"True, we all lose. You may be the great Satan in the eyes of Islamic fundamentalists, but as good Communist atheists we're not loved either.
I don't have to tell you the biggest loser is Israel. With the disastrous defeat of Iraq by Iran and the assassination of President Saddam Husayn, the road is now open for him and Syria to threaten the moderate Arab nations into combining forces for a massive three-front attack against Israel. The Jews will surely be defeated this time."
The Senator shook his head doubtfully. "The Israelis have the finest fighting machine in the Middle East. They've won before, and they're prepared to do it again."
"Not against 'human wave' attacks by nearly two million Arabs," warned Vyhousky. "Assad's forces will drive south while Yazid's Egyptians attack north across the Sinai, as they did in 'sixty-seven and
'seventy-three. Only this time h-an's army will sweep over Saudi Arabia and Jordan, crossing the River Jordan from the West. Despite their fighting skills and superior technology, the Israelis will be overwhelmed."
"And when the slaughter finally ends," added Korolenko ominously, "the West will be thrown into a state of economic depression when the united Muslim governments, with total control of fifty-five percent of the world's oil reserves, drive prices to astronomical heights. As they surely will."
"Your bet," Nichols said to Schiller.
"Two bucks."
"Raise you two," came Korolenko.
Vyhousky threw his cards on the table. "I fold."
The Senator contemplated his hand a moment. "I'll match the four and raise another four."
"The sharks are circling," said Nichols with a tight smile. "Count me out."
"Let's not kid ourselves," said the Senator. "It's no secret the Israelis have a small arsenal of nuclear weapons, and they won't hesitate to use them if they're down to the last roll of the dice."
Schiller sighed deeply. "I don't even like to think about the consequences." He looked up as his boat's skipper knocked on the door and hesitantly stepped in.
"Excuse me for interrupting, Mr. Schiller, but there's an important call for you."
Schiller pushed his cards toward Nichols. "No sense in prolonging the agony with this hand. Would you excuse me?"
One of the cardinal niles of the weekly get-together was no phone calls unless it was a matter of urgency that in some way concerned everyone at the table. The game continued, but the four men played automatically, their curiosity mounting.
"Your bet, Aleksey," said the Senator.
"Raise you another four dollars."
"I call."
Korolenko shrugged resignedly and laid down his cards face up. All he had was a pair of fours.
The Senator smiled wryly and turned over his cards. He won with a pair of sixes.
"Oh, good lord," moaned Nichols. "I dropped out with a pair of kings."
"There goes your lunch money, Aleksey." Vyhousky laughed.
"So we bluffed each other," said Korolenko. "Now I know why I won't buy a used car from an American politician."
The Senator leaned back in his chair and ran a hand through a thick mane of silver hair. "As a matter of fact I worked my way through law school selling cars. Best training I ever had for running for the Senate."
Schiller reentered the room and sat down at the table. "Sorry to leave, but I've just been notified that a chartered United Nations plane crashed on the coast of northern Greenland. Over fifty known dead. No word on survivors."
"any Soviet representatives on board?" asked Vyhousky. ... The passenger list hasn't come through yet."
"A terrorist bombing?"
"Too early to tell, but first sketchy reports say it was no accident."
"What flight was it?" Nichols asked.
"London to New York."
"Northern Greenland?" Nichols repeated thoughtfully. "They must have strayed over a thousand miles off course."
"Smells of a hijacking," suggested Vyhousky.
"Rescue units are on the site," explained Schiller. "We should know more within the hour."
The expression on Senator Pitts face darkened. "I have a dire suspicion that Hala Kamil was on that flight. She was due back at United Nations headquarters from Europe for next week's session of the General Assembly."
"I believe George is right," said Vyhousky. "Two of our Soviet delegates were traveling in her party."
"Madness," said Schiller, wearily shaking his head. "Utter madness. Who would gain by murdering a planeload of U.N. people?"
No one answered immediately. There was a long moment's silence.
Korolenko stared, expressionless, at the center of the table. Then he spoke in a quiet voice.
The Senator stared the Russian straight in the eye. "You knew."
"I guessed."
"You think Yazid ordered Kamil's death?"
"I can only say our intelligence sources discovered there was an Islamic faction in Cairo that was planning an attempt."
"And you stood by and said nothing while fifty innocent people died-"
"A miscalculation," admitted Korolenko. "We did not know how or when the assassination was to take place. It was assumed Kmfl's LIFE would be in danger only if she went to Egypt-not from Yazid lf, but rather his fanatical followers. Yazid has never been tied to any terrorist acts.
Your profile of him reads the same as ours: a brilliant man who thinkqs of himself as a Muslim Gandhi."
"So much for KGB and CIA profiles," said Vyhousky candidly.
"Another classic case of intelligence experts being suckered by a well-conceived public-relations campaign," sighed the Senator. "The man is a bigger psycho case than we figured."
Schiller nodded in agreement. "Yazid has to be responsible for the tragedy. His followers would never have considered it without his blessing."
"He had the motive," said Nichols. "Kamil has immense flair and charm.
Her level of popularity with the people and the military far exceeds President Hasan's. She was a strong buffer. If she's dead, Egypt is only hours away from a government led by extremist mullahs."
"And when Hasan falls?" asked Korolenko slyly. "What will be the White House position then?"
Schiller and Nichols exchanged knowing looks. "Why, the same as the Kremlin's," said Schiller. "We're going to wait until the dust settles."
for a moment the fixed smile faded from Korolenko's face. "And if, make that when, the combined Arab nations attack the Jewish state?"
"We'll back Israel to the hilt, as we have in the past."
"But will you send in American forces?"
"Probably not."
"Arab leaders might be less cautious if only they knew that. "
"Be our guest. Only remember, -this time, we're not going to use our leverage to stop the Israelis from taking Cairo, Beirut and Damascus."
"You're saying the President won't stand in their way if they resort to nuclear weapons?"
"Something like that," Schiller said with studied indifference. He turned to Nichols. "Whose deal?"
"I believe it's mine," said the Senator, trying his best to sound casual. This switch in the President's Middle East policy was news to him. "Shall we ante fifty cents?"
The Russians were not about to let loose.
"I find this most disturbing," said Vyhousky.
"A new posture had to come sometime," Nichols confessed. "The latest projections put United States oil reserves at eighty billion barrels.
With prices pushing fifty dollars a barrel, our oil companies can now afford to mount a massive exploration program. And, of course, we can still count on Mexican and South American reserves. The bottom line is that we no longer have to rely on the Middle East for oil. So we're cutting bait. If the Soviet government wants to inherit the Arab mess, take it as a gift."
Korolenko couldn't believe what he was hearing. His ingrained wariness made him skeptical. But he knew the Americans too well to doubt they would bluff or mislead him, on an issue of such magnitude.
Senator Pitt had his doubts, too, about the game plan the President was leaking to the Soviet representatives. There was a strong possibility oil would not flow over the Rio Grande when America needed it. Mexico was a revolution waiting for the starter's gun.