“You got any ideas?” he said. “I mean, now that you’ve seen it, you’re in. Just like I told you. I can’t exactly let you walk out of here.”

Luke turned to Cole.

“Cole, look at your shoelace.”

It happened fast. But not fast enough.

Was there the slightest hesitation on Cole’s part? Maybe.

Worse, he unclipped his gun and flipped it across the five feet to Luke, but his aim was just bad enough that Luke had to step forward and snatch it out of the air. He spun it around and held it in a two-handed grip. He pointed it at Parr.

But Parr’s bodyguard Roger already had his own gun down and drew it. Ed Newsam stood between Roger and Luke. Now Roger’s Uzi was pointed directly into Ed’s broad chest. Ed looked at Luke.

“Dammit! You were supposed to give me a heads-up.”

Luke sighed. He was right. “Okay. I know. My bad.”

Ed shook his head. “Your bad? The man is pointing an Uzi at my chest. This is exactly what I didn’t want to happen. I told you that ahead of time, and you did it anyway. I notice no one is pointing a gun at you. This isn’t a TV show, man. The black guy is not expendable.”

“I made a mistake, Ed.”

“Yeah, you did. You made a big mistake.”

“Roger, if you shoot that man,” Luke said, “I’ll blow Parr’s brains out.”

“If he shoots me… that’s terrific, Stone.”

Roger shrugged. “I’m not even sure if I care about Parr that much.”

Parr turned around.

“What’s going on here, sweethearts?”

“Edwin Lee Parr,” Luke said, “my name is Agent Luke Stone. I work for the FBI Special Response Team. You are under arrest for murder, kidnapping, crimes against humanity, looting, theft of antiquities, and a host of other felonies. You have the right to remain silent. You should know that if you forfeit this right, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you can’t afford an attorney, one will be…”

At that point, Parr began to laugh.

“Son, did you happen to notice that I live in a palace? I’m a wealthy man. Do you think I can’t afford an attorney?”

Luke shook his head. “I think you’ll be forfeiting most of your wealth.”

Parr’s smile faded. His face became pained. “You’re gonna arrest me for murder? In a place like this? Don’t that beat all?”

From the corner of his eye, Luke noticed that Cole had pulled his AK-47 down from his shoulder. He had it ready, but wasn’t pointing it at anyone in particular.