Free Thunderstrike in Syria by Nick Carter Page B

terribly frustrating to know there isn't anything you can do about it."
    "I don't believe there ever was a plot involving any explosion on U.S. soil." I hoped that by taunting him, his own egotism would force him to tell me what I wanted to know. "I'll admit that you fooled Hamosad, but we in AXE were always skeptical about the liquified natural gas plot. The SLA doesn't have the sophistication of organization for such a complicated scheme."
    Miriam and Ahmed Kamel glared at me. Khalil Marras sneered, his thick lips going back over his teeth in a grimace. Karameh, sitting cross-legged, leaned forward, peered intently at me, and put his hands on his knees.
    "I had expected more from the famous Nick Carter," he said. "But all you have shown is an amazing lack of imagination. That's the trouble with all Western intelligence agencies. They are constantly underestimating us, thinking we Arabs are still living in the Middle Ages of ignorance."
    "Listen, Karameh," I said in my most sincere voice. "I've failed and I admit it. But though I'm your prisoner, don't try to insult my intelligence by telling me fairy tales. If there was an actual LNG plot, Miriam never would have leaked it to AXE."
    I could tell I was getting somewhere when Karameh smiled and seemed pleased with himself.
    "We might have believed the story," I continued, "if you hadn't made the mistake of saying that the home port of the supertanker was the Soviet Union. That was a bit too much for us to swallow. There isn't any way you could slip any of your people on board a single vessel in the Soviet Union much less one of their supertankers. The Soviet Union is a very closed society and the KGB is very good, almost as good as AXE!"
    Karameh beamed. I added quickly, "And don't tell me that the KGB is helping you. That would be even more absurd. The Soviets are too cunning to involve themselves in such a ridiculous scheme."
    "You're a fool, Carter. However, you are right about the Soviets."
    I reflected that his voice had taken on a different quality; not exactly defiance, but more like pride.
    "You're wasting your time," I sneered. "I'm right, too, when I say the LNG deal was a false leak to cover up something else. AXE and Hamosad suspected the same thing. Too bad I won't be able to get back to Tel Aviv to confirm their suspicions."
    "That is correct! You won't be leaving this base alive."
    I detected savage pleasure in Karameh's voice, a kind of revenge.
    "And because you are never going to leave here alive, I'll tell you the full truth. The liquid gas plot was not a smoke screen. Miriam merely lied about the facts. The supertanker doesn't belong to the Soviet Union. It's owned by Libya and will leave from Tripoli. Three of my men will be aboard the crew. It is they who will plant the explosive devices which will explode when the tanker is in the harbor of Galveston, in your state of Texas."
    Miriam placed a hand on Karameh's shoulder. "Why tell him anything? Why give him the satisfaction of knowing our real plans."
    "I agree," Ahmed Kamel quickly agreed. "Let us proceed with what we must do with the dog, then kill him. He is too dangerous to let live for any extended length of time."
    I saw Karameh stiffen, almost imperceptibly.
You should have kept your big mouth shut, bitch!
I thought.
You don't tell a crackpot like him what to do!
    "I made all the decisions," Karameh said arrogantly, "and I want Carter to go to his death knowing that I,
al-Huriya,
am twice as clever as any Zionist in Hamosad or any American imperialist."
    "If you ask me," I said, "you're treating Colonel al-Qaddafi pretty dirty. I can't buy it! Qaddafi's a Moslem the same as you and his Libya is still a paradise for every crackpot terrorist on the face of the earth. Yet you expect me to believe that you're going to blow up one of his two hundred million dollar tankers in Galveston!
    I enjoyed looking at Miriam. She hadn't expected her boss to rebuff her. Now she sat as if stunned, the skin around