Portrait of a Spy

thirty-five-hour workweek, their global warming, and their annual six-week vacation in the south. What boggles the mind is why you choose to live among them.”
    “Because once upon a time they actually believed in God, and their faith inspired them to paint like angels.”
    “That’s true,” Shamron said. “But faith in God now resides almost exclusively in the jihadis. Unfortunately, it’s a faith that was born of Wahhabi intolerance and fed by Saudi money. After 9/11, the Saudis promised to put an end to the incitement that gave rise to Bin Laden and al-Qaeda. But now, just ten years later, Saudi money is once again fueling the hatred, with scarcely a word of protest from the Americans.”
    “They’ve managed to convince themselves that the Saudis are an important ally in the fight against terrorism.”
    “They’re delusional,” Shamron said. “But it’s not entirely their fault. Oil isn’t the only thing flowing from Saudi Arabia to the West. There’s also a great deal of intelligence in the pipeline. The Saudi GID is constantly tipping off the CIA and the European services about potential plots and suspicious individuals. Occasionally, the tips contain actionable intelligence, but most of it is complete and utter crap.”
    “You’re not actually suggesting,” Gabriel said sardonically, “that Saudi intelligence is playing the same old double game of combating the jihadists while at the same time supporting them?”
    “That’s exactly what I’m suggesting. And the Americans are so economically weak at the moment they’re in no position to do anything about it.”
    The teakettle began to hiss. Gabriel filled the press with boiling water and stood over it while waiting for the coffee to steep. He glanced at Shamron. The dour expression on his face made it abundantly clear he was still thinking about the Americans.
    “Every American administration has its buzzwords. This one likes to speak in terms of equity . They’re constantly reminding us of the equity they have invested across the Middle East. They have equity in Iraq, equity in Afghanistan, and equity in maintaining a stable price of oil. At the moment, we don’t count for much on the American balance sheet. But if you succeed in neutralizing Rashid’s network . . .”
    “It might add a bit of much-needed equity to our account.”
    Shamron nodded grimly. “That doesn’t mean, however, that we have to conduct ourselves like a wholly owned subsidiary of the CIA. In fact, the prime minister is adamant that we use this opportunity to take care of some unfinished business.”
    “Like Malik al-Zubair?”
    Shamron nodded.
    “Something tells me you knew Malik was involved in this from the beginning.”
    “Let’s just say I had a strong suspicion that might be the case.”
    “So when Adrian Carter asked me to come to Washington—”
    “I set aside my usual misgivings and agreed without hesitation.”
    “How generous of you,” said Gabriel. “So why are you worried now?”
    “Nadia.”
    “She was your idea.”
    “Maybe I was wrong. Maybe she’s been fooling us all these years. Maybe she’s more like her father than we think.” He paused, then added, “Maybe we should cut her loose and find someone else.”
    “That person doesn’t exist.”
    “So forge him,” Shamron said. “I hear you’re quite good at that.”
    “It’s not possible, and you know it.”
    Gabriel carried the coffee to the table and poured out two cups. Shamron dumped sugar into his and stirred it thoughtfully for a moment.
    “Even if Nadia al-Bakari agrees to work for you,” Shamron said, “you will have no means of keeping her under discipline. We have our traditional methods. Kesef , kavod , kussit —money, respect, sex. Nadia al-Bakari has no need for any of those things. Therefore, she cannot be controlled.”
    “Then I suppose we’ll just have to trust each other.”
    “ Trust? ” Shamron asked. “I’m sorry, Gabriel, but I’m not familiar with that word.” He drank some of his coffee and grimaced. “There’s an old proverb that I’m particularly fond of. It says the veil that hides the future from us is woven by an angel of mercy. Unfortunately, there’s no veil that can shield us from our past. It’s filled with ghosts. The ghosts of loved ones. The ghosts of enemies. They’re with us always. They’re here with us now.” His rheumy blue eyes searched the tiny kitchen for a moment before settling again on Gabriel. “Perhaps