The Alamut Ambush

by Anthony Price

  ‘But why you?’ Jack Butler sounded humbler now. ‘You’re supposed to be out of the Middle East.’

  ‘Out of the Middle East – but not out of favour with Sir Frederick,’ said Audley quickly. ‘If it came to the push I could still pull some strings, and Jake knows it. And he trusts me, that’s the point. He may even suspect I’m already involved – he knows Hugh’s a friend of mine, anyway. And remember, all he wants is to get the heat off for a day or two, if what Razzak said is anything to go by – ‘

  ‘But is it?’ Roskill interrupted. ‘I still don’t quite know what makes Razzak tick. You were going to find out about him, David – I haven’t even seen the official file on him, damn it!’

  ‘But I have,’ Butler said shortly. ‘There’s not a lot in it either. He’s peasant stock, with a dash of Turkish or maybe Albanian. Cairo military academy. Two tank conversion courses over here — that’s why his English is so good. He did one on Shermans back in ‘46, and one of Centurions a few years ago, with attachment to the R.T.R. – they thought he was pretty sound. And he’s been blooded three times: he was in the Irak al-Manshia siege in ‘48, where Nasser won his spurs. Then in ‘56 he broke out of Um Katef – it took him fifteen days to walk home. And then the ‘67 business.’

  ‘What about his politics?’

  Butler nodded. ‘I’m coming to them. He was in the Free Officers movement by the end of ‘49 – he was one of the group that captured Farouk’s palace. Then Nasser put him in Intelligence, and he was in the special squad that smashed the Muslim Brotherhood after they tried to kill Nasser in ‘54. Went to Russia next year and put up some sort of black there – he was sent home in disgrace, anyway – ‘

  ‘He broke a Russian officer’s jaw in an argument,’ said Audley. ‘Officially it was a professional argument. Actually it was over a girl – a bit of uncomradely racial prejudice. He doesn’t like the Russians much.’

  ‘Well, it certainly stopped his promotion dead,’ said Butler. ‘He was shipped back into the army and it took him ten years to get his battalion. And the rest you know.’

  ‘Not quite,’ said Audley. ‘Those are just the bones of it. What it adds up to is that Razzak’s a patriot – and not an Arab patriot either. An Egyptian.’

  ‘So that’s why he doesn’t like the guerrillas much?’

  ‘If they were Egyptian guerrillas he’d like them, Hugh. Egyptians – yes. Palestinians, Syrians, British and Russians – all damn foreigners to him. And when you think that Nasser’s the first real Egyptian to rule Egypt for a couple of thousand years you can see his point. In fact Razzak’s more an Egyptian than an Arab in just the same way Shapiro’s more an Israeli than a Jew – maybe that’s what they’ve really got in common! Anyway – ‘

  The phone beside Mary overwhelmed the rest of his words with a shattering burst of sound, startling them all.

  Mary picked up the receiver. ‘It’s all right – it’s only the house phone. We haven’t got a proper one any more. It’ll be Penny about lunch – yes, Penelope?’

  But as she listened her eyebrows lifted in surprise, and her eyes fastened on Audley. She put her hand over the mouthpiece.

  ‘We’ve got another visitor – and for you, David!’

  Audley pursed his lips. ‘So soon? I’d rather expected Jake to wait for me to come to him. But it seems I was wrong.’

  ‘It isn’t Colonel Shapiro,’ said Mary. ‘It’s the Egyptian – Colonel Razzak.’

  ‘Razzak!’ Audley frowned and blinked. ‘Razzak?’

  ‘For you? But how the devil did he know where to come?’ Butler snapped. ‘I made sure no one tailed me, and the driver’s not born who can keep up with Hugh – ‘

  He stopped dead as his question answered itself: any toddler in his pedal car could keep up with Audley’s driving, and with Audley none the wiser – if he even bothered to look in his mirror.

  ‘Well, don’t look at me,’ Audley said defensively. ‘I’m not a field man used to peering backwards all the time, blast it. And no one but Faith and Hugh – ‘

  Audley stopped too, for once one second behind everyone else in making the connections, and laughably put out by it. Roskill couldn’t help grinning at him: that celebrated incompetence in practical matters was at last playing a practical dividend.

  ‘And Jake’ he said. ‘So at least we don’t have to test your theory about Shapiro and Razzak. You’ve proved it yourself, David. The real question’s why Razzak’s coming out into the open now.’

