of Ali Selim, with what appeared to be blood on his face, emerging from the crowd, surrounded by minders, who bundled him into the back of a van waiting beside the Marble Arch entrance to the park and which had last been seen driving toward Bayswater.
A Scotland Yard commissioner made excuses for the police failure to arrest and detain Ali Selim, who could not be found at his home or the Pond Street Mosque. The Prime Minister emerged from 10 Downing Street to inform journalists that the speech could only be construed as advocating the assassination of the President of the United States and every effort would be made to find and arrest Selim.
Roper cleared the screen for a while. You noticed Ferguson, of course, standing at the back with a few other functionaries?
We certainly did, Holley said.
For future information, Sara, the rather jolly-looking chap with the permanent smile and the blond hair is a good friend of ours. Henry Frankel, the cabinet secretary.
He looked nice, she said. But what do you think Ali Selim was up to making such a speech? Was it really incitement to murder?
Others have made similar speeches with the hope that they will be imprisoned. They need martyrs to attract more followers to their cause. Al Qaeda knows damn well that the majority of Muslims don t want this kind of trouble.
So what do you think he s done?
Who knows? Roper said. Gone into hiding, done a runner. Maybe Al Qaeda has a plan for him. Anyway, I was thinking, Sara, maybe it would be a good idea if you spent the afternoon with me. I ll show you everything we get up to here, who our contacts are with outfits like GCHQ, the CIA, and the GRU, all the tricks of our rather nefarious trade.
I d like that very much, she said.
What do you think, Daniel?
I think it s an excellent idea. They coined the word Machiavellian for the great Giles Roper. Cunning and underhanded, but in the nicest possible way.
I would suggest you leave now, Roper said.
Well, make sure Tony takes the lady home. He smiled at Sara. Noon tomorrow, I ll pick you up.
Tony followed him out, and Sara found a swivel chair and sat beside Roper, looking up at the screens. It must make you feel like sort of lord of the universe.
That s true, particularly when I m watching people, their comings and goings. And the really spooky thing is they have no idea that it s happening.
Tony came in at that moment. Sorry to break this up, but it s shower time, Major, the full works. Can t have you sitting there smelling like an ashtray all day.
I hear and obey. Roper turned to Sara. Here s an exercise for you. Look up Professor Jean Talbot and a man named Jack Kelly.
At that precise moment, Mullah Ali Selim was enjoying a cup of coffee in the library of a country house called Stukely Towers. There was a knock at the door, it opened, and the young woman Sara Gideon had noticed running beside the palanquin entered, followed by a darkly handsome young man in jeans and a black bomber jacket. He was her fianc, Jemal Fateh, and she was Asan Selim, the mullah s niece. They were both dedicated jihadists.
So there you are, he said. Do you approve of the house, Asan?
Quite wonderful, Uncle.
Owned by a wealthy sheikh from the Gulf, one of many dedicated friends that we can always rely on. He also keeps a jet just ten miles from here.
I am glad to hear it. Now that Osama has been so brutally torn from our lives, your safety from our enemies is of crucial importance. You must leave England as soon as possible, she said.
Not yet. For the moment, I am safe here. Eventually, I shall leave for Pakistan, for Peshawar, and from there cross the border to a village called Amira, west of the Khyber Pass. I ll be safe amongst friends there, and I can plan our future campaign in peace. America, the Great Satan, shall pay for what they did to Osama. This I promise you.
In what way can we serve, master? Jemal asked.
Come with me and I ll show you, Ali Selim said, and led the way out.
It took a sizable staff to take care of such a house, and yet there was no sign of anyone, as if they were keeping out of sight. Selim led the way to a rear conservatory, through a tunnel, and they emerged in a vast garage containing many vehicles, the most interesting of which was an imposing yellow Central Accident Emergency ambulance.
This is exactly the same as the old and battered one you both spent two days being taught at the proving ground last week, Ali Selim said. The only difference is that this one is brand new and provided by the Brotherhood. Inside you will find uniforms and identity cards, plus a worksheet authorizing you to deliver emergency oxygen cylinders to level three of the underground garage at the House of Commons.
May we try driving it, master? Jemal asked.
Of course, but only in the courtyard. I ll see you in an hour and wear your uniforms.
He was going over papers at the library desk when the knock came, and they entered and stood together in the yellow uniforms, waiting for his approval.
Excellent. He nodded. It should work, particularly because there ll be so many vehicles that day. An obvious workhorse has a better chance than anything else of being accepted. Now, sit down and let me explain what we re attempting here.
Yes, Uncle, Asan said, and she and Jemal pulled chairs forward and sat.
Both of you can pass as Europeans particularly you, Asan, with your hair cut and dyed. You proved that by going on that guided tour of Parliament last week, when they showed you and the other tourists the terrace.
Which was interesting, Jemal said. But I don t see how we could possibly get that far on Friday.
Of course not, Ali Selim said. Certainly not in uniform, and not with this.
He picked up a large and very yellow paramedic s bag and dumped it on the desk.
You re not going to the terrace. There s no way you could get close enough to blow up the Prime Minister and the President, as wonderful as that would be. But there is something we can do. We can remind them that Al Qaeda is still a force to be reckoned with. We re going to blow up the underground garage in the House of Commons. It will reverberate around the entire world. There s enough Semtex in the bag to cause huge damage. All you have to do is leave the ambulance there and switch on the timer. You ll have thirty minutes to walk away.
And what then? Jemal asked.
Cross from Parliament to Northend Street, where a Mr. Aziz will be waiting in a white Ford van. You will change in the back of the van while he drives you back here, then we ll leave at once for the jet. Naturally, I ll be taking you to Pakistan with me.
There was a heavy silence as they glanced at each other, Asan with rather more enthusiasm than Jemal. Her eyes were shining as she said to Ali Selim, It is an honor to do this, Uncle.
You make me proud, child. He nodded to Jemal.
I d appreciate a word with my niece alone.
Of course, master, Jemal told him, got up with some reluctance, and went out.
Ali Selim took a small pillbox from a drawer, got up, came round the desk, and placed a hand on her head. Bless you, my child. Your parents would have been so proud. If anything untoward happens, if you were to fall into the hands of our enemies, I fear what they might do. These evil ones use torture of the worst kind.
She looked up in adoration. Nothing could ever make me speak, Uncle.
I m sure you would do your best, but I d hate to think of you suffering. He slipped the small pillbox into her hand. The capsule in there will take you to eternity in an instant, where you will wait for me until my time comes. Hold it in your mouth until all is lost and then bite on it.
She took the box without hesitation. You are so good to me.
This is our secret, of course Jemal would not understand. You, child, have become a woman, and he is still a boy. He patted her on the head. Go to him now.
Jemal was waiting in the hall anxiously and took her hand.
What did he say to you?
