relationship on friendly and proper terms. Even if he spent the rest of his life with the Pashtuns, he could get rid of the wife in a way that would not dishonor her. Thus, there would be no problems with an oath of vengeance being sworn against him by her male relatives because of any perceived insults.
As the talking went on, he leaned back and spoke under his breath to Malyar. Do you know the bird then?
Yes, Malyar said softly, understanding the English slang for girl.
Does she have big tits, hey?
Malyar shrugged. Such a thing cannot be determined from the way our women dress. He turned his attention back to the negotiations. Jandol Kakar is telling Mr. Barakzai what a fine man you are...a brave war leader . . . there is a strong possibility you will remain here until the end of your days . . .
Listen, Sikes interrupted him softly. Is the bird a good looker, know wot I mean, hey? Even if you can't see her tits or ass, you've seen her face, ain't you?
She seems quite acceptable, Sikes Pasha, Malyar said. You would not find her unpleasant to gaze upon. He turned his attention back to his interpreting duties. Mr. Barakzai is wanting two hundred thousand afghanis and three female goats for the bridal gift....
Archie, not worried about the price since Orakzai would be paying the cost, snickered to himself, thinking, The old bugger prob'ly wants them goats to fuck 'em.
Malyar continued. Now Jandol is making an offer of fifty thousand afghanis and no goats...now Mr. Barakzai is wanting one hundred fifty thousand afghanis and two female goats... oh, now they are bargaining hard and fast. He was silent for a few moments as the two men continued to talk. Then he said. It is agreed. Mr. Barakzai is getting one hundred twenty-five thousand afghanis and one female goat.
The session came to an end.
Sikes wondered if he would be introduced to the girl, but at almost the exact instant an agreement was reached, the visitors got to their feet. After making happy and friendly fare-thee-wells with Ghazan Barakzai, Sikes and his companions abruptly left the house and went outside. Khadid took Sikes' arm. Now we must go to Orakzai Mesher and tell him that the terms for the marriage are successfully completed.
Sikes was curious. Wot happens now then?
Khadid explained, Something you may not understand yet about Islam is that marriage is a contract, not a sacrament as in the Christian world. This agreement will be written up and signed by Mr. Barakzai. You must pay the bridal gift before you can consummate the marriage.
And how long will that be? Sikes said. I've been a while without it, know what I mean then?
I understand, Sikes Pasha, Khadid said. Orakzai Mesher is as anxious as you to get the ceremony over with. He winked at Sikes. But for obviously different reasons.
You're right about that, mate! Sikes said with a laugh.
.
WASHINGTON, D.C.
STATE DEPARTMENT
LAMP COMMITTEE
3 MAY
0905 HOURS
THIS was the committee's first official meeting since it had been established. It was chaired by Arlene Entienne, the beautiful Cajun-African-American Chief of Staff to the President of the United States. The members were Carl Joplin, PhD, State Department Undersecretary; Colonel John Turn-bull, chief of the Special Operation Liaison Staff; and Edgar Watson of the CIA. The reason behind the establishment of the group was the receipt of new intelligence. This information had not yet been provided to the entire panel; only Arlene Entienne had been briefed, but only partially due to the lateness of the data.
Even before Entienne had a chance to call this first meeting to order, Colonel Turnbull spoke up. Why the hell are they calling this the Lamp Committee, for Chrissake!
That will become apparent very quickly, John, Entienne replied. Now! I declare this first get-together in session and ready to conduct business. She paused to make sure everyone was giving her his full attention. The President has formed our little group because of unexpected recent developments.
He is going to depend on us for advice and evaluation of intelligence that has literally popped up from somewhere in Afghanistan. Our duties will also include giving him counsel on what covert and overt actions must be taken to turn the situation around to our advantage where the Iranians are concerned. Edgar will bring us up to date on this remarkable incident that has brought about organizing us into a standing committee. And, I might add, we have a lot of official clout. Our decisions will be taken very seriously and reviewed at the Pentagon.
Edgar Watson already had his notes out and prepared for his discourse. Several weeks ago, our Middle Eastern station began monitoring transmissions that were coming across in the clear, i.e., unencoded, from an unknown person. These messages contained bits and pieces of intelligence that were checked out. This was the source of information I presented to you in this very room on the ninth of April. I also passed on further intelligence from that informant when we met with the President on the twenty-second.
Carl Joplin frowned. This seems a risky thing to put much trust in.
I agree, Turnbull said. I am confused why the transmitter is not worried about being compromised if he uses no code. That also means he is not one of our agents.
Believe me, gentlemen, Watson said, we've given this information the most critical of evaluation. That is why it wasn't fully disclosed to you immediately. Further transmissions turned out to contain data that was very timely and accurate, much to the Agency's surprise. It was decided to take advantage of this unexpected source of information, and the sender was contacted and assigned the call sign Aladdin.
Ha! Turnbull said. So that's why we're called the Lamp Committee, huh? Aladdin's lamp!
Entienne interrupted. Precisely. And that was my idea, John.
And a damn good one, Arlene, he replied with a grin.
At any rate, Watson said, one of the first things we learned was about this Brit Archibald Sikes who had deserted from his unit in Iraq and subsequently joined the group calling itself the Jihad Abadi. MI-Five confirmed both his existence and status. Aladdin, as I shall refer to him or her, later informed us that the Chehaar Garrison had been closed down and the armored car company deactivated. This information has already been given to Carl Joplin.
Except I was unaware of the source, Joplin said.
We figured you needed it for your meeting with the Iranian charge d'affaires, Entienne said. A little extra ammo, so to speak.
Precisely, Watson said. Now this fellow Sikes, who had converted to the Muslim faith and changed his first name from Archibald to Arsalaan
Ha! Colonel Turnbull interrupted with a laugh. That's not much of an improvement.
At any rate, Watson said, irritated by the interjection, he has taken his Arab force and trekked from Iran up into the Gharawdara Highlands in west Afghanistan to join a Pashtun rebel fighting force. All this is through the command and guidance of Iranian Special Forces in that operation designed to take over all Middle Eastern Islamic insurgence groups. By the way, we don't know what the Iranians are calling this grandiose scheme, but the CIA has dubbed it Operation Persian Empire.
Entienne asked, And you're sure these Iranian SF guys aren't a bunch of rogue officers running amok?
Positively, Watson said. This is a highly classified military operation under the direct command of the Iranian Government and the Army General Staff. They are determined to dominate the whole of the Middle East. He reached into his briefcase and pulled out a folder, opening it. This is the latest report from Aladdin. It informs us that the majority of funding for Operation Persian Empire is coming from the smuggling of opium poppy powder out of Afghanistan, through Iran, and into Turkey to the buyers.
Turnbull drummed his fingers on the tabletop. So this is the latest intel we've received from Aladdin?
Affirmative, Colonel, Watson said. We are waiting to learn the exact route taken by these smugglers from Afghanistan. Without that info, we can't plan any operations. All we know at this point is that it's somewhere in the passes of the Gharawdara Highlands.
Hell! Turnbull said. What about the route across Iran? That would be easier to assess.
That would be a 'nice-to-know' item, since we cannot act on it unless we go across the international border,
