Michael Pearce - The Mingrelian Conspiracy

‘I was hoping,’ said Owen, ‘that you might be having second thoughts.’

‘Second thoughts?’

‘After the conversation we had the other day.’

‘Well, um-what was it exactly that you said?’

‘You are not in the Caucasus now. You are in a country to which you owe obligations.’

‘Oh, we’re not thinking of a general massacre. Just the Grand Duke.’

‘It could have international repercussions.’

‘You think so?’ said Sorgos, pleased.

‘I certainly do.’

Sorgos almost rubbed his hands.

‘Well, that is excellent!’ he said.

‘You won’t think it so excellent when it rebounds on you.’

‘Why should it rebound on us?’

‘Do you think Egypt is going to be very pleased?’

‘Well…Egypt!’

‘Yes, Egypt. A country which has been very generous to you.’

‘England will look after Egypt,’ said Sorgos confidently. ‘Indeed’-his face lit up-‘it might turn out to be a very good thing. If we could only provoke a quarrel between England and Russia-! Now, that really would be something! The Grand Duke dead and war as well!’

‘Can we start by getting up to date on the security position?’ said Paul. ‘Mamur Zapt?’

They were in the committee room again, the one with the trapped flies. But were they the same flies, wondered Owen? Weren’t flies supposed to breed quickly and die quickly? Maybe these were the grandchildren of the ones he’d seen the other day. Quick succession of generations. Sorgos would be interested in this.

‘Mamur Zapt?’ repeated Paul reprovingly.

‘Nothing to report.’

‘Nothing?’

‘Out of the ordinary.’

‘No stirrings?’

‘The usual.’

It was extraordinarily hot in the room.

‘Nothing pertaining to the Grand Duke?’

‘I am keeping some people under observation.’

‘The Mingrelians?’ hazarded the Army major who had been at the meeting the other day.

‘Among others.’

‘I think this is unsatisfactory,’ said Shearer. ‘The Mamur Zapt is not being very informative. I can understand his desire to keep intelligence to himself, but we are, surely, a privileged group.’

‘Who exactly are the Mingrelians?’ asked someone new to the group.

‘Troublemakers,’ said Shearer.

‘Damned difficult lot,’ said the major.

‘Could drench the city in blood,’ said Paul, perking up at the prospect of leading the Army astray.

‘My God!’ said the newcomer, impressed.

‘That’s why I’m keeping them under observation,’ said Owen helpfully.

‘Glad you are. But, um, who-who exactly are they?’

‘Slopes of the Caucasus,’ said Paul.

‘Caucasus?’ Shearer sat up. ‘Don’t like the sound of that. Have their links with Russia been explored, sir?’

‘Working on it,’ said Owen.

‘It’s not so much links,’ said Paul. ‘More old enmities. What we’re worried about is that some of these may have been carried over to Egypt and may resurface during the Grand Duke’s visit.’

‘Ah!’ said Shearer, leaning forward. ‘But is that what we ought to be worried about? I must confess, gentlemen, that I had not appreciated up till now that the Mingrelians and the Russians were neighbours. That makes a big difference.’

‘Does it?’ said Paul.

‘Well, yes, it does. I think we should approach this strategically, gentlemen, and ask what is the Grand Duke’s interest in coming to Egypt.’

‘Well, it’s the opera-’

‘No, no. no. You misunderstand me. I mean, what is Russia’s interest in the Grand Duke’s visit?’

‘Pretty minimal, I would say.’

‘No. No. Its strategic interest. From a military point of view.’ Shearer looked round the room. ‘Perhaps I can help, gentlemen? Bear in mind the location of the Caucasus.’

‘The Caucasus? Not too sure,’ said the major. ‘Up there somewhere?’

‘Think of India,’ said Shearer, ‘and think of the North West Frontier!’

‘It’s nowhere near the North West Frontier!’ said Paul. ‘It’s the other side of the Caspian Sea!’

‘It borders on Persia,’ said Owen.

‘Exactly!’ Shearer turned to him. ‘This is where strategic sense is important. Up till now we’ve assumed that any threat to India would come from the North. That’s where we’ve put our troops. Up on the North West Frontier. But suppose it didn’t come from the North. Suppose it came from the West!’

‘Persia?’

Shearer nodded.

‘Outflanked!’ breathed the major. ‘Good God!’

‘You can see how serious it is,’ said Shearer.

‘No,’ said Paul. ‘Nor what it has to do with the Grand Duke’s visit.’

‘The connection,’ said Shearer, ‘is Suez. Our main route to India. Cut that and you sever our supply lines.’

‘I’m not sure the Grand Duke will be able to do that on his own,’ said Owen.

‘Of course not!’ said Shearer, annoyed. ‘Let me take you back to my original question: What is the Grand Duke doing here? What has he really come for?

‘Well, what has he come for?’ asked Paul.

‘To do a deal,’ said Shearer triumphantly. ‘A deal with the Khedive. And one that will be in Russia’s interests, not ours, I can assure you!’

‘Cut the supply lines,’ said the major, ‘and then strike!’

‘Where we least expect it,’ said Shearer.

Paul toyed with his pencil.

‘You don’t see any, well, difficulties with this suggestion?’ he said. ‘Like having to cross high mountains in winter and then having to cross a neutral country? All before we’ve noticed it?’

‘Don’t underestimate the advantages of surprise!’ said Shearer.

‘Surprising, it would certainly be. Well, thank you, Captain Shearer, for your strategic appraisal. I will certainly see it receives the attention it deserves.’

‘Thank you, sir.’

‘Meanwhile, perhaps we should return to the point of the present meeting.’

Shearer leaned forward.

‘Excuse me, sir, but there is a connection.’

‘Yes?’

‘The Mingrelians-didn’t you say they came from the Caucasus?’

‘Well, yes, but-’

‘I think we should keep an eye on them. Particularly at the present moment. Some kind of alliance may be in the offing.’

‘Between the Russians and the Mingrelians?’

‘Exactly!’

‘Not from what the Mingrelians were saying yesterday,’ said Owen. ‘All they seemed to have in mind was killing Russians! Starting with the Grand Duke!’

‘I think we must consider the possibility that it’s just a blind,’ said Shearer.

‘Covering what?’

‘Their real intentions.’

‘Suez,’ breathed the major. ‘India!’

‘We need to ask what they hope to achieve.’

‘Well, I can tell you that,’ said Owen. ‘They hope that by killing the Grand Duke they might be able to provoke a war between England and Russia.’

‘Good God!’ said the major.

Shearer looked grave.

‘Things are more serious than I thought, sir. In fact, I’d almost go so far as to say that we are approaching an emergency situation.’

‘You would?’ said Paul.

‘I would. I think we should review our position very carefully. At the very least we should reappraise our objectives.’

‘What had you in mind?’ asked Paul. ‘Killing the Grand Duke ourselves?’

The Fustat was not a part of Cairo that Owen was familiar with, so when he received the message from Mahmoud asking him to come urgently to the Fustat police station, he went first to the ferry to get his bearings. Out on the river he could see Roda Island, where, according to tradition, the Arab saint, Moses, was found among the bulrushes. There were not many bulrushes there now. This side of the island consisted mostly of bare, muddy shoals and looked rather like a building site, which, in fact, it was shortly intended to be. At the moment, they were still filling in the land with the debris from collapsed mud houses, quite a lot of which were in the Ders. A long line of camels stretched out across the flimsy wooden footbridge that connected the island to the mainland, each carrying two heavy boxes, one on either side of the hump. Even at this distance he flinched from the smell.