Honour Among Thieves

afternoon, Professor Bradley,' she said when Scott stood up. But she took a seat on the other side of Dexter Hutchins, and informed him that the Secretary of State would be joining them in a few moments. 'So how are the Orioles doing?' Scott asked, leaning forward and looking straight across at Susan, trying not to stare at her slim shapely legs. Susan blushed. From some file, Scott had recalled that she was a baseball fan, and when she wasn't accompanying the Secretary of State abroad, she never missed a game. Scott knew only too well that they had lost their last three matches. 'Doing about as well as Georgetown did in the NCAAs,' came back her immediate reply. Scott could think of no suitable reply. Georgetown had failed to make the national tournament for the first time in years. 'Fifteen all,' said Dexter, who was obviously enjoying sitting on the high stool between them. The door suddenly swung open and Warren Christopher entered the room accompanied by the Prime Minister of Israel, and followed by officials from both countries. They split down each side of the long table, taking their places according to seniority. When the Secretary of State reached his seat at the centre of the table, in front of the American flag, he spotted Scott for,the first time, and nodded an acknowledgement of his presence. Once everyone was settled, the Secretary of State opened the meeting with a predictably banal speech of welcome, most of which could have been used for anyone from Yeltsin to Mitterrand. The Prime Minister of Israel responded in kind. For the next hour they discussed a report on the meeting in Norway between representatives of the Israeli government and the PLO. Rabin expressed his conviction that an agreement was progressing satisfactorily, but it remained vital that any further exchanges should continue in the utmost secrecy, as he feared that if his political opponents in Jerusalem got to hear of it, they could still scupper the whole plan before he was ready to make a public announcement. Christopher nodded his agreement, and said it would be appreciated by the State Department if any such announcement could be made in Washington. Rabin smiled, but made no concession. The game of poker had begun. If he was to deliver the Americans such a public relations coup, he would expect something major in return. Only one more hand remained to be dealt before the home team discovered what that 'something' was. It was during 'any other business' that Rabin raised the subject no one had anticipated. The Prime Minister circled around the problem for a few minutes, but Scott could see exactly where he was heading. Christopher was obviously being given the opportunity, if he wanted it, to kill any discussion stone dead before Rabin raised it officially. Scott scribbled a note on a piece of paper and passed it over to Susan. She read his words, nodded, leaned across and placed the note on the blotting pad in front of the Secretary of State. He unfolded the single sheet, glanced at the contents but showed no sign of surprise. Scott assumed that Christopher had also worked out the size of the bombshell that was about to be dropped. The Prime Minister had switched the discussion to the role of Israel in relation to Iraq, and reminded the Secretary of State three times that they had gone along with the Allied policy on Operation Desert Storm, when it was Tel Aviv and Haifa that were being hit by Scuds, not New York or Little Rock. It amused Scott that at the last meeting Rabin had said 'New York or Kennebunkport'. He went on to say he had every reason to believe that Saddam was, once again, developing a nuclear weapon, and Tel Aviv and Haifa still had to be the first candidates for any warhead. 'Try not to forget, Mr Secretary, that we've already had to take out their nuclear reactors once in the past decade,' the Prime Minister said. 'And if necessary, we'll do so again.' Christopher nodded, but made no comment. 'And were the Iraqis to succeed in developing a nuclear weapon,' continued Rabin, 'no amount of compensation or sympathy would help us this time. And I'm not willing to risk the consequences of that happening to the Israeli people while I'm Prime Minister.' Christopher still offered no opinion. 'For over two years since the Gulf War ended, we have waited for the downfall of Saddam Hussein, either at the hands of his own people or, at least, by some outside influence encouraged by you. As each month goes by, the Israeli