The server returned and placed a green salad in front of the colonel. He made no move to touch it.
‘Please. Eat.’ Von Volker pointed at the salad with his fork.
‘I ate before my arrival.’ Davari suspected the man might have had something placed on the salad that would go against the Islamic faith. It was childish, but according to his files, the man was not above that. ‘Thank you.’
With a shrug, Von Volker returned to his meal. ‘As you wish. We are not enemies, you know.’ He waved his fork to indicate both of them. ‘We — you and I — hate the Jews. Our people, though some of mine are misguided and forgetful these days, hate the Jews. We share this, and this common enemy makes us friends.’
Davari didn’t share that point of view, but he knew the Ayatollah trusted the anti-Semitic feeling in Austria. There were many problems in the Middle East, and not everyone favored Israel or held the Jews blameless in the conflict. The Ayatollah pumped money into the People’s Party, and to Von Volker in particular. In return, the Austrian and his partners acquired fissionable nuclear materials and technology to give to Iran.
The server returned, carrying a large plate filled with steak, shrimp, and sautéed vegetables. He placed it before Von Volker with a flourish, then refilled his wine glass. Taking a piece of silverware in each hand, the Austrian surveyed his gastronomical battlefield with the practiced eye of an invading general.
‘Your master told me there was something you required my help with, Colonel. I suppose this has something to do with the fiasco in the Gaza.’
Davari throttled his anger and kept his voice calm. ‘Yes.’
‘As I understand it, your friend on the ground there was looking for someone.’
‘A university professor named Lev Strauss.’ Davari took a snapshot of Strauss from his pocket and slid it facedown across the tabletop.
Von Volker lifted the picture and took a quick glance. Then he left the picture lying facedown. ‘He isn’t known to me.’
‘There is no reason he should be. The professor has had an interesting history.’ Davari recited Strauss’s background from memory. ‘He was recruited by the Mossad while he was at Harvard in the United States. He continued working missions for them while he was at Oxford, then a plane he was on was booby-trapped over thirteen years ago. It blew up and went down in the Dead Sea region. Strauss lost his left leg below the knee in the crash.’
‘No more missions.’
‘He remains on active duty, but these days he spends his time in dusty libraries as a true scholar.’
Von Volker lifted his eyebrows and smiled. ‘Except — something changed.’
‘Yes.’
‘What?’
‘At this point, that information is restricted. On a need-to-know basis.’ Davari knew that the Westerners liked their little spy games. The truth was that the Ayatollah did not want anyone told the nature of the prize they sought.
The Austrian sliced off a chunk of bloody meat. ‘I would be better able to help if I knew what was going on.’ He popped the piece into his mouth.
‘Right now, we need Strauss found. That is all you need to concern yourself with at the moment.’
‘He’s not in the Gaza anymore?’
‘No.’
‘Where did he run?’
‘According to the two guards my friend spoke with, the professor has returned to Jerusalem.’
‘You have people there.’
‘We had people.’ Davari had read the reports on the executions of those Quds agents only hours ago. ‘They tried to capture the professor.’
‘And got themselves killed?’
‘Yes.’
Von Volker smiled. ‘So the prey has already been spooked in the Gaza and in his homeland.’
‘He is still there.’
‘Sitting quietly in some sequestered hideaway while the Mossad watch over him, waiting for the rats to come to the cheese?’ Von Volker shook his head. ‘I don’t think so.’
Davari remained silent.
‘You’re not painting a very appetizing picture, my friend.’
The colonel had run out of patience. ‘I’m not painting anything. I’m offering you a job to perform, one my master believes you are in a position to accomplish. If you don’t want to risk it, simply say so, and I will go to the next man on my list.’
Von Volker chuckled. He pointed his fork at Davari. ‘You’re the next man on your list, aren’t you?’
Davari glared at the man, but stayed silent.
‘Yes, you are. You can’t fool me.’ The Austrian blotted his lips on his napkin. ‘Well, let me tell you, my friend, you’re not good enough to get into Jerusalem and get back out again. All you’ll end up doing is getting yourself killed. Then your master is going to have to go to the next man on his list. Work with me, and we can both get what we want.’
Davari refrained from commenting with a supreme effort. What the Austrian said was true, and it angered him that the man knew.
‘I can get to Lev Strauss.’ Von Volker returned his attentions to his plate.
‘Why are you so sure?’
‘Because, just as you have a secret, so do I.’ Von Volker smiled confidently. ‘I will hand the professor over to you in a matter of days. And then we will talk about my bonus.’
10
‘Look! There it is!’ Gloria Chen walked slightly behind Lourds as he trudged through the snow, letting him do most of the work breaking through the frozen crust. The excitement in her voice drew his attention at once.
He’d been woolgathering, as he usually did when faced with physical drudgery and uninspiring surroundings, and a long walk up a mountain with more mountains around combined both those things.
The previous night, Gelu had persuaded them to rest and recuperate. The Sherpa guide had a good eye for people, and he’d told Lourds that several of the climbers, including Professor Hu, were all but worn-out. Gelu had promised they would comfortably reach their goal by the next evening, even after sleeping in.
Despite his anticipation and the urging of the BBC crew to keep moving, Lourds had agreed. They’d pitched camp there in the lee of the rocks, and the Sherpas had prepared the evening meal over a low fire. It wasn’t as relaxing as a ski resort, but it had been surprisingly comforting to be cared for. Lourds had slept like a baby in his tent.
The stone building sheltered under an overhang of rock shelf, and Lourds wasn’t surprised that no one had really known about the temple. At first he didn’t know what had caused Gloria to become so enthusiastic, then a gust of wind blew a cloud of snow over the rock shelf. The setting sun caught the flying ice particles, and their prismatic qualities cast a field of rainbows over the temple.
‘Rory?’ Lourds raised his voice above the wind screaming through the canyon.
‘Yeah, mate?’
‘Tell me you’re getting this with the camera.’
‘You better believe it. If this works out, I think we’re looking at our opening.’
Lourds’s heart sped up as he watched the beautiful swirl with a huge grin.
‘Wouldn’t it be shorter to walk across the valley?’ Lourds pointed his climbing staff at the circular depression between where they’d come up and the temple.
‘Walk across not good.’ Gelu shook his shaggy head. ‘Much danger. Much frozen that.’ He walked toward the depression, stood at the edge, and kicked away snowdrifts to reveal ice. He waved at the valley. ‘All ice. Not good.’
‘Come on, mate.’ Rory pointed across the long walk they had around the bowl. ‘If we walk across, it’s a lot shorter. Any ice up here is going to stay frozen.’