Alex Lukeman - The Cup

"Even if we don't, we can intercept and board her. There's only one problem."

"What's that?"

"We have to find her, first."

Two days later, they still hadn't located Athena . They knew she was headed for Savannah, but it was a big ocean. The shipping lanes weren't marked with nice white lines. For all they knew, she wasn't following a conventional path. Besides, she was a tramp steamer. She could have stopped off in any one of half a dozen places before setting out across the Atlantic. Satellite overpasses and surveillance flights by the Air Force had failed to turn up the ship.

Nick sat at Elizabeth's desk and found himself drumming his fingers on the wooden top. It was uncanny, almost as if whoever sat there was channeling her energy. She was still in a coma. Her EKG was stable but that was the only positive sign. They'd had to take her back into surgery to relieve pressure on her brain, where fluid had built up from the injury. Now there was nothing more to do but wait and see if she woke up.

The rest of the team was in the room. The box they'd found in Syria rested on the desk in front of him.

"When are we going to get a look inside that box?" Lamont asked. "Hell, I'm dyin' of curiosity."

"We all are," Nick said. "I've been focused on this search for the Athena ."

"It says a lot about the way the world has changed," Selena said.

"What do you mean?"

"That box may contain the most sacred relic in Christianity. A thousand years ago no one would have hesitated to get it open. But we're worried about a bunch of lunatics with a nuclear bomb instead."

"It's a question of priorities," Nick said.

"That's what I mean about how the world has changed," Selena said. "People have lost a sense of spiritual things, things that inspire all that's good in the world. The Grail is one of those things. Maybe our priorities are wrong."

Nick was about to say something when his phone signaled a call from Hood.

"Yes, Director."

"Please call me Clarence, Nick. I hear director all the time. That's not why I called. We've spotted Athena ."

Nick pumped his fist in the air. "Yes!"

He turned on the speaker. "They found Athena ," he said to the others. "Director, uh, Clarence, I put you on speaker so the others can hear."

"The good news is that we found her," Hood said. "The bad news is that she's thirty miles offshore, headed straight for Savannah. I would've preferred to find her farther out in case something goes wrong. I've talked with Rice about what to do."

"What did he say?"

"He wants to board her. She's well within our waters and there's nothing she can do about it. The Coast Guard is heading for her right now with two SEAL teams on board. With a little luck this will all be over in an hour."

"It might be smarter to sink her before she gets any closer," Nick said.

On the couch, Lamont and Ronnie were nodding.

"I argued for that with Rice," Hood said. "He was adamant that we don't do that. He's not convinced she's anything more than what she appears to be. I can see his point. If we sink a civilian ship because we think it's got a bomb on board without proof, we'll be vilified by the international community. Accused of war crimes."

"What else is new?" Nick said. "Three quarters of the UN wants to try the last ten presidents for war crimes. Hell, if they could get away with it, they'd indict Eisenhower. As far as I'm concerned they can take their hypocritical bullshit and shove it."

"I happen to agree with you," Hood said, "but Rice is running the show. We'll board her and see what we find. Tell Stephanie to access Odin. You can watch the intercept live."

Stephanie was already tapping keys on her laptop. The monitor on the wall lit with a live satellite shot of a small ship moving across the ocean. Stephanie zoomed in and the Athena filled most of the screen.

"Got it," Nick said. "How long until intercept?"

"About twenty minutes."

"I can see a radar array on the Athena. She'll pick up the Coast Guard coming in."

"Nothing I can do about that," Hood said. "It won't necessarily spook her. The Coast Guard routinely stops ships approaching our shores, for a lot of reasons. They won't know it's anything unusual until the SEALS board her."

"You got that right," Lamont said.

"That had to be Lamont," Hood said.

At Langley, someone said something in the background.

"I have to go, Nick."

Hood disconnected.

Rashid Jaffari finished the afternoon prayer in his cabin.

Soon, Lord, soon I will see your face.

He got up and folded his prayer rug. He paused for a moment as he held it, remembering the day his father had given him the rug and taken him to the mosque for the first time. He set the rug down on top of the bomb and went out on deck.

In the distance, the coast of the far enemy was coming near. He could smell the land, even here, almost thirty miles offshore. By the time Athena had taken on a pilot and docked, it would be early evening. The night breeze from the ocean would have started, in time to carry the radioactive fallout far inland.

In his pocket he carried a remote detonator to trigger the bomb. He'd told the crewmen who carried it to his cabin that it contained all his personal possessions. They thought he was emigrating to America. It was all the same to them. Most of the crew was Greek. They could care less about one more escapee fleeing from the chaos of the Middle East.

Only the captain and one of his mates spoke any Arabic. Now the captain came down from the bridge and joined Jaffari. Rashid tried not to show his distaste. The man reeked of ouzo and cigars. As far as Rashid could tell, Captain Nikos was usually half drunk by three in the afternoon. It was already well after four.

He won't find any ouzo in hell, Rashid thought.

A ship appeared on the near horizon, heading toward them with white water curling past her bow. It was still several miles away. Nicos gestured at the approaching vessel.

"U.S. Coast Guard. They will stop us and ask to see our papers."

Jaffari remained calm. "Will they search the ship?"

"No. I have been here many times. They know the ship, they know I do not bring drugs or things that are illegal. They will ask for the manifest, they will make little checkmarks in their boxes and then they will go away."

"Is it usual for them to stop ships like this?"

"Yes, especially someone like us coming from a Muslim country. Since what they call 9/11, their security has increased. It is the way of the Americans. It is understandable, given what happened."

After today, their security will increase again, Jaffari thought.

Captain Nikos took out a cheap cigar and lit it. The smoke drifted across the deck. The two men leaned on the railing and watched the Coast Guard ship come closer.

When the cutter was within hailing distance, an officer with a bullhorn hailed them.

"This is Lieutenant Commander Michaels of the United States Coast Guard. Heave to and prepare to be boarded for inspection."

Rashid eyed the ship. Something didn't feel right. All her guns were trained on the Athena, including the aft deck gun.

The crew of the cutter lowered two Zodiacs into the water, each carrying six men. The men didn't look like sailors and they were armed. They looked hard, as if they had seen and done more than they would've wanted.

Rashid felt the detonator in his pocket. A stiff breeze had sprung up, drawn by the heat of the landmass ahead. If he had to detonate the bomb, the breeze would carry the fallout to land. Perhaps it would be enough. But he would wait until he was certain they were going to search the ship.