Pharaoh by Valerio Massimo Manfredi Page A

it over to your chief if you don’t calm down and listen very attentively.’
    Taksoun looked at him in astonishment, without attempting a reply. He could see only the man’s eyes, because the rest of his face was covered, and it was difficult to catch the expression in them, the fleeting light of an unstable, restless spirit.
    ‘You need not modify a single detail of your agreement with them. You can even count on our collaboration. We are much more reliable than those friends of yours, who know nothing about the men or the territory.
    ‘Trust me,’ he said, seeing the other’s bewildered expression, ‘no one, besides myself and another person whom I can trust completely, is aware of this situation, so you have nothing to fear. You are actually quite highly considered in this part of the world. The Iranians, in particular, are pleased to have a Shiite like yourself on their side. As am I. To demonstrate my own esteem I have brought you a little gift.’ He took a photograph out of his pocket and handed it to the general.
    ‘What is this?’ he asked.
    ‘A jihad combatant sworn to suicide, a soldier in the President’s guard. He will be the one to blow up your Reis the day of the parade, much more reliably than the commando unit you have chosen for the same task. It’s quite likely that you would be exposed before you managed to succeed in your goal, which would mean your immediate execution. So allow us, if you don’t mind, to take care of this one.
    ‘After the explosion, you will preside over the solemn funeral rites for any bits and pieces of al Bashar they may find scattered over the parade ground, and then you will take supreme command of the armed forces and have yourself named temporary head of state that very day, pending elections to be held at a future date.
    ‘Your first step will be to confirm official diplomatic relations with the Americans. Then you will immediately establish, secretly of course, a plan for a close alliance with the new Syrian president, who supports our project. You will contact the Iranians as well, who are already behind us, and several fundamentalist groups in Egypt and Jordan, according to our instructions.
    ‘I will take care of arranging the appointments and meetings, in absolute secrecy.’
    General Taksoun raised his eyes to the clouds gathering in the sky and tried to make out Ahmid’s expression in the darkness beneath the keffiyeh that hid most of his face.
    Abu Ahmid nodded, looking up as well at the thickening black clouds driven by the khamsin. ‘A storm is coming up,’ he said, and seemed to be listening to the sound of the wind growing stronger, ‘a storm the likes of which the world hasn’t seen since the last world war. And this will be Armageddon.’
    Taksoun shook his head. ‘You think you can set off another war, Abu Ahmid? It won’t work. There’s only one superpower left in this world and their military supremacy is overwhelming. Alliances or no alliances, the times of Salah ad Din and Harun al Rashid will never come back. My choice was not a betrayal of the Arab cause; rather, it is the only way out, the only way to set this country free from poverty and from civil and political degradation.’
    ‘I believe you, General. But listen carefully. This time there won’t be any superpowers in the arena. The battle will be between the powers in play in our little corner of the world. I can’t tell you yet how this will happen. When the first part of my plan attains its goal, you’ll understand. What I can absolutely guarantee is that the United States will be in chains on the other side of the ocean, without being able to move a single ship, plane or man. America will have a gun pointed at its head and I, in person, will have my finger on the trigger.’
    Taksoun looked hard for a hint of what might be going through the man’s mind, and listened closely as he continued.
    ‘At that point, our forces will move, lightning swift, in two directions.’