Shadow of the giant

good to send you to me."
    "And good when he gave you to all of the
faithful."
    "Will you say so when I have done all that I mean to
do?"
    "Always," said Ivan. "Always I am your
faithful servant."
    "You are a servant only to God," said Alai.
"To me, you are a friend."
    An hour later, Alai received an email that he knew was from
Petra, despite the innocent signature. It was a request that he pray for a child
that was undergoing an operation at the largest hospital in Beirut at seven
o'clock the next morning. "We will begin our own prayers at five in the
morning," said the letter, "so that dawn will find us praying."
    Alai merely answered, "I will pray for your nephew, and
for all those who love him, that he may live. Let it be as God wills, and we
will rejoice in his wisdom."
    So he would have to go to Beirut. Well, the drive was easy
enough, the problem was doing it without alarming anyone that his enemies had
set to spy on him.
    When he left the palace complex, it was in a garbage truck.
Ivan had protested, but Alai told him, "A Caliph who is afraid to be
filthied on God's errand is unworthy to rule." He was sure this would be
written down and, if he lived, would be included in a book of the wisdom of
Caliph Alai. A book he hoped would be long and worth reading, instead of brief
and embarrassing.
    Dressed as a pious old woman, Alai rode in the back seat of
a little old sedan driven by a soldier in civilian clothes and a false beard
much longer than his real one. If he lost, if he was killed, then the fact that
he dressed this way would be taken as proof that he was never worthy to be
Caliph. But if he won, it would be part of the legend of his cleverness.
    The old woman accepted a wheelchair to take her into the
hospital, pushed by the bearded man who had driven her to Beirut.
    On the roof, three men with ordinary, scuffed suitcases were
waiting. It was ten minutes to five.
    If someone in the hospital had noticed the disappearance of
the old woman, or looked for the wheelchair, or wondered about the three men
who had arrived separately, each carrying clothing for a family member to wear
home, then word might already have gone out to Alai's enemies. If someone came to
investigate, and they had to kill him, it would be as good as setting off an
alarm by Rajam's own bed.
    Three minutes before five, two young doctors, a man and a
woman, came onto the roof, ostensibly to smoke. But soon they withdrew out of
the sight of the men waiting with their suitcases.
    Ivan looked at Alai questioningly. Alai shook his head.
"They are here to kiss," he said. "They are afraid of us
reporting them, that's all."
    Ivan, being careful, got up and walked to where he could see
them. He came back and sat down. "More than kissing," he whispered.
    "They should not do that if they aren't married,"
said Alai. "Why do people always think that the only two choices are
either to follow the harshest shari'ah or else discard all the laws of
God?"
    "You have never been in love," said Ivan.
    "You think not?" said Alai. "Just because I
can't meet any women does not mean I haven't loved."
    "With your mind," said Ivan, "but I happen to
know that with your body you have been pure."
    "Of course I'm pure," said Alai. "I'm not
married."
    A medical chopper approached. It was exactly five o'clock.
When it came close enough, Alai could see that it was from an Israeli hospital.
    "Do Israeli doctors send patients to Beirut?"
asked Alai.
    "Lebanese doctors send patients to Israel," said
Ivan.
    "So must we expect that our friends will wait until
this chopper leaves? Or are these our friends?"
    "You have hidden in garbage and dressed as a
woman," said Ivan. "What is riding in a Zionist helicopter compared
to that?"
    The chopper landed. The door opened. Nobody got out.
    Alai picked up the suitcase that he knew was his because it
was light—filled only with clothes instead of weaponry—and walked boldly to the
door.
    "Am I the passenger you came for?"
    The pilot nodded.
    Alai turned to look back toward where the couple had gone to
kiss. He saw a flurry of motion. They had seen. They would speak of it.
    He turned back to the pilot. "Can this chopper carry
all five of us?"
    "Easily," said the pilot.
    "What about seven?"
    The pilot shrugged. "We fly lower, slower. But we often
do."
    Alai turned to Ivan. "Please invite our young lovers to
come with us." Then Alai climbed into the helicopter. In moments, he had
the women's clothing off. Underneath, he was wearing a simple