The Tulip Terror

by C L Bauer

  Dev followed Ari’s lead. “Personally, I love the islands. Why not go for your own island? You’ve already trashed a good career. You’ve failed your friends, your country, and you’ll never be invited to another embassy event.”

  “Think of all the parties you’ll miss,” Ari added.

  “You’re an idiot, Ari. You and Pierce’s brother have your own operation going. I wouldn’t be so glib right now. Claude, the diamonds, now.” Remy pointed the gun directly at her.

  Ari was facing Claude and Remy. Dev watched Khalid. The terrorist was forming circles in the air with his smoke. Lily began to cough.

  “Claude, you have a choice now. You can redeem yourself,” Ari said calmly. “We understand why you did what you did.”

  The usually composed Claude Barbin had tears forming in her eyes. “It’s too late, Ari.” She looked over to Remy and then to Khalid. “Please, just let my friends leave the room, you double-crossing jackass.”

  Khalid laughed. “Claude, I’m disappointed in you. You’ve always been so tough. You’ve always put your mind to it, and sometimes used your body to acquire what you needed without any consequence. Apparently, it is time to pay up.” His eyes ravished her as though she were a piece of meat.

  Lily’s eyes locked with Claude’s. Her new friend mouthed I’m sorry as the tears fell on her cheeks.

  Ari looked toward Dev. He knew they both had guns, but in this tight space it wasn’t wise to push Remy. Dev’s face and body were relaxed. This was the Major Pierce he knew. Without any words between them, they were developing a plan. Already, the new husband had managed to tuck Lily near a bookcase away from the line of fire.

  “I know you, don’t I?” Khalid asked calmly as he took a couple of steps near the desk. He was directing his question to Dev, but he was also looking past him at Lily. He knew exactly who the American was, and he knew his wife as well. But this game was amusing.

  “Yes. It’s been a few years.”

  “Ah, Afghanistan.”

  “And Syria,” Dev added.

  “You have a brother who has been on my trail. He is like a hound dog. He is currently very busy with the Ambassador, thanks to Remy. But he is very tenacious. As I recall, you were as well.” He touched Ari’s back. “And this one is too. Have you joined together? Have you formed your own private detective business? It’s a shame, Ari, that you just have never been as good as the others. It must be your pedigree, or lack of it.”

  Ari laughed. “Oh, mon Dieu, I’ve embraced the fact that I’m a mutt. As for Pierce, I can’t stand the man. He plays by the rules and always does the right thing. We idiots tend to not play well with others.” Lily heard the sudden deadly tone. He flashed a smile and looked over the desk. “Are the diamonds in that little bag, Claude? I’d love to see them.”

  Lily was holding her breath. What was Ari doing, and where was Albert with the cavalry?

  Claude pushed them near him. Ari winked at Dev. “Diamonds have such movement in the light. I’ll just take a little peak.”

  Dev shoved Lily back farther into the wall in anticipation of what was to come. Her elbow banged into a bookcase. As soon as Ari grabbed the bag and looked inside, he threw it at Remy’s gun, and Dev tackled Khalid to the floor, punching him out in one blow. By the time Dev rose up, Ari had Remy disarmed and in an arm hold. Claude fell into her chair, but came up with the dislodged gun. Lily was in an action movie. She stayed in position, taking it all in. She was just happy that for once she wasn’t the bait.

  “Claude, could you call security, or are they involved in this too?” Dev yelled. “Where the hell is my brother?”

  The door was pushed open, guards rushed in, and Jackson finally arrived. Albert was at his side. He smiled at Lily. “I brought them, Lily.”

  Lily sighed. “Thank you, my friend.” She much preferred her friend to the ones she saw in front of her. You needed a program just to keep track of who you might want to trust. Claude began to explain, but Ari told his own story, in fluent French. His story had Remy as a madman, someone who just broke. Perhaps he had been overworked. Whoever thought an embassy official was overworked? Lily had to laugh at that one. In the meantime, a guard helped Khalid up into the chair and checked his jaw. Lily remained stuck to the bookcase. She watched the scene play out in front of her.

