Under fire

The puppet

Under fire

An excerpt

On Sunday at about seven thirty pm a short right after he interrogated Baraka, general Hamza had an unexpected phone call; he was asked by the defense minister's secretary to arrive at the Emir's palace at eight thirty pm.

He had no doubt that it had to be an emergency meeting, although its cause was not clear to him yet. He wondered whether the entire executive council will be present too, but to his surprise just the defense minister and the Crown Prince welcomed him with grim and stern faces. He was asked to sit down on one of the armchairs around the huge round table, and to wait like his two elated superiors to the entrance of his Royal Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed the Emir. The five minutes till His Royal Highness entered were passed in complete silence, and the general was tensed and suspected that his deputy must have informed the defense minister about the search in Baraka's apartment and its result.

When the Emir entered they stood up and waited till he will sit down on his throne like armchair, and allow them to take their seats again.

Two waiters arrived with coffee pots and mineral water, cups and glasses were put on the huge round table before every one present, according to his position of course.

His Royal Highness said a few words of prayer, and they drank the first cup in silence.

'Are there any security issues, which might interest us Hamza?' His Royal Highness turned to the surprised general.

'Yes Your Royal Highness, we've invited Dr. Baraka and his family to spend the weekend in my Maryah Island villa, and a crew of my agents searched his apartment. My agents found a stashed mobile with messages between Dr. Baraka and his operator.'

'Why didn't you report it the defense minister Hamza?' The Crown Prince asked him raising his voice, in a menacing tone.

'I've received the evidence this very morning, and I summoned Dr. Baraka and interrogated him in person Your Royal Highness, and I hadn't written yet my report…'

'You should've arrested him, why didn't you arrest him on the spot isn't he a spy loyal to our enemies?' The Emir retorted with clear impatience.

'Your Royal Highness is very right, that's was my first thought but in a second one I realized that the Zionists will know that we cought their potential spy…

'So what, we'd better let them know that every spy that they will send over here, will be exposed and put to death!'

'Yes Your Royal Highness these're our instructions and we do obey strictly our instruction as defined by the defense ministry, but Dr. Baraka is an extraordinary case Your Royal Highness…'

'Do explain yourself Hamza and you'd better convice us that you took the right decision.' His Royal Highness did not have to mention what will be the general fate, it he won't convince his superiors in having taken the right decision.

'I'll do my best Your Royal Highness and despite the case complexity, I believe that case will be very clear to Your Royal Higness.' The general started with that preface to his explanation sure that his deputy betrayed him.

'Dr. Baraka isn't a spy he's a victim of extortion, he came here for fear of being arrested in the Zionist state. If we would have arrested him the Zionists would have crushed his party, and the entire Isreali Arab community would have suffered increased discrimination Your Royal Highness, and that's just one reason that I took into consideration.' The general made a short pause and drank a few drops of water, to check whether his superiors are willing to hear more, or whether he should use a more short and convincing argument.

'At breakfast in his hotel the morning after Dr. Baraka landed here understood for the first that he's supposed to supply information to his operator, who she serves he had no idea; he was sure that she saved him from arrest and convinction as a traitor. He was still infatuated with that mysterious young woman, and I intend to turn him into a double agent and feed the Zionists with disinformation; and learn at the same time what their plans are, through their orders to him. He swore an oath of alliagnce to us, and my experts will dictate every message that he'll send his female operator, and every time he'll receive a  message from her, he's ordered to drive straight to my office to report it.'

'Well you've managed to convince us Hamza with your second detailed reason, we expect to have your full report, and you'll update us on every move in this project.' His Royal Highness summed up general Hamza's hearing with relief.

'We'll pray Salah and have dinner.' His Royal Highness remarked and rose to his feet, ready to lead them towards his private prayer room.

© Haim Kadman 2015 �" all rights reserved.

The 17 thrillers and novels that I've already published, are available to read with Kindle Unlimited program in the U.S, U.K., Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Brazil, Mexico and Canada; and with the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library (KOLL) in the U.S, U.K., Germany, France, and Japan; or to purchase for a reasonable price.

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Reviews

[Philip Muls]

Seems like a fascinating intrigue. With a lot of Middle Eastern context which makes it feel very real.