had just said to him. "I don't speak Yiddish."
"It means God punishes but man take revenge," Thomas had replied from behind him.
"My brother," Hannah had started to say in an attempt to explain before Rob had stopped her with a small smile and a kiss back on her cheek.
"If anyone kills a person-unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land-it would be as if he killed all people. And if anyone saves a life, it would be as if he saved the life of all people," he had said using the quote from the Quran in this instance as a way of saying that no justification or thanks were necessary, for as far as Rob was concerned the assassination of a terrorist that used children as weapons was his moral duty.
The striking redhead, with freckles that made her big green eyes appear to shine with their own light nodded back at him. Nothing more needed to be said.
"Come, we have been in the kitchen all day making you a traditional Israeli meal," she had ordered reverting to type as the unofficial commander's wife. "We ladies," she said referring to her teammates, the wives of the inner circle who had been slaving away with her, "Have a feeling you're certainly not going to be eating very much in that wonderful country that you're all visiting tomorrow!" She smirked towards her husband.
The nod from Thomas brought him back to the present.
The Agent noted Thomas's enquiry with a smile of his own then encouraged by the alcohol, Rob picked up his glass of wine.
"Mikhail," he said above the laughter of the table, "Would you and Hannah object if I made a toast?" he asked suddenly.
The bodyguard smiled then looked at Hannah, who quickly gave her permission with a smile to her husband who in turn gave his permission for him to continue by raising his glass in Rob's direction.
"Those we love don't go away, they walk beside us every day. Unseen, unheard, but always near; still loved, still missed and very dear," Rob recited.
The room fell silent for a moment, even the children around the table seemed to acknowledge and take in meaning of the poem. Yet by the look of all their sad faces for a terrible moment the former Fixer of the Sheikh of Dubai thought he had made a mistake. A teary eyed Tania Gurbanammedowova, the grandmother of Victoria and mother of Nara, the beloved dead lover of Thomas over a little sniff told Rob, to his relief, he hadn't.
"That is very beautiful poem Mr. Ashley. To those we love!" Hannah responded with tears in her eyes acknowledging Rob's toast.
"Yes, to those we love and miss every day," added an emotional looking Thomas in support of Tania and Hannah as he kissed the head of his daughter under his arm then with a nod, this time with a sad reflective smile, he thanked Rob for his kind words.
10
Pyongyang
The Savior Chairman of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, O Su Lee watched the Boeing Business Jet of TLH Group come to a stop outside the terminal in a much better mood than he had been for quite some time.
This was due in part, to the relief he had felt when his English friend had sent a message via the Embassy in London asking permission to bring the famous Russian-English Oligarch, Sir Thomas Litchfield, with him to Pyongyang to discuss opportunities related to the gas Pipeline. The internal battles he had faced over the last six weeks from within the Military over the Humble Servant plan were taking its toll on his mind.
Each of the fifteen divisional commanders that made up 135,000 strong regular army and the Standing Committee of the Worker's Party were on his case day and night over the fact that the new formed National Agency had, as yet, not been able to sign a deal of any consequence with a major natural resources partner. O knew the arrival of Rob and this Englishman would stop that in its tracks. This man was true global player in the world of natural resources. Up to this point the only visitors that had come to Pyongyang since he had taken over were the regular collection of "Wildcat" companies that the regime had always done business in the past.
Determined to make a break with his country's shameful past where they had done business with every "cutthroat" or "criminal" who turned up promising the moon then delivering nothing but empty promises, O had given orders that anybody caught taking a bribe or attempting to sell the resources of Korea for anything other than a premium would be executed without trial. It was a risky strategy because it meant he had decided to burn the bridges that were always the very lifeblood that had kept the previous regime afloat. In addition he was about to announce the giving up of the nuclear card, the Military's pride and the cornerstone of the regime's defense and its spirit of self-reliance known as "Juche." O knew therefore he needed to reach an agreement with this man who was about step off his huge private aircraft just to ensure he survived the opportunist hounds that were surrounding him.
