EPILOGUE.
The Crown Prince and
his entourage had taken the top three floors of the Plaza Athenee
in Paris. President Hayes by contrast had only taken the top two
floors of the Bristol, but then again the President only had one
wife. The Israeli and Palestinian delegations were spread around
town at various hotels. The peace summit had caused quite a stir
with the Parisian hotel community. Spring was fast approaching and,
as always, rooms were scarce. With only two weeks to make
arrangements, apologies and discounts were offered and schedules
were changed. Parisians were proud to host a conference that might
finally bring about a peace in the Middle East. Especially in light
of the recent embarrassment they'd suffered due to the less than
honorable actions of their country's Ambassador to the United
Nations.
The French
intelligence agency, DST, had arrested Ambassador Joussard on
charges of accepting a million-dollar bribe from a wealthy Saudi
Prince. To make matters worse, that same Saudi Prince, along with
his bodyguard, was found dead in Cannes the very same day of
Joussard's arrest. And if that wasn't sensational enough, the
strangled body of a known Palestinian terrorist had been discovered
aboard the Prince's yacht. The story was too juicy to resist and
within days the press was all over it.
The details had been
scarce at first, but slowly the picture of an international terror
network funded by a spurned Saudi billionaire began to emerge. The
group was being blamed for the assassinations of the Palestinian
Ambassador in New York, the Saudi Ambassador in Washington and the
increased suicide bombings in Israel and the West Bank, all in an
effort to manipulate the UN and gain international sympathy for
their cause.
The spokespeople for
the Saudi royal family had been quick to disassociate Crown Prince
Faisal from his estranged half brother Prince Omar. It was said
that the two had not talked to each other in years, and that the
Machiavellian Prince Omar had been all but banned from the royal
court. He spent almost all of his time sailing the Mediterranean
aboard his yacht, gambling and running his various
enterprises.
He was carefully
profiled as a man without a country, and a man with little or no
alliance to Saudi Arabia.
How Prince Omar had
ended up dead was the cause of much speculation. One theory had it
that Omar had gone back on a deal he'd made with the Palestinian
terrorists, and had paid for it with his life. This leak was
designed to send a message to wealthy Arabs who liked to dabble in
bankrolling various terrorist groups. There was also the inevitable
rumor that Omar had been eliminated by either the Israelis, the
French or the Americans, for his hand in trying to manipulate the
UN.
The truth about what
had happened was slightly different. The French DST had arrested
Ambassador Joussard only after President Hayes had made the French
President a very gracious offer. Either the French could arrest
their own Ambassador, and save some face, or the Americans would
expel the Ambassador and denounce him on the floor of the UN for
accepting a bribe. For the French this was a no-brainer.
President Hayes also
suggested that in order to make amends for the upheaval at the
United Nations it might be a good idea for the French to host a
peace conference.
After the French
agreed to host the conference it was fairly simple for President
Hayes to get the other parties to show up. The Palestinians and
Saudis were shamed into participating because of their unwitting
role in recent events, and the Israelis were told they could either
attend or face some very hard questions about what actually
happened in Hebron. In the end, all the parties agreed it was
mutually beneficial to at least sit down and talk.
Neither Rapp nor
Kennedy were bothered that the credit for their hard work had been
given to others. It was the way they preferred it.
They had the
gratitude of their President, and the personal knowledge that they
had helped to avert an international crisis. Now they were about to
ingratiate themselves to the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, and
further cement the alliance between their two countries.
Rapp, Kennedy and the
director's personal security detail were brought into the Plaza
Athenee through a back door and escorted to a service elevator.
From there they were taken to the top floor and met by a phalanx of
bodyguards. Only Rapp and Kennedy were allowed to pass, but first
Rapp had to hand his weapon over to one of the CIA security
guys.
