David then brought forth the problem that had been on his mind ever since he revealed that Professor Modena was missing and that he was probably trying to produce U-233 on a larger scale than in his laboratory experiments. He asked the delegates representing the four countries that were the first to produce atomic weapons if they thought their governments would support a crash program for testing the feasibility of Modena's idea. He then looked at the delegates but all avoided eye-contact. David, who knew a thing or two about human behavior despite his young age, suddenly recognized the fact that these people were first and foremost patriots of their own countries and that the ITF was only their secondary commitment. He smiled and said "OK, don't go into specifics, but tell me what your scientists think about the feasibility".
The US delegate responded "They do not rule out that the process may be feasible but have doubts about its efficiency and production rate". David asked what the production rate would be if all missing gamma sources that "disappeared" between last May and August were used in the clandestine laboratory and the Russian delegate said grudgingly that his scientists estimated that it would be between one and three kilograms a month. David did a quick mental calculation that in the time since Modena's disappearance in July and the present time they could already have enough for a critical mass with the higher estimate and not far from it even with the lower estimate. David did not take into account the cooling period of three months before the first batch of irradiated thorium would be ready for extraction of U-233 because he assumed a "worst case scenario".
David summarized the meeting by emphasizing the need to locate the whereabouts of Professor Modena and Dr. Smalley as this would be the key to finding the laboratory and eliminating the production of fissile materials that could serve for making an improvised nuclear device. He suggested approaching the Spanish authorities and requesting their help in finding Modena and the northern European countries for tracing the origin of the mysterious blond man as he probably came from one of those countries. He also called for more help from Interpol in an attempt to reduce the number of suspects. Finally, he set a meeting in 10 days time. The others did not respond immediately, saying that they would need to consult with their governments.
Over a meal that Orna cooked for them in her apartment, David shared the new information from the meeting and asked her to continue to be his local contact with the task force. They enjoyed a couple of bottles of good Israeli wine that he had purchased at the Duty Free store at Ben-Gurion airport in Tel Aviv and then went to bed. Orna slowly undressed David and told him to close his eyes and lie still on the bed with his hands behind his head while she tended to his stress and worries. When he tried to protest she told him to relax and be quiet and then she slowly rubbed her ample breasts lightly over his firm body, touching him only with her nipples. He tried to hold her breasts in his hands but she reprimanded him and told him to keep his hands behinds his head. She started by caressing his head, almost poking his eyes out with her erect nipples, placed one breast in his mouth allowing him to flick his tongue over one breast and then the other one as she continued her slow journey down his taut body. When she reached his manhood she wrapped her breasts around it and let it nest between them for a moment before continuing on her way towards his toes. Relaxation was not on David's mind and he sat up, took her shoulders in his strong hands and pulled her up gently. When she was facing him they exchanged a passionate kiss and he slid into her waiting moist womb. Without even moving both exploded in an orgasm almost immediately and she collapsed on his body with her full weight. After a few moments she rolled over and lay next to him and they both fell asleep.
March 5th, Tel Aviv
The Israeli task force also met on the same day. Gabi Golan, who coordinated the small team of Israeli Mossad agents, asked them to present their findings and conclusions. All the agents noted that there seemed to be a strong buzz in the Nationalistic racially prejudiced movements that something big was about to happen but details were not available. The political leaders of these movements appeared to be more confident and vociferous than usual, making promises that soon there would be a great change and support for their nationalist causes would grow immensely. The rank and file of these movements increased their provocative acts against Muslims and Jews and the streets were becoming more and more unsafe for the immigrants. Even tourists were frequently harassed if they could not speak the language like the locals. Gabi thought that this may be connected with the information that David provided about the possibility of the manufacture of a nuclear device or a "dirty bomb". There were more and more reports on attacks of synagogues by racists that also painted swastikas on windows of Jewish owned businesses. The Mossad agents could not find any connection between these activities and Israel but feared that the increased xenophobia and the rise in anti-Semitic incidents may endanger the local Jews.
The next day David returned to Israel and met with Gabi and the Deputy Director. Both agents updated Shimony and each other on their findings. Shimony introduced them to Gideon who was a representative of the Israeli Security Agency (ISA) also known by its Hebrew acronym as Shin Bet. Gideon said that there was no change in the noticeable level of terrorist activities in Israel, except for the Jerusalem area in which incidents involving Palestinians were on the rise. For example he mentioned confrontations where Palestinians tried to drive their cars into groups of Israelis on the sidewalks, cases where young Palestinian men and women drew knives or even screwdrivers and tried to stab soldiers and Jewish civilians and rising occurrences of stone throwing by Arab youths targeting private cars and public transportation. He noted that this appeared to the result of local initiatives in response to the prevailing feeling of hopelessness in the Arab community rather than an organized effort by a central command. There were no rumors of something big that was about to happen.
