Portrait of a Spy

activities. Apparently, she was something of a reformer.”
    “Is that why you had her killed?”
    Khalid’s face remained expressionless. “Miss al-Bakari was killed by Rashid and Malik.”
    “That’s true,” said Gabriel, “but someone told them she was working for us.”
    “Perhaps they had a source close to your operation.”
    “Or perhaps you did,” Gabriel responded. “Perhaps Rashid and Malik were just pawns, a convenient means of eliminating a grave danger to the House of Saud.”
    “That is mere conjecture on your part.”
    “True,” said Gabriel, “but it’s supported by history. Whenever the al-Saud feel threatened, they turn to the bearded ones.”
    “The bearded ones, as you call them, are more of a threat to us than they are to you.”
    “Then why are you still supporting them? It’s been ten years since 9/11. Ten years ,” Gabriel repeated, “and Saudi Arabia is still a cash machine for terrorists and Sunni extremist groups. There’s only one possible explanation. The deal with the devil has been renewed. The House of Saud is willing to turn a blind eye to Islamic terror as long as the sacred rage is directed outward, away from the oil fields.”
    “We’re not as blind as you think.”
    “I funneled tens of millions of dollars into a Sunni terrorist group in a deal struck on Saudi soil.”
    “Which is why you now find yourself here.”
    “Then I assume Sheikh Bin Tayyib is in custody somewhere in the building as well?”
    Khalid smiled uncomfortably but made no response. He posed a few more questions, none of any significance, then the session was concluded. Afterward, he took the unusual step of walking Gabriel back to his cell. He lingered for a moment in the corridor before unlocking the door. “I’m told the American president has taken an intense personal interest in your case,” he said. “If I had to guess, I’d say your stay with us is almost over.”
    “When am I leaving?”
    “Midnight.”
    “What time is it now?”
    The falcon smiled. “Five past.”
    A fresh suit of clothing had been laid upon the bed in Gabriel’s cell. Khalid gave him a moment of privacy to dress. Then he escorted Gabriel up several flights of stairs to an internal courtyard. An SUV idled in the moonlight. It was large and American, as were the four men standing around it. “I left two things for you in the breast pocket of the suit,” Khalid said quietly as they crossed the courtyard. “One is the bullet that passed through Nadia and struck you. The other is a note for Adrian Carter. Think of it as a small parting gift to help you remember your stay with us.”
    “What is it?”
    “Some information he might find helpful. I’d appreciate it if you kept my name out of it.”
    “Is it any good?”
    “The information? I suppose you’ll just have to trust me.”
    “I’m afraid I’m not familiar with that word.”
    “Didn’t you learn anything from her?” Khalid nodded toward the SUV. “I’d get in quickly, if I were you. His Highness has been known to change his mind.”
    Gabriel shook the Saudi’s hand before surrendering himself to the Americans. They drove at high speed to a military air base north of Riyadh and hustled him onto a waiting Gulfstream. There was an Agency doctor on board; he spent much of the flight pumping fluid into Gabriel’s emaciated body and fretting over the condition of the wound in his side. Finally, he permitted Gabriel to sleep. Tormented by dreams of Nadia’s death, he woke with a start as the plane bumped onto the runway at London City Airport. When the cabin door opened, he saw Chiara and Shamron waiting on the tarmac. He suspected they were the only two people on earth who looked worse than he did.

Chapter 68
The Lizard Peninsula, Cornwall

    S HAMRON SETTLED INTO THE SPARE bedroom. He gave every indication his stay was permanent. The nightmare in the Empty Quarter, he told Chiara, had given him one last mission.
    He appointed himself Gabriel’s personal bodyguard, physician, and grief counselor. He offered advice that was not solicited and suffered his patient’s depression and mood swings in stoic silence. Rarely did he allow Gabriel to stray out of his sight. He stalked him through the rooms of the cottage, walked with him along the sand beach in the cove, and even followed him when he went into the village to do the marketing. Gabriel told the shopkeepers that Shamron was his uncle from Milan. In public, he spoke to Shamron only