Dima said to the two still on the couch, “I want you to count slowly to five hundred. If I see movement in here before I think you’ve reached that number, I will come back in, and I will kill you. Do you understand my words?”

They both nodded.

“After that, take your dead buddy there and go throw him in a lake or something. Got it?”

Both men nodded again.

Doron was already outside when they left the building. Lily looked tiny in his arms, like a child. Even with the discolorations and swellings on her face, Nir could see she was a very pretty girl. Imri was the last one out, and they all moved toward the SUV.

Once inside, Nir broke the communications link. As they drove off, he removed an encrypted cell phone from the glove compartment and called Efraim.

“What happened?” asked the deputy director when he answered.

Nir gave him a full run-down. Efraim was furious about the shooting, but after some back and forth, he seemed to realize there’d been no choice.

“And you’re sure you’re untraceable?”

“We’re ghosts.”

“I’ll have to tell the ramsad.”

“Figured you would.”

“How’s the girl?”

“She’s pretty beaten up, but she’ll be okay. We’re taking her to her father now.”

Efraim was silent, then said, “You did a good thing tonight, achi.”

“Yeah, I just don’t know if the ramsad will see it that way.”

Yaron had taken it upon himself to tend to Lily. Once they were at the SUV, he’d put his hand on Doron’s shoulder, who’d stepped back. Yaron had a daughter her age who was battling her own demons. For the next 45 minutes as they drove across Houston, the older man’s voice could be heard in a soft whisper. Every now and then Lily would say something, but it was mostly him.

When they arrived at Tommy Cohen’s apartment, Nir stepped out of the SUV. They’d all removed their balaclavas early on in the trip in order to lower the fear factor for the girl. Nir waited as Yaron said a few more things to her, and she nodded after each sentence he spoke. Then he kissed her forehead, and she stepped out of the car. Nir put his arm around her shoulders and walked her to the door.

It flung open after the first knock. Tears streamed down Cohen’s face as he wrapped his daughter in his arms. He was apologizing to her, and she was apologizing to him. In the midst of it, Cohen looked at Nir and said, “Thank you.”

“Are you going to do what you said?”

“I’ll take care of it tomorrow night.”

Nir gave him a hard stare. “That’s not what I’m talking about.”