‘You could have sold me, sold my name for a price.’
‘For what? My life? For the lives of those I used to track you, men who are important to me and the work I do—work I think has real value which I tried to explain to you in Bahrain? You really believe that?’
‘Oh, Jesus, I don’t know what to believe!’ admitted Evan, expelling his breath and shaking his head. ‘Everything I wanted to do, everything I’d planned, has been thrown out in the garbage. Ahmat doesn’t want to see me again, I can’t go back—there or anywhere else in the Emirates or the Gulfs. He’ll see to it.’
‘You wanted to go back?’
‘More than anything. I wanted to take up my life again where I did my best work. But first I had to find and get rid of a son of a bitch who’d crippled everything, killed for the sake of killing—so many.’
‘The Mahdi,’ interrupted Rashad, nodding. ‘Ahmat told me. You did it. Ahmat’s young and he’ll change. In time he’ll understand what you did for everyone over there and be grateful… But you just answered a question. You see, I thought that you might have blown the story yourself, but you didn’t, did you?’
‘Me? You’re out of your mind! I’m getting out of here in six months!’
‘There’s no political ambition, then?’
‘Christ, no! I’m packing it in, I’m leaving! Only now I have nowhere to go. Someone’s trying to stop me, making me into something I’m not. What the hell is happening to me?’
‘Offhand I’d say you were being exhumed.’
‘Being what? By whom?
‘By someone who thinks you were slighted. Someone who believes you deserve public acclaim, prominence.’
‘Which I don’t want! And the President isn’t helping. He’s awarding me the Medal of Freedom next Tuesday in the goddamned Blue Room with the whole Marine Band! I told him I didn’t want it, and the son of a bitch said I had to show up because he refused to look like a “chintzy bastard”. What kind of reasoning is that?
‘Very presidential…’ Rashad suddenly stopped. ‘Let’s walk,’ she said quickly as two white-suited members of the staff appeared at the base of the dock. ‘Don’t look around. Be casual. We’ll just stroll down this poor excuse for a beach.’
‘May I talk?’ asked Kendrick as he fell in step.
‘Not anything germane. Wait till we get around the bend.’
‘Why? Can they hear us?’
‘Possibly. I’m not really sure.’ They followed the curve of the shoreline until the trees obscured the two men on the dock. ‘The Japanese have developed directional relays, although I’ve never seen one,’ continued Rashad aimlessly. Then she stopped again and looked up at Evan, her intelligent eyes questioning. ‘You spoke to Ahmat?’ she asked.
‘Yesterday. He told me to go to hell but not to go back to Oman. Ever.’
‘You understand that I’ll check with him, don’t you?’
Evan was suddenly astonished, then angry. She was questioning him, accusing him, checking up on him. ‘I don’t give damn what you do, my only concern is what you may have done. You’re convincing, Kahlehla—excuse me, Miss Rashad—and you may believe what you say, but the six men who knew about me had everything to lose and not a goddamned thing to gain by saying that I was in Masqat last year.’
‘And I had nothing to lose but my life and the lives of those I’ve cultivated throughout the sector, some of whom, incidentally, are very dear to me? Stop that tired old argument, Congressman, you sound ridiculous. You’re not only an amateur, you’re insufferable.’
‘You know, it’s possible you could have made a mistake!.’ cried Kendrick, exasperated. ‘I’d almost be willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, I implied as much to Dennison and told him I wouldn’t let him hang you for it.’
‘Oh, you’re too kind, sir.’
‘No, I meant it. You did save my life, and if you made a slip and dropped my name—’
‘Don’t compound your asininity,’ Rashad broke in. ‘It’s far, far more likely that any five of the others might have made a slip like that than either Grayson or myself. We live in the field; we don’t make that kind of mistake.’
‘Let’s walk,’ said Evan, no guards in sight, only his doubts and his confusion forcing him to move. His problem was that he believed her, believed what Manny Weingrass said about her:… she had nothing to do with exposing you… it would only add to her shame and further inflame the crazy world she lives in. And when Kendrick protested that the others couldn’t have, Manny had added: Then there are others beyond others… They came to a rough track that led up through the trees apparently to the stone wall bordering the estate. ‘Shall we explore?’ asked Evan.
