Swords of Arabia: Betrayal (34 page)

Indeed they are – and not in your favour either
,
thought
Badr
cynically.
But that is good, he thought. If a man is on his knees before you, you can extract a high price to let him rise again.

“We
would
need
to
discuss
this
further
with
others
with
influence
at
home,”
Nasir
said
suddenly.
“You
mention
that
time
is
of
some
importance.
Much
of
it
would
be
saved
if
our
next
meeting,
should
there
be
one,
was
held,
if
not
in
our
town
itself,
at
least
within
our
own
borders.”
And
have
the
decided
extra
advantage
of
excluding
their
sly
northern
neighbour
from
those
discussions,
he
thought
happily.
Like
the
rest
of
the
Narishi
leadership,
though
he
valued
their
cordial
relationship
with
Kuwait
and
its
ruler,
he
didn’t
necessarily
trust
them
beyond
a
certain
point.
It
wasn’t
that
to
get
his
throne
Jabir’s
father
had
waded
through
the
blood
of
two
of
his
half-brothers
and
their
supporters,
such
action
was,
in
Arabia,
too
usual
to
raise
an
eyebrow.
It
was
well
known,
indeed,
that
ancestors
of
their
closest
ally
the
Rashid
had,
as
well
as
killing
adult
brothers
and
cousins,
slaughtered
their
male
children
at
the
same
time.
Their
real
reason
for
wanting
to
distance
their
Kuwaiti
neighbours
from
further
discussions,
was
the
regents’
inability
to
see
what
Kuwait
would
gain
by
Narash
allying
with
the
British.
They
would,
at
a
stroke,
lose
the
advantage
of
having
the
only
British
-
held
harbour
of
any
size
in
the
north
of
the
Gulf,
which
couldn’t
but
lessen
their
influence
with
the
imperial
power.

The
Narashi
would,
however,
leave
that
riddle
for
solving
another
day.
Now
they
needed
to
see
just
how
serious
the
British
were
about
an
alliance
–
and
what
they
were
willing
to
pay
to
get
it.
After
a
few
minutes
demurring,
the
British
agreed
to
the
suggestion,
and,
a
date
was
fixed
for
three
weeks
ahead.
As
with
this
meeting,
it
would
be
held
in
total
secrecy,
this
time
in
one
of
the
Narashi
inland
oases.

Content
with
what
had
been
achieved,
the
Narashi
party
left
the
next
morning,
and
their
spirits
were
high
as
they
crested
a
chain
of
low-lying
hills
just
outside
their
own
borders.

Watching
from
the
top
of
one
of
the
small
hills,
well-hidden
amongst
it’s
scattered
rocks, the
marksman
saw
his
first
bullet
miss
Nasir
by
scarcely
an
inch.
Continuing
to
watch
carefully,
he
saw
that
the
second
he
sent
smashed
into
the
rider’s
lower
abdomen
where
it
was
unprotected
by
the
saddle
pommel
of
his
camel,
sending
him
crashing
to
the
ground,
his
mortally
wounded
camel
crashing
down
with
him.

Chapter
Fourteen

Ha! Either dead or mortally wounded, it doesn’t matter
,
exulted
the
marksman.
His
nameless
paymaster
would
be
pleased
and
give
him
much
gold,
thought
the
renegade
happily,
a
scant
second
before
his
own
life
was
ended
by
the
bullet
which
smashed
into
his
skull.

Talal,
Nawwaf
and
others,
surrounded
by
the
boy’s
guards
were,
for
a
second,
all
stunned
into
shocked
immobility
by
the
suddenness
of
the
attack.
Not
so
the
guards,
who
immediately
moved
even
more
closely
in
around
Talal,
ensuring
no
other
enemy
could
get
a
clear
line
of
fire
to
him.
Other
riders
rode
swiftly
across
the
sandy
flatlands
to
the
small
rise
to
check
it
was
clear
of
any
other
marksmen.