His mind wondered briefly for a moment if Litchfield would remember that they had met once before, albeit briefly in 2011, when he had traveled with the Supreme Leader to Siberia for the signing of the deal with the then President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, to build the gas pipeline to South Korea. Yet another example of an excellent deal that would have brought his people much needed foreign currency only to see it ruined by the greed of the so called "Bravest comrade" the second he taken over from his father. He immediately dismissed the question from his mind because he doubted that such a famous man would remember such a moment.
"After all, I was just a mere official in a group of officials," O thought as he stepped forward with a beaming smile on his face to hug the man who unlike others before him had delivered on his promises.
"Mr. President," Thomas said after Rob and the man had finished hugging in front of the cameras and his entourage. "It's a great honor to meet you again," he continued warmly, offering his hand and added, "It has been a long time since Siberia."
"Sir Thomas," O answered griping the outstretched hand of the Oligarch firmly, doing his best not to show his surprise that the famous man had remembered him. "The honor is mine," he replied with a warm smile. He was happy that it appeared his initial assumption as to whether the man would remember their last meeting had proved incorrect.
"Welcome to our humble country," O continued as he released his hand and posed for State Media who were recording the moment for television and the newspapers.
"On behalf of TLH," Thomas said once the photographs were out of the way, "we would like to offer you a gift."
"Sir Thomas, that is not necessary," O injected frostily, his disappointment showing on his face. He hated being offered cheap gifts for it reminded him each time how broken his country truly was.
"Mr. President," Rob interrupted. "The gift is a commitment by the Gunara & Victoria Foundation of which Sir Thomas's daughter is Patron, to supply the rest of the special rice seedlings for this year's planting that you had mentioned to me that you were hoping the National Agency would be able to purchase from Pakistan on the signing of its first resources agreement on my last visit," Rob clarified as Thomas handed him the commitment in a waxed sealed letter.
As O took the letter from Litchfield's hand, he looked into the eyes the man. The intelligence officer in him searched for a signal as why the Oligarch had given such a commitment worth at least fifteen million dollars without condition. Finding none for the moment, he stepped back into Statesman mode.
"On behalf of my nation, I most humbly accept," he said, while his mind still worked on the motive behind such a valuable gift that would enable him to feed all of his people for the first time in twenty years.
The week had gone by relatively painlessly in the mental sense if not in the physical sense. The beds at the guesthouse were about as hard as you get. So much so, they reminded Thomas of the beds he had slept on during his time with the Royal Gurkhas Rifles of the British Army and his stint in the Special Air Services where he was awarded a Military Cross for bravery in the First Gulf War. The President had dinner with them every night and questioned them all endlessly over many whiskies and through a haze of smoke from cigars and cigarettes on the structure of the dea
l into the wee hours of the morning. During this time, the rest of the team was friendly interrogated by their minders who like Mikhail, Barak, Benny, and Yossi, out of respect to their new friends didn't drink anything but tea and Coca-Cola, but nevertheless made up for it by stuffing their faces with the oversized Cadbury chocolate bars that Rob had brought with them as gifts.
To ensure discussions were kept flowing every time they came across an individual who was anything less than helpful, the President quickly removed that person from the process. He would replace him them with younger brighter and well-educated individuals who seemed to understand just what was needed to make a deal happen. From a business point of view though the most successful element of the trip appeared to be the fact that the regime had finally accepted TLH's argument on why the 200 percent transit charge wasn't acceptable on face value. It was something that Thomas had readily admitted to Rob on the flight over had been a worry for him, for if they didn't, he wasn't sure how he was going to sell the pipeline to his partners or the Mayor, despite the suggestion of the President's Advisor goading him otherwise at the meeting in the Oval Office.
With the trip now drawing to a close, Thomas changed out of his suit into a linen shirt and jeans. He drew comfort from the fact that
The Devil's Playground Page 13
