LITMIR.BIZ

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the black queen belonging to Colonel Arak Hafeez, thus placing the white king of Colonel Kalif Samad in check.

      The eyes of Hafeez widened. “You have virtually won the game for me with one move.”

      He grinned and pointed at Samad. “You will be checkmated in two more moves.”

      “Did you have so little faith that I could not?” Mustapha said.

      Hafeez smiled. “Never for a moment.”

      Mustapha turned back to Matayyib. “Do you not see? It is a sign from God. All is well.”

      Matayyib nodded, but his face was still wet, and the perspiration had begun to seep through his tan uniform shirt despite the air conditioning.

      “Why do you worry?” Mustapha asked.

      “My father…” Matayyib lowered his head. “He told me of the scene of long ago. He was only a boy then, but he saw them lined up in the public square. Their heads rolled on the stones, and he swore he saw the lips of one of them moving in prayer, begging for forgiveness.”

      Mustapha frowned. He, too, had heard the tales of the failed coup d’état of 1966. A group of air force officers had planned to wrest power from the decadent king, but the Americans had discovered their intentions and warned then-King Faisal. The monarch had immediately arrested them and, after rebuking their treachery, subsequently had all of them beheaded in the city square. Not a pleasant thought, but Mustapha knew this time his plan would succeed. The Americans would not be able to warn the king this time. He shook his head vehemently. This time we shall strike with the swiftness of a falcon…four desert falcons.

      “Must I again tell you of my dream?” His voice was loud, steady, unwavering. “My dream of the four falcons? I was told by a holy man that it was a sign, a prophecy from God.”

      Matayyib compressed his lips.

      “Remember,” Mustapha said, increasing his grip on the other man’s thigh to convey the rectitude of his pronouncement, “that the prophet himself, blessed be his name, was guided by his dreams.”

      Matayyib’s face looked distorted now and Mustapha realized he’d been exerting too much pressure in his fervor. He released the other man’s thigh. “You need to spend more time playing football.”

      Matayyib’s expression showed relief now, but his body emanated the smell of encroaching fear.

      But perhaps a little fear was good at this point.

      “My son Mahfuj is now the most trusted bodyguard of Prince Amir,” Mustapha said. He reached down and moved the rook to block the retreat of the white king. “It has been insisted upon that Mahfuj, who saved the prince’s life, be placed in charge of the bodyguard contingent.” He reached over to make the final move to checkmate the white king. Everything was falling into place in life, just as on the chessboard. “Now, quit worrying and drink your sweet tea. But first, say it.”

      Matayyib’s dark eyes flashed for an instant, as if he were confused…or doubtful.

      “Say it, my brother,” Mustapha said, knowing he had the full attention of all of them. “Show me you are committed to our plan. Show me your confidence in our course of action.”

      “Praise be to God,” Matayyib said. “We shall succeed.”

      Yes, indeed, Mustapha thought. He turned and looked at each of them, holding his gaze steady as he searched their eyes.

      “Yes, we shall,” he said. “Soon, you will each be generals.”

      The three of them exchanged glances as smiles crept over their faces.

      And I, Mustapha thought, shall be the supreme leader of a new Arabia.

      * * *

       Las Vegas, Nevada

      “THERE SHE IS,” Grimaldi said, pointing through the windshield of their black, Cadillac Escalade as Bolan drove northbound on Las Vegas Boulevard from the car rental place. “My favorite sign.”

      Bolan glanced back at the huge Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada sign that was set in the middle of the grassy area that separated the north- and southbound lanes of the boulevard. Groups of people were lining up to get photographed by the sign, which was shaped similarly to a giant cocktail glass.

      They’d touched down at McCarran Airport an hour ago, and with the three hours they’d picked up flying west, it was not yet noon. After arranging to secure their Learjet in one of the private hangars, they secured their rental car.

      Each man had a suitcase and a black nylon duffel bag that contained their traveling arsenals and equipment: body armor, night-vision goggles, gas masks, flash-bang and CS grenades, knives, pistols, two M-4 rifles, two MP-5 submachine guns, numerous magazines and a copious amount of ammunition. Flying commercial, as Grimaldi had pointed out, would have been more than just a little problematic.

      “Well, how about we swing by the Peppermill and get a couple of steaks?” Grimaldi patted his stomach. “I’m starving, and remember, I did all the flying to get us here in a timely fashion.”

      “I’ll buy you a sandwich and an energy drink instead. I want to drop this stuff off and do a recon. Let’s go.”

      * * *

      AARON “THE BEAR” KURTZMAN had reserved a condominium for them just southeast of the Strip. It was close enough to the entertainment action, yet far enough away to allow for quick departures to the outlying areas, including the site of the desert warfare training seminar. The condo was also equipped with two rather large safes that enabled them to secure their weapons. As soon as they arrived, they carried their duffels into the bedroom and Bolan removed his Beretta 93-R from the bag along with two extra magazines.

      “Planning on going to war early?” Grimaldi asked. “I thought that damn class wasn’t supposed to start until tomorrow.”

      “It’s better to be prepared,” Bolan replied.

      “You got that right,” Grimaldi said, taking out his SIG Sauer P 223 and one extra mag and setting them on the bed. “But did anybody ever tell you you’re the world’s oldest Boy Scout?”

      “Just you,” Bolan said. “Nobody else who did is around to talk about it.”

      Grimaldi raised his hands, palms outward. “No offense, partner.”

      Bolan slipped the end of his belt through the loops of his pancake holster and snapped the Beretta into place. The holster had a special safety guard that gripped the trigger guard to prevent the weapon from falling out of or being ripped from its holster.

      He inserted the two magazines into the holder on the left, front side of his belt. He was almost ready to roll. The only thing left to do was to remove his large, folding Espada knife from the duffel bag and clip it inside the right pocket on the leg of his black cargo pants. He then stowed the two duffel bags with their remaining weaponry in the safe and donned a windbreaker to cover his weapons.

      “Almost ready?” he asked.

      Grimaldi was putting his arms through the loops of a shoulder holster rig. He turned and scrutinized his reflection in the mirror over the dresser. “Almost.”

      Bolan took out his cell phone. “I’m going to check in with Hal.”

      Brognola answered on the first ring. “I was hoping you’d call. How are the accommodations?”

      “First-rate,” Bolan said, putting the phone on speaker so Grimaldi could monitor the situation. “Tell the Bear he did a great job setting us up.”

      “He’ll be glad to hear that. Kind of makes up for all the times we send you to those rat holes all over the place.” Brognola cleared his throat. “Bad enough I gotta send you to that damn desert warfare training seminar. Hell, you and Jack could probably teach the instructors how to do it.”

      “You can always pick up something,”

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