Dick Stivers - Cairo Countdown

"On its way, Wizard."

"And so is Sadek, I guess," Gadgets commented. "Too bad that big one got away."

"Not yet," Katz told him. "Not yet."

Hurtling along the highway at a hundred miles an hour, Katz's car sped past the few cars and trucks leaving the city. Parks used the limo's radio phone to communicate with agents at the airport.

"They've delayed the Syrians," Parks told Katz. "But it's up to the Egyptian government to stop them."

"Will they stop the flight?"

"There's been no response to our requests yet. Sadek usually handled those things…"

As the limousine screeched to a smoking-tire stop, Katz and Parks threw open the doors and dashed into the international airport's drab terminal, Parks ahead of the limping Katz. Shoving through tourists and porters, they crossed the reception area. At the door leading to the administrative and technical areas, a guard stopped them.

Katz told the guard in Arabic that terrorists threatened the jets in the air over the airport. The guard called a supervisor.

Taking his hand radio from his jacket, Parks issued a call to all the agents.

The supervisor arrived. He saw Parks, smiled. "Gentlemen, how can I help you?"

"Terrorists," Katz told the supervisor in English. "The American Embassy received a threat against the international flights."

"Oh! Why weren't we told? Why haven't..."

"Take us to the control tower immediately!" Katz slipped past the Egyptians and strode toward the elevator.

Parks nodded to the supervisor and the two men followed Katz.

"Of course! Of course!" the supervisor was saying. "Should we call the police? I must notify my superiors."

As the elevator went up, Katz asked the Egyptian, "Is the third shift of flight controllers still here?"

"Yes. For another..." he glanced at his watch "...half-hour."

Katz left the elevator and shoved through the doors that led to the control tower. Employees in the lounge stared at the stiffly running man in the conservative gray suit of a diplomat.

Katz took the flight of stairs into the tower flight center. As he burst into the room, every controller turned and stared even as they continued speaking into microphones, reading information to waiting airliner captains. Katz scanned the personnel and saw the man who wore a pager. He went up to him.

He asked him in Arabic, "Are you Aziz Shawan?"

Fear flashed in the eyes of the controller. He bolted for the door. Katz tripped him.

He snatched the microtransmitter disguised as a pager from the Muslim's belt. Parks and the supervisor shoved through the door, caught Shawan as he attempted to crawl past them. In Arabic, Katz asked the other controllers, "Where is the Syrian flight?"

A controller pointed.

Streaking along the runway, the Syrian air force jet lifted away. Katz turned to the controller and shouted in Arabic, "Terrorists say they will hit all the jets with rockets. Reroute all the jets immediately. Hundreds of lives could be lost."

"Fortunately," the supervisor gasped, "traffic is very light. We have flights on the way, but several flights landed only a few minutes ago."

Glancing at a radar screen, Katz confirmed the absence of other flights in the sky above Cairo.

He pressed the button on the microtransmitter.

In the luxurious cabin of the Syrian air force jet, Sadek lounged in his velvet seat and accepted a crystal glass bubbling with champagne from a steward. The Syrian and Soviet officers gathered around him raised their glasses.

"To the Jihad!"

"To the Islamic Masses!"

"To the death of America!"

Flame flashed into the left-wing engine. Shock paralyzed the gathered men as the wing ripped away, tearing away the side of the fuselage.

Now it was a Syrian plane that was a flying coffin.

CLASSIFIED TOP SECRET

***SCRAMBLE VIA NSC***

FROM JOHN PHOENIX/ITALY

TO KONZAKI/STONYMAN***IMMEDIATE

ATTENTION***

BT

CORRAL CARL LYONS FOR ME WHEN HE RETURNS FROM EGYPT X LYONS AND ABLE TEAM IDEAL FOR ACTION AGAINST GUATEMALAN MUNITIONS SMUGGLER X RECENT MURDERS CLIMAX LONG MULTI-AGENCY INVEST IGATION X MUST SMASH NOW X LYONS HAS ENERGY AND SKILLS TO DEFEAT THESE KINDS OF MURDEROUS BUTCHERS X SUPPORT HIM ALL THE WAY X CERTAIN TACTICS USED BY ABLE IN CAIRO NAMELY TORTURE THREAT AND RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT CONFIRMED BY KATZ X SQUARES WITH YOUR NEWS RE CARL REJECTS BERETTA TO GO HIS OWN WAY X KATZ DEFENDS SAYS TEAM COMBAT SHIMMERS WITH SACRED FIRE X AND STONYMAN ONE ALWAYS COULD HANDLE SMM BETTER THAN CARL X BUT I MUST HAVE SERIOUS TALK WITH MR LYONS X FOREWARN HIM PLEASE PENDING MY RETURN X GOOD TO BE COMING BACK

BT

EOM