Mayer and I go ahead fast, just take the SR-25.” He was referring to the big sniper rifle. “You and Goldman bring the assault gear in case we don’t get a shot. We can all crash the place later if it comes to that.”

“Room to room in broad daylight?” Stein shook his head doubtfully. They had planned a predawn raid—always the favored hour for residential takedowns—but the new twist in logistics put that schedule out of reach. “And I don’t like the idea of splitting up.”

An extended silence ensued, what passed for a debate between two battle-hardened men. The sounds of the night seemed to amplify, chirping insects and the distant howl of a jackal. Stein was about to speak when Dani suddenly put up a hand. Both men froze.

After a long ten seconds, Dani asked, “Did you hear something?”

Stein shook his head to say he had not.

Dani sighed, shrugging it off. “I say we split now. But it’s your call, Yaniv.”

There were few people in the world Yaniv Stein listened to. Dani was one of them. “All right. We’ll do it your way. Let’s just hope to hell he’s there.”

The two men scrambled down from their perch, and Stein relayed his decision to Goldman and Mayer. Neither showed a glimmer of opinion on the matter. They pulled everything off the donkey, yet even after being relieved of its burden the beast kept stubbornly on its haunches. As the four men began sorting through the gear, Dani addressed Stein in a low voice, “Once it is done, how will we egress, Yaniv?”

The lack of transportation had been an ongoing problem, but this time Stein had an answer. “There must be vehicles at the compound. We’ll take our pick. Maybe something luxurious like a—” He stopped abruptly when Dani’s hand came up a second time.

They both heard it this time, an almost imperceptible click. Metal on metal.

And then hell came to earth.

*   *   *

Dr. Ibrahim Hamedi gazed out into the still night, his ears reaching for any further sound. He heard nothing, as had been the case for a full twenty minutes.