Operation Arrakis: Spiderweb by Durandir It was a little less orderly than she would have liked. Becki checked that thought before it was half finished. It was a lot less orderly than she would have liked. They were down several teammates after Crispy's mishap with the medic in Jerusalem; they were acting in haste -- even with all the delays that had tormented Josh since he returned from heaven knew where in Jerusalem, still it seemed to her that they were rushing into battle with little enough to go on. One piece of the shield. That was all they had. That, and the man -- Rouddim -- who'd had it before them. That, and the man -- Khalil -- who bore it now. And now it was all up to Khalil, and to Cheriss's tracking devices tucked into the little guide's waistband. Rouddim had been able to give Terra Group a general idea of the area of Baghdad where they might search for the nameless Boss -- Sahhar, the Magician, he had called him. But, as he had so long ago left Sahhar's fold, he could not say for certain how they would find the Magician's lair, and presumably the shield, nor even if he would still be keeping his headquarters there. But Khalil knew passwords, from when he was a guide for the Boss's men. Becki had been uneasy at the hesitation in the little man's eyes when he had assured them that the codes he knew would buy him a rendezvous with the Boss 's servants. But it was all they had, so they had sent Khalil out with his passwords, and with the shield-piece, and with a story of having won it by treachery from the Terra Group agents that Ajax had ambushed. They just had to hope the treachery would remain mere story. Again she checked the tracker that she carried. The blip that was Khalil had stopped moving. In Baghdad's crowded, unfamiliar streets, it was proving tricky to keep up with him -- but then, the idea was not to keep up too well, lest the enemy to whom he would surrender the shield-piece should suspect that he was being followed. He'd definitely stopped now, she decided. Becki commed Cheriss and Kristy, whose own trackers confirmed it, and then Sci. "Move in," the Major directed the three of them. "Carefully." ~ It was a garden. In a passing thought, Becki found it strange that Sahhar's agents should meet Khalil here, in so green a place. In her mind everything about this Magician was inescapably associated with desert, wild and barren, but this was certainly a garden, not quite a hanging one, but a garden of Baghdad nonetheless. She stood on a footbridge over an artificial stream, just near enough to keep one eye on Khalil and the three others talking with him. Fortunately, the garden seemed a public enough place, if not quite a park; occasionally she saw others passing by along its paths. Kristy and Cheriss hadn't yet arrived, so Becki opted for prudence, waiting, with eyes downcast to look the part of her disguise, but peering out through her eyelashes to maintain her surveillance. She had, when she first caught up to Khalil, made a careful circuit of the area, letting her vidcam transmit images of the surroundings to the Red Home for Sci and Arrek to analyze. She was hoping they'd be able to figure them out quickly. Much as she hated to admit it, for once in her life she was dizzyingly lost. She blamed it on the robes she was obliged to wear; who could get one's bearings behind this bothersome veil? Just then, movement drew her attention. Khalil and his interlocutors were moving away. She watched to see where they would go, but they soon moved behind some of the taller foliage, out of her view. It wouldn't do any good to lose track of Khalil now. Skin prickling with anxiety, she finally gave up her post on the bridge to follow. She turned around the corner, where they had disappeared from view. They were waiting. Somewhere under the black robes was her blaster, but she found in the moment of crisis that she couldn't actually get past the robes quick enough to draw it. Muttering in frustration, she threw herself to the side, out of the path of the first stun blast. There were only three of them, after all; if she could just keep moving long enough, could just get to her blaster -- The second stun blast caught her before she could make further plans. Her last thought, in the moment before her consciousness faded to blend with her robes, was to wonder -- where was Khalil? All she had seen were the three men who'd met him, and a garden in the desert. Of Terra Group's newest spy she had seen no sign.