  Dev glanced in her direction several times as he talked on his phone to someone. He winked once, hoping to quell her fear. Lily faintly smiled. What had she gotten herself into? Would her world be this crazy for the rest of her life? Was it too late to get an annulment? She’d call Father Dan as soon as possible.

  No, you won’t Lily! This is more excitement than you’ve ever had, and you’re doing it dressed in a designer gown.

  Lily heard voices down the hallway. She glanced out and saw two Marines surrounding a man in a tux. There were more men behind them. They weren’t all going to fit in this small office.

  “Which one of you is Agent Pierce?” The formally dressed gentleman looked around the room. He glanced back at Lily and smiled. She was now clinging to her new friend, the bookcase. She would name it Benny.

  “I am, sir.”

  He nodded in Dev’s direction. “I’ve heard a lot about you from your brother. I’m Ambassador Tillman. The Marines will take Remy off your hands. We have been watching him for months now, and INTERPOL wants to talk to him as well.”

  “The Ambassador happened to be at the gala tonight, lucky for us,” Jackson Pierce explained as he pushed his way forward. “And he always brings in the Marines.”

  “I’ve never seen anyone arrested by full-dressed Marines. Very classy,” Ari stated. “Of course, you Americans always know how to make an entrance. It’s a little John Wayne, don’t you think?”

  Jackson glared at Ari. “And the Mossad doesn’t do drama?”

  “We are usually stealth-like. You never see us coming.”

  Lily rolled her eyes. Ari saw her expression and winked. There was just too much testosterone in this tiny room. Lily breathed in deeply. It was all just too much. She would attempt invisibility by turning to face the wall of the room.

  Her attempt at a vacation in her mind was definitely not working. She turned to breathe in more air. She hadn’t felt like this since the time she was stuck in a hotel elevator with a wedding photographer, a portable bar, and one unfortunate guest of the bride. Oh, and she was carrying two boxes of flowers! Abby wasn’t going to believe what happened tonight. But tonight there were just too many people in this small room.

  She watched Dev do his thing, Ari continued quibbling with Jackson, the Ambassador was checking his watch, and the Marines were holding Remy tightly. Claude remained seated in her chair, her head in her hands. The terrorist in the corner had been revived and was mending his jaw. He was showing a paper to one of the museum’s security guards. The guard was nodding and extending an arm out to guide him from the room.

  “Wait a minute. Where is he going?” Dev asked loudly. “This man is wanted by so many people, and he is suspected in a shooting last night.”

  “We can’t hold him, sir. He has diplomatic privileges, and he is a guest of the President of France. He is also a benefactor of the museum.”

  Ari’s smile faded as he joined Dev in blocking Khalid’s exit. “He is a murderer and terrorist.” Ari’s entire demeanor changed in a second. He was no longer a clown in a sharp tux. Lily was fearful of this Ari.

  The guard continued to shake his head. “Please, look at his papers.” He extended the document to Ari and Dev. Dev read it quickly and passed it to Ari.

  “I can’t believe it, but there is nothing we can do.”

  Ari shook his head. “So, he is free again?”

  Khalid grabbed the document. “Still. Still free and there is nothing you two can do about it. Again. I will not press charges against this man, but we will meet again.”

  Ari managed a smile as he came close to his nemesis. He whispered so only Khalid could hear. “We will meet again, in some dark al
ley. I’ll be the one you see when you take your last breath.”

  Khalid threw his head back with a peculiar laugh that filled the room. “Such the drama queen, Ari. I’ve been so close to your family, your sister in Paris and before that, well you remember Tel Aviv.”

  Ari held up his hands in front of him, as if to surrender. “I do remember. That was many years ago, and yet I can describe every detail of that day. And that is why I will never forget what you have done to so many.”

  Khalid moved closer to the door, but turned to face Ari once more as if he had remembered a parting thought. “Your little girl was so beautiful, and she had those curls down her back. I’m sure you think of her often, but I remember your wife. I’ll never forget her beauty, how captivating she was, so alluring.”

  Before Khalid could continue Dev grabbed the surging Ari by the waist. “Don’t. He’s just trying to hurt you.”

  “He is succeeding,” Ari admitted through grinding teeth.

