counterclockwise, please.”
The men continued speaking in Arabic, more quickly now, and she was having trouble following the conversation. No matter. The microphone inside the lipstick tube would transmit every word they said back to the Art Room for analysis. Casually, she played with the compact, turning it slightly to point a small glass decoration on the lid in Shah’s direction.
“Okay, Lia. We’ve got ’em both. We’ll run them through ID and see just who we’re dealing with here.”
Feng turned suddenly to face her. “I wonder, Ms. Lau,” he said in English, “if you would go get us some drinks?”
She considered telling him politely that she was a consultant, not a coffee wench, but decided it would be best not to make waves. “Of course, sir.”
“Fruit juice for Mr. Shah. A pina colada for me. And for Mr. Chatel?”
“White wine. Whatever they have.”
“And something for yourself, of course,” Feng told her. “Have them put it on my tab.”
“Yes, sir.” She stood and strode off toward the bar at the back of the beach veranda.
She could feel all three men staring at her back as she walked.
Marie Telach looked up at the big screen, where lines of type were appearing letter by letter. The three men on the beach in Spain were continuing their conversation in Arabic. As the transmission came through the Language Department, though, Arabic-speaking personnel were typing the consecutive translation, the words appearing on the Art Room screen, complete with identifier tags.
SHAH
: I do not like this slut here at the table with us, Feng. You risk operational security.
CHATEL
: She’s harmless, Shah. Take it from me. I do admire your taste in women, Mr. Feng.
FENG
: She is pleasant to look at. However, I expect to use her to open certain opportunities for COSCO, once the operation is successfully complete. American men will make concessions to a beautiful woman, where, with a man, they would be sidetracked by trying to compete, trying to show how strong they are. She also has considerable experience in public relations.
CHATEL
: I’ll bet that’s not all she’s experienced in.
FENG
: That is irrelevant. If she does consent to share my bed, that will be most pleasant. As I said, it is my preferred hobby.
“Are you picking it all up?” Lia’s voice said, coming through the speaker in the ceiling.
“Loud and clear,” Telach told her. “They’re discussing you right now like a piece of meat.”
“Let them. Anything useful?”
“Not yet. No … wait. They’re talking about ‘the project’ now.”
FENG:
What progress at the drill site?
SHAH
: Slow. Slow.
FENG:
You are a week behind schedule. Why?
SHAH
: We are drilling through solid basalt, not sediment or sandstone. It takes time.
CHATEL
: We’ve also had to order more replacement drill bits from Dhahran. If they arrive within the next day or two, I expect that we shall be at the five-hundred-meter level by the middle of next week.
SHAH
: The Jackal told me to ask you. When can he expect the special packages?
FENG:
They are en route as we speak. You tell the Jackal that he must have the boreholes complete by next week.
CHATEL
: That will depend on the rock. Basalt is very hard.
FENG
: Tell him. (
SHAH
: We have also had inquiries from Dhahran. Concerned inquiries.
FENG:
About?
SHAH
: When Operation Wrath of God is complete, the Saudis will have lost one of their major trading partners. Mr. al-Khuwaytir is worried about the effect on the global economy.
FENG:
When Wrath of God is complete, the People’s Republic of China will be more than able to step into the vacuum. Mr. al-Khuwaytir should keep in mind that the People’s Republic owns over one-eighth of their foreign debt. Have faith in God.
SHAH
: Do not mock me.
FENG:
I’m not. Do not muddy the water with minor concerns. At this point in time, all of our attention must be focused on completing those boreholes. Your compatriots in Jerusalem are impatient. They want to carry out Operation Fire from Heaven quickly, but they must not, must not, act before Wrath of God is complete. If they do, they risk everything we’ve worked for. Am I understood?
SHAH
: You are understood.
FENG:
And there is another matter, Mr. Shah. I received a message early this morning from one of my sources on La Palma. It seems your people have been conducting intelligence work, wet work, in fact, on your own, without clearing it with me first.
SHAH
: What do you mean?
FENG:
I think you know what I mean. Pender? In the United States?
SHAH
: That was necessary. Pender and Carlylse are too close, they know too much.
FENG:
Killing Pender called attention to him. That was dangerous.
SHAH
: It is not an issue. Pender’s death looked like suicide. Carlylse is on La Palma now, according to our sources.
