leaves us only one option: find a way to lock down Pakistan's nuclear storage facilities. Find out where the holes are and close them. And do it now, before it's too late.'
C turned those crafty blue eyes on Alex. 'And that, my Lord Hawke, is your next mission.'
'And when do I depart?'
'As soon as humanly possible. I'll need time to organize logistics at the other end. A week at the outside. I know you wish to continue with your investigation in Northern Ireland. You've got a week, maybe less if I can speed things up in Islamabad.'
Hawke sat back and silently regarded his boss, deeply conflicted by what he'd just heard. He craved this new mission, literally hungered for the great game now going on in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Still. He had sworn a solemn oath to Charles, and he believed he was on the right track after Mutton Island. Not to mention the conversation with McMahon. To abandon all that now would be tantamount to-
'Alex? Did you hear what I just said? You've got perhaps a week before you depart.'
'Yes, sir. I know. It's just that I'm still concerned about my efforts on behalf of the Prince of Wales, sir. Congreve and I are, well, we are quite confident we have made significant progress-but a week may not be sufficient.'
'Alex, with all due respect, you do not work for the Prince of Wales. You work for MI6. And that means me. And it means investigating and stopping internal and external threats to our entire country such as those presented by this 'Sword of Allah' that Montague is so rightfully concerned about. There are literally hundreds of men and women whose sole responsibility is the safety and security of the Royal Family. They've rather proven themselves fully up to the task over the centuries. Wouldn't you agree?'
'Yes, sir. I understand all that. But I promised His Royal Highness that-'
'Alex. If you don't mind. I think we should save this discussion for a private meeting, don't you?'
'Sorry, sir.'
'You've met Mr. Dakkon, Alex?'
'I have. We chatted briefly while we were all waiting for you. Sir.'
C shot him a look for that one, but continued, 'Mr. Dakkon is a veteran CIA Arabic linguist and field agent on loan to us from Washington. He has served for the last ten years, operating undercover both in Pakistan and the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan. He will be your assist on this assignment. If you have any questions about Mr. Dakkon's intel qualifications, you are free to call your friend Director Kelly at Langley.'
'Thank you. I will.'
'You are probably wondering about the loss of his right arm. He will not tell you what happened but I will. He was captured by al Qaeda fighters in Kabul. He was subjected to severe torture. The enemy demanded to know the location of an American forward operating base in Helmand Province. He refused to give it up and some bloody butcher took his arm off at the shoulder with a sword. They left him for dead in the desert. They've come to regret it.'
'I admire your courage, sir,' Hawke said, looking the man in the eye.
'Alex, Mr. Dakkon has spent the last five years of his life infiltrating the army under control of the most powerful Taliban commander in northern Pakistan. Sheik Abu al-Rashad. Al-Rashad, a longtime enemy of al Qaeda, is widely believed to be the mastermind behind the Sword of Allah's terror operations worldwide. Abdul here has risen very high in Sheik al-Rashad's estimation and has gained his complete confidence. Isn't that correct, Abdul?'
'He looks upon me as the son he never had, sir,' Dakkon said, proudly, but with modesty.
'That relationship has recently produced a good deal of very critical intelligence, all of which is included in your briefing books. It concerns Sheik al-Rashad's ultimate plan to overwhelm the security forces surrounding the nuclear facilities at Islamabad airport and secure Pakistan's weapons of mass destruction for his own use. Thus, taking over the country. That's the bad news.'
'And the good news?' Hawke asked, suddenly energized by the prospects of this new mission. He'd been simmering. Now he was on full boil.
Dakkon said, 'The Sheik has many rivals in this race to acquire Pakistan's nuclear arsenal. Both within opposing factions of the Taliban, al Qaeda, and ISI, Pakistan's intelligence service. There have been numerous attempts on his life by the opposition. He is somewhat constrained by this array of enemies.'
'America's new president, Tom McCloskey, and the Pentagon are very anxious to ensure that Sheik al-Rashad not win this race, Alex,' C said.
'Why is that?' Hawke asked.
'Because we know the Sheik is a very smart man, with enormous economic resources,' Trulove said. 'He is for sale, as are many of those government officials responsible for the security of the arsenal. Dakkon has just informed me that rumor has it, many of the guards who control access to the warheads and trigger devices may be receiving massive sums from al-Rashad. Or he may be holding the guards' family members hostage. Presumably under threat of death unless they comply with his wishes.
'We cannot rule out the possibility that he has, or will have, access to nuclear devices. These weapons would simply disappear as guards on the Sheik's payroll look the other way. We can't control what happens politically in that country. But we can put a lot of heat on Sheik al-Rashad.'
'Is this hard evidence, Mr. Dakkon?' Hawke asked.
'Only rumor, but rumor is the political currency of Pakistan. We are not aware that any weapons have fallen into his hands. Nor are we sure that they haven't. We need to find out.'
Thorne added, 'If you and your team discover the Sheik is secretly looting the nuclear arsenal, both the British and American governments are prepared to step in and take control away from the corrupt Pakistani government.'
'Hence a slightly safer planet, Alex,' C added, taking a leisurely puff.
Montague Thorne said, 'Which is where Miss Karim's expertise with nuclear weapons comes in, Alex. She will be joining you and Mr. Dakkon on your visit to Islamabad to inspect the storage facilities for Pakistan's nukes. And she will be with you on your trek up into the Hindu Kush to confront Sheik al-Rashad. It will fall to her to ensure that any stolen weapons end up safely in our hands. Once we've decided what to do with them, she will oversee that process.'
'Question, Mr. Dakkon,' Hawke said.
'Abdul, please.'
'Abdul, where is the Sheik located?'
'He moves around. He's constantly fighting skirmishes both with Pakistan's anti-Taliban militia and with rival factions both within the Taliban and al Qaeda. But he has a heavily fortified central base of operations deep inside an anonymous mountain high in the Hindu Kush. That's where we're headed, after Islamabad.'
'How do we get up into the mountains?' Hawke asked.
'I know what you're thinking, Alex,' Sahira said. 'Camels, right?'
'How did you guess?'
'No one likes camels. Especially you. It was written all over your face.'
'I like camels,' Abdul Dakkon said, a big white smile suddenly appearing.
'Why?' Hawke asked, unable to comprehend how anyone could stand the foul-tempered, noisy beasts.
'I like the way they smell,' Abdul said.
Hawke laughed.
'Well, I suppose I'll have to give them another go, Mr. Dakkon.'
Dakkon said, 'The trails we'll be taking in the mountains are about two feet wide in places. One misstep and you're looking at a few thousand feet of air before you hit the ground. Camels and horses don't make missteps. That's why I like them. And we'll be using a great many mules to transport food, water, and weapons.'
C stood up, indicating that the meeting was over. 'Thank you all for coming. We'll be seeing a lot of each other in the coming days. Alex? Let's have a nice cup of tea and talk about Ireland, shall we?'
'Lovely,' Hawke said, his mind already somewhere else.
'Have a look at this first,' C said, handing him a folded piece of paper. 'Delivered anonymously to the Ambassador to the Court of St. James at Winfield House last evening. The American ambassador personally brought it over to me this morning. It's why I was a bit late.'
Hawke opened it, his heart skipping a beat when he saw the familiar scrawled signature beneath the single sentence:
