Patrick had to take a deep breath to talk past the lump that unexpectedly formed in his throat. “You may speak with Commander Farouk for ten minutes, General Baris. Now go.”

“I can feel your pain, Castor,” a woman’s voice said—an American woman’s voice.

Despite himself, Patrick turned toward the voice, his movements accentuated and quickened by the electronically controlled exoskeleton. Baris’s aide removed his service cap and sunglasses—revealing a woman, a very beautiful woman despite the fact that she wore an eye patch over her left eye. “Texas .. .”

“I didn’t know, Castor,” David Luger said, as surprised as Patrick. “He ... I mean, she was searched for weapons, not to verify gender.”

Baris turned to the woman. “I shall be below, Madame, interviewing Commander Farouk.” He bowed slightly to the woman and departed. The security officer stayed, but moved a discreet distance away. David was unsure for a moment what to do, but decided that neither woman was any threat to Patrick. He set the metal briefcase down beside the first woman and escorted Baris below.

“Most generals don’t bow to their aides and call them ‘madame,’ ” Patrick observed. “I assume I’m speaking to Madame Susan Salaam, first lady of Egypt?”

“Yes,” Susan Bailey Salaam replied. She motioned to Amina. “She is Captain Amina Shafik of the Republican Guards, assigned by General Baris as my bodyguard. Shall I assume that I’m speaking to the commander of the American commando team that attacked Samah and destroyed several surface-to-surface rockets, including some with nuclear and biochem warheads?”

“What are you doing here, Mrs. Salaam?”

Susan sighed, then replied, “Surviving. What are you doing here, Castor? On some sort of crusade to rid the world of weapons of mass destruction? Or do you have some sort of special affinity with Egypt that you would risk your life and those of your team to destroy weapons that were probably not pointed at any American targets?”

“If the destruction of those missiles at Samah helped Egypt, I’m glad,” Patrick replied. “But I’m not going to play twenty questions with you. Go below and talk with the sailors if you want, or return to your launch.”

“You lost someone close to you, didn’t you, Castor?” Susan asked. Patrick did not reply. “Someone very close to you. I could tell it in your voice, even all electronically fuzzed.” Still no reply. “You must be hot in that metal suit, Castor. Take it off. I won’t hurt you, and I certainly won’t report a fellow American soldier to the Egyptian authorities.” Silence. “At least take off the helmet and let me look at you. You look like a cross between Robocop and Darth Vader—but your voice doesn’t sound like either one of those characters.”