‘Is he still there?’
‘I checked the computer just before you arrived. He last used his keycard at around eight thirty this morning. But I do not know if he is still in his room.’
Rajhi issued orders in Arabic, one of the cops relaying them by radio. ‘We will use a SWAT team,’ he told Eddie.
‘Risky,’ replied the Englishman. ‘You need to evacuate all the rooms around it — better yet, the whole floor. I’ve seen how fast this gas spreads; it’s not like anything normal.’
‘We know what we are doing,’ sniffed al Farhan.
The elevator stopped at a lower floor. Essa briskly led the way through the hotel’s corridors. Eddie took the opportunity to make a phone call to Nina. ‘Hey. Where are you?’ he asked.
‘Just coming in to land,’ she replied. ‘What’s happening there?’
‘I’m at Simeon’s hotel, but we haven’t found him yet. The Saudis are going to raid his room.’
‘Did you persuade them to evacuate the Grand Mosque?’
‘I can’t even get them to evacuate the hotel,’ he sighed. ‘What about you?’
‘Well, I managed to speak to the Pope—’
‘You know, I love that our conversations have “I spoke to the Pope” casually dropped into them.’
She laughed, putting a smile on his face. ‘Yeah. I spoke to him by phone with Seretse, and tried to persuade him to call off today’s audience. But he said no.’
‘Seriously?’
‘He said that if it’s cancelled at such short notice, Anna will know we’re on to her, and she might change her attack to an unpredictable time and place. In effect, he’s acting as live bait to draw her out. I understand his reasoning, but I don’t like it.’
‘Not even you get to tell the Pope what to do, eh?’
‘Sadly, no. And I’ve got so many good ideas!’ Another laugh. ‘But the authorities in Rome and at the Vatican have agreed full cooperation to track her down.’
‘What time’s his speech?’
‘It’s due to start at ten o’clock — that’s noon, your time.’
‘Just before prayers here,’ Eddie noted grimly. ‘They’re either doing a simultaneous attack, or close to.’ Ahead, he saw more uniformed cops waving away curious guests as a group in tactical gear hurried into the hotel. ‘Okay, I’ve got to go. Call me when you get to the Vatican.’
‘Will do. Love you.’
‘I love you,’ he replied. ‘See you soon.’ Hoping with all his heart that he would, he ended the call and followed the rest of his group into a conference room. The SWAT team were already prepping their weapons. ‘What, you’re just going to run up there and kick the door down?’ he said. ‘No recon?’
‘There is no time,’ al Farhan told him. ‘If this gas is as deadly as you say, then we have to stop him before he can use it. Essa?’
The hotel manager gave the cops a hurried briefing in Arabic, using a laptop and projector to show a plan of the hotel’s fourteenth floor. Room 1416 was on the building’s southern side, overlooking the city, not the Grand Mosque. ‘He won’t be attacking from there, then,’ Eddie mused, as much to himself as to Rajhi beside him.
‘Why not?’ asked the Saudi.
‘Not enough targets. There’s only a big empty construction site behind the hotel — I saw it when we landed. If his room faced the mosque, he could just smash a window and let the gas blow out over the crowd.’
‘So where will he attack from?’
‘Good question. Worst-case scenario is that he’s already inside the mosque.’
‘There is security at all entrances. They have been given his picture.’
‘Yeah, but how many thousands of people go through every minute? Could you pick out one face from all that lot? You need to evacuate the place.’
Rajhi shook his head. ‘I am afraid that is not possible,’ he said, his resignation showing that the decision had already been made by someone above him.
Eddie muttered an obscenity, then looked back at al Farhan as he finished giving instructions to the SWAT team. They rapidly donned one-piece coveralls, then put on full-face respirator masks and secured the hoods tightly around them. Al Farhan put on a headset as the masked force marched out of the room. ‘They know what to do,’ he told Rajhi.
‘I hope so,’ said Eddie. ‘What’s the plan?’
The younger official gave him a scornful look. ‘They are going to storm his room and capture or kill him, then secure the weapon. What else?’
‘I dunno, maybe check if he’s in there first? Fibre-optic camera, thermal scope, drone looking in through the window — hell, just knock on the door! And what about evacuating the other guests?’
‘We do not have time to waste,’ al Farhan sniffed. ‘Now, be silent. I need to listen.’ He turned away, pressing his headphones to his ears for emphasis.
‘I will tell you what is happening,’ Rajhi told Eddie as he found a headset of his own.
‘Aren’t you his boss?’ Eddie asked. ‘He’s putting lives at risk by rushing into this.’
‘I am his boss, yes,’ said Rajhi, with a heavy nod. ‘But he is a member of the House of Saud — the royal family.’
Eddie raised an eyebrow. ‘So he really is a prince?’
‘From one of the cadet branches, yes.’ He lowered his voice as al Farhan spoke to the SWAT commander. ‘There are thousands of princes. He is not in the line of succession, but he has the attention of those who are. It is… not in my best interest, shall we say, to get in his way. If he is successful today, it will be of great benefit to him politically.’
‘And if he fucks up, a lot of people’ll die,’ Eddie countered. Rajhi’s only response was a tired shrug. ‘Great. Maybe I should’ve stayed at the airport after all.’
Al Farhan listened intently to the reports over the radio, then issued an instruction. ‘They are on the fourteenth floor,’ Rajhi reported to Eddie. ‘Moving to the room… taking up positions.’
The other official glanced at him, for a moment almost seeming to be seeking approval — then he turned sharply away, his expression becoming determined. ‘Hejwem!’
The loud bang that followed was audible to Eddie even from Rajhi’s headphones, as was a hubbub of shouting voices. ‘They are in the room, searching, searching…’ said the older man, holding his breath, then exhaling in a mix of disappointment and relief. ‘He is not there.’
‘What about the statue?’ Eddie demanded.
Al Farhan relayed the question. Seconds passed… then the answer came. ‘No. They cannot see it.’
‘That means he’s got it with him — he’s definitely going to attack. Look, you’ve got to evacuate the mosque.’
The prince scowled at him. ‘You do not tell me what to do!’
‘If he releases the gas in the middle of a crowd, it’ll kill everyone. I’ve seen it!’
Al Farhan stormed over to him, his nose just inches from the Englishman’s. ‘This is the Hajj — the holy pilgrimage! Two million people make it each year, and there are tens of thousands of them down there right now. Some have waited their whole lives to be here, spent everything they have to make the journey. We cannot turn them away. There would be a riot!’
He spoke to Rajhi. ‘Get more men to the Grand Mosque. Guards at all entrances, and cameras and snipers on the roofs. We have Fisher’s photograph — check all black men against it. We must find him!’ A brief pause, remembering that he was technically addressing his superior. ‘That is my recommendation.’
Rajhi nodded. ‘It is a good one. Carry it out.’
The younger man departed, issuing more commands. ‘You seriously think you’ll be able to pick out one man in that crowd?’ Eddie asked Rajhi, making his disapproval clear. ‘You’ve only got just over half an hour to find him.’