The Dreadful Alchemist: A Thrilling Espionage Novel (Techno thriller, Mystery & Suspense Book 1)

by Charles Z David

  June 9th, Girona, Catalonia, Spain

  Professor Matias Antonio Modena had quietly returned to Spain after leaving Padova in May, and rented a small apartment in Girona under an assumed name. He now called himself Santiago Guaman and posed as a retired university professor who was writing a fictional thriller. Ironically, the apartment was in an old section of the town in a narrow street near the Museum of Jewish History. He had no idea that Ollie had taken charge of the device and had made shipping arrangements to transport it to Israel. He was concerned that he had not received any word from Andreas or Ollie and that the media was not full of the reports he had expected of policy changes toward "unwanted elements" or the revival of separatist movements all over Europe. He began to worry and wanted to contact Delgado through the local branch of the Catalan separatist movement but was afraid that his true identity would be uncovered and that would compromise the whole plan. So he decided to call the only person he trusted, his former graduate student and sometime lover, Ramona, and ask her to come to Girona to meet him. He was not sure how she would react as he had severed all contact with her for almost a whole year when he left Barcelona and moved to Padova.

  Ramona was surprised to hear from the professor after all this time and was relieved when he told her that he was well as she feared that his health could be affected by his quite careless handling of radioactive materials. She did not acknowledge to David that she and the professor were ever more than a student and a mentor, but did not deny it. She greatly respected Modena for his intellect, intelligence and dedication to Catalan independence and that made up for the considerable difference in age between them. She admitted to herself that the sex with him was not all that exciting for her but patiently accepted his attempts to please her physically as well as intellectually. She readily agreed to meet him in Girona and they arranged to have dinner in a small restaurant near the famous cathedral.

  When she entered the restaurant she was taken aback by the professor's appearance. He had lost several kilograms and looked quite emaciated and at least ten years older than she had remembered him. She refrained from making a comment on his looks and kissed him on both cheeks as he rose to greet her. They sat down and Modena gently held her hand and caressed it while she smiled at him. Without being asked he told her that he had fulfilled his life's ambition and proved that a fissionable material could be produced without a neutron source or nuclear reactor. He boasted that soon the whole world would recognize his genius and that the Nobel Prize was as good as his as he had succeeded in fulfilling the alchemists' dream of transmutation of a low value material into a precious commodity. Ramona was in a state of shock upon hearing this and was speechless for several minutes. The professor did not even notice her expression and continued to boast about his scientific achievement. By the time he had finished his self aggrandizement she found enough courage to ask him how he would prove that he had made uranium-233 by his innovative method. The professor said that he could provide a sample of the material for analysis to satisfy the skeptics, and then looked at her and enigmatically added that the further proof would become evident when the cause of independent Catalonia would be advanced thanks to his work. Ramona asked him what he meant by this comment but he said that they should eat their dinner and talk about other things. They had a couple of drinks after dinner and the professor shyly invited her to spend the night in his apartment rather than drive back to Barcelona. She felt sorry for the professor and pitied him in his present state and she also wanted to learn more about the meaning of his last statement so she agreed. She had to support him up the stairs to his apartment as the last drinks had taken their toll on him. She undressed him and put him in bed and lay next to him and gently caressed him until he fell asleep. He murmured something unintelligible in his sleep and all she could make out were the words "free Catalunya", "not detonate", "Doctor Jay" and "Andreas". In the morning the professor was deeply embarrassed to find himself in bed listening to Ramona singing to herself while making coffee in the apartment's little kitchenette. When she saw that he was awake she smiled and offered him freshly brewed coffee. They set their coffee mugs on a small breakfast table on the balcony overlooking the narrow street and the professor bashfully asked her if he they done anything the previous night. Ramona smiled and answered that he had fallen asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow and that he mumbled some incoherent things in his sleep that she did not understand. Professor Modena said that his sleep had been full of strange disturbances lately and that he had no idea what he said or if the words had any meaning. Ramona realized that now, completely in control of his senses, he would not be as forthcoming as he had been the night before. When he asked her about the separatist movement she told him that she had not been in contact with the movement since he had left as she was afraid that she would be interrogated about his disappearance. She also told him that she had had to switch her research topic to a new supervisor. Both of them became aware of the fact that their relationship had changed and would not be as close as it was before his departure so when Ramona said she had to return to Barcelona he stood up and kissed her cheeks and offered his hand for a farewell shake.

