The Hidden Read Online Free PDF

somewhere new to meet. Time’s running out at the Café Malta; we’ve met there three times already.”
    Hamid said hopefully, “My uncle’s house is perfect.”
    Littoni was about to answer, when Farouk began talking again, spluttering as a cough snaked its way from his lungs to his throat.
    “You don’t know what you are doing,” Farouk said. Al-Dyn stepped forward and put his hand on Farouk’s shoulder to steady him.
    “I said don’t make trouble, Farouk,” Littoni warned.
    “The entire network’s agreed this is the right course of action. There’s nothing you can do to change it now.”
    Farouk laughed bitterly, wiping his mouth. “You haven’t thought this through properly. If Issawi’s security operations are onto us, we must do it my way or wait, let a few more months pass.”
    Littoni snarled at Farouk, clicking his teeth, and turned to Hamid. “You’re sure you’ll have the bomb ready in time?”
    “We can work through the night,” Hamid said.
    “And it’ll be powerful enough?” Littoni asked.
    “Depending on where it is put, it will rip through walls and demolish everything within at least a mile radius.”
    Farouk lunged forward, grabbed Littoni by the lapels, and shook him. “And you’re proud of yourself, Littoni? Proud of yourself forplotting to murder innocents? This is not what the X is about. We agreed years ago that no civilians would ever suffer as a consequence of our actions. Our target is always—and only—the aggressor.”
    Littoni stabbed at his pocket, trying to pull something out. Farouk uncurled his fist and pushed Littoni back. A moment later, Littoni stood opposite Farouk with a gun raised at him.
    Unfazed, Farouk turned to Hossein, al-Dyn, and Hamid. “You’re all staring down the barrel of a gun if you do this. Death sentence for sure if we’re caught. You’re young, you three. I don’t suppose Littoni here cares much how this turns out, but you should. What about your brothers? Your families? Your mothers? You joined the X to change things. You agreed when you joined to disassociate yourselves from your families, but when this is all over, what then? Surely you want to go back to your old lives? We want Issawi. One man. And now Littoni here is not content with that. You want countless politicians, their wives, even the king himself, assassinated, because you’re too impatient to go about this intelligently? The king is incompetent, yes, that’s true, but it’s only a matter of time before we can demand the king abdicate, do this whole thing properly. We’re strong enough. Your way, Littoni, is far too dangerous, for you, for everyone. You want the revolution to start now, but indiscriminate violence is no way to win. You think you’re cleverer than Issawi’s networks, but you’re not.”
    “I said shut your mouth, Farouk,” Littoni shouted.
    “Put your pistol away, Littoni. We’re supposed to be working together, not against each other.”
    Hamid approached Littoni and whispered something in his ear that seemed to appease him. Littoni lowered the pistol and put it back in his pocket.
    “Those civilians won’t matter in the long run, “Littoni said, “as long as it gets our message across. After all, we’ve been planningthis for years. Do you think we’re going to stop now just because you’ve developed a conscience all of a sudden? It’s our present to the government. A nice little greeting card that will let that pack of incompetents know in no uncertain terms that the X means business. If there was ever any doubt in their minds about that, the assassination of Chief Advisor Issawi and the king will reinforce the message loud and clear.”
    “But this is supposed to be a people’s revolution,” Farouk said. “Get it into your head; Issawi is our target, not the king or anybody else. There must not be unnecessary bloodshed. We want the people of Egypt to join us. If we kill innocents, we will lose their support. The repercussions will be