Read WASHINGTON DC: The Sadir Affair (The Puppets of Washington Book 1) for Free Online

of water and poured some in the glasses, the two men fell silent; Khalid noticeably exasperated and Mr. Sadir rapping his fingers on the edge of the table.
    When the waiter had gone, Sadir went on, “Well then…, your esteemed uncle told me that he hadn’t heard from you since Ms Kartz’s unfortunate accident and although he has tried to contact you, you have not responded to his repeated calls. I would not want to intercede in your family affairs, Captain, but as your uncle’s long-time friend I am duty bound to ask you, in plain language, what’s going on? ”
    Khalid felt uncomfortable. This man had seen through him. It was as if he could read his mind. He raised his eyes to him. “That’s what I came here to find out.”
    Sadir guffawed. “I see. And you think I have the answers you seek?” He shook his head. “No, Khalid Saif Al-Fadir, I don’t. You are a prince among kings, you are part of the elite of this world and in all humility, Your Highness, you can’t expect me or the CIA to ask you to do our job for us.”
    “But you know where I can find him.”
    “If we’re talking about someone who’s recently moved to Sydney, the answer is yes. But”—Sadir brought his forearms to rest on either side of the plate in front of him—“if you expect me to send you Downunder to get yourself killed, the answer is NO!”
    “What makes you think I have any intention of going to Australia?” Khalid asked.
    “Don’t take me for a fool, Your Highness. Your presence here tells me that you’ve probably been told Mossad is expecting you to make a move. They have been waiting for you to go to Vancouver or make your way to Sydney for seven months now. The minute you set foot on Aussie soil, you will be signing your death warrant. The sniper is waiting for you, Khalid Saif Al-Fadir.”
    The waiter’s return to the table interrupted the conversation abruptly. While he deposited a voluminous dish in front of each man, Sadir retreated to the back of the chair again.
    Khalid shot a quick glance in the waiter’s direction. “Thank you,” he said, a thin, hesitant smile crossing his lips.
    Looking at the withdrawing server, and exhaling audibly, Sadir continued, “As I said and I repeat; I quite understand your predicament, Your Highness. On the one hand you want to avenge Ms Kartz’s ordeal, and on the other, should you decide to go against our advice, you’ll find yourself face-to-face with a Mossad assassin who’s been waiting for you to appear on his doorsteps for months.” He grabbed one of the sandwiches and bit a mouthful of it.
    Khalid sipped on the Perrier water. The CIA man would not divulge anything of any use to him, he decided. This wasn’t a good idea. He should have known that involving a friend of his uncle in his plan would backfire. He had to think of something else that would sway Sadir into telling him what he came to D.C. to find out.
    The two men ate in silence for a while; Sadir devouring his meal as if it was his last, while Khalid only picked at his dish half-heartedly.
    Once the coffee was on the table, Sadir laced his fingers over his protruding belly, and decided it was time to let Khalid out of the hole in which he had fallen unwisely. “I’ll tell you what we’ve decided before I came to meet you.” He paused. Khalid hadn’t expected such an about face. He didn’t like snakes slithering under rocks. He could hear the hissing of lies reaching his ears. In turn, he stared at his guest. “My superiors think that we will not be able to prevent you from going anywhere you please and while we will be tracking you, for obvious reasons, we want you to be aware of who your adversary is. This is highly uncharacteristic of the CIA, you understand. However, last year our office made a grave mistake.” Khalid heard the hissing snake getting louder. “Your uncle was publicly humiliated because we decided to ignore the warning signs alerting us of Mr. Slimane’s treason. In essence, we