There was the brief burst of static. Vaughn felt numb. He was back on Jolo Island and things were going as wrong as they possibly could once more. That thought shocked him out of his stupor because for the first time it occurred to him that his Delta Force team might have been betrayed. Had this all been one long, elaborate setup? He shifted the muzzle of the MP-5 and pulled the trigger twice in rapid succession. The rounds hit Orson right where the vein was pulsing, taking most of his head off as they plowed through. Vaughn shifted and fired twice at the new man, again double-tapping him in the head. Then he shifted his attention to Abayon, whose hand still hovered over the red button but whose face showed surprise.

"Who are you?" Abayon asked.

"The raid to free the hostages," Vaughn said.

"You filmed it from here?" Abayon nodded.

"And you knew it was coming?" Abayon nodded once more.

"How?"

"One of my men received a tip from someone we knew to be a CIA informant."

"I led that raid," Vaughn said. Comprehension flooded Abayon's face.

"So you were betrayed also."

Vaughn didn't lower the muzzle of his MP-5.

"There's a team waiting up top to ambush me when I try to leave."

Abayon sighed.

"So I assume you do not know who is the puppet master either."

"I thought I was working for the U.S. government – as he said."

Vaughn indicated Orson's body.

"Do you have any idea who is behind all this?"

"Something bigger than the U.S. government. And while you were probably told the goal of your mission was to kill me, the real goal was to reacquire the Golden Lily."

Vaughn let go of the transmit, and Tai's voice immediately was in his ear.

"You need to get out of there.

These guys up here aren't going to wait forever. Abayon knows as much as we know, which means he knows nothing."

Vaughn stared at Abayon.

"My brother-in-law died in that raid."

Abayon stared back without reaction.

"It is a war. You were pawns being played by unseen hands."

"Why are you going to kill yourself?" Vaughn asked.

"After what will happen shortly on my orders, it is better that I be dead."

"What do you have planned?"

"It need not concern you."

"If I promise to try to find those hands that have been playing us, will you let me leave before you destroy this place?"

Abayon was very still for a long moment. Then he nodded, ever so slightly.

"You have five minutes."

Vaughn didn't hesitate. He took off running, retracing his steps.

One of the four men walked over to a spot in the woods less than ten feet from Tai's position in order to urinate. He slung his weapon over his shoulder and reached to unzip his pants when Tai shot him through the head, the suppressor on the end of the MP-5 letting off a sound like a low cough. She swung the gun back toward the other three waiting at the vent. She could see two of the men aiming their weapons down the tube. It was going to be close. She fired three times. The third man had half a second of realization that something was wrong before he died. She jumped and ran forward, keying the radio on the Talon frequency at the same time.

"Charlie One-two, this is Condor. Begin your run. Over."

"This Charlie One-two. Roger that. I'll be there in two minutes exactly. Over."

Vaughn had the MP-5 at the ready as he approached the top of the tube. He cautiously led with the muzzle as he popped his head up to take a look. He saw Tai silhouetted against the night sky less than five feet away, next to a rope that rose into the clouds. She was surrounded by three bodies.

"Damn," Vaughn said as he climbed out of the vent.

"Where's the fourth?" Tai gestured toward the treeline.

"Dead."

"Abayon gave me five minutes. That was over two minutes ago."

"The Talon is inbound. Two minutes."

Vaughn wondered if that minute in between was going to be enough. And if Abayon was going to keep his word. He walked over next to Tai, slinging his MP-5 and then clipping his harness into the same loop of rope she was attached to. They linked arms and waited.

The pilot of the Talon saw the flashing infrared strobe clearly in his night vision goggles and lined the nose of the aircraft up with it and for a point slightly below it. He throttled back to just above stall speed.

Vaughn could hear the inbound aircraft although he couldn't see it.

"Come on," he whispered.

"Shit," Tai exclaimed as the ground shook beneath them. Then it shook again, closer.

"Linked charges, firing in sequence," Vaughn said. Another explosion, even closer, rumbled up from below. Then another, and this time a spout of flame came out of the vent. Next one is it, Vaughn thought, and at that moment the rope above them suddenly gave a jerk. A second later both were lifted straight up off the ground as it exploded beneath them.

The rope was caught by the whiskers on the nose of the Talon. It slid to the exact center, where the sky anchor automatically clamped tight on it. Right after that, a blade above the anchor cut the blimp free.

"Jeez," the crew chief yelled over the intercom. He was looking out the back ramp.

"The top of the mountain just blew."

"Do we have them?"

"Roger that."

The pilot of the C-130 pulled back on the controls, putting the aircraft into a steep climb. This brought the rope along the belly of the plane. The loadmaster lowered a hook attached to a small crane bolted to the rear platform. Fishing, he managed to snag the rope on his second attempt. Then the crane began to reel the rope in.

The Talon continued to gain altitude, and the rope was reeled in until the two bodies reached the ramp. The crew chief, secured in the plane by a tether, reached over and helped them both to their feet.

"Where are the others?" the crew chief asked.

Vaughn began unbuckling his harness.

"Dead."

"There's a message waiting," the crew chief said. He held out a sheet of paper as the ramp began to shut.

Vaughn took it in the swirling wind and read it.

Team en route for further assignment. Contact as soon as able. Royce.

Vaughn handed it to Tai.

"Where are we headed?" he asked the crew chief.

"Hawaii."

CHAPTER 19

Moreno knew it was just a question of hours now, as he sat at the captain's small fold-down desk in his wardroom. Then the greatest blow against the first world by the third would be struck; 9/11 would dwindle to insignificance. Attention would have to be paid to the gap between the two worlds, and the message that those who had been oppressed would not tolerate it anymore.

Of course, Moreno also knew that everyone on board this submarine would be dead within twenty-four hours. Not all of them knew that. They had been told it was most likely a one-way mission but that anything could happen. What only he knew was that he had a remote control in his pocket that would detonate charges preplanted in the submarine, breaching the hull in four points.

Moreno bowed his head and placed it on the cool metal. He knew Abayon was probably gone by now. Six decades of comradeship. Moreno also knew his daughter was now in charge. He silently prayed that she would stay on a true and steady course for the movement.