I Am Pilgrim

The narrative turns back to al-Nassouri during the time of Murdoch’s New York adventure, now a doctor preparing for his grand plans to change the world. He moves to a parking lot in Damascus, Syria, where he will live in the role of a devout, unhoused Muslim man. He resides just outside the Syrian Institute for Advanced Medicine, the place upon which his real plan depends.

Murdoch-as-narrator reflects that this was near perfect espionage and use of disguise. When the institute’s director died in grisly circumstances, no one could identify or remember details about the homeless man, despite his status as a prime suspect. Murdoch admits, “for an amateur without resources of training, it was remarkable” (141). His plan depends on kidnapping the institute’s deputy director, Bashar Tlass, a former member of the Syrian police who achieved notoriety as a torturer. Tlass is the target not for his seniority but for his size—as Hayes reveals later, the institute’s security depends on scanning individuals, including their mass, so al-Nassouri needs a captive with clearance who is of a similar build.

Tlass’s encounter with al-Nassouri takes place on the festival holiday of Eid al-Fitr because the security personnel will leave early.