Rapp felt naked
without his gun, but there was no choice in the matter. Even
unarmed, the Crown Prince's bodyguards were less than thrilled
about granting him an audience. They were escorted to a room where
Rapp was simultaneously frisked by two men while a third stood
guard with his pistol drawn. Kennedy stood off to one side,
slightly amused by the stir that Rapp had caused. When the
bodyguards were finally satisfied the two Americans were allowed
admittance into a plush suite and left alone.
Neither bothered to
sit, nor did they speak. Kennedy had asked for permission to have a
team of technicians sweep the room, but the Saudis had declined.
This either meant they were confident that their own people were up
to the job, or they intended on recording the meeting for their own
purposes. In reality it was probably both, which was why they would
say as little as possible. Their mere presence, and the large
manila envelope that Kennedy held to her chest, would say it
all.
The envelope held a
videotape, several audiotapes, and a thick file of financial
transactions and phone records. The originals were all kept in a
safe back at Langley. These were copies. The videotape had been
lifted from Omar's yacht and contained the graphic footage of David
being strangled, as well as Omar's personal thoughts on his
brother's lack of manhood and intelligence. The audiotapes
contained Omar's conversations with the Crown Prince leading up to
and immediately following the assassination of their cousin. They
revealed Omar's continued plea for an oil embargo, and finally, his
confession in the back of the limousine before he was put out of
his misery. All of it unassailable proof that Omar was in fact much
closer to his brother than the press was led to believe.
There had been a
debate as to whether or not they should erase Rapp's voice from the
last tape. Surprisingly, Rapp had argued that it should remain. He
was not ashamed of what he'd done, nor was he afraid of any
reprisal from the House of Saud. He recognized that he had done the
Crown Prince a great favor by ridding him of his errant brother. He
had saved him the trouble of having to do it himself and risk a
potential schism in the royal family. This way Crown Prince Faisal
got exactly what he wanted and his hands and conscience were clean.
He would be indebted to the man from the CIA.
They were not forced
to wait long. An aide wearing a white kefiyeh and black robe
entered the room through a side door and gestured for them to
follow. Contrary to Arab custom Rapp allowed Kennedy to go ahead of
him. If they had been in Saudi Arabia he may have reconsidered, but
they were in Paris, and despite what Omar had thought, his brother
was no fool. Crown Prince Faisal had been educated in America and
this was a private meeting. There was no worry about offending
someone's sensibilities or embarrassing the Crown.
Crown Prince Faisal
was sitting in a high-backed wing chair at the far end of the
luxurious suite. He was dressed in traditional Arab garb as were
the two large men who flanked him. He wore a white keffiyeh topped
with a gold braid and a black robe trimmed in gold. The Crown
Prince made no effort to rise and meet his guests nor did Rapp or
Kennedy expect him to.
The representatives
of the American government stopped next to the two chairs that had
been placed approximately ten feet from Faisal.
They both bowed and
then waited to be told to sit. To Rapp, Faisal looked apprehensive
and tired, as if he expected some trap to be sprung on him. His
black mustache and beard accentuated the dark circles under his
tired eyes. From all outward appearances the Crown Prince of Saudi
Arabia had not been sleeping well.
Almost imperceptibly,
Faisal gestured for them to sit. They both did so, but neither
settled in. Kennedy started by saying, "Thank you for taking the
time to meet with us' Your Highness." Leaning forward, she set the
envelope on the coffee table that sat midway between them.
"President Hayes
asked me to deliver this to you in private."
Faisal stared at the
package, but didn't bother to pick it up or ask what was in
it.
Motioning to the
envelope with an open hand the director of the CIA said, "He wishes
to keep this between our two countries."
To this, Faisal
nodded his understanding. He had spoken to the American President
on many occasions, and would be talking with him in the morning.
The very fact that he had sent two of his top intelligence people
to deliver this package spoke volumes.
"Your Highness," Rapp
said, "I must warn you that you may find the contents of this
envelope very disturbing. It is in no way our intent to upset you.
