Cairo; October 1915
"And if Selkirk has both Gupta and Abraham?" Smith tapped his fingers on the desk. The smell of beeswax polish merged with the sharp aroma of brandy to create a scent of luxury and comfort in the room. There were coloured pins thrust into the map of the Middle East on the wall behind the desk.
Jones stepped onto the veranda outside, cradling his balloon glass in his hand. "I used to come here before the war you know," he reminisced, "Shepheard"s was Shepheard"s in those days before all these young officers moved in and lowered the tone of the place."
Smith smiled, "we all have to make sacrifices in wartime" he said.
"The food is gawd-awful of course," Jones continued, "but it always was."
"To return to the matter in hand," Smith followed Jones to the veranda and lo
