“And just so you know, the other four Kidon analyst teams are doing the same thing. Whoever comes up with the best plan will be tapped to carry it out. Now, those guys think they’re smarter than us.”

Lahav said, “Yeah, I know a couple of the guys on Zakai Abelman’s team. They’re—”

Before he could finish, empty paper plates and used napkins were flying toward him from around the table.

“Forget Abelman’s team,” Dafna said. “We’re going to win this, you chin strap.”

“And I tend to agree with Miss Dafna,” Nir said. “So you’ve got two hours. What are you doing sitting at the table? Yalla! Let’s go.”

The team stood and hustled to their workstations. Nir picked up his party hat and placed it on Chewbacca’s head. When he turned, he saw Nicole gathering the trash spread all over the floor. He hurried over to help her.

“Is chin strap even an insult?” he asked.

Nicole laughed. “Who knows? By the way, allowing them that party was so smart. They’ll work straight through the next twenty-four hours on the buzz alone.”

“Achla, I just had to remember who they are.” They walked to a trash can side by side, then dropped the plates and napkins in. “So, are we okay?”

Nicole smiled. “We’re okay. I shouldn’t have walked off like that. Sometimes when I’m feeling all the emotions, I’d rather just escape than let them show.”

Nir leaned against the wall as he spoke. “I understand that. I apologize for calling you one-note. That was wrong, and it came out of a combination of exhaustion and near-death adrenaline. Like I told you before, I listen and take to heart everything you say. It just probably wasn’t the best time.”

Nicole raised her eyebrows as she nodded. “And I take responsibility for that. Now, I’m assuming you’re about to go fill in the ops guys, but first… Something about this bothers me. If the crown prince just wants us to go kill some innocent person for him, I’m not down for that. The only way I can justify what I do is that proverb you always recite to me, the one about rising to kill first. But that’s predicated on the fact that the target is coming to kill you. That’s when you rise up and kill first.”