‘Why not?’ said Adrienne coldly.
‘Look,’ he continued as they climbed the wooded slope side by side, ‘say I believe you—’
‘Thank you so much.’
‘All right, I do believe you! And because I do I’m going to tell you something that only Swann and Dennison know; the others don’t, at least I don’t think they do.’
‘Are you sure you should?’
‘I need help and they can’t help me. Maybe you can; you were there—with me—and you know so many things I don’t know. How events are kept quiet, how secret information is passed to those who should have it, procedures like that.’
‘I know some, not all by any means. I’m based in Cairo, not here. But go ahead.’
‘Some time ago a man came to see Swann, a blond man with a European accent who had a great deal of information about me—Frank called it PD.’
‘Prior data,’ said Rashad, interrupting. ‘It’s also called “privileged detail”, and usually comes from the vaults.’
‘Vaults? What vaults?’
‘It’s the vernacular for classified intelligence files. Go on.’
‘After impressing Frank, really impressing him, he came right out and made his point. He told Swann that he had concluded that I’d been sent to Masqat by the State Department during the hostage crisis.’
‘What?’ She exploded, her hand on Kendrick’s arm. ‘Who was he?’
‘Nobody knows. No one can find him. The identity he used to get to Frank was false.’
‘Good Christ,’ whispered Rashad as she looked up at the ascending path; bright sunlight broke through the wall of trees above. ‘We’ll stay here for a moment,’ she said quietly, urgently. ‘Sit down.’ They both lowered themselves on to the track surrounded by thick trunks and foliage. ‘And?’ pressed the woman from Cairo.
‘Well, Swann tried to throw him off; he even showed him a note to the Secretary of State that we both mocked up rejecting me. Obviously the man didn’t believe Frank and kept digging, deeper and deeper until he got it all. What came out yesterday morning was so accurate it could only have come from the Oman file—from the vaults, as you call them.’
‘I know that,’ whispered Rashad, her anger indelibly mixed with fear. ‘My God, someone was reached!’
‘One of the seven—six? he amended quickly.
‘Who were they? I don’t mean Swann and his OHIO-Four-Zero computer man, but apart from Dennison, Grayson and me?’
‘The secretaries of State and Defense, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.’
‘None of them could even be approached.’
‘What about the computer man? His name is Bryce, Gerald Bryce, and he’s young. Frank swore by him but that’s only his judgment.’
‘I doubt it. Frank Swann’s a bastard, but I don’t think he could be fooled that way. Someone like Bryce is the first person you’d think of, and if he’s smart enough to run that kind of operation, he knows it. He also knows he could face thirty years in Leavenworth.’
Evan smiled. ‘I understand Dennison threatened you with five years there.’
‘I told him it was a men’s prison,’ said Adrienne, responding with a grin.
‘So did I,’ said Kendrick, laughing.
‘So then I said if he had any more goodies in store for me, I wouldn’t get in Cleopatra’s barge, never mind the government car.’
‘Why did you get in?’
‘Sheer curiosity. It’s the only answer I can give you.’
‘I accept it… So where are we? The seven are out and a blond European is in.’
‘I don’t know.’ Suddenly Rashad touched his arm again. ‘I’ve got to ask you some questions, Evan—’
‘Evan? Thank you.’
‘I’m sorry. Congressman. That was a slip.’
‘Don’t be, please. I think we’re entitled to first names.’
‘Now you stop—’
‘But do you mind if I call you Khalehla? I’m more comfortable with it.’
‘So am I. The Arab part of me has always resented the deniability of Adrienne.’
‘Ask your questions—Khalehla.’
‘At least you’re not pronouncing it “Cawleyla”… All right. When did you decide to come to Masqat? Considering the circumstances and what you were able to do, you were late getting there.’