understand you want to remain in command of the ground operation?’
‘Unless you have anyone else in mind.’
‘But you’re a believer too,’ Sumners said accusingly.
‘Am I?’ Stratton replied coldly, looking him in the eye like a poker player, pushing the knife even deeper into Sumners. Stratton’s rock steady gaze had convinced everyone, even Sumners, of his doubt in Gabriel, and further illustrated his strength of character and power of leadership and Sumners despised him even more for it.
Sumners capitulated. He removed the photograph of Zhilev from his pocket and placed it on the table.
Sumners’ boss could see the private battle between the two men and although he did not entirely comprehend the politics behind it, it was now time to intervene. In truth, he had harboured doubts about Sumners’ ability to see this operation through almost immediately after he had given him his blessing. Stratton’s credentials for the job were obvious and he now understood why he used to be a favoured operative. The answer was simple. Sumners had been a desk agent all of his career and was meant to remain as such.
Sumners’ boss pushed the photograph across the table towards Stratton. ‘Right then,’ he said. ‘Shall we get on with this operation?’ He thought about letting Sumners brief Stratton on the further details then decided against it. He got to his feet. ‘Stratton,’ he beckoned as he walked down the cabin fastening his jacket and smoothing out the sides.
Stratton unlocked his gaze from Sumners and followed.
Sumners looked down at his hands to find them both formed into tight fists. He unclenched them and then sensed Chalmers looking at him. Sumners forced a smile as if to shrug the incident away but Chalmers’ only response was to go back to his typing.
Sumners’ boss reached midway of the cabin and folded his arms as he faced Stratton. ‘Let’s appraise the situation so far,’ he said. ‘We don’t know where Zhilev is or where he’s heading, but I think the Middle East is as good a place to start as any, and our Israeli friends are the regional experts.We’ve told them we’re on the trail of a former Russian Spetsnaz operative who we believe has been employed by an Islamic terrorist organisation to instruct them on how to improve their bomb-making capabilities. We’re holding back Zhilev’s name for as long as we can because once the Israelis have that they’ll soon discover his brother was killed by Islamic terrorists, and then, of course, our story won’t hold much water - unless their imaginations run away with them, which Israeli intelligence is not famed for . . . We’re taking a risk by not telling them about the device but I believe it is justified for the moment. We’ll lose all control for one. The bottom line is there will be hell to pay if we screw this up . . .
‘You will be acting as our intelligence liaison officer while you’re here. The Israelis will not want you running around carrying on your own investigation. They won’t trust you, of course, and you should expect them to monitor you. They know we won’t have told them everything, which is why they will give you some leeway to move about in the hope of gaining information. I’ve suggested you be based in Jerusalem to start with because it’s the most central location and a good jumping-off point for all borders. Another reason for choosing Jerusalem is you need to be in the town of Ramallah by dawn tomorrow, which is about half an hour away by car. You need to be there without the Israelis knowing. In case you are not aware, Ramallah is the seat of the Palestinian authority and is surrounded by Israeli security forces, checkpoints, et cetera. Chalmers will fill you in on the details.’
Stratton looked over his shoulder to see Chalmers standing out of earshot halfway along the cabin waiting to be beckoned, holding a small canvas bag.
‘In Ramallah you’ll make contact with a man,’ Sumners’ boss went on. ‘He’ll be waiting for you at the lion wearing a wristwatch - apparently that will become obvious to you once you are in the town. He is a member of Islamic Jihad and is also working for us. I cannot advise you on the level of trust you can give this character. It’s Sumners’ idea. The man has played a rather large part in this saga and he may be of use.That will be up to you. His motives are