The Levanter by Eric Ambler

Author:Eric Ambler [Ambler, Eric]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 5

TERESA MALANDRA

May 18 to June 10

The reason why Michael is so difficult to

understand -especially for journalists - is that he is

not one person but a committee of several. There

is, for instance, the Greek money-changer with thin

fingers moving unceasingly as he makes lightning

calculations on an abacus; there is the brooding,

sad-eyed Armenian bazaar trader who pretends to

be slow-witted, but is, in fact, devious beyond

belief; there is the stuffy, no-nonsense Englishman

trained as an engineer; there is the affable, silk-

suited young man of affairs with smile lines at the

corners of wide, limpid, con-man eyes; there is the

mother-fixation managing director of the Agence

Howell, defensive, sententious and given to

speechifying; and there is the one I particularly

like, who . . . but why go on? The Michael Howell

committee is in permanent session, and, though the

task of implementing its business decisions is

generally delegated to just one of the members, the

voices of the others are usually to be heard

whispering in the background. Ghaled certainly

detected the faint sounds of those prompting

voices, but to begin with he positively identified

only the engineer. About that member of the

committee at least his judgement was correct; the

Englishman's professional pride borders on the

obsessional.

In the days that followed that second meeting with

Salah Ghaled there seemed to be no more

enthusiastic and devoted adherent to the cause of

the Palestinian Action Force than comrade

Michael. Within forty-eight hours the drawings and

specifications of the fuse adapter ring had been

completed and sent to the Beirut machine shop. A

day later, after a telephone discussion, a price had

been agreed and work on the sample ring put in

hand. Meanwhile, the probable Howell shipping

movements for the months of June and July had

been analysed and a number of projections made.

Then the possibilities of change and manipulation

were explored.

It was like a mad chess problem.

On July 2 the MV Amalia Howell (4000 tons,

Captain Touzani) must sail, possibly though not

necessarily in ballast, from Latakia bound for

Alexandria. Problem: bring this sailing about in

not more than three moves, none of which may be

observed by your opponent (in this case your own

shipping agents) or, if observed, not recognised as

moves.

Michael thought about it on and off for days. In the

end he found a solution requiring only two moves:

first, the contrived, temporary withdrawal of the

Amalia's Deratisation Exemption Certificate

(required under Article 17 of the International

Sanitary Regulations) which would hold her idle in

port for three or more days; second, a

consequential re-arrangement of Howell freighter

sailings which would send the Amalia, when

released, to Ancona to pick up a cargo for Latakia.

His eyes gleamed with pleasure as he went over

the mechanics of it with me.

'Tell Issa to pass the news on,' he said finally. 'No

details, just the name of the ship. You can tell him,

too, that the sample ring will be in our hands on

Monday next. Ghaled will want to see it. Request

orders. We want to appear to be cooperating one

hundred percent.'

'Why do you say "appear" to be?'

'What do you mean?'

'Well we are cooperating, aren't we?'

He frowned impatiently. 'What else do you suggest

we do?'

'Is this adapter ring going to work?'

'Of course it's going to work.' He was indignant for

a moment, then he shrugged.

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