Sea of Shadows

“A pity that you could not have stayed a few extra days to enjoy the local culture. I’m told that the water- silks produced in the Xi’an province are particularly fine this year.”

Elizabeth closed her eyes and massaged her right temple. The Arabic system of conversation was built around elaborate layers of small talk.

Face-to-face meetings were practically rituals, nurtured carefully — never rushed — and fueled by a seemingly endless stream of thimble-sized cups of hot Arabic coffee. Luckily, the telephone version was much abbreviated. Even so, it was considered rude to attempt to arrive at the point of the conversation without first exchanging an extensive series of irrelevant pleasantries.

“I hadn’t heard,” she said. “But now that I know, I will certainly look for silk the next time I’m in China. Xi’an province, did you say? Please excuse me for a second, while I write that down.” She closed her eyes for a moment and made no move to write anything at all. “There,” she said after a short pause. “Now I’ll be certain to remember. Thank you for the suggestion, Prime Minister.”

“Think nothing of it,” he said. “It is always my pleasure to be of assistance to a lady.”

Thank God, an opening at last …

“So kind of you,” she said. “In fact, that’s the very reason I called: to ask for your assistance.”

“Ah,” said the prime minister. “And how may I help you?”

Elizabeth paused for a second. How should she phrase it? “We have reason to believe that four German submarines will attempt to transit the Suez Canal within the next day or so.”

“How unusual,” the prime minister said. “Ships of that country frequently travel our canal, but I cannot recall the last time that we were visited by German submarines. And now, four at once you say?”

Elizabeth massaged her temple again. “We believe so, yes.”

“Am I to assume that your reason for calling has to do with these four submarines? Or, more specifically, with their transit through our national waterway?”

“Yes, Prime Minister, it does. My government has reason to believe that the submarines are in route to the Arabian Gulf for delivery to the Siraji Navy.”

There was silence on the other end of the line. When Amman finally spoke, he did so slowly, as though choosing his words carefully. “You are prepared to accuse the Federal Republic of Germany of violating international law?”

“I understand that this is a serious allegation,” Elizabeth said. “But our intelligence sources are virtually certain that Germany intends to sell military hardware to Siraj.”

“I see,” Amman said. “You are asking me to close the canal to these submarines, are you not?”

“Yes, Prime Minister, that is exactly what I’m asking. My president requests formal assurances from your government that the submarines will not be allowed to travel through the Suez Canal.”

Amman paused for an even longer time before speaking again.

“Madam Secretary, perhaps you are aware of my country’s previous attempts to close the canal? On several occasions in the last century, we undertook to deny use of the canal to ships of Israel, who was — at that time — considered an enemy of Egypt. If I recall correctly, the United States government led an international movement to force us to open the canal, even to nations that had proven hostile to our country.”

“Yes, Prime Minister. I am quite familiar with my country’s dealings in your region during the latter half of the twentieth century. But these are extraordinary circumstances; we believe they justify an exception to ordinary policy.”

“I do not believe that I can agree,” Amman said. “Not unless you can provide me with some compelling evidence of hostility on the part of the Federal Republic of Germany.”

Elizabeth grimaced; she had hoped to avoid the path this conversation was taking. “There have been hostilities,” she said. “The day before yesterday, two British warships were attacked by a squadron of German fighter jets in the Strait of Gibraltar. One of the ships, HMS York, went down with a loss of nearly all hands. The other ship, HMS Chatham, was severely damaged. At least four of the fighters were shot down.”

“Why would the Germans do such a thing?” Amman asked. “Are they not allied with the United Kingdom? Or, at the very least, peaceful neighbors?”

“The British ships were attempting to blockade the strait, to prevent the submarines from entering the Mediterranean Sea.”

“Ah,” said the prime minister. “Then it would be safe to assume that the German government did not consider the blockade a friendly act.”

“Apparently not.”

Amman said, “I am not certain that I can blame them. I would not take well to having the Strait of Gibraltar blocked to the military vessels of Egypt’s navy either. I do not believe that it would be proper for my government to impose restrictions on other nations that we would not like to have imposed upon ourselves.”

“I understand your reasoning,” Elizabeth said. “But, if those submarines do reach Siraj, the repercussions could destabilize the Gulf region for years to come.”

“If that is so,” Amman said, “then this matter would best be decided by the United Nations. If there is an international ruling on the matter, my country will certainly abide by it.”

Elizabeth fought to keep the frustration out of her voice. “Those submarines are moving now. By the time we petition the UN for a ruling, the subs will be through the canal and gone.”

“Inshallah, Madam Secretary,” said the prime minister, and he hung up the phone.

Elizabeth hung up the phone and looked at Roger. Inshallah …

Roughly translated, it meant: If such is the will of Allah.

CHAPTER 19

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