The Sum of All Fears.pdf - Delta Force

times when Chavez wished he'd opted to remain in the Army. He would have had his
degree and his commission by now instead of cramming in night courses at George
Mason while he played bodyguard to Ryan. At least the doc was a good guy, and
working with Clark was . . . interesting. But this intelligence stuff was a
strange life.
'Time to move,' Clark advised.
'I got the point.' Ding's hand checked the automatic clipped under his loose
shirt. The Israeli guards were already moving up the street.
***
Ghosn caught them just as he'd planned. The Swiss had helped. An elderly Muslim
cleric had stopped the squad sergeant to ask a question. There was a problem
with translation, the imam didn't speak English, and the Swiss soldier's Arabic
was still primitive. It was too good an opportunity to pass up.
'Excuse me,' Ghosn said to the imam, 'can I help with translation?' He absorbed
the rapid-fire string of his native language and turned to the soldier.
'The imam is from Saudi Arabia. This is his first time in Jerusalem since he was
a boy and he requires directions to the Troika's office.'
On recognizing the seniority of the cleric, the sergeant removed his helmet and
inclined his head respectfully.
'Please tell him that we would be honored to escort him there.'
'Ah, there you are!' another voice called. It was obviously an Israeli. His
Arabic was accented, but literate. 'Good day, Sergeant,' the man added in
English.
'Greetings, Rabbi Ravenstein. You know this man?' the soldier asked.
'This is Imam Mohammed Al Faisal, a distinguished scholar and historian from
Medina.'
'Is it all I have been told?' Al Faisal asked Ravenstein directly.
'All that and more!' the rabbi replied.
'Excuse me?' Ghosn had to say.
'You are?' Ravenstein asked.
'A student. I was attempting to assist with the language problem.'
'Ah, I see,' Ravenstein said. 'Very kind of you. Mohammed is here to look at a
manuscript we uncovered at a dig. It's a scholarly Muslim commentary on a very
old Torah, 10th Century, a fantastic find. Sergeant, I can manage things from
here, and thank you also, young man.'
'Do you require escort, sir?' the sergeant asked. 'We are heading that way.'
'No, thank you, we are both too old to keep up with you.'
'Very well.' The sergeant saluted. 'Good day.'
The Swiss moved off. The few people who'd taken note of the brief encounter
pointed and smiled.
'The commentary is by Al Qalda himself, and it seems to cite the work of Nuchem
of Acre,' Ravenstein said. 'The state of preservation is incredible.'
'Then I must see it!' The two scholars began walking down the street as rapidly
as their aged legs would carry them, oblivious to everything around them.
Ghosn's face didn't change. He'd shown wonder and amusement for the benefit of
the Swiss infantrymen now halfway down the block, themselves with a trailing
escort of small children. His discipline allowed him to sidle off to the side,