http://x_farouk.livejournal.com/ (![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png)
x-farouk.livejournal.com) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
xp_logs2009-06-01 07:04 pm
x-farouk.livejournal.com) wrote in xp_logs2009-06-01 07:04 pm
The Old Man of the Mountain: Let Us Reason Together.
In Which Farouk Embarks on an Exciting Adventure.
Jacob Reisz was not normally an angry man. In fact, his reputation for cool deliberation and decision making had been part of his rise through Alamut to a trusted role as the defacto second in command. But right now, he was having difficulty keeping rein on his temper, as once again, his argument against the direction that his own superior was taking was ignored.
"Professor Farouk, again, this is a dangerous use of our resources. We have commitments to agents inside of the Middle East that are not being met by diverting assets in your quest for information in Pakistan and India." Their conference was heavily encrypted, and all the upper echelon of Alamut remotely connected from homes as safe as money could make them. "My contacts suggest that Prime Minister Neramani might even be open to a clandestine agreement with our organization; a sort of unofficial partnership that would hugely advance the time frame on many of our--"
He was cut off by Farouk's response.
"Jake, Jake - please..." Amahl chased the smile away as he waved his hand at Reisz. The effort wipe the inapropriate grin off his face was made easier by the incipient headache. He really needed to catch up on his sleep in the immediate future, Farouk thought absently, before the exhaustion began leading to mistakes. Smiling at Reisz in the middle of Jacob's tirade was quite possibly one of them.
Still, it was hard to resist. They've known each other going on two decades now - ever since a wet-behind-the-ears graduate of Quantico was detached by the all-knowing FBI to assist in the investigation of the Khobar Towers bombing. Farouk had been there to discreetly investigate the possibility of mutant involvement. Instead his quickly changed his mission toward recruiting the very impressive American policeman.
And his judgement had been more than vindicated in the years sinced. Reisz's ascent among the organization that - to put it charitably - trended toward a certain degree of xenophobia was based purely on his own merit. Farouk lended a hand and a favor occasionally, but some degree of patronage was inevitable. But it was Jacob's own qualities that brought him to the notice of then then-and-current Hidden Imam.
At that point Reisz's status as an outsider became his most valuable asset. Within the snake-pit of Alamut's internal politics, clannish maze of conflicting loyalties and Byzantine intrigue he could be counted on by the Imam. Everyone, after all, realized that should anything happen to the current leader of the Mountain, Jacob would be eaten alive by the enemies he had made in his ruthless maneuvering fro power.
In fact, Farouk thought fleetingly, hemight be the only real friend that the former Special Agent still had. Amahl's ambiguous status (as part-contractor, part-Alamut insider) had dampened the notoriously permanent state of suspicious paranoia that permeated Imam's outlook on Jacob's position and allowied the two to keep the ties on a level that went slightly beyond simple professional respect. Which was considerable - not in the least because both agreed that Alamut had reached a crossroads and needed to make a fundamental change in its organization and mission parameters.
As the old saying went, the wisdom of others was directly proportional to how much they agreed with you...
"You are right. I am shamelessly and perhaps unwisely treading well beyond my own happy hunting grounds." Amahl shrugged.
"But I believe that the risk and the strain it's putting on the Mountain is worth it for several reasons. To start with the most important one - this simply proves what I... we have been hammering at for nearly a decade now. Alamut needs to expand, lest we begin to stagnate. Being situated as an Islamic, rather than simply mutant, organization gives us a perfect opportunity to expand well beyond the Crescent. And the investments we are making currently will bring a substantial windfall down the line. If we want to retain and grow our influence we need to be able to bring something to the table. And marginal influence within a very limited area of operations won't cut it - especially as the new players continue to emerge. Secondly, as you of all people should realize, strengthening our contacts with the Americans is worth any number of setbacks in your Indian gambit."
Especially now that Uncle Sugar is, once again, being reluctantly drawn out of its isolationist cacoon.
"Professor..."
Amahl again overrode Reisz's attempt to interject, "Not to mention that I would once again caution the Conclave against making long-term plans on the basis of personal agreements with Ken. That gentleman has never been particularly stable and has been getting progressively more psychotic for the last 20 years. You can't trust him and you can't count on his maintaining power."
