replied. 'About nine hundred million American dollars.'
'Nine hundred million dollars? That's insane! I'm not going to pay any bunch of European bastards or anyone else almost a billion dollars!'
'They insisted on their money up front-we couldn't get them to agree to take the fee out of our royalties,' Hijazi went on.
'Jadallah, let's just pitch in and buy the damned shares so Salaam will release her shares and we can start taking in some cash,' Tahir Fazani, the Minister of Defense, said. 'In exchange for this investment to the cartel, we'll be receiving one point eight billion dollars U.S. worth of value in the organization.'
'What good is that to me?' Zuwayy thundered. 'I don't have a billion dollars to spend!'
'We'll earn that investment back in less than three years if the cartel increases production as planned,' Fazani added. 'With an additional investment, we can enlarge the size of the new pipeline and-'
'Now you want me to pay moreV Zuwayy tlfundered. 'Did you hear what I said? I don't have a billion dollars to invest now-how do you expect me to invest more? And just breaking even in three years doesn't exactly appeal to me either-while I'm waiting for my money, Salaam and the fat cats in Europe and America are raking in money hand over fist. It's not right, and I won't stand for it!'
'Jadallah, if the project is expanded, we can all stand to make an enormous profit in coming years,' Hijazi said. 'And in the meantime, the cartel is providing employment for thousands of Libyans.'
'That's another question we're going to tackle-taxing Libyans working in Egypt!' Zuwayy said. 'Why should our people pay Egyptian taxes?' He slapped his desktop. 'I want Salimah destroyed, Fazani. I want it nuked, then I want to send in a ground force and take the entire complex. We've got the troops in place, lined up in Libya and Sudan- let's do it.'
'Don't be crazy, Jadallah. We'll think of something else.'
'I want all Libyan workers to return to this country or they'll be considered traitors and enemies of the state,' Zuwayy said hotly.
'We've got over twenty thousand workers in Egypt right now,' Hijazi said. 'It'll take weeks to get them back.'
'And I want Salimah shut down,' Zuwayy went on. 'Use those neutron weapons again-that'll work. We kill all the foreigners and Egyptians, and then we can just march right in and take over.'
'But what if Salaam calls up those American bombers again?' Fazani asked. 'We'll get clobbered. We haven't found a way to stop them-we don't even know where they came from or what they are!'
Zuwayy turned angrily on Tahir Fazani. 'You will do as I tell you, Fazani, or you can turn in your uniform and get out.'
'Don't be an idiot, Jadallah-we're all working together on this, remember?' Fazani said. The two men stared at each other for several long moments-Zuwayy looked almost psychotic, Fazani's expression turning from angry to scared and back to angry again.
'Do it, Fazani,' Zuwayy told him. 'I want the bombers airborne or the missiles on their way by tomorrow night. I'll give Salaam one more chance to conclude our dealand if she doesn't agree, I'll turn her precious oil fields into a graveyard.'
'President Salaam, this is Thomas Thorn. It is a pleasure to speak with you,' President Thomas Thorn said. He was on a secure videophone link from his study next to the Oval Office. 'I'm here in my study with Secretary of State Kercheval and Secretary of Defense Goff.'
'It's a pleasure to speak with you, Mr. President,' Susan Bailey Salaam replied. 'With me is my senior adviser and defense minister, General Ahmad Baris. Thank you for speaking with me.'
'First, Madame Salaam, I'd like to extend my sympathy and condolences for the terrible tragedy that has occurred in Egypt,' Thorn went on. 'All of the relief, rescue and recovery, and scientific resources of the United States are yours for the asking.'
'Thank you, Mr. President. The United States has long been a strong ally of Egypt, and I hope this will continue.'
'You're welcome, Madame President. Let's get down to business, shall we? Secretary Kercheval?'
'Thank you, Mr. President. Madame President, I understand you have received a message direct from the king of Libya,' Secretary Kercheval said without further preamble, 'stating that a situation has developed involving the safety of Libyan workers in Egypt, and that the Libyan government sees this as a direct threat to its national security and peace in Africa. King Idris has said that it is unsafe for Libyan workers in Salimah and he has ordered all Libyan workers to leave Egypt immediately. He also warns Egypt to use every resource to protecf Libyan lives.'
'You are very well informed, Mr. Kercheval,' Susan said.
'Our intelligence agencies have examined the situation, and we've analyzed all of the press reports coming in from Egypt from news agencies all over the world covering the explosive growth of the Salimah complex, and we don't see any evidence of mistreatment,' Kercheval went on. 'If anything, we see a very high incidence of anti- Egyptian government sentiment rising in the settlements and housing areas, but mostly from non-Arab countries that resent the sudden and very large influx of Arab workers. That represents a slight danger for Arabs, but not targeted specifically against Libyans, in our view.'
'That's correct, Mr. Kercheval.'
'But despite this, you believe this threat to be credible? You actually believe that Idris will attack Salimah, even if there are Libyans still working there?'
'I do, sir.'
'Are you considering military action of your own?' Secretary Goff asked. 'Some kind of preemptive strike?'
'Fully one-fifth of our military forces were decimated at Mersa Matruh, including almost a third of our naval forces,' Salaam said. 'We redeployed troops to protect the capital; we have only a token ground force in Salimah. General Baris informs me that it would take several weeks at a minimum to recall the reserves and generate enough forces to stage an effective attack. Besides, we don't want to make war on Libya.'
'So why don't you tell us what the real problem is, Madame President?' President Thorn asked. 'Why is the president of Libya, this King Idris, threatening you?'
'The real issue is, Mr. President, that Zuwayy of Libya wants Salimah-and he's willing to kill everyone there with more neutron weapons if he doesn't get what he wants.'
'What makes Zuwayy think he can have Salimah?' Robert Goff asked.
'You would have to ask Zuwayy that, Mr. Secretary.'
'We're asking you, Mrs. Salaam.'
'I'm sure I don't know, sir, except for the obvious reasons-money, power, influence.'
'Is it possible that perhaps Zuwayy was promised a piece of Salimah?' the President asked.
'Salimah belongs to Egypt, Mr. President,' Susan responded.
Thomas Thorn lowered his head briefly and tightened his interlaced fingers together. 'Mrs. Salaam, I feel as if we're dancing around the issue here,' he said with more than a hint of exasperation in his voice. 'You requested this videoconference with us, Madame-why don't you just tell us what's happening here?'
'Sir?'
'What the President is saying, Mrs. Salaam,' Kercheval interjected angrily, 'is we think you promised Zuwayy something, and for some reason you can't or won't fulfill that promise, so he's threatening to attack Salimah. Why don't you just fill in the blanks for us, ma'am?'
Susan Bailey Salaam hesitated, lowered her head, then nodded. 'You're right, Mr. Kercheval. I promised Zuwayy that I would grant him twenty percent of the ownership of the partnership that's developing Salimah.'
'Very generous of you,' Thorn said.
'However, Zuwayy was supposed to purchase ten percent of the outstanding shares from the Central African Petroleum Partners for nine hundred million dollars. Naturally, he reneged,' Salaam went on. 'He wanted the payments taken out of his royalties. I refused, and he got angry.'
'Will you agree to do so now?'
'I don't know. It depends on what you say, Mr. President.'
'Why should it matter what I say?' Thorn asked. 'The United States is not part of this.'
