She was the only white person in the crowded cafe—famous for its shorba, a puree of lamb, served with warm kisra bread—as well as the only female not wearing a hajib. In fact, she was dressed in tight, black leather pants, a form-fitting white T-shirt, a black leather coat and beret, and large, white-framed sunglasses, despite the early evening. She wore the outfit for three reasons: to deliver a slap in the face to the locals, whom she regarded with contempt; to drive her "date" crazy with lust later that night; and, as she'd explained to her black male companion, to disguise her identity from someone who had only seen her wearing loose-fitting robes and a head covering. When they walked into the restaurant, the owner insisted to her accomplice, a homegrown jihadi named Ali Hazzan, that she leave. Hazzan had explained that she was a "special guest" of Imam Jabbar's and not to be trifled with. The owner glared at her for a moment, but then retreated to the kitchen. The patrons overheard the reference to the imam and did not express their displeasure either—the imam's inner circle of bodyguards played rough.