  “Don’t let him ever succeed in anything. That’s how we will take him down,” Dev assured him.

  Khalid looked over at Lily. “Perhaps I will come to America to visit. It would be so nice to see old friends. I believe there were four of you, no there were five.” He glanced in Claude’s direction and then turned his attention back to Lily. “Yes, the fifth was killed. Apparently, it is very dangerous to be friends with all of you. Be careful, madame.”

  The Marines pushed to exit the room with Remy.

  Khalid stopped them to pat their captive on the shoulder. “You are a sad man. Good riddance and goodbye.”

  Lily watched as Remy seemed to wince from Khalid’s hand on his shoulder. Something was very odd about that. She stepped back as Khalid came closer to her.

  As he exited, he looked toward Lily and smiled. “Mrs. Pierce, I believe, it was a pleasure. Hopefully, we will have more time when we meet again.”

  Dev moved his body in between his wife and the terrorist. “You need to leave now.”

  Khalid nodded and pushed his way out of the room.

  “Dev, just let it go,” Jackson said as he came to the other side of Lily.

  “Just let the man go who killed hundreds of Americans, killed my friends, and women, and children? He killed Tom, he killed Ari’s wife, and daughter. This time I will, Jackson. I can’t promise anything the next time.”

  Lily slid her arms around her husband and buried her face into his tux coat. “When can we leave?”

  “Soon,” Dev whispered as he held her.

  “And you’ll throw your life away if you go after Khalid,” Jackson muttered.

  “Jackson, you will never know and neither will Khalid. If he comes after Lily, I will end him. No one will ever know.”

  “I may get to him before you, Dev,” Ari said as he slid near Lily. She patted his shoulder. My, there was a story with this one. His pain was still so fresh.

  Dev looked at the team before him. Lily was his sidekick, but Ari and Jackson were an unusual pair who needed to be dressed down. “You two owe me a very large explanation. I feel like I’ve been played during this elaborate game you developed. I don’t like it. I’ll be debriefed at the United States Embassy tomorrow and if I find out you put Lily in danger, there will be hell to pay. My only consolation, and it is a sick one, is your game has ended, and you just allowed Khalid to walk out as a free man.”

  Lily looked up into Dev’s face. His voice had been different, so very cold. She didn’t take his words as threats, she understood them as promises of what would happen.

  Jackson shook his head. Dev never did understand him. He turned to the Ambassador and in minutes the man and the museum’s guards were gone. Ari, Claude, Dev, Jackson and Lily remained. Lily could breathe again.

  “I bet the Ambassador is hitting the crab claws.” Ari was attempting to lighten the mood. He could see the vein in Dev’s neck pulsating. “Lily, we should hit the dessert buffet.”

  Lily remained in Dev’s arms, but she pulled away slightly to look up at her husband. She saw someone alien to her. She didn’t doubt that he would kill for her, to protect her. She looked beyond Dev’s arm to faintly smile at the ever-charming Ari.

  “If we leave now, we could pick up a couple chocolate mousse puff tarts,” Lily joked.

  “Yes, the ones with the little raspberries on top?” Ari asked.

  “That’s the ones.”

  Lily saw Claude feign a smile. Her very thin hand wiped away more tears and half of her mascara. Lily thought she looked like a broken woman, no respect remaining, left in fear and abandoned by truth and pride.

  The new Mrs. Pierce pulled out of her husband’s arms and walked over to her French friend. She pulled a tissue from her small clutch and began to wipe Claude’s face clean. “That’s much better. Now you look like my friend.”

  Claude breathed out, stood and grabbed Lily in a hug. “I’m so sorry for ever placing you in danger. I was foolish. Remy began threatening me, and so I brought him in. Bernard was difficult enough, and so I brought Jackson into the operation. He brought in Ari. The FBI and INTERPOL thought they could use the tulip bowl as bait to pull Khalid out of the shadows, but then Remy and he began to work together. There was another man I never met. He is the muscle and the organizer. It all went to hell when Khalid had diplomatic privileges. I was reckless all for what, art? An old piece of pottery?”

