SIXTY THREE.

    The President rose to his feet, and so did everyone else. He crossed the Oval Office and warmly greeted the Saudi Ambassador.

    Clasping both hands around the Prince's, Hayes said, "Mr. Ambassador, thank you for coming by."

    Kennedy immediately noticed the forced smile on the Saudi Ambassador's face. He was not looking forward to whatever it was that he'd been sent to say. She watched cautiously as the Ambassador went around the room shaking hands. He was not his normal charming self.

    He barely made eye contact with Secretary of State Berg and Secretary of Defense Culbertson. He was slightly better with Valerie Jones and Michael Haik, but he only acknowledged General Flood and Kennedy with a slight nod from afar.

    When the President and the Ambassador were seated in the two chairs in front of the fireplace, everyone else took their place on the couches.

    Despite the President's warm welcome, a chill fell over the room almost immediately. Prince Abdul Bin Aziz was looking at the ground, waiting for someone else to speak.

    Valerie Jones filled the void by announcing, "Mr. Ambassador, we would like to assure you that we are taking the assassination of the Palestinian Ambassador very seriously."

    The Saudi Ambassador kept his head down and looked up at Jones from under a pair of dark eyebrows.

    "And what are you doing about the recent attack on the civilian population of Hebron?"

    Jones immediately retreated from the diplomatic arena. Such a blunt question could only be handled by the President or the Secretary of State.

    It was Secretary of State Berg who spoke first.

    "Mr. Ambassador, we are not happy with the recent developments in Hebron, and are putting as much pressure on the Israelis as we can."

    The Ambassador was careful to give Secretary Berg a skeptical but respectful look.

    "Madam Secretary, you either underestimate your influence over your allies or you have yet to exert the proper amount of pressure."

    "Trust me, Mr. Ambassador." Berg glanced at the President for a second and said, "We are exerting a great deal of pressure on Israel."

    "Then why may I ask is Hebron still under military occupation?"

    Before Berg could respond, Secretary Culbertson said, "Because three suicide bombs killed thirty-one Israelis yesterday, bringing the twelve-month total to one hundred and seventy-eight dead and over five hundred injured." The Secretary of defense let the cold statistic hang in the air.

    Aziz clasped his hands and sat up a little straighten "The violence is never ending. Somewhere, somehow, it must stop."

    "I agree, Mr. Ambassador," replied President Hayes.

    "But you must agree that Israel is not acting without provocation."

    "The other night when they bombed that neighborhood, killing hundreds…" Aziz shook his head.

    "They were not provoked."

    No one in the room dared use the Israeli excuse that they were taking out a bomb factory, and it was a good thing they didn't because after a long moment of silence the Saudi Ambassador added, "We have received intelligence reports that say there was no bomb factory as the Israelis have claimed." Ambassador Aziz turned his dark eyes from Secretary Culbertson to Kennedy and asked, "Director Kennedy, can you confirm or deny this?"

    Kennedy was caught off guard by the Ambassador but didn't let it show. Not wanting to appear a bald-faced liar she said, "We have heard the Palestinians' claims, but so far have been unable to verify them."

    He kept his gaze locked on Kennedy.

    "And what of the Palestinian Ambassador to the UN?"

    Kennedy badly wanted to tell Aziz that his cousin Prince Omar was a suspect but that would be unwise. Besides, they had nowhere near enough evidence to make that connection. As recently as this morning Kennedy and Rapp had discussed the possibility of Freidman sending one of his agents to Omar and setting him up. Freidman had made a career of running very complex operations that looked like one thing and turned out to be something very different. If Omar was about to be the patsy for an Israeli operation they would know soon enough.

    Answering the question put to her, Kennedy said, "We have absolutely no idea who killed Ambassador Ali, but are running down every possible lead."

    "Including that the Israelis may have done it?"

    "Including that the Israelis may have done it," answered Kennedy.

    President Hayes cleared his throat.

    "Abdul, I value your friendship, and I value the friendship of your country. We have made great strides as of late and I think we need to keep moving in the right direction."

    "And what is that direction, Mr. President?"

    Hayes looked momentarily miffed by the question.

    "Peace and prosperity. We need to continue to open up our markets to each other and work toward forging a long-lasting relationship."

    "And what of the Palestinian crisis?"

    "I've made myself very clear that this administration supports a Palestinian state."

    Secretary of State Berg quickly added, "As long as Israel is recognized by the Arab states and her security is guaranteed."

    Hayes nodded earnestly.

    "Good," said Aziz.

    "Then we can count on you to vote for the French resolution this afternoon."

    The silence was deafening, and after a long awkward moment the Ambassador began to shake his head.

    "Must you always favor Israel?"

    He said this in a desperate voice that was barely loud enough for the room to hear.

    "Mr. Ambassador," said Secretary Berg as gently as possible, "you know better than anyone how complicated this is."

    "Yes, I do," he sighed, "and unfortunately it is about to get a great deal more complicated." Aziz turned to President Hayes.

    "My government is requesting that as a token of our friendship you vote for the French resolution for Palestinian statehood this afternoon."

    President Hayes swallowed hard and began to sadly shake his head.

    "Abdul, I need time."

    "For what, Mr. President? So you can try to convince the French to table their resolution?" It was now Aziz's turn to shake his head.

    "The time has come, Mr. President, to stop the bloodshed. The time has come for you to show that America can be evenhanded in this regard.

    I plead with you, Mr. President, the Arab people need to see that you will break with Israel when they are wrong."

    Berg tried to draw Aziz away from the President.

    "Mr. Ambassador, I can assure you that the American people want peace in the Middle East, but it cannot be rushed."

    "Madam Secretary, I can assure you, in turn, that the Arab people want a Palestinian state, and they are tired of waiting." Aziz turned back to Hayes and with genuine sorrow said, "Mr. President, I take no joy in telling you this, but I have been asked to inform you that if America vetoes the French resolution this afternoon, there will be severe repercussions."

    "Such as?" asked Hayes.

    Aziz took a deep breath and announced, "The Crown Prince will suspend all oil shipments to America immediately, and he has been given assurances by the other OPEC Gulf States that they will do the same."