‘Thank you, Professor Martines,’ Petroni said, bringing the meeting to an end. ‘You have given us all much to think about and again we are indebted to you. I propose, gentlemen, that over the coming days we should all devote some time, thought and prayer to this serious issue with which the Holy Church is now faced.’
As Petroni walked back to his apartments he thought about how close he was getting to ultimate power. Nothing could be allowed to stand in his way – not Donelli, not Schweiker, and especially not the woman.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Tel-Aviv
M ike McKinnon had dinner on his own in a small restaurant near the US Embassy in Tel-Aviv and then went back to work. The Omega Scroll was proving more elusive than ever and he wearily punched a six-digit code into the keypad on a reinforced door in the basement, behind which worked the ‘declared’ and ‘undeclared’ agents of the CIA in Israel. It was the last of five security checks that had started with the guards on the entrance to the embassy and the magnetometer check. Sitting down at his desk he flicked on CCN to catch up on the Israeli election. The CCN anchor, Geraldine Rushmore, appeared on his screen.
‘Tonight on International Correspondent we look at the changing face of politics and the possibility of renewed hope for peace in the Middle East. Following a convincing win for President Ahmed Sartawi’s Democratic Islamic Party in the Palestinian elections, Professor Yossi Kaufmann has claimed victory in the Israeli poll. We now cross live to Jerusalem and our correspondent Tom Schweiker. Tom, a surprising result?’
‘Yes and no, Geraldine. Yes, in that Ariel Sharon’s Likud Party and Shimon Peres’ Labor Party have both suffered a major loss of support. No, in that Professor Yossi Kaufmann and his Liberal Justice Party have campaigned on only one issue – a just peace, which has struck a chord with ordinary Israelis in the same way Sartawi did with ordinary Palestinians. A lot of people on both sides are sick of the killing and the violence, and these two men represent a genuine hope for a peaceful co-existence. Here’s what Professor Kaufmann had to say when I interviewed him a few minutes ago.’
The vision cut to the Israeli who would soon be Israel’s next Prime Minister.
‘Israelis have had the chance to vote for peace, and they have done so in overwhelming numbers. It is time to end the killing, it is time to end the violence, and as I’ve said throughout this campaign, peace can only be achieved if there is justice for both sides. Neither side will get everything they want, but all of us, Israeli or Palestinian, Jewish or Muslim, all of us have the right to pursue our lives in a country that is peaceful and secure.’
‘And you’re serious about cutting defence spending?’ Tom asked.
‘Continual warfare and killing has devastating consequences,’ Yossi replied. ‘The Iraq war is costing a billion dollars a week, and here, we went into debt to the United States for over four billion dollars on defence last year. If we can achieve peace, and I am confident that together with the new Palestinian President, Ahmed Sartawi, we can, it will mean construction of the wall can be stopped and other defence expenditure can be lowered dramatically. That money can be channelled towards education, health and the environment so our children can live to realise their potential. President Sartawi has already rung to congratulate me and we have agreed to issue a draft peace plan in the very near future.’
Tom smiled. ‘Good luck and thank you for talking to CCN, Professor Kaufmann.’
‘That was Tom Schweiker speaking with the next Prime Minister of Israel. Now to the continuing war in Iraq…’
Mike McKinnon turned the TV off. Perhaps these two might bring an end to the bloodshed, he thought. He turned back to his computer and entered a series of codes. The first email headed ‘Top Secret – Omega’ was from the Director. For McKinnon from DCI. The President is meeting with the Reverend Buffett tomorrow and has asked for an update on the search for the Omega Scroll. Please provide by 1700 hours.
‘Fuck me,’ Mike muttered grimly. ‘Osama bin Laden and his mad mullahs are running around with enough plutonium and deuterium to destroy the financial capitals of the Western World and the White House is still carrying on over a Dead Sea Scroll.’ He smiled to himself. At least the result of the Israeli and Palestinian elections would give them something else to think about. The State Department, Pentagon, Finance and a dozen other departments around the beltway would be cutting down another forest of trees to produce a flurry of ‘impact statements’ on how the elections might affect US interests. If Tom Schweiker was right about Kaufmann and Sartawi knowing each other well, and they were already drafting a peace plan, Washington would be reduced to observing the process from the sidelines. Probably not a bad thing, he thought as he opened the next report from Echelon.
In the time he’d been in Tel-Aviv Mike McKinnon had made a little progress, particularly with the phone intercepts. ‘Cave One’ was almost certainly at Qumran and Tom had been more than happy to fill him in on Lonergan who, he had noted, was now overseas and headed for Florence, but ‘Free-standing Chubb circa 1950’ had him intrigued. Was it possible that there was something in a safe in the quiet surrounds of a biochemistry laboratory in the Hebrew University, something so sensitive that someone was going to extraordinary lengths to remove it? Safecracking and lock picking were just two of McKinnon’s many talents. The boys in the basements at Langley were among the best in the business and Mike had taken the trouble to hone his skills. He had also spent many hours on the indoor range before he had satisfied himself that he was back up to scratch with his weapon of choice. Rather than the. 22 that most agents used, Mike preferred a Heckler-Koch Mark 23. 45 ACP calibre with a silencer and a laser aimer that had been developed for US Special Forces. He had a feeling he would need it.
Venezia
‘Giovanni here.’
‘The Prime Minister of Israel, Eminence,’ Vittorio announced.
‘Thank you.’
The line crackled and the distinctive voice of Yossi Kaufmann could be heard.
‘ Buongiorno Giovanni, it’s Yossi.’
‘Yossi. Congratulations! How is it going? I’ve been praying for you.’
‘Thank you, Giovanni! It’s almost going too well. I’m meeting with Ahmed in a week’s time and our draft on the peace agreement is pretty well agreed, at least by us, although I don’t want to get ahead of ourselves,’ Yossi said. ‘There is still furious opposition from some of the settlers on our side, even though the compensation package is very generous. Where we can, we will let them stay and compensate the Palestinians with Israeli land, and I think they’re coming around.’
‘What about the fundamentalists?’ Giovanni asked.
‘The key to getting Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade on our side is the promise of a Palestinian State, Giovanni. Some of their members will never renounce terrorism, but if we can get the bulk of them on board, including the leadership, the fanatics can be marginalised. Ahmed and I are both confident we can pull this off and we’re going to strike while the mainstream enthusiasm is there. When we have a date, what would your reaction be to taking a small part in a peace ceremony? We don’t plan to mix religion with State here, so it would be a personal rather than an official invitation. When we’ve ironed out the details, the signing will take place underneath the Damascus Gate between a Jew and a Muslim. It seems to me that Abraham would not object if we got the support of Christianity as well?’