The Devil's Light Read Free Page B

unprepossessing. He did not remind Al Zaroor of a warrior.
    Ayub sat across from him, fidgeting. For minutes the two men circled each other with words. Finally, Ayub said, “I’m told that you want a device. A special one.”
    Al Zaroor gave a barely perceptible nod. After a moment, Ayub leaned forward, elbows on knees, hands clasped in the attitude of prayer. Softly, he said, “I control six.”
    Al Zaroor’s alertness quickened. “Where are they?”
    â€œIn an underground vault beneath an air force base ringed by troops, sensors, and electrified wire. Like other such sites, it is secret. Few know that it exists, fewer know the precise nature of my responsibilities. Now you are one.”
    Al Zaroor’s mouth felt dry. In a matter-of-fact tone he asked, “Tell me about the properties of this device.”
    The general took out a British cigarette, lighting it with care before inhaling deeply. To Al Zaroor, who had no such vices, the man had the air of an abstemious smoker, trying to conceal from others that he lived for each carefully rationed cigarette. “It is two hundred pounds,” he said at length, “with dimensions suitable for a coffin. It is made to be delivered by plane. The intended target, as you must guess, is within India.”
    â€œAnd its security features?”
    â€œUntil it is needed, the triggering package is kept separate from the core. Even when assembled, there is an electronic code that must be activatedbefore the device can detonate. Access to the code is confined to a few scientists and the technician who will accompany the device in flight.” A note of entreaty crept into Ayub’s voice. “As you can see, the barriers to unauthorized usage are considerable. It might well be easier to buy or steal highly enriched uranium and construct a device of your own.”
    â€œI don’t want a technological problem,” Al Zaroor said curtly. “The Japanese group Aum Shan tried such a project with millions of dollars and a team of scientists. They failed. I prefer to buy off the shelf.”
    â€œThen you would need the code,” Ayub parried. “Not even I possess it.”
    â€œFor now, let’s set that aside. How might an interested party acquire such a device?”
    The general grimaced. “The most obvious way is to attack a base like mine. But that involves piercing an electrical fence manned by guards, and a second such fence around the vault itself. In between are several hundred soldiers.” Ayub drew a breath, as if the thought itself made him weary. “You would need at least six hundred fighters willing to die in pitched battle. That would also create a commotion visible to the American spy satellites. The odds against you are great.”
    Al Zaroor stared at Ayub. Coolly, he said, “There are other ways, General.”
    Faced with this tacit reproof, the general spread his arms, trailing ashes and smoke from his burning cigarette. “There could be a mutiny, of course, where a commanding officer takes over a facility. But on what basis does he enlist his troops? Any man who risked this and failed would face execution.”
    â€œI would hate to ask such a man to hazard his life,” Al Zaroor replied with an edge of irony. “Perhaps it would be best if he gave up the device in secret.”
    The general’s body stiffened. Taking a last drag, he ground the cigarette on the wooden arm of his chair. “How would this man smuggle it out without the complicity of others? Sooner or later, an inventory would be taken, and his own death would follow.” His voice hardened. “I believe in jihad, but not as a martyr. I have no use for seventy virgins in this life or the next.”
    Al Zaroor smiled faintly. “You take us for primitives, General. Surely there are circumstances where the device is taken from its womb.”
    Ayub shook his head. “Only during a state of