We just thought it was best for you to know the truth."
This time the Crown
Prince nodded more deeply, signaling that he clearly understood it
would not be pleasant. He then looked directly into Rapp's eyes for
a long uncomfortable moment. He stared at the man from the CIA as
if he knew much more than he was letting on
maybe even who had
killed his brother.
Finally, in a voice
barely above a whisper, Faisal said, "Thank you."
The Crown Prince then
turned to his aide and nodded.
The man stepped
forward, an unassuming smile on his face, and motioned for Rapp and
Kennedy to follow. The meeting was over that quickly. They were
escorted back through the suites and into the hallway without a
further word. Kennedy's security detail was where they'd left them,
by the service elevator. Rapp wasted no time retrieving his gun. He
inspected the Heckler & Koch 9mm to make sure it was exactly as
he'd left it and stowed it in the belt holster at the small of his
back. He then buttoned his suit coat and everyone stepped into the
elevator.
The group proceeded
back to the hotel in a three-car caravan.
Rapp and Kennedy made
the short trip in silence. When they arrived at the Bristol they
were taken to President Hayes's suite.
Hayes was waiting for
them in formal attire. He was scheduled to attend a dinner at the
Elysee Palace, the official residence of the French
President.
"How did it go?"
asked Hayes.
Kennedy gave a
noncommittal shrug while Rapp said, "I don't think you're going to
be threatened with any oil embargoes for a while."
The President smiled
in satisfaction and reached for a bottle of champagne that was
chilling in a sterling silver bucket. He plucked it from the icy
water and dried it with a nearby white towel.
"I think a toast is
in order," he announced as he began twisting the wire from atop the
cork. When the wire was off, he draped the towel over the bottle
and began gingerly working the cork free.
He completed the task
without spilling a drop and then poured three flutes. When Hayes
was done he handed a glass each to Kennedy and Rapp and then held
up his own.
"To a job well done,
and a crisis avoided."
They all drank and
then the President added, "These are truly momentous times, and the
two of you have played a major role in getting these parties to sit
down. Who knows," he added with a hopeful glint in his eye, "by the
end of the week we could finally have peace in the Middle East."
The President noticed Rapp's doubtful expression and asked, "You
don't think that's possible?"
Rapp hesitated, and
then said, "Sir, I think by the end of the week you'll probably
have a document that says there's going to be peace in the Middle
East, but I'm a skeptic as to whether or not that peace will ever
become a reality."
The President
frowned. He did not want his good mood spoiled.
"Why do you think
that?"
"Because there's an
element within the Arab world that will settle for nothing short of
the total destruction of Israel."
"That element hasn't
been invited to the table. Israel and Palestine must coexist side
by side. There is no other choice."
"I agree, sir, but
that element doesn't want to be invited to the peace table. That's
the problem. They only want the destruction of Israel."
"So what would you
advise me to do?" asked a cautious Hayes.
"Exactly what you're
doing, sir. Just make sure you hold no illusions about what it will
take to really make peace. Those groups that don't want peace need
to be dealt with, and there's only one thing they
understand."
"What's that?"
Rapp reached behind
his back with his left hand and drew his gun.
He wanted to make his
point with the President, bring him back down from the clouds. This
part of the peace process was easy, with civilized men and women
gathering in a magnificent city like Paris, talking about noble
causes while the world press lauded them with accolades.
At night they all
went to bed secretly dreaming that one day soon they would win the
Nobel Peace Prize, while several thousand miles away young
Palestinian boys and girls were being trained to blow themselves up
in the name of their god. Those so-called martyrs cared little
about documents signed in fancy rooms by fancy men. It was not
possible to reason with unreasonable people.
Rapp held his gun up
in the palm of his hand for the President to see, and said, "This
is the only thing the zealots understand, sir. If you want peace in
the Middle East they need to be dealt with. Only then will Israelis
and Palestinians be able to live side by side."