Farouk tapped the folder on his desk and saw as Jacob's grimaced impatiently on the screen. Reisz was clearly not about to be drawn into yet another interminable discussion of the implications of Amahl's report on the latter's Pakistani adventure. Instead the man gestured sourly, allowing Farouk to continue to explain his current intrigue in India, sorting the information that was being uploaded into the archives, and considering the opportunities, possibilities and dangers.
"Lhendup Rimpoche Lhatsun. He is a noted junior diplomat in India's Ministry of External Affairs."
"Lhatsun? He's... Sikkim. Graduate of the London School of Economics. Mostly commerical and trade negotiations." Abdul Qamar confirmed, his own research having dovetailed with Farouk's. "I fail to see how this man is significant, Amahl."
"Currently ongoing negotiations, perhaps?" Navid Hashim added.
Farouk noddel coolly at Nashim. The two Conclave members seemed unusually receptive to Farouk's proposal. Normally it would take another ten minutes just to convince them to let him make his case. Today they were almost inviting his to lecture and elaborate. Navid's amicability was especially odd. The man has been screaming bloody murder for years about Amahl trespassing in his area of operations.
"Yes, indeed. Specifically the pending agreement that Neramani has been hatching with Russia. You are familiar with the specifics, I take it?"
Nashim gave him a close-lipped smile. "Well, I do try to keep abreast, as much as I am able, to the best of my modest abilities."
Reisz cleared his throat somewhat impatiently. "Gentlemen..."
Nashim bristled at the soft rebuke, and turned to his notes. "There isn't a lot of information, but officials from Russia, Kazakhstan, and the Taliban have been in discussion with the Indian Ministry of External Affairs. Geographically and considering the specific negotiators involved, it is almost certainly an economic discussion. One of our contacts in Kazakhstan indicated that it may involve an energy proposal. Looking at the countries involved, it could be a pipeline or energy corridor of sorts in construction."
"Without China involved? That's curious, especially with a Sikkim national involved. India and China's last clash was over that region in the early part of this century. Why risk excluding them?" Reisz muttered, rubbing his chin.
Farouk shrugged. "Pakistan is gone, as a threat. Americans have been asleep for a decade. What we have here is a classic positioning of two regional Powers for a showdown, I think. Right now it's still a Cold War, but it's bound to heat up soon. Neramani has been systematically boxing China into a corner. Sri Lanka and Indonesia gave him Beijing's southern flank and a considerable measure of control over their naval communications - especially if he succeeds in coordinating with the Australians and the Japanese. He's been maneuvering against the Chinese in Burma..." Amahl glanced at Qamar. "From what I anderstand he is close to replacing China as their arms supplier. Beijing had a couple of successes but so far they are running a distant second in this game - apart from establishing a presence in Nepal they have been outplayed at every step. And they don't like it."
Farouk squinted at Reisz. "I would remind you, gentlemen, that the railroad in Tibet is now finished. China now has a fully articulated logistical support net connecting it to India's eastern border. The next war isn't going to be a limited provincial affair like the 60s. Now - either Nermani doesn't realize how close he is to provoking the Dragon, or he does and this new deal is simply another dart as he coddles Beijing's traditional allies in Central Asia. One way or another, it belabors the point I have been making - the man is dangerous."
"India and Russia? That's a fundamental realignment of the balance of power in Asia." Qamar said, concerned. The resources, combined with the economic power of the new bloc could wield substantial pressure on Iran, especially if care was taken to subvert the Muslim populations of those countries to take a strongly contrary position to Tehran. China's oil supply could be squeezed at will, and if Neramani was looking to pre-empt a future war with China, it would give him an enormous advantage, especially if Russia was a threat on their huge shared border.
"As much as I hate to admit it, I think Amahl's reasoning justifies looking more closely into this." Nashim said, and they all nodded.
"All right, Professor Farouk, we agree that you should see what you can find out about Neramani's intentions with this diplomat. I can't imagine you'd bring him up if you didn't already have plans for contacting him. Good luck." He cut the connection, and the conference was over, leaving Reisz to consider the situation.
Dispassionately, Farouk was right in many respects, but not his final assessment. Neramani was dangerous, but no less so than the Chinese Politburo or that madman now in the White House. The picture that Farouk painted was that India was about to supplant China as the dominant Asian power, and that would have strong repercussions on the mission of Alamut itself.
