said. “ What do you make of
the videotape, Ms Stone? ”
Sarah chewed at the side of her
cheek. “ My first thought, ” she said, “ is that it ’ s a fake. ”
LEARNING THE ROPES
“ W hat do you
mean it ’ s fake? ” cried Howard, apparently angered by her assertion. “ I verified it myself. ”
“ Do you people do this for a living? ” she
asked them. “ No wonder terrorists think they can win. ”
Howard glared at her, but Palu
took over the conversation before an argument erupted. “ Why do you think it ’ s a fake, Ms Stone? ”
“ I don ’ t think it, I know it. ”
“ How? ” asked Bradley. “ It looks pretty real to me. We ’ ve
identified the accents as Pashto, which is consistent with members of Shab
Bekhier . Their origin is the southern regions of Afghanistan, where you
served, Captain. ”
Sarah, for a brief second,
doubted herself. It had been a long time since she ’ d
been in the game, and a long time since she ’ d
been in Afghanistan. Did she really have cause to be so confident?
“ The first thing that tells me this isn ’ t
Al Al-Sharir, ” she said, “ is
the fact that the red and white headscarf is more common to Jordanians.
Al-Sharir and his men operate in Afghanistan. They would wear Pakol or Lungee. ”
“ That ’ s a bit of a stretch, ” Howard said in a
voice patronising enough that she wanted to punch him.
“ Fair enough, ” Sarah said. “ How about the fact
that the man standing to the right of the frame is white? His hands and wrists
are visible and you can see tufts of fair hair on his forearm. Al-Sharir might
take advantage of a grieving old man to blow up a village, but I doubt he would
work directly with a westerner. He ’ s too much of an
extremist. To him, we ’ re different species, two different animals fighting for supremacy.
He wouldn ’ t work closely with someone he considered part of the other tribe. ”
“ That ’ s a jump, ” said Palu. “ The white man could
be a Muslim of mixed birth. ”
Sarah nodded. “ You might be right, but the main reason I know that the man delivering
the message is not Al Al-Sharir is because the scimitar on his wrist is
pointing the wrong way. The tip should be pointing at him, not away. ”
Howard huffed. “ It ’ s a henna tattoo. I ’ m sure Al-Sharir pays very little attention to a bit of ink on his
arm. ”
Sarah groaned. “ That only proves how incompetent these impostors are, and how little
you people know about the man you ’ re blaming for this.
That tattoo means everything to the members of Shab Bekheir . Al-Sharir
would only ever have the scimitar pointing at himself. It signifies his
willingness to die for Allah. It signifies him being a martyr. Having it
point the other way, at his enemies, would signify that they are the
ones dying for a righteous cause. ” Sarah folded her
arms in front of her chest. “ You ’ ve been played. This whole thing is some kind of dupe. The small
details are the ones that matter most. ”
Palu remained still. He
seemed more willing to believe her now, but there was still a certain degree of
obstinacy tin his tone. “ How can you be so sure about all this? ”
“ How can I be so sure? Maybe because I ’ ve
met Al-Sharir and I know his way of doing things. He pays too much attention
to detail to be the guy in that video. I don ’ t
know who ’ s behind the attack on Sunday, if it really was more than just an
angry widow, but I ’ m telling you that it was not Al-Sharir. ”
Palu rubbed at his forehead,
and then stood up. “ Okay, let me go and check a few things out. Howard, Bradley, a
moment, please? ”
All three men left the room.
Sarah was left alone for almost
an hour. For all she knew, they were planning on leaving her there for another
hour. Unfortunately patience wasn ’t a virtue of hers, so she decided to
interrupt them. She had a life to be
the videotape, Ms Stone? ”
Sarah chewed at the side of her
cheek. “ My first thought, ” she said, “ is that it ’ s a fake. ”
LEARNING THE ROPES
“ W hat do you
mean it ’ s fake? ” cried Howard, apparently angered by her assertion. “ I verified it myself. ”
“ Do you people do this for a living? ” she
asked them. “ No wonder terrorists think they can win. ”
Howard glared at her, but Palu
took over the conversation before an argument erupted. “ Why do you think it ’ s a fake, Ms Stone? ”
“ I don ’ t think it, I know it. ”
“ How? ” asked Bradley. “ It looks pretty real to me. We ’ ve
identified the accents as Pashto, which is consistent with members of Shab
Bekhier . Their origin is the southern regions of Afghanistan, where you
served, Captain. ”
Sarah, for a brief second,
doubted herself. It had been a long time since she ’ d
been in the game, and a long time since she ’ d
been in Afghanistan. Did she really have cause to be so confident?
“ The first thing that tells me this isn ’ t
Al Al-Sharir, ” she said, “ is
the fact that the red and white headscarf is more common to Jordanians.
Al-Sharir and his men operate in Afghanistan. They would wear Pakol or Lungee. ”
“ That ’ s a bit of a stretch, ” Howard said in a
voice patronising enough that she wanted to punch him.
“ Fair enough, ” Sarah said. “ How about the fact
that the man standing to the right of the frame is white? His hands and wrists
are visible and you can see tufts of fair hair on his forearm. Al-Sharir might
take advantage of a grieving old man to blow up a village, but I doubt he would
work directly with a westerner. He ’ s too much of an
extremist. To him, we ’ re different species, two different animals fighting for supremacy.
He wouldn ’ t work closely with someone he considered part of the other tribe. ”
“ That ’ s a jump, ” said Palu. “ The white man could
be a Muslim of mixed birth. ”
Sarah nodded. “ You might be right, but the main reason I know that the man delivering
the message is not Al Al-Sharir is because the scimitar on his wrist is
pointing the wrong way. The tip should be pointing at him, not away. ”
Howard huffed. “ It ’ s a henna tattoo. I ’ m sure Al-Sharir pays very little attention to a bit of ink on his
arm. ”
Sarah groaned. “ That only proves how incompetent these impostors are, and how little
you people know about the man you ’ re blaming for this.
That tattoo means everything to the members of Shab Bekheir . Al-Sharir
would only ever have the scimitar pointing at himself. It signifies his
willingness to die for Allah. It signifies him being a martyr. Having it
point the other way, at his enemies, would signify that they are the
ones dying for a righteous cause. ” Sarah folded her
arms in front of her chest. “ You ’ ve been played. This whole thing is some kind of dupe. The small
details are the ones that matter most. ”
Palu remained still. He
seemed more willing to believe her now, but there was still a certain degree of
obstinacy tin his tone. “ How can you be so sure about all this? ”
“ How can I be so sure? Maybe because I ’ ve
met Al-Sharir and I know his way of doing things. He pays too much attention
to detail to be the guy in that video. I don ’ t
know who ’ s behind the attack on Sunday, if it really was more than just an
angry widow, but I ’ m telling you that it was not Al-Sharir. ”
Palu rubbed at his forehead,
and then stood up. “ Okay, let me go and check a few things out. Howard, Bradley, a
moment, please? ”
All three men left the room.
Sarah was left alone for almost
an hour. For all she knew, they were planning on leaving her there for another
hour. Unfortunately patience wasn ’t a virtue of hers, so she decided to
interrupt them. She had a life to be
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