Chicago

piercing her the whole time with his eyes, his voice blazing with passion that almost scorched her. At times his lust would overflow, filling the air between them, forcing him into a reluctant silence.

He wasn’t going to withstand it much longer, Marwa thought. Before long now, he was going to show his face. What was he going to do? Grab her hand? Cling to her and try to kiss her forcibly? The first and second days passed. At the end of the third, Safwat asked her to stay after hours. He went up to the small bar behind the folding screen, poured himself a drink and an orange juice for her, then went back to his chair and sat back, his eyes getting a little misty.

“I want to talk to you about myself.”

“That’s an honor.”

“I am now at the peak of my professional life. I might be asked to join the cabinet as a minister at any time.”

“Congratulations,” she said in a cheerful voice, and then her inner plan sprang into action; she moved a little, then crossed her legs, and her dress revealed a few more details of her body. He went on in a serious tone. “I have gone as far as any security man can go. Perhaps you don’t know what security means in our country. It is security and no other entity that is ruling Egypt. With one word I can move the president of the Republic any way I want. I can make him change his route from one place to another or leave his palace and sleep in some other palace that I designate. One report from me can destroy the future of any official in the state.”

“I am beginning to feel afraid of you.”

“On the contrary. I want you to depend on me.”

“Thank you.”

“Your husband came to me in Washington and cried and begged me to save his future.”

“I know.”

“I am going to save him for your sake.”

“Thank you very much.”

“I want you to thank me in another way.”

“What is it?”

“I am older and I have more experience than you. Life has taught me that an opportunity comes only once. We either seize it or lose it forever.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You understand quite well.”

“What do you want?”

“I want you.”

He got up from behind the desk, walked slowly over to her, held her hand, and pulled her. She got up. He extended his arm and put it around her waist. She fidgeted but did not move away. As his cologne filled her nose he whispered, “You’re beautiful.”

She moved slightly, as if objecting, which aroused him even more. He tightened his grip on her arm and said in a hoarse voice, “I’ll make you the happiest woman in the world.”

“And if I refuse?”

“You won’t refuse.”

“How do you know?”

“Because you’re intelligent.”

“I need to think.”

Safwat looked at her, frowning and beginning to breathe heavily with desire for her. But he pulled himself together and said as he moved away: “You have until tomorrow.”

MARWA WAS NOT SHOCKED OR confused. She felt neither resentment nor anger. On the contrary, she felt some relief, as if she were an investigator who had finally found uncontestable evidence to get a conviction. There she was: absolutely certain of the truth; no more doubts and no hesitation from now on. Safwat Shakir wanted her to be his mistress: he had said it explicitly. She went home and sat in the living room waiting for Danana, who as soon as he saw her realized that something had happened. He greeted her and then said with an exaggerated yawn in preparation for an escape, “I spent the whole day working very hard.”

“I want to talk to you.”

“Let’s postpone it until tomorrow.”

“It cannot be postponed.”

She told him what had happened, taking her time, clearly enunciating Safwat Shakir’s words. She fixed him with a strong glance as she said, “Can you imagine how low! The one you considered your friend wants to sully your honor.”

Danana was sitting in front of her, still in his street clothes. He kept staring at her through his glasses then threw his hands up in the air and said, “There is no power or strength save in God. What an indecorous man!”

Marwa was not convinced by what she understood to be a feigned expression of disgust, so she asked Danana in a loud voice,“So what are you going to do?”

“I will hold him to account, of course, and I’ll be tough on him.”

Moments of silence passed. He suddenly got up and sat next to her, placed his hand on her shoulder, and said, “I’ll make him pay the price for his ignominy. I will get word of what happened to his superiors. But we have to be a little patient because the president’s visit is taking place in a few days and Safwat promised to get me enrolled at DePaul.”

“What do you mean?”

“We don’t want him to create difficulties.”

“He said to me explicitly that he wanted to have a relationship with me. Do you understand?”

“Of course I understand. I will teach him a lesson that he won’t forget. You’ll see for yourself. All I am asking is that we wait just one month, no more. If I anger him now, he can destroy me with the stroke of a pen. I’ll just give him time until the president’s visit is over and he enrolls me in the other university. Then we settle the account.”

She fixed him with a slow, probing look, as if recording what was happening, etching it deep into her consciousness once and for all. She didn’t say anything but got up slowly, went into the bedroom, and closed the door.

Chapter 36

That morning the Egyptian consulate building looked different, as if it had acquired a mythical dimension, as if a magician’s wand had changed it from a merely elegant building overlooking Lake Michigan into a stage for major events that would be recorded by history. Security preparations started early: the building was examined by high- tech equipment that X-rayed the walls to make sure no foreign substances were embedded within them. Shortly after that ten large police dogs toured the building sniffing everywhere for any hidden explosives. In the meantime, a group of Egyptian sharpshooters, carrying their long-barreled rifles fitted with telescopes, climbed onto the roof, accompanied by another group of Republican Guard officers armed with automatic rifles. They took their positions in different places, covering the area surrounding the consulate from all directions. After a short while, four metal detector gates were set up, two in front of each of the entrances in such a way that every person coming in would be checked twice. About ten meters before these gates, checkpoints manned by FBI agents together with Egyptian intelligence and State Security were also set up.

As invitees began to arrive, they were checked very thoroughly: Americans’ invitations were checked by a laser machine to make sure they were not forged. Egyptians, of course, were subjected to additional measures: their passports were scanned on a special laptop to make sure they did not have security files. After that the Egyptian security officer would ask them, with a formal smile and a scrutinizing gaze, about details of their lives. If he noticed the slightest confusion or contradiction in their answers they would be escorted to an office for more elaborate cross-examination. The security procedures were strict and, like justice, blind, and were imposed on everyone regardless of profession or social standing, so much so that the man in charge of the cafeteria at the