Reisz sat for a long time, considering his options and arguing with himself, before getting up and collecting his papers. His secretary booked him on the next flight to New Delhi.
Jacob Reisz was not normally an angry man. In fact, his reputation for cool deliberation and decision making had been part of his rise through Alamut to a trusted role as the defacto second in command. But right now, he was having difficulty keeping rein on his temper, as once again, his argument against the direction that his own superior was taking was ignored.
"Professor Farouk, again, this is a dangerous use of our resources. We have commitments to agents inside of the Middle East that are not being met by diverting assets in your quest for information in Pakistan and India." Their conference was heavily encrypted, and all the upper echelon of Alamut remotely connected from homes as safe as money could make them. "My contacts suggest that Prime Minister Neramani might even be open to a clandestine agreement with our organization; a sort of unofficial partnership that would hugely advance the time frame on many of our--"
He was cut off by Farouk's response.
"Jake, Jake - please..." Amahl chased the smile away as he waved his hand at Reisz. The effort wipe the inapropriate grin off his face was made easier by the incipient headache. He really needed to catch up on his sleep in the immediate future, Farouk thought absently, before the exhaustion began leading to mistakes. Smiling at Reisz in the middle of Jacob's tirade was quite possibly one of them.
Still, it was hard to resist. They've known each other going on two decades now - ever since a wet-behind-the-ears graduate of Quantico was detached by the all-knowing FBI to assist in the investigation of the Khobar Towers bombing. Farouk had been there to discreetly investigate the possibility of mutant involvement. Instead his quickly changed his mission toward recruiting the very impressive American policeman.
And his judgement had been more than vindicated in the years sinced. Reisz's ascent among the organization that - to put it charitably - trended toward a certain degree of xenophobia was based purely on his own merit. Farouk lended a hand and a favor occasionally, but some degree of patronage was inevitable. But it was Jacob's own qualities that brought him to the notice of then then-and-current Hidden Imam.
At that point Reisz's status as an outsider became his most valuable asset. Within the snake-pit of Alamut's internal politics, clannish maze of conflicting loyalties and Byzantine intrigue he could be counted on by the Imam. Everyone, after all, realized that should anything happen to the current leader of the Mountain, Jacob would be eaten alive by the enemies he had made in his ruthless maneuvering fro power.
In fact, Farouk thought fleetingly, hemight be the only real friend that the former Special Agent still had. Amahl's ambiguous status (as part-contractor, part-Alamut insider) had dampened the notoriously permanent state of suspicious paranoia that permeated Imam's outlook on Jacob's position and allowied the two to keep the ties on a level that went slightly beyond simple professional respect. Which was considerable - not in the least because both agreed that Alamut had reached a crossroads and needed to make a fundamental change in its organization and mission parameters.
As the old saying went, the wisdom of others was directly proportional to how much they agreed with you...
"You are right. I am shamelessly and perhaps unwisely treading well beyond my own happy hunting grounds." Amahl shrugged.
"But I believe that the risk and the strain it's putting on the Mountain is worth it for several reasons. To start with the most important one - this simply proves what I... we have been hammering at for nearly a decade now. Alamut needs to expand, lest we begin to stagnate. Being situated as an Islamic, rather than simply mutant, organization gives us a perfect opportunity to expand well beyond the Crescent. And the investments we are making currently will bring a substantial windfall down the line. If we want to retain and grow our influence we need to be able to bring something to the table. And marginal influence within a very limited area of operations won't cut it - especially as the new players continue to emerge. Secondly, as you of all people should realize, strengthening our contacts with the Americans is worth any number of setbacks in your Indian gambit."
Especially now that Uncle Sugar is, once again, being reluctantly drawn out of its isolationist cacoon.
"Professor..."
Amahl again overrode Reisz's attempt to interject, "Not to mention that I would once again caution the Conclave against making long-term plans on the basis of personal agreements with Ken. That gentleman has never been particularly stable and has been getting progressively more psychotic for the last 20 years. You can't trust him and you can't count on his maintaining power."
Farouk tapped the folder on his desk and saw as Jacob's grimaced impatiently on the screen. Reisz was clearly not about to be drawn into yet another interminable discussion of the implications of Amahl's report on the latter's Pakistani adventure. Instead the man gestured sourly, allowing Farouk to continue to explain his current intrigue in India, sorting the information that was being uploaded into the archives, and considering the opportunities, possibilities and dangers.
