Honor Among Thieves Read online

  Kratz nodded and Cohen ran across the tarmac and lowered the tailgate, before getting into the cab and jumping behind the wheel of the truck. He switched on the engine, pushed the gear lever into first and moved the vehicle slowly forward until the safe was left dangling in mid-air. Aziz and Kratz then pushed the trolley a few yards across the tarmac so that it was directly below the dangling safe, Kratz gave the thumbs-up a second time and the crane operator slowly began lowering the five tons of steel, inch by inch, until it came to rest on the trolley, causing the large rubber wheels to compress abruptly.

  The safe now rested in front of the double doors, waiting for the carpenter to arrive before it could progress on its inward journey. The Major shrugged his shoulders even before Kratz had mouthed the question.

  As Cohen backed the truck into a parking space designated by the Major, an Iraqi, dressed in a dishdash and a red-and-white keffiyeh and carrying a tool bag appeared at the barrier.

  Once the guards had thoroughly checked the tool bag, tipping all its contents out onto the ground, they allowed him through. The carpenter gathered up his tools, took one look at the safe, another at the double doors and understood immediately why his boss had described the problem as urgent. Scott stood back and watched the craftsman as he began to unscrew the hinges on one of the doors.

  “So where’s Dollar Bill’s counterfeit at the moment?” asked Kratz.

  “Still in my bag,” said Scott. “I’m going to have to do some work on it, or they’ll spot the difference the moment I’ve exchanged it for the original.”

  “Agreed,” said Kratz. “You’d better get on with it while the carpenter’s working on the door. Meanwhile, I’ll try and keep the Major occupied.”

  Kratz sauntered over to the carpenter and started chatting to him while Scott disappeared into the front of the truck carrying his bag. Once the Major saw what Kratz was doing he ran across to join them.

  Scott stared through the cab window as he extracted Dollar Bill’s copy from the cylinder and tried to recall where the main damage was on the original. First he made a tear in the top right-hand corner, then he spat on the names of John Adams and Robert Treat Paine. After he had studied his handiwork he decided he hadn’t gone far enough and, placing the copy on the floor, he rubbed the soles of his shoes gently over the surface. He glanced up to see the Major ordering Kratz to let the carpenter get on with his job. Kratz shrugged his shoulders as Scott rolled up the copy of the Declaration and returned it to the cylinder, before sliding it down the specially-sewn long thin pocket on the inside of his trouser leg. A perfect fit.

  A few moments later the carpenter got off his knees and smiled to show he had completed his task. At the Major’s command four soldiers stepped forward and removed the doors. They carried them a few paces away and leaned them up against an outside wall.

  The Major ordered several more soldiers to push the trolley as Scott guided Madame Bertha through the doorway. Kratz and Aziz tried to follow, but the Major waved an arm firmly to indicate that only Scott could enter the building. It was Scott’s turn to shrug his shoulders.

  Inch by inch, they eased the dolly down the long corridor. The elevator doors had been left open, but it still took forty hands to lever the five tons of metal safely inside. Scott knew from his research that this part of the building had been built to survive a nuclear attack, but he wondered if the elevator would ever recover from having to carry the five-ton safe down six floors. He was only thankful that Madame Bertha was going down, not up.

  The elevator doors slowly closed and the Major quickly led Scott through a side door and down the back stairs, followed by a dozen soldiers. When they reached the basement, the doors of the elevator were already open and Madame Bertha stood there, majestically waiting. The Major pointed to the floor with his swagger stick: ten of the soldiers fell to their knees and began pulling the trolley inch by inch until they finally managed to coax it into the corridor. The elevator was then sent up to “—5,” and six of the soldiers ran back up the stairs, jumped into the empty elevator and returned to the basement so they could push the safe from the other side.

  The carpenter had already removed the first set of doors they would encounter when the safe entered the Council Chamber, but was still working on the second set when the dolly reached the entrance. The delay gave Scott an opportunity to supervise the moving of the large table up against the side wall and the placing of the chairs on the table so that the safe would have a clear passage into the far corridor.

  As he went back and forth Scott had several opportunities to stare at the Declaration, even study the spelling of the word “Brittish.” He quickly realized that the parchment was in an even worse condition than he had thought.

  Once the doors were finally removed, the soldiers began pushing the safe across the Chamber and out into the short corridor on the last few yards of its journey. When they had reached the end of the corridor opposite the specially prepared recess, Scott supervised the last few inches of its move until they could push the five tons of steel no further. Madame Bertha had finally come to her resting place against the far wall.

  Scott smiled, and Major Saeed made another phone call.

  The old woman explained to Hannah that the next shift was to be at three o’clock that afternoon, and they would be expected to have the Council Chamber ready for the meeting that was to take place at six the following day. They hadn’t been able to do a proper job on the first shift that morning because of that safe.

  Hannah had followed the cleaners, watching as they peeled off one by one and went their separate ways. She selected an old woman carrying the heaviest bags, and offered to help her across the road. They quickly got into conversation, and Hannah continued to carry the bags all the way to her front door, explaining that she only lived a few streets away.

  “Come inside, my dear,” the old lady said.

  “Thank you,” replied Hannah, feeling more like the wolf than Little Red Riding Hood.

  Slipping a small whisky into the old woman’s coffee had proved harmless enough, and it certainly loosened her tongue. Two Valium dropped in the cleaner’s second coffee ensured that it would be several hours before she woke. Mossad had taught Hannah five different ways of breaking into a car, a hotel room, a briefcase, even a small safe, so a drugged old woman’s handbag was no great challenge. She removed the special pass and slipped out of the house.

  “She’s now heading back in the direction of the Ministry,” said the voice into the mobile phone. “We’ve checked the old woman. She passed out and probably won’t come around until this time tomorrow. The only thing that’s been taken is her security pass.”

  When Hannah arrived back at her desk there was no sign that the Deputy Foreign Minister had returned, so she checked with the switchboard. There had only been three calls: two said they would call back tomorrow, and the third didn’t leave a message.

  Hannah replaced the handset and typed out a note explaining that she had gone home as she wasn’t certain whether the Deputy Foreign Minister would be returning that day. As long as he didn’t check his messages until after five o’clock, there would be no reason for him to become suspicious.

  In the privacy of her little room, Hannah exchanged her office clothes for the traditional black abaya with a pushi covering her face. She checked herself in the mirror before once again leaving the building, silently and anonymously.

  * * *

  “I’m almost sure it’s her coming out of the Ministry,” said the voice into the mobile phone, “but she’s changed into traditional dress and is no longer wearing glasses. She’s heading towards Victory Square again. I’ll keep you briefed.”

  Hannah was back in Victory Square before the first cleaner was expected to arrive for work. Although the crowd was now smaller, she was still able to remain inconspicuous. She looked across the road towards the courtyard. The safe was no longer to be seen, and the crane too had disappeared. The truck was now backed up against the wall.