by David Rose
Aimee emerges from her classroom first, holding hands with Alice. Charlie runs up a few moments later, in the company of Tom.
“You guys had better be saying goodbye to each other,” Adam says. “Alice, Tom, in case you don’t know, we’re going back to America on Monday. Thank you for looking after Aimee and Charlie and helping them find their feet. You’ve made things much easier for them, and I want you to know how much I appreciate it. And by the way, here’s someone I’d like you to meet. This is Morgan, their mum.”
“Wow!” says Tom. “You must be so brave, like a heroine or something.” He holds out his hand. Morgan takes it, smiling broadly.
“I’m pleased to meet you, Tom. And thank you for teaching Charlie how to fish. He’s hardly stopped talking about it from the moment I came back.”
Alice proffers her hand, too. “How do you do, Mrs. Cooper. I’m so pleased you’re back safe—all of Aimee’s friends are. But we’re going to miss her very much.”
“Mommy?” says Charlie, “I know we’ve got to say goodbye for now, but can’t we all come back for a visit? I mean, like maybe for Christmas or Easter or something? Granny and Grandpa won’t mind if we come stay. Not just us and Dad this time, but you as well. We can have another anglers’ picnic!”
Adam and Morgan exchange glances.
“I’m just not sure,” she says. “We’ll see how things go. The flights are very expensive, and Dad’s had to take a lot of time off from his job. But we’ll see. I’m not saying definitely yes, but if we can make it work, sweetie, we will. If we can make it work.”
“So can we go to Bunters now?”
“Bunters?” Morgan looks at Adam again, this time quizzically.
“It’s the little supermarket and candy store on the other side of the canal. It’s become a bit of a tradition; we stop there to buy them something on the way home every Friday.”
“In that case of course we can. Come on.” Morgan takes Charlie’s hand, and they join the throng of families making their way across the old, narrow bridge, Adam and Aimee just behind.
“Mom, you’ll never guess,” Charlie says. “They’ve got white chocolate Magnums.”
AUTHOR’S NOTE
This is a work of fiction, but the background to its story is real. There really was a covert US operation to supply and train Fatah’s forces in Gaza planned with the intention that they would crush Hamas in the spring of 2007, and its discovery was the trigger for the successful Hamas coup. Much of the detail is set out in my article “The Gaza Bombshell,” published in the April 2008 issue of Vanity Fair. Among the things that Hamas discovered once it seized power was that its Palestinian enemies had made secret video recordings of the sex lives of their opponents, usually as a means of blackmailing them. In the chaotic, bloody months before the Hamas takeover, there was a spate of kidnappings by jihadist groups, most notably of the BBC reporter Alan Johnston. Hamas secured his freedom soon after the coup. His account of his ordeal, Kidnapped, is published by Profile. The USS Kearsage, an amphibious assault ship, was on patrol in the Red Sea during 2007. There really was a US Marine Corps operation which saved Sunni tribal fighters from Al-Qaeda at the town of Al-Qaim in May 2005, and it was launched thanks to an American seed merchant who called his Marine contacts from his porch. However, his name was not Rob Ashfield but Ken Wischkaemper. Saints Philip and James is a primary school in Oxford, where the deputy head teacher, Kelly Brain, not only has a marvelous name, but is also an inspirational teacher. All other characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance they may have to real persons, living or dead, is coincidence.
There are many people I must thank without whose help this novel could not have been written. Rebecca Nicolson and Chris Anderson first gave me the confidence that I might be able to write fiction, and to Chris, who read each draft chapter as I completed it, I owe a particular debt. Paul Janiczek and David Davis gave me critical help with the details of the military equipment and operational methods described in the closing chapters. Several members of the American, Israeli, and British intelligence communities, who would prefer not to be named, also gave me invaluable assistance; they know who they are. Others with experience of the Middle East, Washington, and other relevant aspects of life gave generously of their time as readers and made many helpful criticisms. In no particular order, they include Harvey Boulter, Alison Phillips, John Lupold, Michael Murphy, Ina Parker, and Amanda Craig.
Since the time of the Gaza coup, my many journalistic visits to Israel and the Palestinian territories have been facilitated and illuminated by the help and warm friendship of my translator and fixer, Nuha Musleh, and her family, Khader, Zainab, and Abdel Nasser. If I have gained any insight into Palestinian politics, life, and culture, it is down to them, and I thank them for their hospitality from the bottom of my heart. All visitors to Ramallah should make a point of visiting their extraordinary oriental art, antiques, carpet, and jewelry boutique, Gallery Zainab. In Gaza, Hassan Jaber, a warm man and a superb journalist who somehow keeps smiling in very difficult circumstances, has played a similar role.
Jill Grinberg, my agent in New York, has represented me for many years, and her role in the gestation of this book was immense. She gave generously of her time from the beginning, supplying vital editorial advice, the support that kept me going, and later, when the thing was almost finished, enormously perceptive suggestions for fine-tuning the text. At Quartet, Naim Attallah and Gavin James Bower responded to the manuscript with the care and enthusiasm which every writer covets. Nicole Frail and her colleagues at Skyhorse attended to the publication of the American edition with equal dedication.
Finally, but also first, I thank my wife, Carolyn. Although her own life, thanks in part to the sons to whom the book is dedicated, can be quite busy, she not only commented on every draft of every chapter, she proofread them. More important, she sustained both this project and its author with her love.