  She stopped explaining to look at Dev with pleading eyes. “I was in over my head. I couldn’t place Lily and you in danger, but once you told me he was on your plane, I thought you could help with Bernard. Jackson’s idea to bait Khalid gave me a way out.”

  Dev’s voice filled the room. “It seems as though you’ve been reckless for a long time. You’ve cost people their lives.”

  Lily and Claude faced each other eye-to-eye. “You’ve told him.”

  “Yes,” Lily whispered. “But I have a feeling they all know.”

  “Then I must face them.” Claude kissed Lily on each cheek and turned to face the remaining three men. “I did what I did. I was saving art; I was saving history. I won’t deny what I did. I can’t bring Tom back. I wish I could.”

  “His parents were devastated when they heard how he died,” Dev shouted.

  “Then you will tell them the truth now, and you will have his record changed. I know you. You will do that.”

  Ari smirked. Devlin Pierce, always the boyscout.

  “I can’t, damn you. They are both dead now. They died thinking their son was a drug user, that he basically committed suicide. I understand saving remnants of early civilizations but not at the expense of live human beings of the present and those of the future.” Dev’s voice was clear and full of emotion.

  “I can’t undo what I’ve done.”

  “No, but you can stop what is going on in this museum tonight. All the drugs--why did you allow all of that?”

  Claude’s eyes grew wide. “What are you talking about?”

  Before Dev could continue, Lily stepped in. “We found drugs in the pillars, and in the urns with the flowers.”

  “I don’t understand.” Claude fell back into her chair in disbelief.

  “I checked another pillar down the hallway after Ari told me what Lily discovered. It has packages of something stuck up the inner layer,” Jackson added. “I was going to confront you after the gala.”

  “Seriously, I know nothing.”

  Lily sat on the edge of the desk by Claude and opposite Ari. She could see his little deviant mind at work.

  “So, Claude, if you know nothing about all of this, who planned the flowers and the decor,” Ari questioned softly.

  “Well, I turned all that over to Henri, my assistant.”

  Ari smiled. “Ah, the one who is always in the background. He may be Khalid’s little spy. And who, and why was Khalid invited?”

  Claude nodded. “Mon Dieu. Bernard and Henri suggested he be invited. Henri knew Khalid in Beirut years ago. Bernard mentioned he knew Khalid through the Notte family’s co
nnection to the tulip bowl.”

  Ari looked up to Dev. “You know what I’m thinking, don’t you, boy scout?”

  “It was never about all of this. It’s about that old bowl. Bernard could always get him the bowl and just hand it to him, but Khalid always liked a show, and what better way to ship in millions in drugs?”

  “With Khalid, it is always about something else. He had to try to kill Bernard. The man knows too much of Khalid’s plans.” Ari hit his head in frustration.

  “And Bernard discovered the tulip bowl, probably with the help of one of Khalid’s associate’s help. After the plan was struck, Bernard brought the bowl to UNESCO’s attention, to Claude’s,” Jackson added. “He is going after the damn artifact. Claude, you and I will be discussing your little operation later, but right now we need to alert those guards.”

  Claude picked up her phone and began to direct security back to the viewing area.

  “Will he do it in front of everyone?” Lily looked over to the three men who all answered a resounding “yes”.

  “And he’ll get away with it because we are schmucks,” Ari added.

  “Hmm, schmuck? Hebrew, Yiddish or Arabic?” Lily smiled.

  “American. I’m beginning to talk like them. Pretty soon I’ll be saying y’all. I’m continuing to practice, Lily.”

  Dev finally unclenched his fists, and his vein diminished in size. “You will never say y’all. If you ever do, I’ll hit you.”

  “Frankly, Pierce, you have become more aggressive than I remember. It must be something acquired after you marry, n’est-ce pas?”

  “They have the bowl surrounded. There are now two layers of guards and some of the guests are suspicious.” Claude laid her phone down on the desk to wait for the next move.

  “Let them be suspicious. I’m going down there,” Jackson announced. “Anyone else? Claude, I suggest you remain here.”

  “I’m in,” Ari added. “I’d like to see how the other Pierce works.” He patted Dev’s shoulder. “This one has become so mean.”