“Stop!” cried Saad, stepping forward with his arms out. “No more!” He pushed Mousavi and Kamal away from each other. “Tell your men to stand down. Both of you. Now!”

They obeyed, and the soldiers slowly lowered their guns.

Saad kicked the lid to the trunk closed. “Is he alive?”

“Of course he’s alive,” Kamal answered, angrily readjusting his ghutra and igal. “He wouldn’t be much of a source of information otherwise, would he?”

“Please tell me you scanned him for tracking devices.”

“We’re not fools, Saad. We found one, cut it out, and disposed of it before we left Qatar, where we captured him.” The man sounded so proud of this accomplishment.

“Okay, good,” Saad said, mulling his next steps. “Tell your men to take him down to the empty storage hold next to the garage. And get him out of that box. Make sure he’s bound securely and use the seawater hose to rinse him down. I don’t want him stinking up the entire lower deck. Then throw the trunk into the ocean and make sure it sinks.”

Kamal turned toward his men. “You heard him. Be quick.” The four who had brought the trunk came forward and lifted it. Saad’s chief steward stepped from his respectful ten-meter distance to show the men the way to the storage room.

Still angry, Saad said to Kamal, “Now, let’s hear what you have. If you say it is important enough for the general to bring you the Houthis, then it must be incredible. But I swear to you, if it is not, this will be the last time you ever step foot on this boat.”

A smile crossed Kamal’s face again. “Oh, it is special, all right. But first, General, I must insist that you promise me the Houthis.”

“How many times must I tell you? I cannot.”

“Yes you can. And you will—gladly—when I reveal my little secret to you.”

Mousavi stared at the man as if trying to read his face. “Okay. If this information is as spectacular as you say, you will have your army.”

“Splendid,” Kamal said, clapping his hands. “Now for secrets revealed. The Mossad agent, Nir Tavor, came to Doha for an express purpose. He was to communicate to the Saudi crown prince’s chief of staff some very important information—the date and time the Israeli Air Force is planning to fly over Saudi airspace on its way to Iran to decimate your nuclear program in a massive, unparalleled air strike.”

“What?” The general looked stunned.

“See, I told you,” Kamal said with a grin.