"Lhendup Rimpoche Lhatsun. He is a noted junior diplomat in India's Ministry of External Affairs."
"Lhatsun? He's... Sikkim. Graduate of the London School of Economics. Mostly commerical and trade negotiations." Abdul Qamar confirmed, his own research having dovetailed with Farouk's. "I fail to see how this man is significant, Amahl."
"Currently ongoing negotiations, perhaps?" Navid Hashim added.
Farouk noddel coolly at Nashim. The two Conclave members seemed unusually receptive to Farouk's proposal. Normally it would take another ten minutes just to convince them to let him make his case. Today they were almost inviting his to lecture and elaborate. Navid's amicability was especially odd. The man has been screaming bloody murder for years about Amahl trespassing in his area of operations.
"Yes, indeed. Specifically the pending agreement that Neramani has been hatching with Russia. You are familiar with the specifics, I take it?"
Nashim gave him a close-lipped smile. "Well, I do try to keep abreast, as much as I am able, to the best of my modest abilities."
Reisz cleared his throat somewhat impatiently. "Gentlemen..."
Nashim bristled at the soft rebuke, and turned to his notes. "There isn't a lot of information, but officials from Russia, Kazakhstan, and the Taliban have been in discussion with the Indian Ministry of External Affairs. Geographically and considering the specific negotiators involved, it is almost certainly an economic discussion. One of our contacts in Kazakhstan indicated that it may involve an energy proposal. Looking at the countries involved, it could be a pipeline or energy corridor of sorts in construction."
"Without China involved? That's curious, especially with a Sikkim national involved. India and China's last clash was over that region in the early part of this century. Why risk excluding them?" Reisz muttered, rubbing his chin.
Farouk shrugged. "Pakistan is gone, as a threat. Americans have been asleep for a decade. What we have here is a classic positioning of two regional Powers for a showdown, I think. Right now it's still a Cold War, but it's bound to heat up soon. Neramani has been systematically boxing China into a corner. Sri Lanka and Indonesia gave him Beijing's southern flank and a considerable measure of control over their naval communications - especially if he succeeds in coordinating with the Australians and the Japanese. He's been maneuvering against the Chinese in Burma..." Amahl glanced at Qamar. "From what I anderstand he is close to replacing China as their arms supplier. Beijing had a couple of successes but so far they are running a distant second in this game - apart from establishing a presence in Nepal they have been outplayed at every step. And they don't like it."
Farouk squinted at Reisz. "I would remind you, gentlemen, that the railroad in Tibet is now finished. China now has a fully articulated logistical support net connecting it to India's eastern border. The next war isn't going to be a limited provincial affair like the 60s. Now - either Nermani doesn't realize how close he is to provoking the Dragon, or he does and this new deal is simply another dart as he coddles Beijing's traditional allies in Central Asia. One way or another, it belabors the point I have been making - the man is dangerous."
"India and Russia? That's a fundamental realignment of the balance of power in Asia." Qamar said, concerned. The resources, combined with the economic power of the new bloc could wield substantial pressure on Iran, especially if care was taken to subvert the Muslim populations of those countries to take a strongly contrary position to Tehran. China's oil supply could be squeezed at will, and if Neramani was looking to pre-empt a future war with China, it would give him an enormous advantage, especially if Russia was a threat on their huge shared border.
"As much as I hate to admit it, I think Amahl's reasoning justifies looking more closely into this." Nashim said, and they all nodded.
"All right, Professor Farouk, we agree that you should see what you can find out about Neramani's intentions with this diplomat. I can't imagine you'd bring him up if you didn't already have plans for contacting him. Good luck." He cut the connection, and the conference was over, leaving Reisz to consider the situation.
Dispassionately, Farouk was right in many respects, but not his final assessment. Neramani was dangerous, but no less so than the Chinese Politburo or that madman now in the White House. The picture that Farouk painted was that India was about to supplant China as the dominant Asian power, and that would have strong repercussions on the mission of Alamut itself.
Reisz sat for a long time, considering his options and arguing with himself, before getting up and collecting his papers. His secretary booked him on the next flight to New Delhi.