The Peregrine Spy by Edmund P. Murray

Author:Edmund P. Murray [Murray, Edmund P.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Thrillers, Espionage
ISBN: 031230367X
Google: RwBlAgAAQBAJ
Amazon: B00HFUAQ4I
Barnesnoble: B00HFUAQ4I
Publisher: Macmillan
Published: 2014-02-04T06:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“Colonel Kasravi will be sending for you a bit later,” General Merid said to Frank at their morning Jayface meeting.

Apparently no one had yet told General Merid their civic action proposals, with the possible exception of the newspaper, had died. He began an earnest discussion of military involvement in the distribution of benzene and cooking oil. Frank let him go, even contributing what he hoped would pass for thoughtful comments.

His attention picked up when, at tea-break time, a new waiter appeared in place of Hamid. Tall and solidly built with a drooping mustache, he appeared to speak no English. Still, he paid more attention to their conversations than a waiter might need to as he made his way among them with an unchanging, sullen stare.

Frank tried to catch Gus’s eye, but Gus looked away. Turning his back to the others, Frank said to Anwar, “What happened to Hamid?” Anwar walked away without speaking.

* * *

As the new waiter cleared the remnants of their tea break, a young man with a corporal’s stripes on the sleeve of an Imperial Guard uniform entered and spoke to General Merid.

“Ah, Major Sullivan. Could you follow the corporal? Colonel Kasravi wishes to see you.”

* * *

“Let me come directly to the point,” said the colonel as Frank took a chair close to him. “Do you have your tape recorder?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good, The prime minister has asked me to inform you of a major change in policy. On Wednesday, your 6 December, two days from now, close to five hundred political prisoners will be released. The exact figure, at least as of this morning, stood at four hundred and seventy-two, including Karim Sanjabi of the National Front. We will allow religious demonstrations throughout the country on Tasu’a, which is next Sunday, and the following day, Ashura. Here in Tehran marches through the city will be led by Karim Sanjabi and Ayatollah Taleqani, himself recently released from prison. They have guaranteed the marches will be peaceful, and both know that if the marches turn violent they face a quick return to prison. Ayatollah Khomeini has also called for peaceful demonstrations. We expect peaceful demonstrations. As I stipulated in our previous conversation, you can convey this information to your government but not to any of your counterparts on Jayface, including the general, or to any other Iranians or any foreign nationals or uncleared Americans. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir. But, sir, may I ask?”

“What is it?”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because the prime minister wants the Americans to know it, and your ambassador these days meets only with the Shah. Because the prime minister knows the Shah trusts you, he wants you to be the one who conveys his message to your government. His Imperial Majesty has, of course, approved this approach. Eleven Moharram, your 12 December, is only ten days away. We must have your government’s unconditional approval of your continuing availability as an adviser by then. The prime minister also wants to be sure your government realizes

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.