“I’m from Palestine.”

“Of course you are. Which part?”

“The north.”

“That explains Lebanon. Which part of the north?”

“The Galilee.”

“Western? Upper?”

“The Western Galilee.”

“Which village?”

“It’s not there anymore.”

“What was it called?”

“I’m not allowed to-”

“Did it have a name?”

“Of course it had a name.”

“Was it Bassa?”

“No.”

“What about Zib?”

“No.”

“Maybe it was Sumayriyya?”

She made no reply.

“So, it was Sumayriyya.”

“Yes,” she said. “My family came from Sumayriyya.”

“It’s a long way to Paris, Palestina. Tell me your story.”

23 JERUSALEM

WHEN VARASH CONVENED AGAIN, THEY DID SO IN person in the office of the prime minister. Lev’s update took only a moment, since nothing much had changed since the last time they’d met by video conference. Only the clock had advanced. It was now five in the afternoon in Tel Aviv, and four o’clock in Paris. Lev wanted to sound the alarm.

“We have to assume that in three hours, there is going to be a major terrorist attack in France, probably in Paris, and that one of our agents is going to be in the middle of it. Given the situation, I’m afraid we have no recourse but to tell the French.”

“But what about Gabriel and his wife?” said Moshe Yariv of Shabak. “If the French issue a nationwide alert, Khaled might very well view it as an excuse to kill them both.”

“He doesn’t need an excuse,” Shamron said. “That’s precisely what he intends to do. Lev is right. We have to tell the French. Morally, and politically, we have no other choice.”

The prime minister shifted his large body uneasily in his chair. “But I can’t tell them that we sent a team of agents to Marseilles to kill a Palestinian terrorist.”

“That’s not necessary,” Shamron said. “But any way we play our hand, the outcome is going to be bad. We have an agreement with the French not to operate on their soil without consulting them first. It’s an agreement we violate all the time, with the tacit understanding of our brethren in the French services. But a tacit understanding is one thing, and getting caught red-handed is quite another.”

“So what do I tell them?”

“I recommend staying as close to the truth as possible. We tell them that one of our agents has been abducted by a Palestinian terror cell operating out of Marseilles. We tell them the agent was in Marseilles investigating the bombing of our embassy in Rome. We tell them that we have credible evidence suggesting that Paris is going to be the target of an attack this evening at seven. Who knows? If the French sound the alarm loudly enough, it might force Khaled to postpone or cancel his attack.”

The prime minister looked at Lev. “What’s the status of the rest of the team?”

Fidelity is out of French territorial waters, and the rest of the team members have all crossed international borders. The only one still on French soil is Gabriel.”

The prime minister punched a button on his telephone console. “Get the French president on the line. And get a translator as well. I don’t want there to be any misunderstandings.”

THE PRESIDENT OF THE French Republic was at that moment meeting with the German chancellor in the ornate Lounge of Portraits in the Elysee Palace. An aide-de-camp slipped quietly into the room and murmured a few words directly into his ear. The French leader could not hide his irritation at being interrupted by a man he loathed.

“Does it have to be now?”

“He says it’s a security matter of the highest priority.”

The president stood and looked down at his guest. “Will you excuse me, Chancellor?”

Tall and elegant in his dark suit, the Frenchman followed his aide into a private anteroom. A moment later the call was routed through.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Prime Minister. I take it this isn’t a social call?”

“No, Mr. President, it isn’t. I’m afraid I have become aware of a grave threat against your country.”

“I assume this threat is terrorist in nature?”

“It is, indeed.”

“How imminent? Weeks? Days?”

“Hours, Mr. President.”

Hours? Why am I being told of this only now?”

“We’ve just become aware of the threat ourselves.”

“Do you know any operational details?”

“Only the time. We believe a Palestinian terror cell intends to strike at seven this evening. Paris is the most likely target, but we can’t say for certain.”

“Please, Mr. Prime Minister. Tell me everything you know.”

The prime minister spoke for two minutes. When he was finished, the French president said, “Why do I get the sense I’m being told only part of the story?”

“I’m afraid we know only part of the story.”

“Why didn’t you tell us you were pursuing a suspect on French soil?”

“There wasn’t time for a formal consultation, Mr. President. It fell into the category of a hot pursuit.”

“And what about the Italians? Have you informed them that you have a suspect in a bombing that took place on Italian soil?”

“No, Mr. President, we haven’t.”

“What a surprise,” the Frenchman said. “Do you have photographs that might help us identify any of the potential bombers?”

“I’m afraid we do not.”

“I don’t suppose you’d care to send along a photo of your missing agent.”

“Under the circumstances-”

“I thought that would be your answer,” the Frenchman said. “I’m dispatching my ambassador to your office. I’m confident he will receive a full and frank briefing on this entire matter.”

“He will indeed, sir.”

“Something tells me there will be fallout from this affair, but first things first. I’ll be in touch.”

“Good luck, Mr. President.”

The French leader slammed down the phone and looked at his aide. “Convene the Group Napoleon immediately,” he said. “I’ll deal with the chancellor.”

TWENTY MINUTES AFTER hanging up, the president of France was taking his usual seat at the cabinet table in the Salon Murat. Gathered around him were the members of Group Napoleon, a streamlined team of senior intelligence and security officials and cabinet ministers, designed for dealing with imminent threats to the French

Вы читаете Prince of Fire
Добавить отзыв
ВСЕ ОТЗЫВЫ О КНИГЕ В ИЗБРАННОЕ

0

Вы можете отметить интересные вам фрагменты текста, которые будут доступны по уникальной ссылке в адресной строке браузера.

Отметить Добавить цитату