THIRTY-EIGHT

VIENNA

8:00 AM

HERMANN SHOVED HIS BREAKFAST ASIDE. HE DETESTED EATING, particularly amid a crowd, but he loved the château’s dining hall. He’d personally chosen its design and neo-Gothic décor, the window casements and ceiling coffers bearing the coats of arms of illustrious Crusaders, the walls sheathed in canvases that depicted the Christian capture of Jerusalem.

Breakfast was spectacular, as usual, and a cadre of white-jacketed stewards attended to his guests. His daughter sat at the opposite end of the long table, the remainder of the twelve seats filled by a select group of Order members-the Political Committee-who’d arrived yesterday to attend the weekend Assembly.

“I hope everyone is enjoying themselves,” Margarete said to the assemblage. Crowds were what she handled best.

Hermann noticed her frowning at his untouched plate, but she said nothing about it. Hers would be a private rebuke-as if an appetite, in and of itself, brought a long life and good health. If only it were that easy.

Several of the committee members rattled on about the château and its exquisite furnishings, noting some of the changes he’d made since the previous spring. Even though these were men and women of wealth, together they were not worth even a quarter of the Hermann fortune. Each, though, was useful in some way. So he thanked them for noticing and waited. Finally he said, “I’m interested in what the Political Committee plans to tell the Assembly on Concept 1223.”

That initiative, adopted three years ago at the spring Assembly, involved a complex plan for the destabilization of Israel and Saudi Arabia. He’d embraced the concept, which was why he’d cultivated sources within the Israeli and American governments-sources that had unexpectedly led him to George Haddad.

“Before we do that,” the chairman of the committee said, “can you tell us whether your labors are bearing fruit? Our plans will have to be altered if you’re not successful.”

He nodded. “Events are unfolding. And quickly. But if I succeed, has a market for the information been secured?”

Another committee member nodded. “We’ve made inquiries with Jordan, Syria, Egypt, and Yemen. All are interested, at least in arranging talks.”

He was pleased. He’d learned that an Arab state’s enthusiasm-whether for goods, services, or terror-increased in direct proportion to its neighbor’s interest.

“It’s risky ignoring the Saudis,” another said. “They have ties to many of our members. Retaliation could be costly.”

“Your negotiators,” he said, “will have to ensure that they stay calm until it’s to our advantage to deal with them.”

“Isn’t it time you tell us exactly what’s involved?” one of the committee members asked.

“No,” he said. “Not yet.”

“You’re involving us deeply in something that, quite frankly, Alfred, I have questions about.”

“What is it you question?”

“What could possibly be so enticing to Jordan, Syria, Egypt, and Yemen to the exclusion of Saudi Arabia?”

“The elimination of Israel.”

Silence gripped the room.

“Granted, that’s a common goal for all those nations, but it’s also impossible. That state is here to stay.”

“That’s what was said about the Soviet Union. Yet when its purpose was seriously challenged, then exposed for the fraud that it was, look what occurred. Dissolution in a matter of days.”

“And you can make that happen?” asked another.

“I wouldn’t be wasting our time if I didn’t think it possible.” One of the other members, a friend of long standing, seemed frustrated with his obliqueness, so he decided to be a bit conciliatory. “Let me offer this. What if the validity of the Old Testament were called into question?”

A few of the guests shrugged. One asked, “So what?”

“It could fundamentally shift the Middle Eastern debate,” Hermann said. “The Jews are intent on upholding the correctness of their Torah. The Word of God and all that. Nobody has ever seriously challenged them. There’s been talk, speculation, but if the Torah was proven wrong, imagine what that does to Jewish credibility. Think how that could incite other Middle Eastern states.”

He meant what he’d said. No oppressor had ever been able to defeat the Jews. Many had tried. The Assyrians. Babylonians. Romans. Turks. The Inquisition. Even Martin Luther loathed them. But the so-called children of God had stubbornly refused to surrender. Hitler might have been the worst. And yet, in his wake, the world merely granted them their biblical homeland.

“What do you have against Israel?” one of the committee members asked. “I’ve questioned from the beginning why we’re wasting time on this.”

The woman had indeed dissented, joined by two others. They were clearly in the minority, and relatively harmless, so he’d allowed their discourse simply as a way to add a semblance of democracy to the process.

“This is about far more than Israel.” He saw he held their collective attention, even his daughter’s. “Played correctly, we may be able to destabilize both Israel and Saudi Arabia. On this, the one is linked to the other. If we can create the appropriate amount of turmoil in both states, control it, then properly time its release, we may be able to irrevocably topple both governments.” He faced the Political Committee chairman. “Have you discussed how our members can exploit that process once we set it into motion?”

The older man nodded. He’d been a friend for decades and was near the top of the list for a place in the Circle. “The scenario we envision is based on the Palestinians, Jordanians, Syrians, and Egyptians all wanting whatever we provide-”

“That’s not going to happen,” said one of the men, another of the dissenters.

“And who would have thought the world would displace nearly a million Arabs and grant the Jews a homeland?” Hermann made clear. “Many in the Middle East said that would not happen, either.” His words came out sharp, so he laced what he was about to say with a tone of compromise. “At the very least we can bring down that silly wall the Israelis have erected to guard their borders and challenge every ancient claim they’ve ever made. Zionist arrogance would suffer, perhaps enough to galvanize the surrounding Arab states into unified action. And I haven’t even mentioned Iran, which would love nothing more than to totally obliterate Israel. This will be a blessing for them.”

“What could do all that?”

“Knowledge.”

“You can’t be serious. All this is based on us learning something?”

He hadn’t expected this frank discussion, but this was his moment. The committee huddled around his dining room table was charged by Order statutes with formulating the collective’s political policy, which was closely intertwined with initiatives from the Economic Committee because, for the Order, politics and profit were synonymous. The Economic Committee had established a goal of increasing revenues for those members desiring to heavily invest in the Middle East by at least 30 percent. A study had been undertaken, an initial euro investment determined, potential profits estimated under current economic and political conditions, then several scenarios envisioned. In the end a 30 percent goal was deemed achievable. But markets in the Middle East were limited at best. The entire region could explode over the most minuscule occurrence. Every day brought another possibility for disaster. So consistency was what the Political Committee sought. Traditional methods-bribes and threats-were not effective with people who routinely strapped explosives to their chests. The men who controlled decisions in places such as Jordan, Syria, Kuwait, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia were far too wealthy, far too guarded, and far too fanatical. Instead the Order had come to understand that a new form of currency needed to be found-one Hermann believed he would soon possess.