'Not good enough. They'll ask too many questions and want to confirm your answers.'
'None I can't answer,' broke in Kendrick. 'All part of the truth, all easily confirmed. I was convinced I knew who was behind the Palestinians and why—he'd used the same tactics on my company—the truth. I had connections with the most powerful men in the Sultanate and full government protection. Let them check with young Ahmat, he'd love to get that straightened out; his nose is still out of joint. Again, the truth, even when I was in the prisoner compound I was watched every minute by the police… My objective throughout was merely to get the information I knew existed to nail a maniac who called himself the Mahdi. The truth.'
'I'm sure there are gaps that can trip you up,' said Payton, writing notes he would later shred.
'Not one I can think of, and that's all that matters. I've heard the European's tape; they've got billions riding on the next five years and can't afford to weaken their status quo by one iota. It doesn't matter that they're wrong, but they see me as a threat to them, which under different circumstances I damn well would be—’
'What might those circumstances be, Evan?' interrupted the older man in Langley.
'What…? If I stayed in Washington, I imagine. I'd ride herd on every son of a bitch who plays loose with the government's coffers and figures out ways to get around the laws for a few million here and a few million there.'
'A veritable Savonarola.'
'No fanaticism, MJ, just a goddamned angry taxpayer who's sick and tired of all those screaming scare tactics designed to bleed the taxpayers for excessive profits… Where was I?'
'A threat to them.'
'Right. They want me out of the way and I'll convince them I'm ready to go, that I want nothing to do with this campaign to put me on the ticket… but I have a problem.'
'This, I assume, is the kicker?'
'I'm first and foremost a businessman, a construction engineer by training and profession, and the office of Vice President would provide me with a global posture I could never enjoy without it. I'm relatively young; in five years I'll still be in my forties and as a former Vice President I'd have financial backing and influence available to me all over the world. That's a very tempting prospect for an international builder who intends to return to the private sector… What do you think would be the reaction of Bollinger and his advisers, MJ?'
'What else?' said the director of Special Projects. 'You're imitating their own voices with just the right amount of ooze. They'll offer you a five-year shortcut with all the financial resources you need.'
'That's what I thought you'd say; that's what I think they'll say. But again, like any decent negotiator who's made a fair share of money in his day, I have another problem.'
'I can't wait to hear it, young man.'
'I need proof and I need it quickly so that I can firmly reject the political committee in Denver that's priming Chicago for next week. Reject it before it gets off the ground and possibly out of control.'
'And the proof you require is a general commitment of sorts?'
'I'm a businessman.'
'So are they. They won't put anything in writing.'
'That's negotiable among men of goodwill. I want a meeting-of-intent with the principals. I'll set forth my plans, vague as they are, and they can respond. If they can convince me that they're trustworthy, I'll act accordingly… And I think they'll be very convincing, but by then it won't matter.'
'Because you'll have the nucleus,' agreed Payton, smiling. 'You'll know who they are. I must say, Evan, it all sounds feasible, even remarkably so.'
'Just sound business practice, MJ.'
'However, I have a problem. At the outset, they'll never believe that you're going back over there. They'll think you're lying. The whole Middle East is too unstable.'
'I didn't say I was going back next week, I said “one day”, and God knows I wouldn't mention the Mediterranean. But I will talk about the Emirates and Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, even Oman and
