The Puppetmasters (24 page)

The palace was abuzz with activity. Fresh flowers were being placed around the primary rooms where the guests and family would be assembling.

The president returned to the palace from the Afghanistan governmental offices in downtown Kabul in the afternoon. He was in high spirits and, much to Rashid’s surprise, had given the government workers the afternoon off. He was feeling on top of the world. The Afghanistan governmental affairs were in order. The oil wells were pumping thousands of barrels a day, and the country was producing enough natural gas to sell to neighboring countries. Yes, the president felt very good about Afghanistan. It was going places … mostly up. And so was he. He was going to fill his coffers to overflowing, so that he and his family for
generations to come would never want for anything.

The Afghanistan government was running so smoothly and efficiently that he did not need to oversee the daily governmental business. It fell to his advisors and ministers. Shazeb was able to spend a lot of his time on his own business enterprise, that most close to his heart: his poppy “farming” business.

The president was quite pleased with his life and very glad of the timing of this celebration. The ships hadn’t quite come in yet, but he knew that was all going to happen in the next week. He intended to push the limit tonight and thoroughly enjoy himself. He made a mental note to give Rashid a little bonus and a raise for all he had done for the Shazebs over the years. He wished Rashid had been his bona fide son. He refused to think about the shortcomings of his own sons, Ahmad and Saaqib. At least he had the devoted servant Rashid Sharif to keep his sons from each other’s throats, maintain order in the household, and see to the smooth operation of Shazeb’s business.

The only thing President Shazeb regretted about the day was foregoing the routine evening corporal punishment. When he was feeling enraged and angry in the night time, he often joined his officers to observe the beatings. There was nothing like the infliction of pain to assuage the tension in his shoulders. Hearing the cries of pain brought Shazeb a measure of peace that he could not find anywhere else. Sometimes he even volunteered to show the men the best techniques. It wasn’t that he’d had the most experience. He was just more passionate about it. Even his boys had felt the sting of a whip on occasion during their hell-raising youthful years.

The Shazeb clan was in high spirits as the evening festivities began. The children were excited and had run out back all afternoon to peek at the roasting lambs and watch the basting process. The dripping juices gave off a heavenly scent of lamb, herbs, and fruit juices. Every so often, Taheem would cut off a slice to check the tenderness. He would wink at the children and give them a tiny morsel to taste. They couldn’t wait for the evening meal.

Several bottles of Pinot Noir had been consumed by the Shazeb men and the Orion guests, Paul Fields and Kendall Radcliffe. Kendall moved freely between the sitting room where the men had congregated just beyond the formal dining room and the kitchen. President Shazeb was delighted that Kendall had taken such an interest in the dinner preparations. He was brimming with optimism that Kendall could be persuaded to become a permanent resident of the palace.

His mind was too fuzzy from wine to figure out all the details of where she would fit in the household hierarchy. Kendall would certainly never agree to be a servant. She deserved to be no less than a wife. But he did not want tension
and jealousy to descend among the palace women should she be installed as one of his favorites. He then ruminated about the possibility of setting Kendall up at the palace in one of the back suites that was not presently used. She could be a sort of
Khala
or aunt to the children. Of course, he would visit her often.
Yes
, he thought.
This would be perfect.

He would need to keep his boys away from her, though. He had seen them ogling Kendall. He looked up to find both of his sons talking to her about the horses. She was complimenting Ahmad on how beautiful and strong his horse,
Papaver,
was. Rashid stole a glance at Kendall over the rim of his wine glass. She seemed to know exactly what to say to have Ahmad eating out of her hands.

The latter began regaling her with the tale of how difficult it was to break
Papaver
when it was first acquired. Ahmad was quite proud of the fact that he had
Papaver
broke in one week when it usually takes several weeks. Even though patience and hard work were essential for breaking a horse, Ahmad waved his hand dismissively and declared that his methods were much better. He looked quite handsome in his dress uniform complete with sidearm. And he acted every bit the soldier.

Kendall was following the conversation closely and listening intently. Ahmad leaned in. “You’ve got to show the horse who’s boss. Don’t let them decide when and where to behave. Get him introduced immediately to the whip. Once he’s felt the sting of that whip he’ll fall in line. That’s why they call it ‘breaking in a horse.’” He winked at Kendall. She flushed, and her eyes flashed. Rashid was furious at Ahmad’s comment but relieved at Kendall’s response. It was perfect for Ahmad. If Rashid hadn’t known her so well, he would have taken the flush for sexual encouragement. But knowing her as he did, he knew the flush and the flashing eyes were masking intense anger. He could tell that Kendall was infuriated at the proposition of harsh treatment of a prized animal like
Papaver.
That brute, Ahmad, didn’t have a clue.

Rashid kept the men’s wine glasses full. It had not escaped notice either. Saaqib greedily accepted more wine and helped himself to an hors d’oeurve of
Bolani,
or stuffed flat bread. He leaned over to Rashid and said with much derision, “What are you doing, trying to addle my brain so I don’t tear Ahmad’s head off? Can you believe the boasting and obvious flirting?”

Rashid threw back his head and laughed … a little too loud. “Nonsense, Saaqib. I’ve seen you operate with women before. You have lots of charm and many stories. Go tell Kendall some of your war stories.”