March 15th, Vienna
The ITF met again in Vienna. All the delegates had been very busy working on the items discussed in their last meeting.
The US delegate, Dr. Eugene Powers, informed the meeting, emphasizing that this was off the record, that the scientists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory had managed to produce trace amounts of U-233 through gamma radiation and that meticulous isotopic analysis showed the level of U-232 was around 50 parts per million. He said that this was significant as it ruled out the possibility of making a simple "gun type" device like the one used with enriched U-235 to bomb Hiroshima in 1945, and a much more complex implosion type device was needed. He added that in any case a "gun type" device would require much more fissile material than the implosion type apparatus. He also said that the opinion of the scientists was that this would be an almost insurmountable task for amateurs but if an experienced person was put in charge, and detailed blueprints were available, it could be possible.
The Russian delegate, Dr Vassilly Nomenkov, said that their experts had recalculated the critical mass and believed that even 12 kg might be sufficient but a device with that amount of fissile material had a 50% chance of a fizzle unless experimentally tested designs were available, further supporting the assessment of the US scientists.
The French delegate, Nicolas Berrard, reported that the French nuclear organization had no experience with U-233 and nothing to add to the scientific estimates, but mentioned that the unrest in the streets of all the major cities in France, especially those with a considerable immigrant population, was at a very high level and street riots were erupting in some mixed neighborhoods.
Thomas, the British delegate, said that they were investigating Dr. Smalley's connections with known BNSP activists, focusing on those who had business in the City. They had managed to find out that Paul Dooley was one of the people lending a respectable and legitimate front to the BNSP. Dooley had been under MI6 surveillance for quite a while and they had even managed to install a microphone in the private room of his favorite pub in which he often held meetings pertaining to the Party activities. They checked specifically the rec
ordings just before January 20th and found that a meeting of Dooley with two unknown people took place that day. No suspicious conversation was recorded but it was noted that one of the people had a foreign accent, and he appeared to be the "guest of honor" as Dooley deferred to him. In the recording the listener heard that the two guests arranged to go elsewhere for coffee after lunch and this was a bit odd as the pub was known to serve very good coffee. In addition, the pub in question was just a block away from the café where Dr. Smalley and the blond guest were recognized by the waitress. All this established a probable link between Dooley, Dr. Smalley and the mysterious blond man. Thomas said that they could not summon Paul Dooley for questioning without plausible cause but that they could try to get a court order issued to continue the surveillance and add permission to monitor his telephone land line, mobile phones and e-mails.
David told them that the Mossad had noted the rise in race related crimes not just in France, as outlined by the French delegate, but all over Europe. He also mentioned that the political leaders of the nationalist parties seemed invigorated as if they were expecting some very good news soon. He reported the news received from the Spanish authorities regarding Professor Modena that marked him as an activist in the Catalan separatist movement but had no idea where he went after leaving Barcelona last July. David said that he had visited Modena's closed laboratory in Barcelona University without discovering his whereabouts and said that he felt it was time to pay Barcelona another visit and try to locate Modena through his friends and connections.
The information received from the northern European security and police agencies concerning the blond man were inconclusive as there were literally millions of men that fit the general description and the image that was constructed based on the waitress's testimony. The Greek police responded that there were rumors that the Golden Dawn was up to something big but no definite plans were revealed. The meeting adjourned with an increasing sense of frustration that they could not identify the threat that they knew was lurking below the seemingly tranquil surface.
The one dramatic step that they considered, but refrained from implementing, was to publish the photos of Professor Modena, Dr. Smalley and the blond man on all TV networks and national newspapers, as well as the major internet networks. If such an approach were to be adopted the request would say that these people were suspected of some heinous crime, such as white slavery or distribution of laced drugs that caused the death of several addicts, and request the public's help in tracing them. They knew the risk involved – it would show their hand and warn the suspects to go underground – and therefore they decided to use this appeal to the public only as a last resort. They set the deadline for the decision for May 1st, as they estimated that by then a critical amount of U-233 could be produced.
March 18th, Barcelona
David returned to Barcelona University and tried to find Ramona in her office at the physics department only to discover that she had not been seen in the university recently. He then found Fillipe, the post-doctoral fellow that had shown him around when he visited the university in January under the pretense of looking for an advisor for a graduate studies. He told Fillipe that he had to abandon those plans because of a family crisis and asked him about Ramona saying that he had to see her again about a personal matter. Fillipe believed that David had been charmed by Ramona, as had several other men, and told him that she had a studio apartment on Carrer d'Arago close to the famous Casa Mila. He gave David the address but said that she could be abroad as she hadn't showed up at the department since the beginning of the month.
