Warriors

official form. But how did they get the photograph and the signature?

Then he remembered. His photo had been taken shortly after arrival in Riyadh, and he had signed a letter of intent. Bennett smiled in appreciation. These people are real pros, he thought. They didn't have time to duplicate Ed's passport, but they had mine ready to go, complete with forged signature. If the Israelis search my place they'll find my passport and figure I'm still in the country. Slick.

Bennett knocked on Lawrence's door. 'Flight quarters, Commander. I think we'll be gear-up in a little while.'

Washington D. C. the White House

President Walter Arnold was upset. In office barely four months and already his press secretary and two cabinet members told him the administration showed declining confidence ratings in the polls, especially where foreign policy was concerned. Secretary of Transportation Pamela Cousins had heard party pros who were comparing Arnold with Jimmy Carter-unfavorably. It was a hell of an attitude for a formal cabinet meeting.

'Well, damn it,' Arnold said, 'what the hell am I supposed to do? Everybody in the Middle East wants us to do something different. It's a no-win situation all around. You people have told me that one of the best ways to dent the trade deficit is to sell weapons abroad. You've also told me that if we sell to the Arabs, the Israeli lobby will scream its head off and there'll be editorials all over the country. '

Secretary of Transportation Cousins thought, Welcome to the real world, Mr. President. There were those in the administration who said, only half-jokingly, that the five-foot-three blond was a better man than Walter Arnold.

'Mr. President, that brings us to the last item.' It was Secretary of State Thurmon Wilson, a scholarly, balding political ally from Arnold's native Connecticut. 'You are aware that last week the Israelis noted that several dozen American citizens, all believed to be ex-military pilots or mechanics, have traveled to Europe and Saudi Arabia. This seems related to sudden Saudi interest in a fighter aircraft called the F-20. '

The president said, 'Yes, I saw the memo. Do you think it's cause for alarm?'

'No, not yet.' The New England accent cut through the heavy mood in the room. 'But we'll have to make a decision pretty fast, the way they're pushing. They seem really interested in this plane. I'm sure Ben has details.'

Benjamin Wake was Secretary of Defense. A self-made millionaire from a Florida electronics firm, he prided himself on keeping data under his white crewcut only slightly less efficiently than the computers his firm made. 'Yes, I'm acquainted with the F-20. And frankly, this seems an answer to a prayer. It's called the Tigershark, designed by Northrop in Los Angeles, and it's a relatively unsophisticated piece of hardware. It's a single-seat, single-engine air superiority fighter based on Northrop's old F-5 Tiger. If we decided to sell the Saudis another airplane, that's the one. The Israelis can't holler too loudly because it's no match for what they're flying.'

Arnold pursed his lips. 'Then why would the Saudis want it? They already have some of our most advanced equipment.'

'Yes, sir, that's right. But remember, they and most other countries which have bought the F-20 don't have the ability to maintain high-tech weapons without extensive support. I have a list of nations that currently fly the Tigershark: Malaysia, South Korea, Chile, the Sudan, and Morocco. Taiwan is almost certain to buy it, since Mainland China is off our backs now that F-20s are manufactured under license. A European consortium now builds the airplane, mainly for export.'

Wake sensed that the president was becoming sympathetic to his viewpoint. 'Now, sir, you may remember during the Reagan Administration there was quite a flap about making exceptions to Third World nations. Most of them wanted our frontline equipment — F-15s and F-16s. Because we didn't buy the F-20 ourselves, others perceived it as inferior. Now that's changed, mainly because of economic factors. A Tigershark costs under half of what some other fighters run.'

'Hmmm. What does State make of this, regarding the Israelis?'

Secretary of Defense Ben Wake interrupted. 'Excuse me. But we know that the Saudis want simpler aircraft to supplement their F-15s and British Tornadoes.' Wake glanced around the table. 'You all remember how the Saudis bought billions of dollars of British aircraft when we wouldn't sell them more Eagles. No telling how many thousands of U. S. jobs that cost. Well, I think this is an excellent opportunity for us, Mr. President. The F-20 is far easier to maintain and to train pilots for than one with sophisticated electronics. Also, the Saudis are ordering Tigersharks without radar-guided Sparrow missiles. The Israelis can't complain too much.'

