James spoke gently, but his tone was absolute. "You must be the one to take this shot if this is to be your country, Mr. Maaziz."
The older man took off his spectacles, carefully cleaning them with a handkerchief before replacing them on his nose. Looking at the bodies sprawled through the room, he shook his head. "If it must be," he sighed, holding out a steady hand for the gun.
Maura looked back and forth, over and over as if at a tennis match, trying to reconcile the calm with the violence. James had not discussed this part of the plan with her. The blood and the stench of the bodies around them were horrifying, and she gritted her teeth to stay focused. James had not even broken a sweat, his white oxford shirt pristine as he handed the weapon to Maaziz. The older man held the Glock for a moment, looking at it curiously as if trying to remember how it ended up in his hand. The shouts and screams of General Nezzar finally roused him, and he looked to the screaming general. "Remember who you serve, Maaziz!" the man screamed, "I am your leader!"
"No," Mr. Maaziz said gently, regretfully, "you are a fool. A bloodthirsty, brutal fool." He raised the gun and the pitch of Nezzar's screams heightened before being suddenly cut short. A perfect bullet hole appeared on the general's forehead. Calmly handing the gun back to James, Maaziz straightened his tie and prepared for his first address to the nation as the shaken camera crew set up the shot and the security men removed the bodies.
With a sick sense of nostalgia, she realized they'd been shot on plastic coverings, the cleanup crew simply rolling up the bodies in the tarps. Stiffly turning back to Maaziz - President Maaziz - she corrected, Maura watched as a wardrobe assistant put him into a fresh white shirt and navy-blue blazer. He looked up and smiled at her- the same kindly smile he'd given Maura at all those dinners over discussions about country, patriotism, and honor. She forced a smile, walking over to carefully remove his glasses.
"There's some blood- there are a few spots, Mr. President. Allow me."
Carefully cleaning his spectacles, Maura replaced them, and Maaziz took her hand. "Are you all right, Mrs. Pine?"
She forced another smile, still looking at the gruesome procession of bodies from the presidential office. "Of course, sir. Thank you."
Standing on the cooling blood of the men he'd supplanted, President Maaziz gave a speech to his country, promising swift change for corruption and the promise of honest and devoted leadership. Maura's brow furrowed as he spoke warmly of, "Welcoming new trade partners and an era of international cooperation for Algeria."
James took her arm. "It's time to leave," he murmured, "there's more to do tonight." She nodded but halted as she heard James speak quietly to Maaziz behind her.
"When will I see the ten million pounds in my personal account?" With a shock, she realized it was Maaziz - the country’s new president - speaking.
"When the trade agreements are signed with France and Saudi Arabia," assured James.
"Very well," said Maaziz. "Go with God, Mr. Pine."
Heading back down the secret staircase, Maura leaned into James. "What was the conversation involving the ten million pounds in Maaziz's personal account?"
Level blue-grey eyes looked back. "A gift."
"But... you're paying him all that money? As a nudge for the bidders?" Maura felt flattened.
James shook his head. "Darling- look. This isn't the time. Try not to question this right now."
They passed by several workers, still removing bodies from the coup. Maura kept counting in her head as the numbers rose. The streets were still crowded with confused and angry people, but the damage and fires seemed to be reducing. Apparently, the message from the new president was taking effect. Most of the ground forces keeping the peace were military, so Nezzar's influence was not as strong as he'd gambled on. Thinking back to his body crumpled on the carpet next to the man he'd murdered, she felt dizzy. So much death in such a very short time. Turning on the tv back in the suite, she paced back and forth, watching the death toll rise.
"The entire upper military cabinet's gone," Maura said, still pacing. "They couldn't just imprison them as a threat?" Eventually, she managed to refocus back on her work, resolving to ignore the tv reports. With a mean little smile, she plunged into the complex series of coding she and Nicholas created that day when the bidding for the country of Algeria began back at the Corporation. Fingers flying, she rapidly altered the account balances, splintering the funds and finding new offshore holdings to hide the money. James was busy, speaking into two different cell phones while watching the coverage on tv and online.
Opening a Lucite case containing two platinum thumb drives, she inserted one into her hard drive port and one into Nicholas’s. Starting the download, she rolled her head over tense shoulders, watching the tv again. James walked out of the bedroom, hanging up one of the phones. Kneeling next to her chair, he took Maura's hands.
"Are you all right?"
She shrugged, forcing a smile. "Of course. I have seen this before, James."
He bent his head, holding her elusive gaze. "You're upset about Maaziz. He's fallen off his pedestal?"
Maura sighed. "I thought... I believed him when he spoke of being the voice of reason."
"And he is." James kissed one hand, then the other. "The two are not mutually exclusive."
Her hands tightened on his. "How much has the Corporation given him?"
He shrugged, rising to his feet. "Most comes from the bidding countries, but his personal share will be over one hundred million pounds." Maura sighed and shook her head. "By the way, darling," he asked, putting on a shoulder holster. "Did you retrieve the thirty-four million from Nezzar's account?”
Maura swung back to her monitor, adding in some numbers on a new screen. "Nezzar already pulled nearly three million; it's gone into a series of smaller transactions, so I'm guessing bribe money, loyalty payments? But the rest is back in the central holding fund." Looking up at him, Maura felt a chill. "Where are you going?" Standing up, she moved to him. "Where are we going?"
He put one large hand on her cheek, "I'm going to meet with Kingston and Fassell." He leaned in to kiss her, "I can't have you near them, I won't take that chance. I've got a security detail here for you, no one knows we're back here yet."
Maura angrily shook her head. "No. No! We're safer together, remember? Who's coming with you? You know they're going to be insanely angry about the General Nezzar debacle."
