CHAPTER SIXTEEN

"Mags? Did I wake you?"

"Wake me? Ellie, it's three a.m. Yes, you woke me. Are you alright? Is something wrong?" Ellie could hear shuffling in the background and someone asking if everything was okay.

"Who's with you?"

"Oh, it's Walker. He's staying in the guest room." Ellie frowned, realizing that her sister wasn't in the place for Walker to be near her or in her bed. That made her sad, but she was thrilled that Walker was sticking it out with her.

"Mags, I need you to think about everything and everyone you came in contact with when you arrived here. I think you saw someone that you weren't supposed to see."

"I don't know, Ellie. I mean, I was so jet-lagged when I arrived at the hotel I don't remember much. The commander of the Egyptian Guard picked me up and brought me to the hotel. He was very nice to me. I've worked with him before. He brought my bags in and told me they'd pick me up in the morning. I checked into my room, the bellman brought the bags up, and I showered and went to sleep."

"Okay, what about the next morning."

"Usual routine. Reviewed my notes, got dressed and went downstairs for breakfast and to wait for my ride."

"Who else was in the restaurant?" asked Leif. Mags looked at him and smiled, nodding her head toward the screen.

"I didn't get a chance to say thank you, Leif. Thank you for carrying me out of there."

"My pleasure, honey."

"Who else? I mean, there was a tour group with mostly older people from the states. A small group of Japanese tourists. There just wasn't anyone remarkable. Wait. I got up to use the restroom, and I was so focused on my lecture for the day I bumped into a woman. I didn't think anything of it. She looked familiar to me, but honestly, I just wanted to do my business and get to the car."

"Do you remember what she looked like?" asked Ellie.

"I remembered who she was. Later, I mean. I kept thinking I should have stopped and talked to her for a while. We'd met at a training I did in Saudi Arabia." They all stared at one another, then back at the screen of the tablet.

"Mags, this is important, honey. Who was it?" asked Garr.

"Princess Aasma Farah Halima Al Saud."

"Holy shit. That's her. That's the one we're after," said Forrest.

"This is not good," said Elena. "The princess, Farah as she prefers, is known to have psychological issues. Her family tried hiding it for years, then just sort of let her do her own thing. She wasn't hurting anyone, just spending a lot of money. It makes me wonder if her family is aware of what she's doing."

"I can check on that," said Walker. "I'll get with the team and see if someone from the State Department has a connection to them."

"Sorry I woke you, Mags. Are you doing alright?" asked her sister.

"I-I'm trying," she whispered. "I just can't forget their hands, their faces…"

"It's going to be okay, Mags. Let the team there help you, and trust Walker, sweetie. You know that he loves you."

"I know. Be careful, Ellie. If they think you're me, you could be in trouble, even with that awful red hair."

Ellie ended the call with her sister and then decided to call Maddie. She was probably up already, getting ready for her morning run.

"I knew you were going to call me," she said, answering the tablet. "Hi, everyone. Hello, Forrest. Still not speaking to me?"

"I'm speaking to you now, Maddie," he said with a straight face.

"I wasn't ignoring you. I've told you that. I was working a case and needed for that guy to think I was actually interested in him."

"I get it."

"Can we do this later?" asked Ellie. "Maddie, what have you heard about the Saudi princess, Farah?"

"Oh, shit. You mean bat-crap-crazy Aasma?"

"Damn," muttered Leif. "Is she that bad?"

"She tried to kill her own mother when she was thirteen. At seventeen, she wanted her father to behead all of her classmates because they wouldn't bow and kiss her feet. At twenty-three she told them all she was going to make Saudi Arabia the most powerful nation in the Middle East by taking over all the other nations." Maddie stared at them. "Damn. That's what she's doing, isn't she?"

"We think she believes she is the direct descendant of a queen of Egypt," said Elena. Maddie smiled at the woman, then looked at the faces of all her friends.

"Friend of yours, Major?"

"Knock it off, Maddie," said Leif. "She's a friend of all of ours but has been helping us as a favor to May and Thomas."

"Sorry, I meant nothing by it. I'm tired, that's all. Listen, if she's there stirring up shit, I'm going to bet that her family doesn't know about it and hasn't sanctioned it. So far, she's been fairly harmless but just spends a boatload of money."

"She couldn't possibly believe that she could wander around Egypt and not be recognized," said Elena.

"She might believe that. She's not totally all there if you know what I mean. Look, I never know the relationships of the Saudi family and how they fit. Which child belongs to which wife or which prince but I'll check on that for you. All I can say is that if she's planning something, she's deranged enough to believe it will work and rich enough to make it work. She could hire anyone to help her for the money she has available to her."

"What if her father cut off her funds?" said Ellie.

"No," said Maddie, shaking her head. "She has her own money, her own funds. They could cut her off from the family's wealth, but she has wealth of her own. That wouldn't work. Your only hope is to stop whatever it is she's trying to do."

"She's trying to prove that she is the rightful ruler of Egypt," said Elena.

"Well, that seems normal," smirked Maddie. "Can she prove that?"

"If she has DNA from a mummified queen and can somehow prove she is a direct descendant, yes. But there is no royalty in Egypt any longer. It wouldn't matter from a ruling standpoint. The other thing is that our people have been marrying across borders for thousands of years. Any number of women might be able to prove that they're related to a queen."

"Yes, but this one is powerful enough, rich enough, to make it happen. Have you spoken to Em?" asked Maddie. She noticed that Sebastian stood a little straighter and smiled. "You guys are really dense; do you know that? Just call her, Sebastian. But for now, Ellie, call her. The bureau doesn't have a lot to do with international events, but our baby sister is the smartest of us all. She might know something."

"Thanks, Maddie," smiled Ellie.

"Hey, have you spoken to Mags?" she said quietly.

"We spoke a few minutes ago. She seems okay."

"Yeah, but I don't think okay is good enough. Walker is being a saint, from what Mom said. We need to get home to her, El."

"I know. As soon as this is done, we're headed home, or at least I am." Leif looked at her, kissing her forehead.

"I'm headed home after this, too," said Leif.

"Good. That's good," she smiled, nodding at the screen. She stared directly at Forrest, then the screen went black.

Ellie immediately dialed her other sister.

"Emelia Stanton."

"Em, it's me. Us."

"Damn, you're calling early."

"And yet you're up," she smiled. "How are you?"

"I'm alright. Trying to figure out a few things related to Mags."

"Well, listen to what we've found," said Ellie. They spoke for a few minutes, Emelia taking notes as they did. She looked up at one point, saw Sebastian's face, and smiled.

"Hi, Sebastian."

"Hi, Em."

"You guys are really pathetic," smirked Brix. "Just get it over with already."

"Shut up," growled Sebastian.

"Listen, you've got your hands full there. I'll see if anyone has anything we can use here. You might reach out to Sira. I mean, she was a princess in her province. Maybe she knows someone who knows someone."

"That's a good idea. She's been gone from that region a long time, but you never know."

"When you're done there, El, let's all go home. Together. Mags needs us."

"I know, honey. We were just saying that to Maddie. Be careful, Em. Just in case someone there is helping with all of this. You know how these things work."

"Believe me, I'm aware," she smirked. She smiled at everyone. "I miss you all. I especially miss you, Sebastian. I miss our long talks and short walks." She laughed, and he nodded, smiling at her.

"Come home, Em. I'll be there."