“Because we’re close, damn it. This is the second time in twenty-four hours that they’ve tried to kill me. There’s your proof, George. They’re going to hit the king. Or do you play these car games all the time?” the Scorpion said, whipping around a slow-moving red sedan and slipping neatly into a gap in the traffic ahead. Traffic began to thicken as they approached the waterfront. The BMW was only a few cars behind.

The Scorpion’s mind raced. Assume that they were after him. Macready was just along for the ride. Then if he could peel them off, Macready would be free to get the data to Maclean. On the plus side, they probably hadn’t expected him to survive the blast, so they were playing it by ear. There would be no traps lurking for George at the embassy. On the minus side, they knew their way around town better than he did and the Chevy was no match for the BMW.

In the gospel according to Koenig, you could always break a single tail. The theory was that action is faster than reaction and since (assumption) they don’t know where you’re going, any surprise combined with average driver reactions in normal traffic flows ought to break you free long enough for them to lose line of sight, etcetera. He could just drop Macready off somewhere near the embassy, and hide after dumping the Chevy.

That was the theory, anyway. But a glance in the rear-view mirror convinced him that it wasn’t going to happen that way. By this time only a single car separated them from the BMW. But that wasn’t the problem.

He had seen the Arab in the BMW’s passenger seat speaking into a car phone.

“I don’t suppose you have a phone or a CB in this thing?” the Scorpion asked as they went around the last traffic circle before the quays. The setting sun gilded the crowded shops and street cafés with their brightly-colored umbrellas with a golden glamor, as though it were the Riviera.

Macready shook his head. “Budget,” he said, as if that covered everything in life.

Macready’s sense of futility was beginning to grate. The Scorpion hoped the prick could find his zipper when he needed it.

“The embassy still near the bank?” the Scorpion asked. He had to make a move quickly, before whatever reinforcements the BMW had called were in place.

Macready shook his head.

“Just two blocks from … What are you going to do?” Macready asked, suddenly pale.