Honour Among Thieves

You can both see for yourself the task I face.' Without warning, Dollar Bill folded his napkin, rose from the table leaving his half-finished stew, and walked out of the room. His companions jumped up and quickly followed him across to the west wing without another word being spoken. After they had climbed a small flight of stone steps they entered Dollar Bill's makeshift study. On an architect's drafting board below a bright light rested the parchment. Both men walked across the room, stood over the board and studied the completed script. It had been inscribed above a large empty space covered in tiny pencil crosses that awaited the fifty-six signatures. Scott stared in admiration at the work. 'But why didn't you . . .' 'Take up a proper occupation?' asked Dollar Bill, anticipating the question. 'And have ended up as a schoolmaster in Wexford, or perhaps have climbed to the dizzy heights of being a councillor in Dublin? No, sir, I would prefer the odd stint in jail rather than be considered by my fellow men as mediocre.' 'How many days before you have to leave us, young man?' Dexter Hutchins asked Scott. 'Kratz phoned this afternoon,' Scott replied, turning to face the Deputy Director. 'He says they caught the Trelleborg-Sassnitz ferry last night. They're now heading south, hoping to cross the Bosphorus by Monday morning.' 'Which means they should be at the border with Iraq by next Wednesday.' 'The perfect time of year to be sailing the Bosphorus,' said Dollar Bill. 'Especially if you hope to meet a rather remarkable girl when you reach the other side,' he added, looking up at Scott. 'So, I'd better have the Declaration finished by Monday, hadn't I, Professor?' 'At the latest,' said Hutchins as Scott stared down at the little Irishman. when AL obaydi ARRIVED back in Paris he collected his bags from the twenty-four-hour storage depot, then joined the queue for a taxi. He gave the driver an address, without saying it was the Iraqi annexe to the Jordanian Embassy - one of the tips in Miss Saib's 'do's and don'ts' in Paris. He hadn't warned the staff at the embassy that he would be arriving that day. He wasn't officially due to take up his appointment for another fortnight, and he would have gone straight on to Jordan that evening if there had been a connecting flight. Once he had realised who Mr Riffat was, he knew he would have to get back to Baghdad as quickly as possible. By reporting direct to the Foreign Minister, he would have gone through the correct channels. This would protect his position, while at the same time guaranteeing that the President knew exactly who was responsible for alerting him to a possible attempt on his life, and which Ambassador, however closely related, had left several stones unturned. The taxi dropped Al Obaydi outside the annexe to the embassy in Neuilly. He pulled his cases out of the back without any help from the driver, who remained seated obstinately behind the wheel of his car. The embassy front door opened just an inch, and was then flung wide, and a man of about forty came running down the steps towards him, followed by two girls and a younger man. 'Excellency, Excellency,' the first man exclaimed. 'I am sorry, you must forgive me, we had no idea you were coming.' The younger man grabbed the two large cases and the girls took the remaining three between them. Al Obaydi was not surprised to learn that the first man down the steps was Abdul Kanuk. 'We were told you would be arriving in two weeks' time, Excellency. We thought you were still in Baghdad. I hope you will not feel we have been discourteous.' Al Obaydi made no attempt to interrupt the non-stop flow of sycophancy that came pouring out, feeling the man must eventually run out of steam. In any case, Kanuk was not a man to get on the wrong side of on his first day. 'Would Your Excellency like a quick tour of our quarters while the maid unpacks your bags?' As there were questions Al Obaydi felt only this man could answer, he took advantage of the offer. Not only did he get the guided tour from the Chief Administrator, but he was also subjected to a stream of uninterrupted gossip. He stopped listening after only a few minutes; he had far more important things on his mind. He soon longed to be shown to his own room and left alone to be given a chance to think. The first flight to Jordan was not until the next morning, and he needed to prepare in his mind how he would present his findings to the Foreign Minister. It was while