David thanked him and headed toward the address he was given. It turned out to be a nice building near the corner of Carrer del Bruc but the entrance door to the stairwell was locked. David sat in café on the corner, ordered a beer and watched the building. After a while he saw an old lady leaving the building with a shopping bag in her hand. He quickly rose from the table and managed to grab the entrance door before it closed. The old lady looked at him suspiciously but did not challenge him as she knew that several apartments in the building were let on a temporary basis to tourists and believed that he had just forgotten his key.
David thanked her with a smile and entered the building. He quietly climbed the 88 stairs up to the fourth floor and found the apartment number that Fillipe had given him. He waited outside for a moment listening to any sounds and when he heard some chatter from a TV or radio in the apartment and knocked gently on the door. A woman's voice enquired who was at the door in Spanish and he answered in English that he was David and had to see Ramona. The door opened immediately and he was welcomed with a shy smile. She didn't ask how he had found her and invited him to join her for tea. She said that she had been down with the flu and therefore absent from university but was now almost fully recovered. David sat down and told her that he had returned to Barcelona for a vacation and had hoped to see her again. Her smile broadened and she said that they should finish their tea and then go out for an aperitif before dining out. She suggested that they go to the sport's bar a block away for a drink and then dine at the Hungarian restaurant on the same block before turning in for the night at her apartment. David was taken by her forwardness and thought that all the strategies he had prepared to enchant her were no longer needed.
Both of them were laughing as they returned to her apartment building after consuming a couple of bottles of good Rioja red wine with their excellent Hungarian goulash meal. They climbed the stairs making quite a racket earning complaints from the neighbors but were too laden with expectations about the night to worry about that. As they entered the apartment Ramona turned to David and told him that she had hoped for his return and was disappointed it had taken him two months to do so. David held her close and said that he was sorry that his plans for spending a few years at Barcelona University had not worked out and that he too had wanted to return to Barcelona sooner.
They went into the bedroom and Ramona came close and they hugged and kissed deeply for a long moment. She told David to take off his shoes and socks and then kicked off her own shoes. Next, she shyly unbuckled David's belt and removed his pants looking very closely at his now fully erect manhood and started laughing. David was so surprised at that reaction that he quickly covered himself with his cupped hands while his manhood started shrinking. Her laughter grew so much louder that David started worrying that the neighbors would start banging on the walls. Ramona saw how embarrassed he was and barely managed to control her laughter and then pointed at him and said that she had never seen a circumcised penis before and the sight amused her. David looked down at himself, saw nothing particularly strange and said that it worked just like any other organ and she was welcome to compare. At this she pulled him to bed and said that she would be the judge of that. For David the experience with Ramona was passionate as she had no inhibitions and was willing to try anything to fulfill his fantasies. While lovemaking with Orna in Vienna could be compared to an autumn day in Vivaldi's Four Seasons – tranquil, quiet and cuddly, Ramona was full of dramatic twists like Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. Then another comparison popped up in David's mind: making love with Orna was like travelling downstream on a barge that was slowly floating with the gentle flow of the river while during sex with Ramona he felt like an Olympic kayaker negotiating the rapids without knowing in which direction he would be tossed the next moment.
When they were done and exhausted, and trying to catch their breath, David asked her if she could now deliver her judgment. Ramona pondered the question for a few moments and said that she would need another sample for that and rolled over to closely examine the member in question, turning it fondly in her hand and tasting it until it transformed in size and texture and was ready for action. This time David was more patient and willing to play along with her fantasies pretending to be a lecherous stranger robbing the innocence of a pure Catholic maiden. Ramona barely suppressed her screams of joy and finally collapsed on his chest and with a large smile said th
at he was wrong – for her it worked better than any organ she had encountered before, especially with older men. David seized the opening and asked her if Professor Modena was one of those men but she evaded the question by saying that it was irrelevant as he was now in Padova. She then realized that she had let this piece of information slip and tried to cover this up by starting to stroke him again. David was so pleased with the lead to the whereabouts of Modena that he pretended not to notice anything and willingly played along with Ramona. This time they were both already fully satiated and did their best to pleasure each other gently before falling asleep with their limbs entwined.
March 21st, Tel Aviv
David gave his report to the Deputy Director and Gabi, head of the Mossad team in charge of following up on the gamma sources and potential improvised nuclear device. They now had a substantial lead and discussed the strategic options for tracking Modena in Padova. Working in a foreign country, even a friendly one like Italy, always involved risks for Mossad agents, as they had learned the hard way time and again in operations that were exposed in Norway, Switzerland, Cyprus and New Zealand to mention a few examples. They debated the pros and cons of updating the international task force in Vienna about this and also discussed sharing the information with the Italian government. Shimony said that due to the potential risk of an international scandal the decision would have to be made by the Prime Minister and that he would update the director of Mossad and request a private audience with the PM.
The Dreadful Alchemist: A Thrilling Espionage Novel (Techno thriller, Mystery & Suspense Book 1) Page 10