“I get it, I get it. Like we talked about before, it’s a good move. I just wish I had you on this op. It’s going to be new and cutting edge, and it will most certainly make the news.”

“So intriguing. Can’t wait to find out about it.”

Nir thought a moment, then said, “I can tell you it will involve AI in a major way.”

“Artificial intelligence? Now I’m even more intrigued.”

“Exactly. Again, cutting edge. But AI is also the downside to the operation, because who is our team AI expert?”

Nicole laughed. “Oh no. Lahav.”

Lahav Tabib was a brilliant analyst. But he was also a little bit crazy and a whole lot irritating. He could speak more words in three minutes than Nir would say in a whole day. Typically, Nir counted on Nicole to keep Lahav under control, but with her gone, he would have no buffer.

“Yeah, and get this. He’ll be deployed with my Kidon boys when we go in. I’ll probably have to find him a desert camouflage pocket protector for his BDU,” Nir said. He really couldn’t picture what Lahav would look like in a battle dress uniform.

Nicole stopped laughing. “Nir, is that a good idea? With his mouth and lack of self-awareness, how are you going to keep him quiet?”

“Threats, mostly, I guess. Maybe gaffer tape? I don’t know. I just know this op is so technical and complicated that he needs to be on the ground with us.”

For a while, they were both silent again.

Nicole suddenly stopped in front of a gallery and pointed to a painting in its window. “I know her!”

“Um, I do too. It’s Marilyn Monroe. I hate to break it to you, but she’s kind of a big deal.”

“No, you goof,” she said, punching his arm. “I know the artist. Alicia Marcos. She and I shared a flight once from Frankfurt to New Jersey. She was on her way home to Houston, Texas. We really hit it off, and we’ve kept in touch and gotten together a couple of times since then. This is her work. See her name in the corner?”

The picture was a modern take on the Hollywood star. Very raw. Very colorful. And she was biting down on a contemporary pair of Oakley sunglasses. But what intrigued him most was the canvas. “What is that painted on?”