Adira and the two agents sat at a computer screen, building up their travel history. Adira came back and joined them, and handed each a packet of documentation containing plane tickets, dive passes, and printouts of entry tokens for windsurfing, diving, water skiing, and other holiday enjoyments.

“Congratulations, you all just spent time at the Pervolia Club Resort, one of the nicest on Cyprus.”

Matt checked his watch – it was still only ten in the morning, and already he was exhausted. He looked at the information and shook his head in admiration. It was perfect, and he had no doubt that many of the intelligence agencies in the world did the same thing. It made him wonder just who anyone really was any more – that man on a bus, the woman in a restaurant – a real person, or some sleeper agent gathering information or on a secret mission? Welcome to the world of espionage, he thought.

Adira sat down at the table and spread out some airline tickets.

“Twenty hundred hours tonight – ten pm – we fly out late in two groups on ALY airlines. It’s a short flight of only two hundred and ninety miles, and we will be there in forty-five minutes.” She pointed to the information packs. “We will need to clear customs and immigration, which should be our only real challenge. Read the information prepared for you, study it and remember it.”

“Who goes with who?” Abrams asked, sorting through his data.

“Team one will be myself, you, Major, Professor Kearns and Captain Kovitz – we are two couples on holiday. Team two will be Hartogg, Andy and Baruk – you are all salespeople who have won a dive holiday, congratulations.”

“Sweet.” Andy turned to grin, but Hartogg ignored him, and Baruk kept his eyes on Adira.

Abrams looked at the Israeli agent opposite him. “So we’ve picked up another Mossad body?”

Adira nodded. “Baruk is one of our local operatives, and he knows the region extremely well. Once we are in Egypt, we will make contract with one of our local cells to obtain any equipment we need.” She looked into Abrams’s eyes. “Unless you believe you can secure the necessary equipment and logistics yourselves.” She raised an eyebrow.

Tania Kovitz scoffed. “We can organize resources if we need to. In fact –”

“Ha.” Adira waved her off. “In fact, your intelligence capacity in the Middle East is near non-existent. We know most of your offices in the region were exposed by the traitor who worked in the NSA, and are now all identified on the internet.” She shrugged, and then stared hard at the American captain. “Let’s not kid each other here, Captain Kovitz – there is no time, I have neither patience nor any interest in playing games. We’re here to offer help – but only once.”

Tania gritted her teeth, her face growing dark. Matt could tell she was going to explode, but thankfully Abrams intervened.

“We’re all on the same side, and we have the same goal here. Of course your assistance is welcome.” He got up from the table, still holding his coffee mug. “Now if no one else has anything else to add, or objections, I suggest we get some sack time before the flight.”