  Audley sucked his lower lip, glaring at a point in space two feet in front of his nose. ‘The real question is why it’s Razzak and not Jake. Damn it – I was depending on Jake.’

  ‘Will Razzak know enough to connect young Jenkins’ death with Firle?’ Butler asked.

  ‘What are you getting at, Jack?’

  ‘Well, if he does he’ll be scared stiff we’re going to pin it on him. The very fact we’re here means we know one hell of a lot. It’s logical.’

  ‘So why’s he making contact with us now?’

  ‘To stop us doing anything,’ said Audley quickly. ‘From what he said to you, Hugh, I’ll bet it’s time he’s trying to win. Anything to get us off his back until whatever he and Jake are doing is completed. And that gives us a club to hit him with – let’s get him up here, Miss Hunter.’

  ‘A club to hit him with?’

  ‘A lever, I should have said, Miss Hunter. If it was Jake it would be different. But Razzak doesn’t know me, and he’s not going to tell us more than he has to.’

  ‘But he wants your help.’

  ‘He wants us to delay doing anything. And that’s a risk I’m not going to take unless I know exactly why, down to the last detail. Which means we’re going to have to throw a scare into him.’

  ‘What I’ve seen of him, that isn’t going to be easy,’ said Roskill. ‘He doesn’t strike me as the scaring type. And we haven’t got much to scare him with, when it comes to the crunch.’

  ‘I’m afraid I shall just be in the way,’ Mary said diffidently. ‘He’s certainly not going to be scared of me.’

  Audley focused on her. ‘Now you could just be wrong there, Miss Hunter – you could just be wrong. If I’ve got it right Jake wanted me involved because he knows I feel the same way about the Middle East as he does. I’m a dove from conviction, not necessity.’

  He looked from Mary to Roskill. ‘But you two are different. You’ve each got a score to settle with someone. Razzak won’t have allowed for that, but it’s something he’ll understand when he meets it. The Koran says that Allah rewards those who forgive — but then it lays down that those who avenge themselves when wronged incur no guilt!’

  ‘But, Dr. Audley – David – I don’t want vengeance. It won’t bring Alan back.’

  ‘Hugh doesn’t feel that way, do you, Hugh?’ Audley nodded at Roskill. ‘You’ve wanted an eye for an eye from the start. Now’s your chance to force Razzak to show you how to get it. I’ll give you a cue, don’t worry.’

  Roskill studied Audley suspiciously. The tricky sod was up to something for sure; his very eagerness betrayed it. But so far their objectives still seemed to coincide…

  Mary watched them both for a moment, reluctance written plainly on her face.

  ‘We can’t keep him waiting any longer, Miss Hunter,’ Audley said. ‘Ask him up, please – and trust me!’

  XIII

  CHARACTERISTICALLY, PENELOPE DID not show Colonel Muhammed Razzak where to go; from the tentative way he put his head round the door it was clear that she had given him the same vague directions that she gave to everyone else.

  The liquid brown eyes – Omar Sharif’s eyes set incongruously in that battered face – passed over each of them uneasily before finally settling on Mary. Already this was something less than the jolly, confident Razzak of the previous night.

  ‘Madame,’ the Egyptian bent courteously over Mary’s hand, though he was too well-versed in English protocol to kiss it. ‘Your niece informs me that you are holdi
ng a levee and that I may join it. I hope I am not intruding.’

  ‘Indeed you are not, Colonel Razzak. You come most carefully upon your hour. We were talking about you only a few minutes ago.’

  Marvellous – she was bloody marvellous, thought Roskill proudly. Not even Audley could have scripted her better!

  ‘You have the advantage of me, Madame,’ Razzak was holding himself very straight now. ‘You make me nervous!’

  ‘Oh, surely not, Colonel. I’ve been hearing how gallant you are.’

  ‘Madame – ?’ Razzak spread his hands speechlessly. He had been so very much the master of the situation the previous evening that it was immensely morale-raising to see Mary floor him now, unintentionally or not. Roskill felt his own confidence and resolution hardening.

  ‘This is Dr. Audley, whom you wish to meet, my niece said. And this is Major Butler – and Hugh you already know. And I am Mary Hunter … Do please sit down, Colonel.’

  Razzak nodded to each of them in turn before easing himself down into the leather armchair which Audley had vacated.

