Free The Aisha Prophecy by John R. Maxim Page A

right there.”
    “You are right. I will wait.”
    “No, what you’ll do is walk down to the shore and throw that thing into the lake. You will try to do so in a casual manner. Try to look as if you’re skipping a stone.”
    The Saudi drew a breath. His color rose.
    The banker said, “Better yet, throw it into the fire.”
    Haskell said, “No, because the battery might explode and, if not, its remnants would be found in the morning.” He asked the Saudi, “What else have you brought? What else that I told you not to bring?”
    “Only this.”
    “After you’ve tossed it, why not take a little swim? Take off all your clothes. It’s called skinny-dipping. That’s another of this club’s traditions.”
    The Saudi’s face went blank. “I… do not understand.”
    “You’ve forgotten one rule. Another might have eluded you. A recording device comes to mind.”
    “You accuse me?” asked the Saudi.
    “No, I alert you. Because if you had ‘forgotten’ that you’d brought such a thing, you’d be out on your ear and me with you.”
    The banker rose to his feet and unzipped his own jacket. He said to the Saudi, “I could do with a dip. I’d be honored if you’d let me accompany you.”
    The Saudi stiffened. “To watch me undress?”
    “Not at all. It is our custom. It is called the buddy system. We’ll wade in together and I’ll turn my back. You’ll have ample time to make any adjustment that might add to your comfort and ours.”
    The Saudi hesitated. “I have no such device.”
    “I believe you,” said the banker, “but let’s do it all the same. After that, we needn’t ever speak of this again. We will continue to nurture the level of trust that I feel is now growing between us.”
    The Saudi said to Haskell, “This man has good manners.”
    “He’s a beacon to us all. Enjoy your swim.”
     

SIX 
    Howard Leland watched them go. “A bit hard on him, weren’t you?”
    “I’m going to take a walk. Care to join me?”
    “Saudi men don’t undress before other men. And this one’s a prince. You’ve insulted a prince.”
    “Saudi princes, as you know, are as common as houseflies. There are what, six thousand?”
    “Something like that.”
    “And they have a pecking order. This one’s near the bottom. He’s been sucking hind tit all his life.”
    “Even so…”
    “And I didn’t insult the damned fool,” said Haskell. “His honor, such as it is, is intact. One can only offend the honor of an Arab if another Arab is present to hear it. We’re all infidels here. By his lights, we don’t matter. The insult, therefore, never happened.”
    “If you say so,” said Leland.
    “The point is, so would he.”
    “Still, you seem to have nothing but contempt for this man. Just him? Or toward Saudis on the whole.”
    Haskell shook his head. “I have no such prejudice. I respect competence wherever I find it. I admire courage in whatever culture. This particular Saudi is possessed of neither virtue. He’d be a dickhead wherever he came from.”
    “Then what use is he to you? Hind tit and all that.”
    “That’s easy. He knows how to get at the front ones. Did I mention that he is a banker of sorts?”
    “I… gathered that money is involved.”
    “Oh, indeed,” said Haskell. “About ten billion dollars, most of it skimmed. It’s money that was meant for certain Islamic charities.”
    “That instead goes to militants? Hamas and the like?”
    “Oh, some of it, yes. Far less than you’d think. I’ll give you one guess where the bulk of it goes.”
    “Off-shore banks?”
    Haskell nodded. “Numbered accounts.”
    “Flight money?”
    “You betcha. For hundreds of Saudis. It’s not just the lesser royals who are stealing and stashing. It’s almost anyone who’s prospered by sucking up to them. They’re all building considerable nest eggs for themselves against the day when that regime is overthrown. The house of Saud has been circling the drain for some time. We could hear a