involved in a discussion with the driver; some of them are not what they seem. Secondly, get on and off at minor stops and walk part of the way if you have to. Major terminals are more likely to be the subject of surveillance so always assume you are on camera. Make sure your appearance matches the transport. There may be occasions when you will target a first-class compartment. When this is the case you will be given the means to dress accordingly. The same goes for a five-star hotel. If you are carrying important documents, risk putting them in with the normal passengers’ luggage, that way they can’t be found on you if the bus or train is searched. If you are on a train, put your luggage in another carriage. Finally, your documents must be a precise match for whatever cover you are using and you must be thoroughly familiar with them and have rehearsed your answers to any questions. Are there any from you?’
‘What about the selection of targets?’ one of the Palestinian boys asked.
‘That is worked out according to the overall strategy. Obviously your targets will be carefully chosen to inflict maximum damage on the infidels but there are other factors which will also be taken into account. Things like whether or not the target is heavily guarded or under surveillance and whether there is ease of access. And while we’re on surveillance, it is one of our principles that wherever possible you should become completely familiar with a target. If it’s a restaurant you will be given the money to eat there. The exact placement of a pipe bomb can be critical.’
That night Yusef lay awake imagining the bombing of the Hebrew University or the American Colony Hotel in Jerusalem, while not very far away in Mar’Oth, his brother Ahmed was deep in conversation with Giovanni Donelli.
One brother thinking of revenge, the other talking of peace.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Mar’Oth
‘ Y ou must give me the recipe for that, Ahmed, I have never tasted anything quite like it.’ Giovanni leaned back against the cushions that littered the floor of Ahmed Sartawi’s modest mudbrick house.
‘Welcome to Middle Eastern cuisine, although you will have to ask the women of the village for the recipe. It’s a very famous Palestinian dish, Msaqa’a, eggplants baked with onions, tomatoes and spices. Simple, but the secret is in the cooking.
‘And the pancakes?’
‘ Qateyef. Filled with crushed walnuts, coconut, cinnamon and a touch of lemon juice, another famous recipe they will also give you. It is the least we can do after all your kindness.’
‘I’m sure you would have done the same for me.’
‘Perhaps. Although unfortunately there are many who might not. It was not always so but the fighting between the Israelis and the Palestinians has poisoned our people. It has not helped that the West has been so one-sided in its support for the Jews.’
Giovanni studied his host. Ahmed was just in his thirties but his brown face was etched with lines. He had thick black hair, a prominent nose and his dark brown eyes were gentle.
‘Are there problems in this village?’
‘Between the Muslims and the Christians, you mean?’
Giovanni nodded.
‘There were. You had a predecessor. Quite a few years ago but we all still remember him. Father Lonergan was, how do you say it, somewhat rigid. For him Christianity was the only path. That sort of teaching creates a lot of difficulty, especially in a small village like Mar’Oth. You will forgive me for saying so, but if we are to live in harmony together we should be honest with one another. Your predecessor seemed preoccupied. Troubled by something personal, I think, and fond of a drink.’
That explained the empty whisky bottles, Giovanni thought. ‘Your English is exceptional, Ahmed. I hope to pick up some Arabic.’
‘I would be more than happy to help you with that. The villagers are very receptive to anyone who makes the attempt, the mistakes don’t matter to them.’
‘Well, there will be plenty of those!’ Giovanni said. ‘What is your view of Christians, Ahmed?’
‘As a Muslim or as Ahmed Sartawi?’
‘Both, I guess.’
‘The Qur’an recognises Jesus as a prophet, but for me the answer lies not in a discussion on the Christian Christ versus the Muslim Christ, nor does it lie in an argument over Christ’s ascension from the Mount of Olives versus Muhammad’s ascension from the Dome of the Rock. For me the answer goes much further back.’
‘Meaning?’
‘Meaning that whether we like it or not, Judaism, Christianity and Islam all have a common ancestor, one we all claim as our own.’
‘Abraham,’ Giovanni said quietly. He too had reflected on the undisputed patriarch of the three great monotheistic faiths that all had their genesis in the Middle East. Perhaps there was an unseen hand that had posted him to this little village far away from the corridors of power at the Vatican. The ruins of a tiny church with its foul- smelling room was but a symbol of man’s decay, a decay and corruption that had infiltrated the very top layers of the Holy Catholic Church.
‘Abraham,’ Ahmed agreed reverently. ‘The Qur’an explains that Abraham is one of the four great prophets and the one to whom Allah said, “I have appointed thee to be a leader for mankind.” In the Torah, to the Jew, he is the one to whom God said, “Lech Lecha… Go forth from thy father’s house and I will make of you a great nation.” In the New Testament, for the Christian, Paul mentions Abraham more than any other figure, bar Christ.’
‘Yet we fight over ownership of Abraham,’ Giovanni observed.
Ahmed smiled, recognising that he was in the presence of a fellow thinker. ‘Many believers, especially the young, have no idea of our common ancestry through Abraham, but it is the fighting over religion that will eventually bring us all undone, Giovanni. I have a feeling that the countdown for civilisation has begun.’
Giovanni instantly thought of the warning in the Omega Scroll. Again he decided against bringing it up, but he had the same feeling about Ahmed as he had about Patrick O’Hara. Here was a man who was to be trusted.
The Spirit smiled.
‘Does the Qur’an warn of that?’
‘The signs are there if you want to heed them. Surah 20 tells us that the hour is surely coming. Some of the signs are already with us. The 54th Surah of the Qur’an refers to man digging and furrowing the moon, which happened in 1969. Many Islamic scholars point to signs of increasing warfare, the destruction of cities like Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and increased earthquakes and poverty.’
‘Those same warnings are in the Bible, Ahmed,’ Giovanni replied, not for the first time wondering if there had been revelation through the Prophet Muhammad as well as Christ. ‘The increase in earthquakes is predicted in Matthew and I saw some figures before I left Italy that confirmed that the number of earthquakes around the world is rising dramatically. The prophet Daniel made four predictions. Three of them have already passed.’
‘It was the empires, wasn’t it? With one still to go?’
‘You have studied the Bible?’
‘You sound surprised, Giovanni. To the Muslim, Jesus is to be revered as a prophet, peace be upon him. Am I right about Daniel’s prophecy?’
‘I wish I had as good a grasp of the Qur’an, but yes, you’re right. So far Daniel has been chillingly accurate. As I recall his interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream he said, “You were looking, O King and there before you stood a large statue. The head of the statue was made of pure gold. Its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron.” Nebuchadnezzar’s dream was a prophecy for the four empires, each of which would fall. Gold for the mighty Babylonians, silver for Medo-Persia which began with Cyrus the Great when he conquered Babylon in 539 BC, bronze for the Greek Empire and Alexander the Great, and the Iron Empire still to go.’
Ahmed nodded. ‘Iron being the extension of the Roman Empire which is now embodied in the European Union.’
