believe that history has something to teach humanity, and that the most important lesson is that war is too high a price to pay, under any circumstances.’
‘Moving words, Abu Ghaj. That’s not the way you talked when you lived in the refugee camp, when you saw poverty and death up close every day, disease and hunger, when you saw your family annihilated by an enemy mortar . . .’
Husseini felt a hard knot in this throat.
‘Then you thought fighting back was the only way out. Think back. Think back and you’ll find that your wise, conciliatory words are just coming out of the tranquil existence you lead now. They are nothing more than an expression of your egotism. But I won’t insist. This is not the moment to debate such complicated, difficult problems. I just want to know whose side you’re on.’
‘Do I have a choice?’
‘Certainly. But your choice, whatever it is, will involve consequences.’
‘I see.’ Husseini nodded, thinking. ‘If I give you the wrong answer tomorrow morning they’ll find my body lying stiff right out here in the bloody snow.’
‘Listen,’ said Abu Ahmid, ‘we need you. I can guarantee that you will not be involved in operations which result in the spilling of blood. We need someone beyond suspicion. I’m the only person who knows your true identity. You’ll just be the point of reference here, inside the system, for the cells that are about to enter this country.’
‘Isn’t that the same thing?’
‘We don’t want to spill blood in vain. We only want to fight our enemy on equal terms. That means we have to immobilize America until the duel is over. Whether we are victorious or have been annihilated, it doesn’t matter. But this will be the last battle.’
‘What is it that I have to do?’
‘Three groups made up of our best men, completely trustworthy, will be operating within the United States for as long as necessary. They do not know each other, they’ve never seen each other, but they will have to move in unison, in perfect coordination, timed to a fraction of a second. They will act as a deadly weapon pointed at the head of a giant and you will be the man holding your finger on the trigger.’
‘Me? Why me?’ asked Hussein, incredulous. ‘Why don’t you do it, Abu Ahmid?’
‘Because my presence is required elsewhere. And because here no one knows who you are, Abu Ghaj.’
Omar al Husseini realized that everything had been provided for and decided upon and that there was no way out. All Abu Ahmid had to do was provide the American authorities with proof that Professor Husseini was in reality Abu Ghaj, the terrorist hunted by all the police of the Western world for years. The man who had mysteriously vanished into thin air. Husseini would end up in the electric chair.
‘When is the operation scheduled to begin?’
‘In six weeks, on 3 February.’
Husseini lowered his head in surrender.
Abu Ahmid gave him a gadget that looked like a small black box. ‘All the instructions will be sent in code to your computer, which will transmit them in turn to the destinations indicated. This is the reserve unit. You must never lose it. You must carry it with you at all times. The password for access is the name of the operation itself: Nebuchadnezzar.’
Omar al Husseini put the box into his jacket pocket, then walked back to his car, started it up and disappeared into the swirling snow.
3
W ILLIAM B LAKE parked his car in front of the house at one in the morning and walked towards the entrance of his small rented apartment. It would be the worst Christmas of his life, and yet those few hours spent with Husseini had warmed his heart, as well as his numbed limbs, and if it hadn’t been for a residue of self-pride, he would have accepted the invitation to sleep on Husseini’s couch. At least he’d have had someone to talk to tomorrow morning over a cup of coffee.
He heard a sharp click as he turned the key in the lock, but it wasn’t the
‘Moving words, Abu Ghaj. That’s not the way you talked when you lived in the refugee camp, when you saw poverty and death up close every day, disease and hunger, when you saw your family annihilated by an enemy mortar . . .’
Husseini felt a hard knot in this throat.
‘Then you thought fighting back was the only way out. Think back. Think back and you’ll find that your wise, conciliatory words are just coming out of the tranquil existence you lead now. They are nothing more than an expression of your egotism. But I won’t insist. This is not the moment to debate such complicated, difficult problems. I just want to know whose side you’re on.’
‘Do I have a choice?’
‘Certainly. But your choice, whatever it is, will involve consequences.’
‘I see.’ Husseini nodded, thinking. ‘If I give you the wrong answer tomorrow morning they’ll find my body lying stiff right out here in the bloody snow.’
‘Listen,’ said Abu Ahmid, ‘we need you. I can guarantee that you will not be involved in operations which result in the spilling of blood. We need someone beyond suspicion. I’m the only person who knows your true identity. You’ll just be the point of reference here, inside the system, for the cells that are about to enter this country.’
‘Isn’t that the same thing?’
‘We don’t want to spill blood in vain. We only want to fight our enemy on equal terms. That means we have to immobilize America until the duel is over. Whether we are victorious or have been annihilated, it doesn’t matter. But this will be the last battle.’
‘What is it that I have to do?’
‘Three groups made up of our best men, completely trustworthy, will be operating within the United States for as long as necessary. They do not know each other, they’ve never seen each other, but they will have to move in unison, in perfect coordination, timed to a fraction of a second. They will act as a deadly weapon pointed at the head of a giant and you will be the man holding your finger on the trigger.’
‘Me? Why me?’ asked Hussein, incredulous. ‘Why don’t you do it, Abu Ahmid?’
‘Because my presence is required elsewhere. And because here no one knows who you are, Abu Ghaj.’
Omar al Husseini realized that everything had been provided for and decided upon and that there was no way out. All Abu Ahmid had to do was provide the American authorities with proof that Professor Husseini was in reality Abu Ghaj, the terrorist hunted by all the police of the Western world for years. The man who had mysteriously vanished into thin air. Husseini would end up in the electric chair.
‘When is the operation scheduled to begin?’
‘In six weeks, on 3 February.’
Husseini lowered his head in surrender.
Abu Ahmid gave him a gadget that looked like a small black box. ‘All the instructions will be sent in code to your computer, which will transmit them in turn to the destinations indicated. This is the reserve unit. You must never lose it. You must carry it with you at all times. The password for access is the name of the operation itself: Nebuchadnezzar.’
Omar al Husseini put the box into his jacket pocket, then walked back to his car, started it up and disappeared into the swirling snow.
3
W ILLIAM B LAKE parked his car in front of the house at one in the morning and walked towards the entrance of his small rented apartment. It would be the worst Christmas of his life, and yet those few hours spent with Husseini had warmed his heart, as well as his numbed limbs, and if it hadn’t been for a residue of self-pride, he would have accepted the invitation to sleep on Husseini’s couch. At least he’d have had someone to talk to tomorrow morning over a cup of coffee.
He heard a sharp click as he turned the key in the lock, but it wasn’t the
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