Matt laughed out loud. “Hey, out here, I think that’s a compliment. She likes you; keep at it, buddy.”

“Nah.” He looked over his shoulder at Tania and perked up. He looked back at Adira’s tall athletic form. “Did you see the way she took apart those terrorists? She’s awesome.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen her in action before. The woman is a human weapon.” He motioned to her back with his head. “Hey, I know, why don’t you bring up that thing about women not being tough enough for the front line again?”

Andy groaned. “I think I’m gonna skip it.”

Matt pushed the bike over a large piece of stone. “Good call; we don’t want to have to carry you as well.”

*

They walked and rested, walked and rested through the heat of the day and well into the cool night. The borders in the region were porous and endlessly disputed, and Syria had become Turkey many miles back. Adira only called a halt around two am, when they were ten miles from the water. In the distance the black ocean showed a line of lights right on the coast.

“Samandag; we rest here. No fires.”

The group stood on the hilltop, looking out over the coastal plain and the water. A moon was setting, creating a huge silver path over the dark waves.

Matt felt tired from his scalp right down to his blistered toes. “Will there be a boat? It’s still about six hundred miles to Israel, and about another two hundred onto Egypt, plus we need to pass by the rest of Turkey, Syria, and Lebanon – not going to be an easy ride.”

She nodded. “Then best not go by boat, hmm?” She looked at each of the bedraggled group. “And I certainly do not think you are ready to walk into Egypt just yet.”

“We’re not staying in Israel,” Tania said quickly.

“Okay, we avoid Israel.” She smiled at Tania, but there was no warmth in the expression. “You see, I can compromise. I hope you can too.” Her smiled dropped. “Captain Kovitz, Lieutenant Hartogg, scout the area and report back. Mr. Bennet, bury my bike.”

Tania glared and looked to Abrams who exhaled, but then nodded to his subordinates. Hartogg took off, and Tania muttered and headed off with Andy and the bike in the opposite direction.

Adira walked off a dozen feet and spoke into a small comms device, and after a few minutes she came back over the Abrams.

“They’re on their way. I’ve also asked that they relay your whereabouts to your superiors.” She smiled flatly. “Don’t want them sending another team out to blunder about in the desert, do we?”

She walked to a slight rise in the sandy soil, reached into a pocket and pulled out a fist-sized rod. She telescoped it to about a foot and then jammed it into the earth. A small green light started to blink on the top.

“Beacon?” Abrams said.

She nodded. “As I said, they’re already en route. They just need to know where to rendezvous with us.”