Still
shocked,
the
group
gazed
speechlessly
at
Nasir,
sprawled
face-down
on
the
dusty
ground.
Then
as
he
tried
to
rise,
brushing
sand
off
his
clothing,
his
rifle
still
smoking
in
his
grip,
he
stumbled
and
his
friends
thought
him
wounded
after
all.
But
no
– his
long
robes
were
caught
under
the
fallen
camel
and
he
was
stuck
half-upright.
His
party’s
concern
turned
to
grins
as
he
stumbled
and
cursed
as
he
tried
to
tug
himself
loose
from
the
dead
beast.

“
Ya Allah
!
Nasir
– that
was
close!”
gasped
Talal,
hurriedly
dismounting
and,
pushing
aside
his
worried
guards,
tugged
the
robe
free
and
stooped
to
help
his
uncle
up.
“How
did
you
know
he
was
there
– and
move
so
quickly
–
and
fire
your
rifle?”

“Myself,
I
thought
it
was
a
little
slow,”
murmured
Nawwaf
from
above,
as
he
manoeuvred
his
camel
between
the
two
and
the
range
of
low
hills.
They
appeared
empty,
but
he
would
take
no
chances.
They
all
laughed
at
Nasir’s
outraged
expression,
though
in
truth
it
was
more
relief
than
humour.
They
were
all
shaken
by
how
close
the
young
prince
had
come
to
being
killed,
surrounded
as
he
was
by
loyal
warriors,
and
in
lands
believed
to
be
friendly.

His
robes
clear
of
the
dead
camel’s
weight,
Nasir
stood
up.
Quickly
checking
and
nodding
approvingly
as
he
saw
that
there
was
no
sight-line
putting
Talal
at
risk,
he
replied
simply.
“It
was
the
sun
flashing
on
his
rifle
barrel
as,
I
imagine,
he
raised
it
to
shoot.”

“But
to
move
so
fast,
Nasir!”
said
Talal
admiringly.

“I’m
glad,
Nephew
that
you,
unlike
others,
thought
I’d
acted
swiftly!”
he
replied,
glaring
across
at
his
childhood
friend,
who,
now
the
full
import
of
what
had
nearly
happened
had
sunk
in,
was
as
grave
as
the
others.
“But,”
he
added,
his
now
expressionless
gaze
turning
to
his
co-regent,
“in
truth,
the
real
question
is
–
why
me?”

His
nephew,
after
a
moment’s
confusion,
paled
as
Nasir’s
words
struck
home.
“You
mean
–
the
shots
should
have
been
aimed
at
me?”

“Exactly.
Your
guards
were
covering
you
from
all
sides,
but
a
shot
from
above
us,
would
still
have
found
you,”
Nasir
replied
bluntly.
“I
was
the
lesser
target,
so
why
me?
There
seems
little
reason,”
he
added,
gazing
coldly
at
Badr,
growing
suspicion
clear
in
his
eyes,
“Little
reason.”
he
repeated,
but
said
no
more.
“Come
we
must
get
back
to
the
town
–
and
hope
this
is
not
the
start
of
something
more
dangerous!”
So
saying,
he
mounted
one
of
the
ever-present
spare
camels
and
the
party
raced
back
to
Narash,
the
blood
pounding
in
their
veins
as
they
thought
of
what
could
be
happening
in
their
absence.

***

“Yes,
it
makes
no
sense
–
unless,
that
is,
they
wanted
exactly
what
has
happened,”
Firyal
commented
quietly
as,
hot,
dusty,
tired
and
fearful,
the
party
had
reached
the
town.
Finding
it
peaceful,
Talal
and
his
regents
hurried
to
join
Zahirah
and
Firyal.

She
saw
that
Nasir
had
already
reached
the
same
conclusion.

“It
was
a
very
clever
move,”
added
Zahirah,
outwardly
impassive
as
ever,
though
knowing
bullets
had
passed
within
feet
of
her
son
had
shaken
her
as
nothing
had
since
Fouad’s
death.
“To
sow
mistrust
between
the
two
regents
is
a
certain
way
of
weakening
Narash,
yet
still
leaving
Talal
in
place,
until
whoever
is
behind
the
plan
is
ready
to
strike
and
reach
for
the
throne.”
She
paused
a
moment
and
then
continued
quietly.
“If
we’re
right,
there
will
soon
be
an
attempt
on
your
life,
Badr,”
she
said,
carefully
showing
appropriate
concern.