  June 9th, Ibiza, Spain

  Dr. Jason Smalley had just finished a liquid dinner consisting of a variety of alcoholic beverages in a bar overlooking the busy main street of the hectic resort town of Sant Antoni di Portmany on the western coast of Ibiza. He did not want to return to his empty hotel room so moved on to one of the many nightclubs that catered to the hordes of young fun seeking tourists mainly from the affluent countries in northern Europe. As he decided to cut down on his alcohol consumption, he ordered a bottle of red wine with only 12% alcohol that was a lot less than the 40% alcoholic drinks he had been gulping earlier. He looked around and saw a couple of hundred youngsters none of which appeared to be over 25 years of age dancing, singing and making out as if there was no tomorrow. He was disgusted to see several interracial couples that consisted of a blond girl and a dark skinned man. He smiled to himself with the knowledge that this abomination would we wiped out from Europe soon, thanks to his own handiwork. Dr. Jay walked up to one of the scantily dressed girls, whose short, strapless white dress contrasted beautifully with her dark skin. The dress was practically molded on her full figure so when she turned to him he did not need to use his imagination to guess what lay under the dress. He invited her to join him for a glass of wine, or a drink of her choice. She laughingly said her name was Veronica and she would gladly join him if his intentions were serious as she was a working girl who needed an income, and asked for a glass of expensive Remy Martin. He ordered the drink for her and told her she could call him Jay, and that he was very serious about her if she was willing to try some kinky stuff. Veronica said she was ready for anything if the price was right and the deal was sealed with her giving him a peck on his cheek while her right hand patted his backside to make sure that he carried a stuffed wallet. She said that she had a fully equipped room reserved in a hotel next to the club and its price was included in the deal. She sensed that although he professed to like her he kept looking around the bar and his glance lingered on some handsome guys, so she told him that for some extra cash she could arrange for a threesome of any variety he chose. Jay was excited by this new twist but said that he would tell her later what he preferred.

  Jay and Veronica left the nightclub and walked to the hotel. Jay was already quite inebriated but did not refuse the drink she offered him in the room. He drank it quickly and said that he had to use her bathroom. When he didn't come out after a few minutes Veronica knocked on the bathroom door and softly opened it to see that he had passed out on the floor. She smiled to herself, thanked the manufacturers of the chloral hydrate "knock-out" drops, took the wallet out his pocket and found that it was indeed stuffed with 50 Euro bills. She also saw the plastic card that was the key to the room in his hotel and a small folder with the room number and the name of the hotel. She called her partner on the cell phone, t
old him that she had a parcel to deliver and asked him to arrive quickly. Juan knocked on the door and without a word she let him in and showed him Jay's wallet, the hotel card and the gentleman himself on the bathroom floor. They decided to leave him on the floor until the drug's effect wore off and meanwhile go through his room in search of anything of value. Veronica said that the wallet contained enough cash for her and Juan to disappear for a few days until Jay hopefully would have to leave the island. The search in Jay's room did not yield much besides a British passport in the name of Jason Smalley. They left the passport in its place because they figured that he would need it to travel from Ibiza and as far as they were concerned the earlier he left the island the better.

  When Dr. Smalley regained his senses he found himself on the bathroom floor in a strange room. After a few moments he managed to stand up, lean on the bathroom sink and wash his face with cold water. He immediately realized that his wallet, cellphone and watch were missing. He cleared his head and was shocked to see that the time on the clock-radio in the room was 11:15 am. He left the room after noting the room number 468 on the door and took the elevator down to the lobby. He went to the front desk and asked who was checked into room 468. The desk clerk took one look at the disheveled man and understood what had happened. He told Jay that he could not disclose this information and offered to call the police. Jay did not want to get involved with the police and be questioned by them so he said he would go to his own hotel and lodge a complaint from there. He slowly sauntered to his own hotel and presented himself at the front desk and asked for a copy of the key to his room. Here too the clerk realized what had happened, did not ask any questions and handed him a copy of the key. Jay entered his room and saw that it had been ransacked methodically and professionally. He was pleasantly surprised to see that his passport was on the table and had not been taken.

  He considered his options and knew that he urgently needed to get money and the quickest way would be to contact his bank in the UK and have money transferred to him in Ibiza. He also realized that he had to block the stolen credit card and obtain a new one. He knew that a risk was involved in doing these things as his temporary shelter in Ibiza might be exposed, so he decided to wait for the money transfer and then move to a new location. He even considered travelling to London and personally collect the funds and credit card, but was worried that he would be arrested the minute he set foot on British soil. Then a new thought occurred to him – contact Paul Dooley, who Jay held responsible for his dire situation, and ask for his financial and organizational help, despite the directive to avoid contact with him. After giving the matter some further thought he decided to contact the bank to cancel the stolen credit card and block it, without disclosing his whereabouts. He decided to call Dooley and threaten him with exposure if he refused to deliver financial support. He would give Dooley an ultimatum to transfer the money within 24 hours and then leave Ibiza and find a new refuge.

