Honor Among Thieves

“Thank you, Martin,” said the chairman, as Tony leaned over to pick up the call. “Why don’t you take it in my office, then I can listen in on the extension.”

Tony nodded and left the room to go next door, where he picked up the receiver on his father’s desk. “Antonio Cavalli,” he said.

“Hamid Al Obaydi here. Your father suggested I call back around this time.”

“We are in possession of the document you require,” was all Cavalli said.

“I congratulate you, Mr. Cavalli.”

“Are you ready to complete the payment as agreed?”

“All in good time, but not until you have delivered the document to the place of our choosing, Mr. Cavalli, as I’m sure you will recall was also part of the bargain.”

“And where might that be?” asked Cavalli.

“I shall come to your office at twelve o’clock tomorrow, when you will receive your instructions.” He paused. “Among other things.” The line went dead.

Cavalli put the phone down and tried to think what Al Obaydi could possibly mean by “Among other things.” He walked slowly back to the boardroom to find his father and Nick poring over the Declaration. Tony noticed that the parchment had been turned around.

“What do you think he meant by ‘Among other things’?” Tony asked.

“I’ve no idea,” replied his father as he gave the parchment one last look and then began slowly to roll it up.

“No doubt I’ll find out tomorrow,” said Tony as the chairman handed the document to his son, who carefully slipped it back into its plastic container.

“So where’s its final destination to be?” asked Nick.

“I’ll be given the details at twelve o’clock tomorrow,” said Tony, a little surprised that his fat

her hadn’t reported the phone conversation with Al Obaydi to his oldest friend.

Chapter Sixteen

He lay watching her, his head propped up in the palm of his hand, as the first sunlight of the morning crept into the room. She stirred but didn’t wake as Scott began to run a solitary finger down her spine. He couldn’t wait for her to open her eyes and revive his memories of the previous night.

When Scott had, in those early days, watched Hannah walking from the Jordanian Embassy, dressed in those drab clothes so obviously selected with Karima Saib’s tastes in mind, he thought she still looked stunning. Some packages, when you remove the brightly colored wrapping, fail to live up to expectation. When Hannah had first taken off the dowdy little two-piece suit she had been wearing that day, he had stood there in disbelief that anyone could be so beautiful.

He pulled back the single sheet that covered her and admired the sight that had taken his breath away the night before. Her short-cropped hair; he wondered how the long flowing strands would look when they fell on her shoulders as she wanted them to. The nape of her neck, the smooth olive skin of her back and the long, shapely legs.

His hands were like a child’s that had opened a stocking full of presents and wanted to touch everything at once. He ran his fingers down her shoulders to the arch of her back, hoping she would turn over. He moved a little closer, leaned across and began to circle her firm breasts with a single finger. The circles became smaller and smaller until he reached her soft nipple. He heard her sigh, and this time she did turn and fall into his arms, her fingers clinging to his shoulders as he pulled her closer.

“It’s not fair, you’re taking advantage of me,” she said drowsily as his hand moved up the inside of her thigh.

“I’m sorry,” he said, removing his hand and kissing her cheek.

“Don’t be sorry. For heaven’s sake, Simon, I want you to take advantage of me,” she said, pulling his body closer to her. He continued to stroke her skin, all the time discovering new treasures.

When he entered her, she sighed a different sigh, the sigh of morning love, calmer and more gentle than the demands of the night, but every bit as enjoyable.

For Scott it had been a new experience. Although he had made love many more times than he cared to remember, it had never been with the same excitement.

When they finished making love, she rested her head on his shoulder and he brushed a hair from her cheek, praying the next hour would go slowly. He hated the thought of her returning to the embassy that morning as he knew she eventually must. He didn’t want to share her with anybody.

The room was now bathed in the morning sun, which only made him wonder when he’d next be allowed to spend a whole night with her.

The Head of Interest Section had been called straight back to Geneva on urgent business, and had taken only one secretary with him, leaving Hannah in Paris on her own for the weekend. She only wished she could tell Simon what it was all about, so he could pass the information on to Kratz.

She had double-locked her room and left the embassy compound by the fire escape. Hannah told him that she had felt like a schoolgirl creeping out of her dormitory to join a midnight feast.