Priceless

"Your majesty , you have outdone yourself , you bring honour to your people and all the kingdom of.............." The Prime Minister trailed off , obediently.

"Decades!' The Sultan interrupted , raising a thick index finger to his political servant ,"........of research ...........of searching ............ bargaining.........and finally!' he exclaimed as he turned to the presentation altar and his eyes widened as they adorned his latest prize ,'She belongs to me!'

He strode slowly , yet purposefully towards the microphone stand "Behold , my lords , ladies and gentlemen , I present to you , in all her naked glory , the Alb-ahr! Al'Ahmar!' 

Suddenly the amphitheatre lights dimmed and a symphony orchestra began to play the Sultan's favourite symphony, Lawrence of Arabia's Overture.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!BOOM! BOOM!boom! , the familiar explosive drum opening erupted , a woman squealed in fright , a shrill volley of brass horns blasted out and a crystal champagne glass audibly shattered on the hardwood floor.

And then calm , as the string concerto ushered in the next stage in the unveiling. A ring of lights studded with diamonds within the presentation altar began to glow softly , beamed diagonally beneath the priceless artefact at all her many facets , and a base mount of solid silver waves began to rotate slowly clockwise as the Red Sea Ruby , all 715 carats , cast her beautiful brilliance across the circular walls of the amphitheatre.

Gasps , cheers and applause concertoed as the eloquent audience were awash in the dazzling red waves , some recoiled in shock as the spiralling red kaleidoscope reflected and refracted its hypnotic spell , some blinked uncomfortably as the waves were punctuated by brilliant white stabs of light , where diamond and ruby collided , an assault on the human eye.

The Sultan's short arms were raised in a symmetrical arc, palms upturned , mouth agape in rapture , his face embalmed by the red rose glow , his mouth trembling slightly as a tear escaped his left eye.

In the shadow of the stage , the dark figure of James Chapman , his eyes strained at the floor , concentrating , hand to his earpiece as he replied 'Check, all clear. All stations". Every 10minutes , a one minute round of checks around the Palace perimeter , the amphitheatre , the kitchens and all accessible corridors. Chapman looked up only at the balconies , entrances , and aisles where security were adorned , at the Sultan's insistence , in Pierce Brosnan's Brioni tuxedo from the Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies. He always felt the King's movie fanaticism a little awkward especially when he even referred to him as 'Chapman , James Chapman'.But Chapman , James Chapman relented on the practicalities of the costume when he discovered a smooth silk holster pocket on the inside lining , complete with a customary Walther PPK.

As part of the Sultan's extensive security team , Chapman dismayed at the extravagant , lavish excess his sire revelled in. As the owner of the largest priceless gem collection in the world , the Sultan's reputation for showcasing his treasures was reknowned in esteemed circles. His arrival onstage on a floating Arabian carpet accompanied by the The Hope Diamond, nestled comfortably in his silk turban , drew raucous cheers and robust chants of ' Ha-ssan! Ha-ssan! Ha-ssan!' . But this latest reveal was a bigger logistical and safety nightmare than any floating carpets and priceless gemstones.

The Palace's amphitheatre held a capacity of 700 guests comfortably but an Arabian dance troupe was little bit more complex and altogether too chaotic for Chapman's careful , measured and disciplined liking. It didn't help his unease that , in his previous life in Special Ops , red surroundings tended to mean things had gone very badly wrong. 

 The dance troupe streamed gracefully on to the cleared floorspace in front Chapman , eighteen brilliant silver dance costumes , nine either side of one brilliant red one , adorned by classical ballet dancer and the Princess Regent , Sultana Jamilla.

'Aaaaaah , Aljawhara,' the Sultan exhaled , admiring his beautiful first-born as the entire troupe bowed low before their King and Jamilla was the only dancer to keep her head raised. Maintaining eye contact and smiling , she winked. Both lines of silver clad dancers peeled forward and sharply fouetted off in opposite arcs into two semi-circles which wound around the outside of the floorspace and gracefullly formed a complete pirhouetting circle round Jamilla , in turn pirhouetting in the centre.

Clever piece of choreography , Chapman thought , the diamond dancers on the outside reflecting off the ruby in centrepiece , just like the display altar.  'Aljawhara" must mean 'ruby'. He had heard the Maharaja use the word in reference to priceless exhibits in his collection. When he had conducted tours for visiting dignatories , Chapman had been in attendance as Head of Security for the Royal Family's Crown Jewels. 

  As the spinning dancers were revolving in full frenzy , Chapman decided it would be timely to do another security check. He spoke into the microphone on his watch ,'All points check in' he said. Scratchy static reverberated back into the earpiece and Chapman heard and dark voice he didn't recognise. Again his hand covered his right ear as he strained to hear the voice ,'....alaistila ealaa aljawhara' ...........again , louder 'ALAISTILA' EALAA ALJAWHARA!!'

His limited knowledge of Arabic was enough to decipher the chilling message - ' Seize the Ruby' 

Confused , Chapman didn't recognise the voice and the static interference revealed it as a radio transmission. 'All stations , attention! There's a rogue transmission, I repeat there is a rogue transmission. The Ruby is under threat , stations 1 and 2 , report to the amphitheatre , stat!'

With reinforcements on the way , his eyes darted to each security post around the grand cavern for any sign of anomaly , a disturbance , an altercation , something that would betray the threat. As he scanned the ballroom , silver furls of silk engulfed the red princess as the performance began to crescendo to its climax. Her head spun round to the exact point facing the Sultan with each precise revolution , but now she looked at Chapman , her smile vanished and alarm spread across her face.

The music abruptly stopped as all the dancers collapsed to the floor in unison and the lights came up , applause roaring forth. Chapman's eyes scanned the crowd , then the undisturbed ruby and then rested on the exulted King. The Sultan , rose slowly , his hand slowly reaching up to each side of his round grey beard ,'Aljawhara???......' he said meekly.

Chapman turned to the centre of the floor , dancers animated and fussing surrounding Jamilla , who hadn't risen from the floor. Chapman began to advance , sensing impending horror when his wrist blared 'Chapman , its Brodie , do you copy?'

'What is it , Brodie?' he barked at his 2IC.

'The message.......it means Seize the Jewel , Chapman. The Jewel...........its Jamilla..............Jewel is her father's nickname for her'

Chapman leaned into the circle and his dread was affirmed - Jamilla was gone , lifeless red satin robes lay on the floor instead.