'Why not? Isn't this F-20 still a potential threat to them?'

'Well, theoretically, yes. But with limited armament of guns and two heat-seeking missiles, the F-20 would be similar to the F-16, which we and the Israelis already fly.' Wake pressed his point. 'Remember, Jordan wanted F-16s and we refused so they bought Fulcrums from the Soviets. We've only been hurting ourselves by acceding to the Israeli lobby in Congress all these years.' There, it was out in the open.

The president shifted his gaze to the Secretary of State. 'Thurmon, what do you make of all this?'

'State has no serious objections, sir. In fact, I'm in favor of selling the Saudis or anybody else whatever they want to buy, within broad limits. Aside from economic reasons, it makes good political sense. The Saudis are the key to the whole region if we're going to maintain any kind of balance there. Especially now that Israel occupies Jordan. If we can keep the Saudis happy by selling some second-line airplanes, by all means do so. Anything we can do to maintain our presence and influence should be encouraged, especially with the growing Iranian fundamentalist movement.'

Walter Arnold lightly tapped his fingers on the table, his mind already made up. 'Very well. We'll approve the F-20 sale and put up no obstacles if the Saudis want to hire some former military pilots as instructors. But let's try to keep this as low profile as possible.' He looked around the table. 'This meeting is adjourned.'

Tel Aviv

Levi Bar-El braced himself for another grilling from Colonel Chaim Geller. The man torments me, thought the young lieutenant, because he has no other diversion. In truth, Bar-El recognized that the section chief was pushing a protege's limits, forcing him to become more competent, less dogmatic in his thinking. Dealing with the recent Jordanian crisis saw to that. And right now Bar-El was ready for more 'therapy.'

'Ah, good morning, Levi. Sit down.' Geller pushed a chair out from the table. 'What do you have on our mysterious Americans?'

'Sir, we believe they are no longer in the U.S. Our covert team inspected Bennett's apartment and found nothing out of order. His passport was there, but because of the sighting in London we believe the Saudis provided him with a duplicate. Our people did photograph a strange object, however. It seemed odd enough to bring to your attention.' Bar-El unclipped a Polaroid photo from the report and slid it across the table.

Chaim Geller examined the photo. The green figurine of a pregnant woman intrigued him. 'It's not from North America, I can tell you that.' Bar-EI was taken aback. He knew almost nothing about his superior's outside interests and never would have taken the shrewd intelligence officer for an archaeologist or art historian.

'Well, no, Colonel. Our evaluation from the university is that the piece came from the Middle East-probably Arabia or Oman. It dates from about the tenth century B.C., but whatever the date, it is rather rare and therefore very valuable. Professor Mersky at the antiquities center said he had only seen six or eight such figures himself, and this one is in better condition than most.'

The colonel handed back the photo. 'Very well. What else?'

'Bennett and Lawrence seem to have been in London for several days, as I noted. But it is unlikely they will return to California anytime soon.' The lieutenant checked his notes. 'Lawrence's sports car was taken to his home and put in the garage. Evidently both Bennett and Lawrence have someone looking after things-watering lawns, paying bills, and so on. Bennett's son at Arizona State University seems to know relatively little, but doesn't appear overly concerned. Our contact thought it best not to press the matter. We'll· monitor him on a regular basis.'

Geller stood up and stretched. He wanted to go for a walk in the sunlight, but glanced ruefully at the paper stacked on his desk. 'All right, Levi. I saw the report on the other American fliers, and I see there are two or three British pilots on the Saudi list. I've forwarded a memo to Air Force intelligence. Obviously, the Saudis are expanding their training cadre. The cabinet will want to know about this, and no doubt there will be concern. But for now, let's not draw hasty conclusions. The Saudis are in the middle of all this.'

Geller noticed the mild look of surprise on the lieutenant's face.