Honour Among Thieves

Turkish coffee. Once she had closed the door behind her, Al Obaydi rose, had a cold shower - not by choice - and dressed quickly. He then poured the coffee down the washbasin and ignored the toast. The Ambassador left his room and walked down one flight of stairs to his office, where he found the Chief Administrator standing behind his desk. Had he been sitting in his chair a moment before? 'Good morning, Excellency,' he said. 'I hope you had a comfortable night.' Al Obaydi was about to lose his temper, but Kanuk's next question took him by surprise. 'Have you been briefed on the bombings in Baghdad, Excellency?' 'What bombings?' asked Al Obaydi, not pleased to be wrong-footed. 'It seems that at two o'clock this morning the Americans launched several Tomahawk Missiles at Mukhbarat headquarters in the centre of the city.' 'And what was the result?' Al Obaydi asked anxiously. 'A few civilians were killed,' replied the Chief Administrator matter-of-factly, 'but you'll be glad to know that our beloved leader was not in the city at the time.' 'That is indeed good news,' said Al Obaydi. 'But it makes it even more imperative that I return to Baghdad immediately.' 'I have already confirmed your flight reservations, Excellency.' 'Thank you,' said Al Obaydi, staring out of the window at the Seine. Kanuk bowed low. 'I will see that you are met at the airport when you return, Excellency, and that this time everything is fully prepared for your arrival. Meanwhile, I'll go and fetch your passport. If you'll excuse me.' Al Obaydi sat down behind his desk. He wondered how long he would be merely Head of Interest Section in Paris once Saddam learned who had saved his life. you hear anything,' was all he said before putting the phone back down. Cavalli remained at his desk for an hour after his secretary had left, working out what needed to be done next. Tony dialled the number on his private line. The phone was picked up by the Deputy Warden, who confirmed in answer to Cavalli's first question that he was alone. He listened to Cavalli's second question carefully before he replied. 'If Dollar Bill's anywhere to be found in this jailhouse, then he's better hidden than Leona Helmsley's tax returns.' 'But the county court files show him as being registered with you on the night of June 16th.' 'He may have been registered with us, but he sure never showed up,' said the voice on the other end of the line. 'And it doesn't take eight days to get from San Francisco County Court to here, unless they've gone back to chaining cons up and making them walk the whole way. Perhaps that wouldn't be such a bad idea,' he added with a nervous laugh. Cavalli didn't laugh. 'Just be sure you keep your mouth shut and your ears open, and let me know the moment THE SECOND EMERGENCY meeting between the Foreign Minister and his deputy took place on the Tuesday morning, again at short notice. This time it was an unexpected direct call from the President that had both Ministers rushing off to the palace. All Hannah had been able to piece together from the several phone calls that had gone back and forth that morning was that at some point Saddam's half-brother had called from Geneva, and from that moment the Deputy Foreign Minister appeared to forget the report he was preparing on the American bombing of Mukhbarat headquarters. He fled from the room in a panic, leaving secret papers strewn all over his desk. Hannah remained at her desk in the hope that she might pick up some more information as the day progressed. While both Ministers were at the palace, she continued to check through old files, aware that she now had enough material to fill several cabinets at Mossad headquarters, but no one to pass her findings on to. The two Ministers returned from the palace in the late afternoon, and the Deputy Foreign Minister seemed relieved to find Miss Saib was still at her desk. 'I need to make a written report on what was agreed at the meeting this morning with the President,' he said, 'and I cannot overstress the importance of confidentiality in this matter. It would not be an exaggeration to suggest that if anything I am about to tell you became public knowledge, we could both end up in jail, or worse.' 'I hope, Minister,' said Hannah as she put her glasses back on, 'that I have never given you cause for concern in the past.' The Minister stared across at her, and then began dictating at a rapid pace. 'The President invited the Foreign Minister and myself to a