Double discussions

"On both sides of the abyss" relates the trials of Amina Rifa'ee, a young Syrian woman that refused to marry her father business associate and was sent to study in London School of Economics. Her lone

On Both Sides of the Abyss

An excerpt

 

After having breakfast with Nour at No.4 restaurant at Yassam Caddesi road, Ken accompanied her back to their apartment, hugged her and kissed her several long minutes before he took his leave and went out on his way to the American embassy.

He showed the two marine sentries at the embassy entrance his CIA metal badge and went upstairs. He emerged before a counter with a female clerk, watching him suspiciously.

'Where's Thorenton's office?' He asked her.

'It's the third door on your right sir.'

He went over to that door knocked on once and opened it up. Brigadier Sidney Thorenton the military attaché sat behind his broad desk having a chat with a plain clothes guest, he turned an angry surprised face toward Ken.

'Who the hell are you and how dare you to enter my office without an appointment?'

Thorenton's guest turned around on his seat too, to have a look at the intruder.

'The name is Collins,' Ken answered him.

'You'll have to excuse us Bob,' Thorenton said to his guest. 'I'll summon you in a couple of hours, meanwhile pass over it again.'

The guest gathered his papers that were spread on the desk before Thorenton's eyes, and standing up he put it in his attaché case and left in haste shutting the door behind him.

'Ken isn't it? Well sit down Ken and glad to know you.' The military attaché said extending his right hand.

'Glad to know you sir.' Ken shook his hand and sat down facing the CIA Middle East resident agent.

'Well how is it going has she cooled off?'

'Yes she's fine and I've started to explain several things to her, a kind of a general forward to her training.'

'You're with her a month already, what do you think of her?'

'She's okay and she'll be very useful I believe, after her "graduation".' Ken noted with a chuckle. 'What about those that took care of her before I came, the Israelis?'

'They've their part in the project but we've nothing to do with them of course. Our ties with the Israelis are through Langley. They aren't happy with her thirty six hours disappearance; they say that they'll check it. You'll have to keep her under tight control; she may miss her family or change her mind, you can never know what she might do. They're unpredictable the people of her kind; they are your loyal friends today and your foes tomorrow, that's my experience.'

'Well that's right I've experienced it too during my short stay in Beirut.' Ken remarked with a wry smile

'Now if she'll "graduate" successfully,' Thorenton continued to explain with a smile. 'We believe that she should serve with sorties of ten days up to two weeks each time in Damascus and she'll have to return to Ankara after each sortie. There'll be no written or electronic communication with her, she'll have to remember the information that she'll be able to collect.'

'What about checking surveillance sir?'

'Just the principles and theoretically, she won't need it and she mustn't practice it. But we want her to study the local language from next week on, and see to it that she'll submit a request for a Turkish citizenship.'

 

Chapter 17

 

In his office in Damascus Abdul Karim was busy with new tasks. There were three state enemies that his men had to interrogate and torture if needed, and some five more had to be hunted down and arrested. Amina Rifa'ee and her American operator were forgotten meanwhile from his memory. He was sitting in his spacious office smoking a cigar and reading the Al-Ba'ath morning paper when his phone rang. He raised the receiver with a sudden anger. Who could it be he wondered so early it isn't even eleven am yet. 'Yes who is it?'

'It's me Ahmed sir,' his secretary answered him. 'His Highness wishes to see you in person, I was informed by his secretary this very moment sir.'

'Thanks Ahmed, tell him I'm on my way.'

Last month successful crush of the dangerous subversive cell and the arrests of its members made Abdul Karim His Highness most trusted department head. That's why Abdul Karim didn't get cold feet like he usually got on previous occasions, whenever he was ordered to report before His Highness Nizar Faras the internal security service head.

'Sit down Abdul,' His Highness said with dry monotonous voice, and waited the few seconds needed till his subordinate sat down facing him.

'What's going on with that subversive cell that we've exposed? There're still five members at large I've been informed.'

'We'll get them sir in a few more days, I'm sure of it sir.'

'I rely on your word Abdul for I'm meeting the defense minister on Thursday, so you'd better finish that job till then.' His Highness said raising his right hand forefinger, to emphasize the importance of his order; 'and how's going on the interrogation of those caught yesterday?'

'I wasn't updated yet sir as it's the beginning, they were given time to think things over. But I'll conduct their interrogation in person this afternoon sir and I'll keep it as long as we'll have their confessions and all the details concerning the other five sir.'

'If that's so I expect to have the results this time tomorrow Abdul, and don't disappoint me.' His Highness added with a menacing tone.

'Yes sir you'll have it tomorrow as you ordered me sir.'

'Now then, are there any news about the young Rifa'ee woman and her American operator?'

'No sir they were supposed to return to Beirut from London, but her operator has returned alone; our conclusion is that she has betrayed us and her American operator too, she vanished into thin air, she might have fled from him…'

'It doesn't seem reasonable at all Abdul, you do surprise me. She's infatuated with him; she accepted his wish to serve him. What about the Libyan? I want him dead!'

'We've his address sir and our colleagues in London checked his whereabouts, but he must have changed address or returned to his own country.'

'I don't accept these pretexts Abdul, you'll have to wreck your head and get him. Now the American may have been dismissed by his ambassador or it might have been staged to beguile us… The answer to our riddle is this young woman, arrest her father Abdul…'

'But sir he's a prominent party member…'

'So what; he's her father! Put him in jail but don't touch him and don't be too rude to him, and spread the news of his arrest in every newspaper in our country and in Lebanon too.' 

 

© Haim Kadman December the 10^th 2013 �" all rights reserved.

62 chapters

148 pages

75,767 words

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