Keys to the Kingdom Read Free Page A

wealth. They have forgotten their heritage and care little for the joy of following the ways of the Prophet. This running sore cannot be permitted to infect the body of Islam. Those responsible for betraying the trust placed in them by Allah must pay for their treachery with their lives.’ Gallagher looked at the men in the room. The brightness of their eyes told him that he had struck the right cord. His features remained suitably fervent. ‘They must be expurgated. They must be excised from the body of Islam so that purity can be restored.’ He looked directly at Prince Kareem. ‘They must be replaced by those who owe their very being to Allah and who will work only to restore Him to His rightful place in the minds of the people. Only under the leadership of such a servant of Allah will Saudi Arabia take its rightful place as the leader of the Arab nation.’ Gallagher watched as Kareem and the bodyguards digested his words. His fate was about to be decided.
    ‘You have spoken well and you have spoken the truth,’ Prince Kareem said. ‘Our leaders, my illustrious brothers and cousins, have become fat and lazy. They have neglected their duty to Islam.  They think only of their palaces and seek the company of loose women. They are mistaken in the thought that they have infected all the family. In my youth they infected me also. They sent me to study in California where I fornicated with loose women and polluted my body with alcohol and drugs. I have betrayed Allah once but it will never happen again. The desire to do God’s will burns like a fire within my breast. Corruption must be cut out branch and root. Together we will rid my country of the pestilence afflicting it.’
    Gallagher looked into the Prince’s burning eyes and saw that he was more than halfway there. ‘May you live long, my Prince.’ He glanced across at the two scraggy beards. ‘Between us we must put the maximum pressure on the family and the government. When I give the word, your brothers will begin a campaign of terror against the infidel and against those who have accepted the ways of the West. You already have a cadre within the Army?’
    ‘Yes,’ the Prince said quickly. ‘And they are all willing to die to serve their God.’
    ‘Good,’ Gallagher said. ‘We will create many martyrs. You must alert your followers. The centres of Riyadh, Jeddah and Taif will be turned into areas of fear.’
    ‘We will be ready when you call on us,’ the Prince said hastily. He nodded at the two silent ‘beards’ seated at the other side of the room.  ‘We will make the cities run red with blood.  And you, Abu Ma’aath, what do you wish for yourself?’
    ‘Allah bless you, the satisfaction of knowing that the Holy Places are in the protective hands of a true believer will be payment enough for me.’
    The Prince’s stern features relaxed. ‘I think you are the omen we have been waiting for, Abu Ma’aath. If you really are the ‘Father of Death’ then you have come to the right place. The enemies of God will not be able to hide from His wrath when it is unleashed. Now my friend, let us discuss this plan of yours in more detail.’
    Abdallah clapped his hands and the door of the room opened. Two women entered carrying a huge platter containing the cooked remains of a sheep. The body had been roughly carved and the sheep’s innards had been placed on top of the heap of meat. The women placed the platter on the floor in the centre of the room.
    ‘The plan, Abu Ma’aath,’ Prince Kareem said ignoring the presence of the women and the platter from which Naim was picking the choicest pieces for his honoured guest. ‘Tell us about your plan.’ 
                 

 
    CHAPTER 3
     
     
    Worley sipped his whiskey and soda and walked slowly around the edge of the crowd milling on the lawn of the British Ambassador’s Residence. It had been two days since he had seen Patrick Gallagher outside the main mosque and he had not stopped