Saaqib watched Ahmad and Kendall as they traded laughs. He beamed at Rashid’s comment, and with newfound courage tinged with anger he strode over to the laughing pair. “Ahmad, shame on you. You are keeping Kendall to yourself. Let the poor girl breathe.” As Rashid rushed over to re-fill Ahmad’s glass of wine, Saaqib moved in and put his arm around Kendall’s waist. “Kendall,
I see you were admiring our horses. Did you happen to see the peacocks?”

Kendall’s eyes lit up and she clapped her hands together. “Oh yes, Saaqib. They were beautiful the way they strutted around owning the meadow.”

“Well, I bought the peacocks as a gift for Ahmad. I knew how much he liked animals.”

Kendall touched his arm. “That was so nice of you. What a thoughtful and unique gift. You are a wonderful brother.” She was laying it on thick.

Ahmad, watching this exchange and wondering how Saaqib had suddenly gotten in the middle of their conversation, was enraged. He had been outmaneuvered once again by his older brother. When this dinner was over, he told himself, he was finally going to tell Saaqib off and maybe even show him with his fist. Just because Saaqib was older didn’t mean he always got the girls.

Ahmad started to push his way into the center of the group when the rest of the family burst into the room. It was quite a commotion as the children and wives rushed in all at once. The children were excited about the unplanned party and that they had been allowed to help Taheem in the kitchen.

President Shazeb loved his grandchildren. He especially loved sharing meals with them. This evening, their constant chattering and changing of subjects created enough chaos and normalcy to stifle the men’s growing annoyance toward each other.

The group moved into the formal dining room and began their feast. President Shazeb naturally sat at the head of the table, with Kendall to his right, followed by Rashid. The Afghan leader had purposely placed Rashid next to Kendall, keeping his sons away from her. He knew he could trust Rashid. But Rashid was teasing a couple of the kids and they begged him to sit with them. He looked at the proud grandfather, shrugged his shoulders, and acquiesced. The children squealed with delight, their mothers quietly shushing them. Rashid pointed over to Ahmad to sit in his place. While Ahmad was overjoyed at sitting next to Kendall, Saaqib and the president were furious. Only Rashid could have gotten away with altering the seating arrangement. But in the end, it looked as if the children had done the maneuvering, when, in fact, Rashid had masterminded the entire scenario. The children were just pawns, and very easy ones at that.

Paul Fields was sitting at the president’s left, with Saaqib on his left. Fields was not adept at the dangerous scene that was playing out. He was uncomfortable and found it hard to be jovial. Fortunately, he did like fine wine, and readily accepted glass after glass … just to take the edge off. Fields and the president began to discuss the computer network system of the Afghanistan government, and Fields explained that he had cleaned out quite a few viruses and malware, but had not seen any signs of a monitoring device or any unauthorized accessing of information. Saaqib, not having been present most of the time when Fields
was working, simply nodded and concurred with Fields’ opinions.

Fields wanted to emphasize that he was not in the business of IT cleanup, but felt that might not be too good for his overall health. He had agreed to play this game and was going to see it through so he could escape tonight. Rashid had told him that under no circumstances should he call anyone out, like Saaqib, to degrade or criticize the current systems. Fields was ordered to be genial, pleasant, and courteous. While those qualities were not in his nature, he genuinely missed his family and had agreed to do just about anything to see them again … or at least to get out of this godforsaken country.

Rashid was enjoying a friendly banter with the children at the end of the table while keeping a watchful eye on the other end. President Shazeb was politely but just barely listening to Paul Fields. The Afghan leader was more intent on keeping an eye on his younger son who was shamelessly and loudly flirting with Kendall. In the president’s eyes, Kendall was only being polite, and was needlessly suffering through Ahmad’s extreme forwardness and boorishness. Rashid deftly and covertly signaled the pouring of more wine. Shazeb absent-mindedly took another drink and shoved more succulent lamb into his mouth. His eyes narrowed, and he would have liked to use the whip on Ahmad at that very moment.

As the main courses came to an end, Rashid arose and announced that Kendall had made a special dessert. She followed him to the kitchen where Taheem had already dished up the dessert onto delicate china plates. Rashid grinned at Taheem. “This looks wonderful Taheem. I’ll help Kendall serve it. This is her masterpiece. Would you please have the coffee served?”

With that, Taheem turned away and began supervising the coffee service with the help of his staff. Rashid quickly reached into his pocket and produced a vial of powder. When Kendall caught sight of it, she sucked in her breath and had a brief stab of fear. She looked at him for reassurance that it would not hurt anyone. He nodded and quietly assured her that it would only make them sleepy. He put a small dose on each of the desserts intended for the children and a slightly larger dose on the women’s plates. The men received their desserts completely unaltered. Kendall did not understand what Rashid’s plan was and had no choice but to trust him. It seemed to her that the men should have received the sleeping powder and not the women and children.

Kendall and Rashid served the dessert, carefully placing the correct dishes in front of the intended person. Saaqib was disgusted and irritated to see Rashid helping. “Really, Rashid … women’s work now? Don’t you have any pride?”

Rashid chose to view the comment as a lighthearted jab. He laughed and responded, “Normally, I would agree with you. But I’ve already tasted this wonderful chocolate cheesecake, and I couldn’t wait for you all to try it.”

President Shazeb’s eyebrows rose at all the fuss over a dessert. Rashid
continued smoothly, “You know that we hardly ever have chocolate. It is such a rarity, and I wanted to watch all of you—especially the kids—enjoy something incredible.”