The first explosion came in the early pre-dawn hours, at a time when the body’s internal clock is primed to enter its deepest period of sleep. Jolted from their beds, those who had been awakened by the blast found themselves temporarily frozen in the foggy, dream-like world that exists between fantasy and reality upon awakening.
Predictably, Alon and Nava were the first to make it out of their rooms. Armed with Uzi submachine guns, they ran barefooted down the hallway wearing only their T-shirts and shorts. John and Ariella were right behind them, each carrying small.22 caliber Berettas they always kept on their bed stands. The little guns had been a gift from Moshe. It was the same type of weapon he had carried when he was a katsa in the Mossad. Dismissed by other intelligence agencies as being too small, the Israelis were the only ones who still used the tiny Beretta. For them, it was still the weapon of choice for skilled marksmen who knew their craft well but wanted to maintain a low profile. Ariella thought back to what a seasoned weapons instructor had once told her. “A bullet is a bullet … no matter what caliber it is.”
In less than a minute, the entire castle was awake as everyone gathered in the upstairs hallway. A second blast, larger than the first, rocked the grounds outside the castle.
Alon grabbed John at the front door. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Outside!”
“We don’t know who’s out there yet … the roof!” Alon’s eyes were bulging and the veins in his forehead were popping to the surface. He was like a caged animal, waiting to pounce on something … anything. The two of them took off running for the stairs and continued up the round stairwell until they reached a doorway that led out onto the castle’s ramparts. Once through the door, they spotted several members of the castle’s security force aiming their weapons down at the grounds below. Pausing to catch their breath in the cold night air, they peered through the ancient arrow slits. The entire area at the bottom of the hill was awash with pools of flame, while other areas remained cloaked in shadow where anything could be hiding.
Ephraim’s voice crackled over the radio. “Lev … Alon … come in. We’re under attack down here!”
“How many?”
“Can’t tell. We just lost power. There’s a big fire in the center of the compound by the barn. I’m with my wife and son inside our house. We’re headed down into the tunnels.” Another explosion interrupted the conversation. “I think someone’s outside our front door. I’ll call you back.”
Another pop, one much smaller than the first explosion, sent a shower of sparks into the air around the landing pad. Through the smoke, they could see the small blue helicopter engulfed in flames. The last pop they had heard was the chopper’s fuel tank exploding as the tail section separated and fell to the ground. A rain of fuel sent little rivers of fire outward toward the barn until something inside ignited and the entire structure erupted in a blaze that raged out of control.
In a matter of minutes, Alon and John were joined by the rest of the team at the top of the castle. Looking down on the compound below, they winced as one house after another erupted in flames.
Lev grabbed a radio and called the man in charge of the security force guarding the perimeter. “Do you see anything?”
“No, sir! None of the motion sensors around the property picked up anything. The dogs were quiet and the laser defenses weren’t activated … no one has seen a single attacker!”
“Anything in the air?”
“Nothing. The communications center reported that the radar is clear. The only thing our listening posts picked up all night was the sound of crickets until the first explosion almost knocked their earphones off.”
Lev squinted down into the blackness enveloping the fields around the castle. Two scenarios immediately came to mind. Either the compound below was self-destructing for some reason, or they were under attack from an invisible enemy. A third explanation entered his mind, one even more frightening. Was it possible that someone on the inside was behind this?
As quickly as the attack began, it stopped.
A string of loud expletives could be heard coming from the base of the castle wall. Peering over the edge, they could see Nava tramping down the hill. Still barefooted, she was wearing a long T-shirt that hung down to her knees and had an Uzi submachine gun slung over one shoulder.
“That’s one mad little pilot,” Alon said with a quiet sense of awe. “Someone just destroyed her helicopter. That machine was her baby.” Alon quickly disappeared down the stairwell and was soon seen running down the hill after her.
Lev stared down at the burning wreckage. “I have a feeling that we’ve just received a warning.”
“A warning?” John pointed at the flames below. “You call that a warning?”
“Whoever did this could have done much worse. Our presence here has stirred up a hornet’s nest.”
“You think Acerbi is behind this?” Leo asked.
“Probably. He and his people are on the verge of taking over the world, and after Sarah’s escape they may suspect that we’ve just learned who they are and what they’re up to.”
“Why didn’t they destroy the castle? Why just the helicopter and a few houses?”
“Good question, Cardinal.” In the darkness of the castle’s ramparts, Lev struck a match. His bearded face was bathed in an orange glow tinted by thick bluish smoke that curled up from the tip of his cigar. “Whatever just hit us seems to have stopped for now. It looks like the sun is just starting to come up. Let’s get everyone together and begin moving out. I suggest we gather up all the supplies we can carry and follow the river south to the coast where we can meet the yacht.”
“That river winds through some pretty rugged country … and then there are those gangs of armed thugs out there roaming the countryside right now.”
“I know. I had planned on scouting the area from the air this morning, but that plan just went up in flames. Damn, we really needed that helicopter.”
Lev’s radio crackled to life. “Professor, are you there?”
“Yes.”
“The sensors along our northeast border are going crazy. So are the ones on our eastern perimeter. We can see armed men just across the river, and … “
“And what?”
“And there are three large helicopters inbound from the north.”
“How long until they’re here?”
“About five minutes, sir … if we’re lucky.”