“I can understand that. I must admit, I have been very disappointed to watch Saudi Arabia warming up so much to the Zionist Occupiers.”

“Me too! Trust me. The king is a doddering old fool. And the crown prince cares only for power and money. He is everything that is wrong in Riyadh. There are no principles left in the royal palace.”

Mousavi said, “First the United Arab Emirates normalized relations with the Occupiers due in large part to the Abraham Accords and the Zionists’ part in stopping the drone attack on the Burj Khalifa skyscraper in Dubai. Now the rumor is that Sudan, Bahrain, and Morocco could be the next to cave to the pressure.”

“Along with my country,” Kamal said. “Our disgusting behind-the-scenes flirtations with the Jews are an open secret in the Middle East.”

“It’s true,” said the general. “Quite honestly, habibi, I have been in high-level discussions where we have spoken of placing your country ahead of the Jewish Occupiers on our kill list.” He lifted an orange wedge to his mouth.

Kamal sat up, his feet now on the floor. “Don’t you include me with those heretics. Allah gave them power and resources, and look what they have done with it. They have squandered their influence in the name of riches and decadence.”

Saad stifled a smile by popping a large purple grape into his mouth. Riches and decadence? This is the multimillionaire prince who took four women to his quarters last night. The lack of self-awareness is astounding.

The Saudi continued his rant. “If we cut off the head of the royal family, plenty like me would be ready to step in. We are the faithful. We are the true followers of Allah.” Turning to Mousavi, he said, “You and I, General, may have major doctrinal differences. And truth be told, in any other venue we might hate each other. But as we sit here this morning, you are my friend. Why? Because we share the same enemies.”

“Which are…” asked Saad.

“The Saudi royal family, Israel, and the United States.” Kamal ticked them off on his fingers one by one.

“And you are comfortable if my ordering of that list differs from yours?”

“As long as we are all committed to wiping out them all, I don’t care what order you personally put them in.”

Saad dropped another grape into his mouth, then said, “Tell me, General, what is your country’s view of the upcoming U.S. election?”

Mousavi groaned, eliciting a smile from Saad. “I just wish it would happen and be over with. It feels as if we are in limbo until they do.”

“How so?”