Название: Games Traitors Play
Автор: Jon Stock
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Шпионские детективы
isbn: 9780007352357
isbn:
‘Yes, well – you may have to cross the line, too.’
‘And the real reason for my presence in Marrakech remains deniable,’ Marchant said.
‘Utterly. As far as the Americans are concerned, you are in Morocco on sabbatical. Marrakech is a natural place for you, an Arabist, to sort your life out. HR have signed off on it, citing ill-health and low office morale. Given the disruption you’ve caused in Legoland over the past year, they are only too pleased to see the back of you.’
Marchant reckoned that the circumstances he found himself in now satisfied Fielding’s conditions. Lakshmi Meena had crossed the line. The woman Langley had sent to keep an eye on him was suddenly on his case after weeks of inactivity. He might be wrong, of course, but it was odd that Meena had come back to watch him late in the night after their meeting at the bar anglais. The only explanation was that she must have heard about the helicopter incident and Marchant’s presence in the mountains. But who had seen him? He assumed it was a local informer. The CIA was closer to the Moroccan intelligence services than MI6, particularly after the courts in London had revealed details of torture at a Moroccan black site.
By the time he reached Agadir airport, Marchant was confident that nobody had followed him by road from Marrakech. His worry was that a reception committee might be waiting for him in the departures hall. If Meena meant business, she would be watching all the country’s exits, particularly when Daniel Marchant didn’t show up for his flight from Marrakech. But security at the airport was no more rigorous than usual.
After checking in one piece of luggage, Marchant was about to make his way to passport control when he heard a commotion behind him. He turned to see a man in shades being escorted into the departures hall by three policemen, an air stewardess and a posse of screaming middle-aged women. Behind them were half a dozen paparazzi, cameras flashing as they jostled for position.
‘Who’s the celeb?’ Marchant asked the attractive woman behind the check-in desk.
‘Hussein Farmi,’ she said, a faint blush colouring her face.
Marchant nodded knowingly, but the woman wasn’t convinced.
‘Star of more than a hundred films,’ she explained. ‘Khali Balak Min Zouzou? With Soad Hosny?’
‘Of course.’
‘He’s one of the Middle East’s most popular actors. And he has been married five times.’ She stifled a giggle.
‘I’d better get a few shots of him then,’ Marchant said, nodding at the canvas bag slung over his shoulder. Without thinking, he pulled out a camera, snapped the check-in woman and gave her a wink as he walked off in pursuit of Farmi. Photographers could get away with murder, he thought.
Fielding couldn’t remember such a tense meeting of the Joint Intelligence Committee. Even the ones that had been hastily called in the hours after 9/11 and 7/7 had been characterised by unity rather than discord. Everyone had been pulling together then. There were no divisions, no conflicting agendas. The Americans had needed Britain’s help after 9/11, and the British had needed their help after 7/7.
This time the Cabinet Room in Downing Street was crackling with resentment and rivalry as Spiro addressed the London heads of the Canadian, Australian and New Zealand intelligence services, Harriet Armstrong, Director General of MI5, the head of GCHQ, accompanied by an awkward Paul Myers, a raft of faceless Whitehall mandarins, and the clammy-cheeked Sir David Chadwick, still chairman of the JIC despite the Americans’ best efforts to unseat him in a cooked-up child-porn sting.
‘I had hoped to bring better news to you all today,’ Spiro said, studiously avoiding any eye contact with Fielding. ‘As you know, we believe we have eliminated Salim Dhar in a Reaper strike in Afghanistan. We still maintain the target was destroyed, but there are rumours this morning that Dhar might have been with the six US Marines who were taken at the weekend by Taleban forces. In terms of potential collateral, that particular scenario couldn’t be worse.’
Six US Marines struck Fielding as a result, compared to the normal quota of innocent women and children who were destroyed by drone strikes, but he kept his peace, preferring to make his point with a short dry cough. Spiro looked across at him for the first time.
‘They are all fine soldiers. One of them, Lieutenant Randall Oaks, served alongside me in Iraq. As things stand right now, the picture is a little confused. A jihadi website posted images this morning of the strike zone, one of which I can show you now.’
He pressed at a remote in his hand and a grab from a website appeared on a flat screen behind Spiro. It showed a group of local Afghanis waving at the camera. One was holding a damaged Marine’s helmet, its US markings just visible.
‘NSA managed to crash the site by overloading the server, but it’s fair to assume the images will soon appear elsewhere. We happen to believe they’re fake, but clearly it’s an unhelpful story. Right now, the President, whom I personally briefed yesterday, is holding back on an announcement about Dhar. He wants DNA, but that could be tricky, given the hostile location of the strike zone.’
Chadwick cleared his throat loudly enough for Spiro to pause. ‘Just supposing Dhar is still alive, is he likely to address his followers, make a video to prove he’s not dead?’
‘First up, we don’t believe Dhar’s alive. Our position remains that he was killed in the Reaper strike. Personally, I also think the Marines story is a red herring, put out to distract attention from Dhar’s death. No way would Salim Dhar, the world’s most wanted terrorist, risk being with the Marines, knowing our ongoing military efforts to find and retrieve them. But if Dhar is still alive – and that’s a mighty big if – it’s not his style to show himself.’
‘So should we be putting out rumours that he’s dead?’
‘Absolutely. Fort Meade’s already posting to that effect in jihadi chatrooms. We’d be grateful if Cheltenham coordinates the European side of things. I don’t want a repeat of Rashid Rauf. His supporters were claiming he was alive and well within minutes of the Reaper strike. It’s imperative we move quickly.’
Fielding caught Armstrong’s eye. He wondered what she was feeling as she sat there, watching the humiliation of Spiro, a man she had once so foolishly admired. She glanced away and looked at Myers. The three of them had talked earlier about the audio evidence. The head of GCHQ was not happy – Cheltenham had better relations with the Americans than MI5 and MI6 – but Fielding had reassured him that he would take the heat.
Just as Spiro was about to speak again, Fielding began, his languid body language – long legs out to one side, head bent forward like a concert pianist’s – at odds with the devastating intelligence he was about to pool.
‘Some product crossed my desk this morning that I think should be shared.’
‘That’s very good of you,’ Spiro said, managing a thin smile. Fielding savoured his rival’s fluster, the nervousness that everyone in the room would have detected in the American’s voice. ‘Go ahead. After all, sharing product is what this meeting’s all about, isn’t it?’
‘Your position, as I understand it, is that Dhar was not with the Marines at the time of the strike.’
‘No, СКАЧАТЬ