spoke.
Cactus Flower would have to make the arrangements for the” meeting as Caliph instructed. He would not be able to take the chance of faking it not with Caliph.” Magda nodded in silent agreement.
“Therefore we have to believe that at this moment Caliph is close,
very close.”
“Yes. “She nodded again, but reluctantly.
“That means that I have to go on impersonating Steven.”
“Peter,
no. They will kill you.”
“They have already tried-” Peter told her grimly, and quietly outlined the destruction of the Mercedes. She touched the bruise in the small of his back where he had been struck by flying debris from the explosion.
“They won’t let you get close to Caliph.”
“They may have no choice,” Peter told her. “Caliph is so concerned for his own safety he is going to insist on the meeting.”
“They will try and kill you again, “she implored him.
“Perhaps, but I’m betting the meeting with Caliph is arranged to take place very soon. They won’t have much opportunity to set up another elaborate trap like the Mercedes, and I’ll be expecting it I’ve got to go ahead with it, Magda.”
“Oh, Peter-” But he touched her lips, silencing the protest, and he was thinking aloud again.
“Let’s suppose Mossad knew that I was not Steven Stride, that my real purpose was not to denounce Cactus Flower?
What difference would that make to the thinking at Mossad?” She considered that. “I’m not certain.”
“If they knew it was Peter Stride impersonating Steven Stride he insisted, “would that make them curious enough to let the meeting go ahead?”
“Peter, are you suggesting
I turn in a report to my control at Mossad ?”
“Would you do that?”
“Sweet merciful God,” she whispered. “I
could be signing your death warrant, Peter my darling.” or you could be saving my life.”
“I don’t know.” She sat up erect in the bed and ran the fingers of both hands through the short dark curls, the lamplight glowed on her skin with a pale, smooth opalescence and the small fine breasts changed shape as she moved her arms. “Oh, Peter, I don’t know.”
“It could be our only chance to ever get close to Caliph,” he insisted, and the lovely face was naked with indecision.
“Caliph believes I have killed you, he believes that I have transmitted a warning to him through my brother. He will have his guard as low as ever it will be. We will never have a chance again like this “I am so afraid for you, Peter. I am so afraid for myself without you-” She did not finish it, but pulled up her long naked legs and hugged her knees to her breasts. It was a defensive foetal position.
“Will you do it?” he asked gently.
“You want me to tell my control your real identity, to tell him that I believe your real purpose is not to denounce Cactus Flower but some other unknown-“
“That is right.” She turned her head and looked at him.
“I will do it in exchange for your promise,” she decided.
“What is that?”
“If I judge from my control at Mossad that you are still in danger, and that they still intend intercepting you before you reach Caliph then I want your promise that you will abandon the attempt. That you will immediately go to where the Lear is waiting and that you will allow Pierre to fly you out of here to a safe place.”
“You will be honest with me?” he asked. “You will judge Mossad’s reaction fairly and even if there is a half- decent chance of me reaching Caliph you will allow me to take that chance?” She nodded, but he went on grimly, making certain of it.
“Swear it to me!”
“I would not try to prevent you just as long as there is a chance of success.”
“Swear it to me, Magda.”
“On my love for you, I swear it,” she said quietly, and he relaxed slightly.
“And I in turn swear to you that if there is no chance of meeting
Caliph I will leave on the Lear.” She turned against his chest,
wrapping both her arms around his neck.
“Make love to me, Peter. Now! Quickly! I have to have that at least.” As she dressed she went over the arrangements for communicating.
“I cannot come through the switchboard here I explained why,”
she told him as she laced the canvas boots.
“You must stay here, in this room where I can reach you. If there is danger I will send someone to you. It will be somebody I trust. He will say simply. “Magda sent me,” and you must go with him. He will take you to Pierre and the Lear jet.” She stood up and belted the khaki breeches around her narrow waist, crossing to the mirror to comb out the dark damp tangle of her curls.
“If you hear nothing from me it will mean that I judge there is still a chance of reaching Caliph-” Then she paused and her expression altered. “Are you armed, Peter?” She was watching him in the mirror as she worked with her hair. He shook his head.
“I could get a weapon to you a knife, a pistol, And again he shook his head. “They will search me before I am allowed near Caliph.
If they find a weapon-” He did not have to finish it.
“You are right, “she agreed.
She turned back to him from the mirror, buttoning the shirt over the nipples of her breasts, which were still swollen and dark rosy red from their loving.
“it will all happen very quickly now, Peter. One way or the other it will be over by tomorrow night. I have a feeling here ” She touched herself between the small breasts that pushed out the cotton of her shirt. “Now kiss me. I have stayed too long already for the safety of both of us.” Peter slept very little after Magda left him, even though he was very tired. A dozen times he started awake during the night with every nerve strung tightly, rigid and sweating in his bed.
He was up before first light, and ordered one of those strange
Israeli breakfasts of salads and hard-boiled eggs with pale green centres to be sent up to his room.
Then he settled down once more to wait.
He waited the morning out, and when there had been no message from
Magda by noon, the certainty increased that Mossad had decided not to prevent the meeting with Caliph. If there had been any doubt in
Magda’s mind she would have sent for him. He had a light lunch sent up to the room.
The flat bright glare of noon gradually mellowed into warm butter-yellow, the shadows crept out timidly from the foot of the palm trees in the garden as the sun wheeled across a sky of clear high aching blue, and still Peter waited.
When there was an hour left of daylight, the telephone rang again.
It startled him, but he reached for it quickly.
“Good evening, Sir Steven. Your driver is here to fetch you,”
said the girl at the reception desk.
“Thank you. Please tell him I will be down directly,” said Peter.
He was fully dressed, had been ready all that day to move immediately. He needed only to place the - crocodile skin case in the cupboard and lock it, then he left the room and strode down the corridor to the elevators.
He had no way of knowing if he was going to meet Caliph, or if he was about to be spirited out of Israel in Magda’s Lear jet.