  The call to the bank went smoothly and after identifying himself and answering the usual "security questions" he was told that no cash had been recently drawn from his account nor any new transactions made and his request for cancellation of the credit card would be immediately honored. The call to Paul Dooley's cellphone was another matter as Paul refused to take the call from an unidentified foreign number. He then used a simple trick and called Dooley's office pretending to be a consular officer at the British Embassy in Madrid. He said that he was instructed to notify Mr. Dooley that a man called Dr. Jason Smalley requested his help as he was in a local hospital after being badly injured in a traffic accident in Ibiza. Paul said he did not know anyone called Jason Smalley but after some prompting added that if a compatriot of his was in distress, then he, as a Good Samaritan, would help. So a money transfer was arranged. Jay received the money later that afternoon and took a ferry to Palma Mallorca where he established himself in another busy tourist resort. Palma was traditionally, even from the "good old days" of Franco, a strong Nationalist stronghold and Jay was sure that he would feel comfortable there as long as he did not express his true opinion of Spaniards.

  He wondered where Ollie and Andreas took the device and why there was nothing in the press and TV on the change of immigration policy he had expected. He suspected that no government would disclose that it was being blackmailed but thought there would be some low profile actions against "undesirable foreign elements". He wanted to contact Paul Dooley again and ask him about this but considering the cold shoulder he found when he tried to speak to him recently he knew that he would be rejected again. So he decided that he would use the money he received and have a good time and that when it ran out he would force Dooley to fork out some more.

  June 9th, Athens

  Guido took more than a week to recover from the traumatic experience of his "near execution" in the hands of the fake ISIS operatives. He had lost his appetite and as a result also a few extra kilograms, which was an unexpected, and unwanted, blessing. He was not certain whether Stavros or Panos suffered a similar fate or if Niko had been the one responsible for their situation although he suspected as much. Yet, he had a feeling that he was not the only one who had suffered the rough treatment and suspected that his torturers had followed up on the information he gave them about the two scientists. So he invited Niko to come over to his villa and bring the two scientists with him for an emergency meeting. When the three guests entered the house Guido took one look at Stavros and from his cowed expression knew that he too had been visited by the ISIS gang. He saw that Niko had a guilty expression on his face but the other scientist appeared to be completely at ease and relaxed. Guido offered them coffee and some pastries and they talked about the Golden Dawn party and its aspirations. Niko wondered what the hurry was and why Guido had mentioned an emergency but kept his thoughts to himself. When Guido thanked them for coming the three of them stood up ready to leave, but Guido asked Stavros to stay for a few minutes and dismissed the other two.

  Stavros would not meet his eyes even when only the two of them remained in the room. Guido wanted to know what exactly Stavros had told the ISIS people and knew that in order to get a complete and frank account he had to make Stavros feel comfortable. He did not want to admit to Stavros that he was the one who had revealed his address to the ISIS people, so asked him if he had been under some stress recently as he looked kind of disconsolate. Stavros, who was no fool, said that Guido himself did not look well and admitted that he had received an unwelcome visit that turned into a life threatening situation. The shrewd look on Guido's face unveiled that he knew exactly what he meant and Stavros said that he would tell all if Guido did the same. Each recounted the frightening visit and intimidation and both felt somewhat relieved that they were not alone in their total acquiescence and submission. Stavros's account of the information he gave the ISIS gang was news for Guido who was not aware of the technical details of the construction of the device and knew only that building such a thing was being considered. He asked Stavros if he knew where the device was and Stavros told him that he had last seen it loaded into a standard container on a rental truck with a crane and that the truck was driven by Ollie and Andreas. When he gave Guido a description of the two Swedes, Guido said that he had met Ollie and that although he did not personally know Andreas he knew of his reputation as the organizer of the meetings in which the Astraea project was conceived. Stavros departed after they promised each other not to share the traumatic incidents with anyone else.

  June 9th, Vienna

  The international task force convened again in the small meeting room at the IAEA headquarters. David was still in Israel and joined them via a video conference call. He was under strict instructions not to reveal that Ollie had been spotted in Tel Aviv and was under surveillance. The discussion evolved around the plausible targets of the device and a lot of speculative ideas were presented. Naturally, the biggest concern of each participant was that his own country would be the prime target, but none could show any evidence
that the device or Ollie were in their country. The European delegates reported that the excitement they had earlier sensed in the local nationalist movements had abided and thought that this may be indicative of the fact that the device was not to be used in their country. However, they all said that the state of enhanced security was to be maintained until the positive identification and capture of Ollie and the container. David felt uncomfortable about being the only one who knew that Israel was the target and that the extra security measures in Europe were a waste of money and time, but reluctantly adhered to the orders he had received and said nothing.