The Mark of the Assassin

according to the Awad legend, the keys to his
    home in Israel still in his pocket. Another branch of the Awad clan had
    been massacred at Deir Yassim. In 1967 the family was driven out again,
    this time to refugee camps in Lebanon. Awad's father never worked, just
    sat in the camp and told stories of how it had been for him as a boy,
    tending the olives and the oranges with his own father. Paradise lost.
    In the 1980s, young Muhammad Awad was indoctrinated in the radical Islam
    of south Lebanon and Beirut. He joined Hezbollah. He joined Hamas. He
    trained in Iran and Syria--small arms, infiltration tactics,
    counterintelligence, bomb making. When Arafat shook Rabin's hand at the
    White House, Awad was outraged. When Arafat's security forces came after
    Hamas, at Israel's behest, Awad swore revenge. Together with fifty of
    the best Hamas guerrillas, he formed the Sword of Gaza, the most deadly
    Palestinian terror group since Black September. Wind gusted over the
    deck. Awad put a hand inside his coat. Michael flinched but resisted
    reaching for the Browning. "Easy, Mr. Osbourne," Awad said. "I just had
    the urge to smoke. Besides, if I wanted to kill you, you'd be dead
    already."
    The English was perfect, light accent indistinguishable to an untrained
    ear. The cigarettes he produced from the breast pocket of his coat were
    unfiltered Dunhills. "I know you smoke Marlboro Lights, but perhaps
    these will do, yes? Your wife smokes Benson and Hedges, doesn't she? Her
    name is Elizabeth Cannon-Osbourne, and she practices law for one of
    those large firms in Washington. You live on N Street in Georgetown. You
    see, Mr. Osbourne, we have our own intelligence and security service.
    And we get a good deal of help from our friends in Damascus and Tehran,
    of course."
    Michael accepted one of the Dunhills and turned into the wind to light
    it. When Awad raised his hand to light his own cigarette, Michael could
    see the bomb trigger in the palm of his right hand. "You've proved your
    point, Ibrahim," Michael said. "I realize it was a tedious
    demonstration, but I did it only to impress upon you that I mean you and
    your family no harm. You are not my enemy, and I have neither the time
    nor the resources to engage you."
    "So why the Semtex strapped to your waist?"
    "One must take precautions in a business such as this."
    "You've never impressed me as the suicidal type."
    Awad smiled and blew smoke from his sculpted nostrils. "I've always
    believed I was more useful to Allah alive than dead. Besides, we have no
    shortage of volunteers for missions of martyrdom. I believe you spent
    some time in Lebanon as a child. You know the conditions in which our
    people live. Oppression can breed madness, Mr. Osbourne. Some boys would
    rather die than spend a lifetime in chains."
    Michael looked to his left and saw the woman from the train, leaning
    against the rail twenty feet away, smoking, eyes flickering over the
    ferry. "I thought you believed a woman's place was in the home, shrouded
    by a chador," Michael said, looking at the girl. "It is unfortunate, but
    sometimes this business requires the services of a talented woman. For
    the purposes of this conversation, her name is Odette. She is
    Palestinian, and she is very good with her gun. The old West German
    security service issued orders to shoot the women first. In Odette's
    case that would be very good advice indeed."
    "Now that we're all acquainted," Michael said, "why don't we get down to
    business. Why did you want to talk?"
    "The attack at Heathrow yesterday was the work of the Sword of Gaza. We
    staged the attack to avenge your ridiculous air strikes against our
    friends in Libya, Syria, and Iran. You were quite the hero yesterday,
    Mr. Osbourne. Your presence was coincidence, I assure you. Frankly, I
    wish you had killed them both. Men in custody always make me a bit
    nervous."
    "Actually, the interrogation is going very well," Michael said, unable
    to resist the opportunity to toy with Awad. "I understand he's providing
    a tremendous amount of information on your organizational structure and
    tactics."
    "Nice try, Mr. Osbourne," Awad said. "Our organization is highly
    compartmentalized, so he can do little damage."
    "You just keep on believing that, Ibrahim. It will help you sleep at
    night. So you asked to see me so you can claim responsibility for the
    terror attack at Heathrow?"
    "We prefer to use the term military action."
    "There's nothing military about killing unarmed