Saudi Arabian Embassy/ London
Omar Kellesh was relieved of his duties as a diplomatic ambassador on compassionate grounds. He had insisted on waiting for the British government to complete their investigations into the riverboat bomb before he would consider returning to Saudi. Muslim tradition prefers that the burial of a loved one should be performed within twenty four hours of the death. Omar still did not have a body to bury which compounded his grief. Jeannie was his youngest daughter and was the most troublesome; she was incredibly bright and determined to be educated in a Western university. Women in Saudi Arabia are forbidden to drive motorcars and are used in marital chess games to bolster political standing. Jeannie was determined to choose her own destiny, aspiring to become a female barrister of law in her homeland. She could wrap her father around her little finger and he conspired with his daughter to help her achieve her ambitions. Such was his love for his daughter he was prepared to compromise tradition, to make her happy. Now he was haunted by his decision, and guilt had become his permanent companion.
There was a knock on his door, which released him from his tortured thoughts. He opened the door and his minder stepped into his living quarters.
“There is a telegram for you Sheik,” the Arabian bodyguard said handing Omar a small padded envelope, “I have taken the liberty of scanning the contents so that we know it is safe. The Saudis were at full alert in case of violent retaliation from the sympathisers of the Axe terrorist organisation, following the bombing of their training camp in Syria. A threat was forthcoming that Saudi interests would be sanctioned as legitimate targets; any threats from Yasser Ahmed had to be taken seriously. The Saudi Royal Family had become pariah amongst the more extreme factions of Islam. Their country is the biggest oil-producing nation on the planet yet the wealth of the average man on the street had not increased in the last twenty years. Educational standards had soared in recent years with the introduction of universities, however young disaffected Muslims with university degrees still could not find well paid employment in their own country. The Royal Family became more decadent, owning huge ornamental palaces and racehorses while the poor stayed poor.
In 1990 at the end of the Soviet-Afghan conflict thousands of Arab Mujahideen returned to their homes in the Middle East. One of them was a Muslim war hero called Osama bin Laden. In September 1990 in the city of Riyadh he had requested an audience with Crown Prince Sultan, who was then the Minister for Defence. Bin Laden attended the meeting accompanied by a group of senior Afghan Mujahideen leaders. They were all well respected as soldiers of Islam, and prominent veterans from the war in Afghanistan. Osama bin Laden submitted a five-page proposal to the Crown Prince, which described his plan to gather an Islamic army, which could respond to any Christian or Jewish aggressors. He proposed to convince the Saudi Royal Family that he could raise an army of Islamic militants, and war veterans who could protect the kingdom of Saud under bin Laden`s command. The fact that the kingdom needed to be protected was not in doubt, and bin Laden was playing on the political uncertainty in the region to sway favour. On August the 2nd of the same year Saddam Hussein had invaded Kuwait and now appeared to be threatening Saudi Arabia itself. The Saudi Royal Family were terrified at the thought of a fully armed extremist force that could number two hundred and fifty thousand based outside their palaces. It would threaten their regime from within and would be a formidable enemy within its own borders. Osama bin Laden`s proposal was rejected and a week later the Saudis` Government accepted the offer of American military assistance. Within days US forces arrived in the land known to Muslims as `the land of two holy places`. The fact that the Saudis had refused bin Laden`s offer of an international Islamic army came as a profound shock to the entire area. Iraqi tanks moved into Kuwait City with the same seismic shock as the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and it was the despised American government that was asked for help. The Saudi Royal Family always justified its position of power by visually displaying its` religious credentials. They had funded bin Laden and his Mujahideen in their war against Russia, and they protected and maintained the crucial holy cities of Mecca and Medina; but they did not trust him and the hard liners to build an Islamic army on their own doorstep. The willingness to accept thousands of American soldiers to be stationed in their country stunned many Saudi Arabians. The Saudi government had adhered to the teachings of Islam, which insists that there should never be two religions in the Holy Land. The building of churches and synagogues were banned, but now the defence of the kingdom itself was in the hands of the US military. Osama bin Laden and his followers such as Yasser Ahmed took umbrage with the Saudis and they had to be on their guard against militants at all times.
In the embassy Omar opened the envelope and looked inside. His troubled mind could make no sense of its contents. He tipped the envelope upside down and emptied the contents into his left palm. There was a small electronic chip and a decorated synthetic thumbnail. He stared at the nail and the clouds of confusion started to clear. He recognised the fine artwork and a small diamante jewel that sparkled from the corner of the nail. He picked it up and held it close to his face, as his eyes widened in shock. Was this all that remained of Jeannie? He looked at the back of the envelope for a return address or a government stamp. There was nothing there to indicate who sent the package. It couldn’t possibly be from the British authorities; even they would not send the remains of his daughter in an envelope. He turned the nail over to look at the back. Bile started to rise is his throat and he gagged when he saw the blackened scab attached to the nail, small withered slivers of skin hung from the sides. The nail was removed from its` thumb by force. Omar staggered backward, his legs weakened from the shock and his bodyguard grasped his arm and guided him to a chair. He mouthed soundless words to his minder and held out the bloodied nail. The big Arab took the nail and studied it carefully; then he opened Omar`s fist and removed the small chip from his sweaty grasp. He studied both sides.
“It`s a SIM card from a mobile phone Sheik,” the bodyguard said removing his own cell phone from his pocket. He removed the back from his mobile and slid his SIM card from its fastening. He placed the chip into his phone and replaced the back. A polyphonic tune announced the phone being switched on. Omar seemed to be getting a grip of the situation and he pushed himself up from the chair.
“What does this mean Yusuf?” Omar said squeezing his bodyguards forearm tightly. He still couldn’t comprehend what was happening. His mind raced through the different scenarios. Yusuf’s mobile rang.
“We are about to find out Sheik,” Yusuf replied to his panic stricken boss. He placed the phone firmly into Omar`s hand and placed it near his ear switching the speakerphone mode on. Omar pressed answer. A thick guttural accent spoke.
“Omar Kellesh?”
“Yes this is Omar Kellesh speaking,” he answered; his voice almost a whisper, as sweat stared to run down his forehead. He felt the trickle of cold sweat run down his back.
“The SIM card you have received has some pictures stored on it that may be of interest to you. Your daughter is alive however, she will not be if you do not follow my instructions,” the voice sounded Soviet to Omar and Yusuf, and they both stared at the handset.
“I want to talk to her. Let me talk to her please. Please don’t hurt my daughter. I will pay you as much as you want, please don’t hurt her,” Omar babbled into the phone as any frightened father would.
“We don’t want your money Mr Kellesh. There is a bank of telephones at Euston station next to the flower stall. You need to be next to the second phone from the left in exactly one hour, or you will never see your daughter again. We have your telephones tapped, if you tell the police she dies. If you contact your embassy she dies. If you bring anyone except your driver she dies,” the soviet voice tailed off and static noise replaced it for a second before the line went dead.
Omar collapsed back into his chair emotionally exhausted. His hands were shaking visibly. His daughter was alive but her life was in mortal danger. He stared at his bodyguard Yusuf as he calmly started to look at the photographs that were stored on the SIM card. Jeannie`s image was captured holding yesterdays newspaper. Yusuf started to dismantle the cell phone.
“The SIM card goes to our Secret Service for analysis. I am sure from the static noise on the line that the call was international. The accent was Soviet but I can’t pinpoint which country. We need to get to Euston station Omar. I will be your driver. Let`s go and find out who has Jeannie my Sheik,” Yusuf said as he checked that the magazine of his Uzi machine pistol was full. He strapped the weapon inside his leather jacket and placed two spare magazines into his inside pocket.