The Kill Artist

made mistakes. He wanted to leave behind an Office that could reach out and strike at will. An Office that could make the other services of the world shake their heads in wonder.
    He knew he did not have much time. Not everyone at King Saul Boulevard had celebrated his return. There were some who believed Shamron's time had come and gone, that Shamron should have been left in Tiberias to wrestle with his radios and his conscience while the torch was passed to the next generation. Certainly a man like Mordecai deserved to be chief after all those years slugging it out in the trenches of Operations, Shamron's detractors had argued. Eli had the makings of a fine chief, they said. He just needed a bit more seasoning in the executive suite and he would be ready for the top job. Even Lev of Operations was thought to be suitable material, though Lev did let his temper get the better of him now and again, and Lev had made his share of enemies over the years.
    Shamron was stuck with them. Because he was only a caretaker, he had been given almost no power to make changes among the senior staff at King Saul Boulevard. As a result he was surrounded by a pack of predators who would pounce at the first sign of weakness. And the volcanic Lev was the most threatening of all, for Lev had anointed himself Shamron's personal Brutus.
    Shamron thought: Poor little Lev. He has no idea who he's fucking with.
    "Zev Eliyahu was a personal friend of mine," the prime minister said as Shamron took his seat. "Who did this to him?"
    He poured coffee and slid the cup across the desk, his placid brown eyes fixed on Shamron. As usual Shamron had the feeling he was being contemplated by a sheep.
    "I can't say for certain, but I suspect it may have been Tariq."
    Just Tariq. No last name. None necessary. His résumé was engraved on Shamron's brain. Tariq al-Hourani, son of a village elder from the Upper Galilee, born and raised in a refugee camp outside Sidon in southern Lebanon, educated in Beirut and Europe. His older brother had been a member of Black September, assassinated by a special unit led by Shamron himself. Tariq had dedicated his life to avenging his brother's death. He joined the PLO in Lebanon, fought in the civil war, then accepted a coveted post in Force 17, Yasir Arafat's personal bodyguard and covert operations unit. During the eighties he had trained extensively behind the Iron Curtain-in East Germany, Romania, and Moscow-and was transferred from Force 17 to the Jihaz el-Razd, the PLO's intelligence and security apparatus. Eventually he led a special unit whose mission was to wage war on the Israeli secret services and diplomatic personnel. In the early nineties he split with Arafat over his decision to enter into negotiations with Israel and formed a small, tightly knit terror organization dedicated to one end: the destruction of Arafat's peace process.
    Upon hearing Tariq's name, the prime minister's eyes flashed, then resumed their calm appraisal of Shamron. "What makes you think it was Tariq who did this?"
    "Based on the preliminary descriptions, the attack had all the hallmarks of one of his operations. It was meticulously planned and executed." Shamron lit a cigarette and waved away the cloud of smoke. "The killer was calm and utterly ruthless. And there was a girl. It smells of Tariq."
    "So you're telling me that you have a hunch it was Tariq?"
    "It's more than a hunch," Shamron said, pressing on in the face of the prime minister's skepticism. "Recently we received a report that suggested Tariq's organization was about to resume its activities. You may remember that I briefed you personally, Prime Minister."
    The prime minister nodded. "I also remember that you discouraged me from giving the report wider circulation. Zev Eliyahu might be alive this morning if we had warned the Foreign Ministry."
    Shamron rubbed out his cigarette. "I resent the suggestion that the Office is somehow culpable in the ambassador's death. Zev Eliyahu was a friend of mine as well. And a colleague. He worked in the Office for fifteen years, which is why I suspect Tariq targeted him. And I discouraged you from giving the report wider circulation in order to protect the source of that information. Sometimes that's necessary when it comes to vital intelligence, Prime Minister."
    "Don't lecture me, Ari. Can you prove it was Tariq?"
    "Possibly."
    "And if you can? Then what?"
    "If I can prove it was Tariq, then I'd like your permission to take him