Executive orders - Tom Clancy [193]
But it's too good a story not to run. It took me years to figure it all out. The public has a right to know what kind of man is sitting in the Oval Office, especially if he's the right man, the reporter went on. Holtzman clearly was a man who could talk a nun right out of her habit.
Bob, you don't know the half of it. Clark stopped talking an instant later, annoyed with himself for saying that much. This was deep water, and he was trying to swim with a weight belt on. Oh, what the hell Okay, tell me what you know about Jack.
IT WAS AGREED that they'd use the same aircraft, and somewhat to the relief of both sides, that they wouldn't stay one unnecessary minute in Iran. There was the problem that the 737 didn't have the range of the smaller G-IVs, however, and it was agreed that the airliner would land in Yemen to refuel. The Iraqis never left the plane at Mehrabad, but when the stairs pulled up, Badrayn did, without a single word of thanks from the people he'd saved. A car was waiting. He didn't look back. The generals were part of his past, and he part of theirs.
The car took him into town. There was just a driver, who took his time negotiating the streets. Traffic wasn't all that dense at this time of night, and the going was easy. Forty minutes later, the car stopped in front of a three-story building. Here there was security. So, Badrayn thought, he was living in Tehran now? He got out of the car on his own. A uniformed security guard compared a photograph with his face and gestured him toward the door. Inside another guard, this one a captain by the three pips at his shoulders, patted him down politely. From there it was upstairs to a conference room. By now it was three in the morning, local time.
He found Daryaei sitting in a comfortable chair reading some papers stapled together at the corner, the quintessential government briefing document instead of the Holy Koran. Well, Daryaei must have had it memorized by now, so long had he studied it.
Peace be unto you, Ali said.
And unto you, peace, Daryaei replied, not so mechanically as Badrayn had expected. The older man rose and came to him for the expected embrace. The face was far more relaxed than he'd expected. Tired, certainly, since it had been a long day or two for the cleric, but old or not, the man was buoyed by the events. You are well? he asked solicitously, waving his guest to a chair.
Ali allowed himself a long breath as he took his seat. I am now. I'd wondered how long the situation in Baghdad would remain stable.
There was nothing to be gained from discord. My friends tell me that the old mosque is in need of repair.
Badrayn might have said that he didn't know-he didn't-but the reason was that he hadn't seen the inside of a mosque in rather a long time, a fact not calculated to please Daryaei. There is much to do, he decided to respond.
Yes, there is. Mahmoud Haji Daryaei returned to his chair, setting the papers aside. Your services were very valuable. Were there any difficulties?
Badrayn shook his head. Not really, no. It's surprising how fearful such men can be, but I was prepared for that. Your proposal was generous. They had no choice but to take it. You will not ? Ali allowed himself to ask.
He shook his head. No, they shall go in peace.
And that, if true, was something of a surprise, though Ali didn't allow his face to show it. Daryaei had little reason to love those men. All had played a role in the Iran-Iraq war, and been responsible for the deaths of thousands, a wound still raw on this nation. So many young men had died. The war was one of the reasons why Iran had played no major role in the world for years. But that was about to change, wasn't it?
So, may I ask what you will do next?
Iraq has been a sick country for so long, kept away from the True Faith,