  ‘And just what exactly are you and Jake Shapiro up to together, Colonel?’ Audley said conversationally.

  Razzak’s eyes were opaque, but he was unable to stop them shifting between Audley and Mary. It struck Roskill that he was now watching one of the Audley techniques from the inside – the very technique that had been used on Butler and himself, God damn it! Mary’s intelligence probably was only a bonus; for Audley she was at once a catalyst and an inhibiting factor, to be used in either role as necessary.

  ‘Don’t worry about Miss Hunter,’ Audley went on smoothly. ‘Miss Hunter has an interest in what we’re going to talk about. And she knows far too much to be left out of things now.’

  ‘Far too much?’ Razzak’s tone was controlled. ‘And exactly how much is far too much?’

  ‘She knows Hassan was responsible for her nephew’s death.’ Audley underscored the name heavily. ‘The man we lost was her nephew, you see, Colonel.’

  It was Roskill’s cue, unmistakably.

  ‘And he was a friend of mine – a good friend,’ said Roskill menacingly. ‘So this isn’t just routine for me. This is personal.’

  ‘What Hugh means is that he’s not so concerned with diplomatic niceties, whoever else may be. And you know how rough the Anglo-Saxons get when they take the law into their own hands.’ Audley smiled suddenly. ‘In fact you could say he’s taking a very old Anglo-Saxon law into his hands. A thousand years ago in these parts the family of a murdered man had a choice of justice. They could ask for wergild, which was paid in cash, or they could take vengeance, which was paid in blood. Hugh’s very old-fashioned – he doesn’t want wergild. And as his friend I have to go along with him.’

  The Egyptian stared at them in astonishment. Whatever line of approach he’d prepared for, it wasn’t this!

  ‘And as for me, Colonel Razzak,’ Audley continued, ‘it comes down to this: I know Llewelyn wasn’t Hassan’s target. And now I know that you met Shapiro up on the hill there somewhere. But Llewelyn doesn’t know either of these things yet, because we haven’t told him. All you have to do is to convince us that it’s worth our while to sit down on what we know for a time. It’s up to you.’

  ‘Up to me?’ Razzak said softly. ‘My dear Dr. Audley, I came down here to help you, not to be threatened by you with – ‘ he searched for words ‘ – with Anglo-Saxon laws!’

  ‘To help us? Colonel, I’m not so naive and nor are you! You came down here to find out how much we knew and then to buy some more time with some more promises. But promises aren’t good enough. I want the whole story now.’

  Razzak squirmed forward and began to manoeuvre himself out of the chair. ‘I was told you were a man of sympathy, Dr. Audley. I was told wrong. As far as I’m concerned you can tell Mr. Llewelyn what you like – ‘

  ‘Llewelyn?’ Audley snorted. ‘I can see you haven’t got the message at all. Llewelyn would settle for wergild.’

  Razzak stopped on the very edge of the chair. ‘And just how would you get blood from me?’

  Audley pointed towards the telephone. ‘By picking up that phone and dialling a man I know in Fleet Street, Colonel Razzak. And I’d say “Larry, old man, I’ve got a little story for you”– ‘

  ‘You wouldn’t dare – ‘

  ‘– “about the British security man who got himself killed because he happened to come upon an Egyptian and an Israeli who were having a private chat down in Sussex last Tuesday.”’

  ‘They wouldn’t dare.’

  ‘Tomorrow’s Sunday – and I’m a very reliable source. I tell you, the Sunday papers would eat it up – and you with it!’

  Razzak considered Audley in silence for a moment, then shook his head. ‘No, Dr. Audley. Perhaps they might after all, but you wouldn’t.’

  ‘But I would,’ said Roskill.

  ‘Hugh – ‘ Mary began doubtfully.

  ‘No, Mary darling!’ He felt the anger welling up in him now, and there was no need to simulate it. ‘They think they can fight their private wars here, and we won’t dare lift a finger because it would be undiplomatic. But I don’t give a damn! Some bastard fixed that car so it’d kill Alan, and by Christ if they think they can sweep it under the carpet they’re wrong!’

  He turned to Audley. ‘You don’t have to stick your neck out, David – I’ll stick mine out. And it’ll be a pleasure!’

  Audley’s bluff had been too coolly mounted ever to sway a man like Razzak. Perhaps it had been calculated to give Roskill himself another cue – it didn’t matter; what mattered was that hot blood was something different. Even before he met the Egyptian’s eyes he seemed to feel the man’s resolution weakening — it was like sensing victory across a chess-board in the moment before the decisive move was made.

