Lethal Trajectories - Michael Conley [98]
“So, I’m a prisoner,” Khalid said wryly as he pondered his circumstances. “Let me tell you of a decision I have made: I will not rest until Mustafa and his cabal are hunted down and destroyed like dogs and Saudi Arabia is restored to its former position of power and prosperity. I will use all of my financial resources and international connections to make this happen. Only death will stop me.”
“How do you plan to do this, Prince Khalid?” asked his oil advisor.
“I will call a press conference to expose Mustafa for the monster he is,” Khalid stated, “and I will provide a rallying point for all opposed to his brutal regime. Our plan will develop from there, but this is where we must start.”
The constructive discussion that followed on tactics and strategy pleased Khalid. It gave him a sense of hope he had not felt since the day of Mustafa’s murderous overthrow.
I am not alone, Khalid realized as the winds of grief quieted inside him. Many will stand with me against Mustafa’s perfidy. He would begin at once to prepare for the broadcast that would launch his counteroffensive against Mustafa. His greatest challenge would be to stay alive long enough to make it.
36
Camp David
30 September 2017
The four participants greeted each other warmly as they met in the Main Lodge. Looking more like a group of friends gathering for a festive weekend, they entered their conference room and found a breakfast buffet of Chinese and American cuisine set out on a table only a few feet from a crackling fireplace. The unmistakable rumblings of a thunderstorm could be heard in the distance, and the light rain pelting the paned windows made a soothing soundtrack for the unprecedented meeting about to take place.
“We thank you for arranging this meeting,” Lin Cheng said in almost unaccented English. “We have many issues to discuss, but both Wang Peng and I thought our talks last night were a good start.”
“Thank you, Chairman Lin Cheng, and my good friend, Wang Peng, for meeting with us. You honor us with your presence, and we are so happy to have this opportunity to meet with you in this private setting. Both Jack and I felt last night’s meeting was a success, and we look forward to our discussions today. In the spirit of things, I would feel most comfortable if you would just call me Clayton.”
“It would be my honor, Clayton, and I in turn would be honored if you addressed me by my given name, Cheng.”
Clayton could see Wang Peng was surprised by his boss’s informality. He knew that in China only good friends were invited to use one’s given name; he surmised that very few in China ever addressed Lin Cheng by his given name. A good first start, Clayton thought.
“Before we start, Clayton, I wonder if you have heard King Mustafa’s speech, made earlier this morning,” Lin Cheng inquired.
“We got the transcript shortly before this meeting. The Saudis certainly don’t leave any of us—even their OPEC partners—any wiggle room, do they?” Clayton replied.
“No they don’t,” replied Lin Cheng with irritation in his voice. “In fact, it makes me all the more interested in exploring the CIA report you provided and hearing more about the collaborative approach the CIA seemed to suggest.”
For the next three hours they vigorously discussed the CIA report and other collateral issues including climate-change, trade relations, economic policies, and geopolitical issues. With only four opinions to consider, they easily set aside cold war dogma in search of workable solutions that transcended the boundaries of conventional diplomacy. The collegial dialogue captured, Clayton thought, the spirit of what Jack and Peng had hoped to achieve when they first thought up the idea of an informal summit meeting.
As the debate began to repeat itself, Lin Cheng, who seemed to Clayton to be more intent on absorbing information than holding forth on it, offered a summary for the group’s consensus. “It seems to me that we all agree with the CIA report and its contention