“I don’t know,” Khan said wearily.“He’s a crazy man. With his photo all over the newspapers, it was his madness coming to England in the first place.”
“That’s the strangest part of the whole deal,” Billy said. “He should have been lifted within hours of arrival.”
And Khan suddenly remembered the phone conversation with Hussein and came out with the one special piece of information. “When he was talking to me from Peel Strand and mentioned going to Cambridge, I told him that he’d have to change trains in London and wasn’t that unwise because his face was in so many papers.”
“And what did he say?” Harry demanded.
“That it had been taken care of and that no one would recognize him. He said, ‘Trust me in this.’ Nothing more.”
Billy said, “Rubbish, he couldn’t have had time for plastic surgery.”
“Well, as he hasn’t been lifted, something must have happened to him.” Harry turned to Khan. “Mr. Baxter and Mr. Hall are going to take you home where you’ll get a change of clothes, money, credit cards, passport-whatever. They will then escort you to Heathrow and see you leave on the first available plane.”
Khan was stupefied. “You mean you’re not going to kill me?”
“Not now, but if you ever return to England, I’ll know, and you’ll be dead inside a week. Get him out of here, boys.”
Khan was for the moment stunned. They got his jacket and overcoat on and marched him along the wharf and it was then that he found he was experiencing the greatest feeling of relief in his life. There was also a certain satisfaction in the fact that by crediting the Broker for guiding Hussein to Hal Stone at Cambridge, he’d been able to let Ali Hassim off the hook.
Back on the boat, Billy said, “Have you turned into a big softy or something?”
“Roper asked me to go easy on him. Anyway, we’ve managed to establish without doubt that Hussein has no idea where the Rashids are, so let’s go and see Roper.”
ROPER LISTENED to what they had to say. Harry said, “You think I did the right thing? Will he stay away?”
“The question is, will the people in the larger world he’s been involved with allow him to? We’ve known for a long time about the al-Qaeda influence on the Army of God. What Osama will think of a man who’s done a runner is anyone’s guess. The Broker won’t be too happy, either. These important men in the world of terror obviously don’t like any indication that things are falling apart.”
“I don’t give a toss about Osama and his people,” Harry said. “We’ve got to stand up and be counted.”
“I agree, but al-Qaeda leaders in Iraq would dearly love to have another spectacular in Britain. Big Ben would be good, or Buckingham Palace? The possibilities are endless.”
“That would really be out of order,” Harry said.
Billy put in, “They’d be happy if the Queen was at home when they did it.”
“Bastards,” Harry said.
“I could show you intelligence reports indicating that at least a couple of hundred Britons have served in al- Qaeda’s foreign legion in Iraq. These are the things the public doesn’t know about. And it’s not just regular bombs they’d like to set off, but dirty bombs.”
“Several plots involving such weapons in the UK have already been foiled,” Roper noted. “We’re at war and that’s the fact of it.”
There was a pause and Billy said, “Which leaves us with Hussein. What are his intentions?”
“He’s never been a bomb man,” Roper said. “My bet is assassination.”
“You mean on the level of the Prime Minister or someone at that level?” Harry asked.
“Let’s look at it this way. His intentions regarding the Rashids have been thwarted, at least for now, so he’s got to find something to do. And he’s changed his appearance in some way-Khan told us that. It was worth dumping Khan in the Thames to learn it.”
His phone went. It was Ferguson, and Roper put it on speaker. “How are things?”
“He’s out of surgery. Professor Vaughan says it was bad and it will take time, but he’s going to weather the storm.”
Harry and Billy cheered and Roper said, “Have you managed to speak to him?”
“Just a few sentences. Apparently it was Khazid who held him at gunpoint and wanted to know where the Rashids were. Hal refused to say, made a run for it to the door in the garden, Khazid shot him in the back as he pulled the bolt. He lost it then, was vaguely aware of another person rushing through but didn’t see him.”
“A pity,” Roper told him. “Harry put the screws on Khan earlier this evening. Rather interesting.” He told of Harry’s exploit with Khan and the results.
Ferguson said, “Christ Almighty, so we no longer know what the bastard looks like?”
“Or his intentions or where he is now. The only thing we can be certain of is that he doesn’t know where the Rashids are,” Roper said.
“And thank God for it.”
“We do know one thing,” Roper told him. “When he made that original phone call to Khan, he said he and Khazid had landed by boat and were with one of the Broker’s people at Peel Strand in Dorset, a cottage called Folly Way.”
“Right, I’ll contact the chief constable of the Dorset constabulary now. Anything else?”
“The Rashids at Zion. They need to be informed of the attempt on Hal Stone’s life.”
“It will frighten Molly Rashid to death. They can’t be reached, that’s the important thing, so we can leave it for the moment.”
“And the others?”
“I’ll speak to Levin. I think he, Chomsky and Greta deserve to know. We’ll make a decision later on whether I should fly down tomorrow. I’d prefer to tell the Rashids personally. Dillon and I will leave in the helicopter in thirty minutes. See you soon.”
IN THE BACK ROOM of the shop, Hussein and Khazid sat at the dining table with Bolton and went over the details again and again. They’d also had a CD prepared for them by the laptop man, covering every possible aspect of the village and the house, even a list of useful bird names. Khazid had found that amusing. “The most intelligent birds are crows. They can communicate with each other and count. Does that establish my credentials?”
Bolton said, “Just be yourself, as I did, and look the part.” He turned to Ali. “I’ll go now and purchase the same garments, boots and so on that I used. What about a vehicle?”
“Taken care of by a member of the Brotherhood in the motor trade. It’s a Caravanette, with a bunk on either side in the rear and cooking facilities. A family sort of thing, popular with campers. He will also supply some tools that with luck should meet all our requirements. It will be delivered to us in a little while.”
As Bolton stood up, Hussein said, “One thing I must ask. You mentioned from the edge of the wood being able to look over the wall into the garden itself and the rear of the house, a terrace and so on. Did you see anyone?”
“No, the weather was poor, heavy rain, and my binoculars were nothing special.”
Hussein looked at Ali. “May he remedy that and find me a pair of exceptional Zeiss glasses with top magnification?”
“Of course,” Ali said, and nodded to Bolton. “You know who to call.”
“I’ll take care of it.” Bolton glanced at Hussein. “A privilege to serve.”
He went out, and Hussein said, “A good man.”
“One of the best. Can I do anything else at the moment?”
“I think not. If Khan phones, simply say I haven’t been in touch with you and you have no idea where I am.”
“Whatever you say.”