  ‘That’s how it is, Colonel,’ Audley murmured. ‘I told you Hugh was after blood. Now perhaps you believe me.’

  ‘I see!’ Razzak nodded to himself as though some inner truth he’d doubted had of a sudden become plain. ‘Well, I was warned you were hungry. But it seems you’re greedy too …’

  ‘Greedy?’ Audley leaned forward as the Egyptian sank back into the armchair. ‘Believe me, Colonel, I’m the best friend you and Jake Shapiro have got – I’m the only thing that stands between you and trouble. And trouble is something you don’t need just now, isn’t it!’

  Razzak looked at Audley sardonically. ‘And this you are doing for old time’s sake – because Jake’s an old friend? Can I I believe that now?’

  Jake – it was no longer Shapiro, but Jake. And it was a more eloquent flag of truce than any formula of words. Except they now had to meet the bill for the threats they’d made: somehow the Egyptian’s confidence had to be won.

  ‘No, Razzak,’ Audley’s voice deepened. ‘But you have to believe that I’m taking a risk of my own in holding out on my own people. If it gets out, I’m not going to be very popular, am I?’

  ‘True,’ Razzak conceded. ‘Very true.’

  ‘But it isn’t just a matter of friendship. I may be out of touch. Colonel, but I can still work out why Hassan’s in a different class from the P.F.L.P.’

  The Egyptian said nothing.

  ‘Hassan’s plan is to pick off the moderates – right? And the cease-fire plan means he can’t delay any longer?’

  An impassive nod. The olive branch was recognised, but not yet accepted.

  ‘But you’re not really worried about that, are you, Colonel? Not in the wider sense, anyway. It’s Egypt that matters to you. Not Jordan or Syria – or Israel.’ Audley took a breath. ‘And we both know that in the wider sense Hassan will fail.’ Not utterly impassive now – a flicker of interest. ‘He’ll fail because he’s trying just another short-cut, and there aren’t any short-cuts in the Middle East any more – just the long haul. Peace or war, the long haul’s still the only way.’ Razzak’s eyes glinted again now.

  ‘All Hassan can do is add confusion,’ went on Audley, ‘an
d this is the one time when Egypt can’t afford it, isn’t it? Not after Nasser’s heart-attack last year.’

  The shutters came down again. ‘Heart attack?’ Razzak said carefully.

  ‘Influenza, they called it. But we don’t have to pretend now, Colonel Razzak,’ Audley shook his head. ‘How long do they give him if he doesn’t pack things in? A year? Eighteen months? Not more, I think…’

  The Egyptian watched him warily.

  ‘It’s quite simple, Colonel. You’re one of his old soldiers – one of the men who took the tanks to Farouk’s palace in ‘52. You weren’t an assassin then, and you aren’t now. You were one of the men who broke the Moslem Brotherhood. He trusts you.’

  Audley paused. ‘All Hassan will do is maybe kill a few men, and if Nasser wasn’t a sick man himself it wouldn’t matter – the balance doesn’t matter while he’s there, because he can handle it, and Hassan wouldn’t dare move against him. But time’s running out, and he can’t afford to lose any of the old guard now – when he goes they have to balance each other. Egypt needs them all.’

  ‘So – ?’ Razzak interrupted him at last. ‘So – ?’

  ‘Why, so I agree with him,’ said Audley. ‘I think the odds are against him – and you. But the least we can do is to shorten them as much as we can. Which means we treat Hassan as a mad dog. And mad dogs have to be put down quickly.’

  The Egyptian’s lips twisted. ‘Even by dog-lovers?’

  ‘Especially by dog-lovers.’ Audley took the jibe on the chin. ‘Quickly – and painlessly if possible. And without hate.’

  For one long-lasting moment the Englishman and the Egyptian stared at each other, oblivious of everyone else.

  ‘Especially by dog-lovers,’ Razzak echoed him suddenly, but this time without any irony in his voice.

  This, Roskill realised, was as far as Audley would ever go towards admitting what his wife said he felt for the poor bloody Middle East, snarled up now in a quarrel as impossible to resolve as an Escher engraving – with its little men trudging forever up a staircase joined to itself … Conscience or idealism – or exasperation – whatever it was, Audley was offering it to Razzak now in exchange for the man’s trust.