Читать книгу Deadline Yemen (The Elizabeth Darcy Series) - Peggy Hanson - Страница 8

CHAPTER 4

Greetings, O San’a the blessed; your people are noble.

Its mountains are a fortress formidable, threatening

Whoever attacks it.

Traditional Yemeni poetry translated by Steven C. Caton, “Peaks of Yemen I Summon”

Richard Queens watched his fellow passengers retrieve their luggage and leave the airport. His antennae had risen at the dark-haired woman’s confidence. She appeared to be with the fellow who must be one of his targets. Perhaps she would turn out to be a person of interest, as well. They hadn’t left together, though.

His instructions from London had been vague. “Go to Sana’a and talk to Anwar,” his boss had said. “Something’s up. We need to know more. We don’t want obstacles at this stage. Something’s missing.”

With his command of Arabic, Richard had often been called in on sensitive projects. Usually the project was definable. This time the scene was Yemen. No one ever really knew what was going on in Yemen. It would take many cups of tea and leisurely qat sessions perfumed by the ever-present hookah to be sure—and even then the country held surprises.

Given the secrecy within which he worked, Queens grabbed a nondescript cab from the line outside the equally nondescript airport and headed for his hotel, the Dar al-Hamd—“House of Well-Being,” in Arabic.

Richard Queens could use a little well-being. He disliked assignments with this many loose threads.