by Uzi Eilam
“Binyamin, please let Gideon finish his briefing,” Yitzhak interjected. “Let’s not jump to any premature conclusions.”
“The second matter,” continued Gideon, managing to regain his composure, despite the troubled feeling rising within him, “is the threat of personal terrorism against members of the task force, which could be carried out by Quds Force teams that have established themselves covertly in France. An initial indication was what can only be regarded as an assassination attempt against me and Dan. It happened when some members of the task force were visiting the commando forces’ training area at Val Thorens. I believe you received a full report on it.”
“Were there any other assassinations or assassination attempts that we weren’t told about?” Nahari asked.
“Dan decrypted communications between Tehran and Paris that called for the ‘elimination of human obstacles’ by Quds Force fighters. As you know,” Gideon continued, “the new cultural attaché at the Iranian embassy in Paris is none other than Ali Reza Sulat, who until recently was a Quds Force training base commander outside Tehran.”
“I’ve heard only good things about Dan Avni,” Nahari said suddenly, now addressing the younger man who had been silent throughout the meeting. “And you’ve also told me about your good relationship with him.”
“I served with Dan as an officer in the intelligence unit,” the man said. “His diverse skill set stood out from the beginning. And as you know, Mr. Nahari, he supplied us with some extremely interesting information for today’s meeting with Gideon, which is now beginning to make much more sense to me.”
“What do you mean by ‘interesting’?” Gideon asked.
“Dan has a new lead regarding the identity of the person or persons responsible for the leak. It’s now clear that he was referring to Brigadier General Bar-Oz as well as possibly also the French woman,” the man explained, attempting to avoid Gideon’s eyes.
Then it might actually be true, Gideon thought, distraught by the idea, but rapidly coming to terms with the possibility.
“Gideon,” said Nahari, in a tone that was firm but understanding, “the project is at a critical juncture. Based on your detailed account of the situation, it’s clear that Haim Bar-Oz needs to be arrested as soon as possible. Binyamin and one of our senior investigators will fly back to Paris with you tomorrow morning to take care of it. I think it’s clear that Madame de Saint-Germaine must also be considered as a possible leak. The dangers increase with every hour we wait. Gideon, I’d like to thank you for your excellent work. Go get some rest. You’ll need every ounce of energy you can muster when you get back to Paris.”
Still shaken by the suspicions about Dominique, but with a sense of relief that a path forward was starting to emerge, Gideon stood up, shook Nahari’s hand, and nodded at the nameless man from counterespionage. “And you, my friend,” he said, turning to Binyamin, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
***
After Gideon’s meetings, the driver from Nahari’s office dropped him off at his office where his secretary, Noga, was anxiously awaiting his arrival. He sat at his desk while she filled him in on what had gone on in the office in his absence. Gideon was pleased to learn that his people were handling the projects that were underway, and he refrained from requesting any details about their work. It all seemed so far way.
When he got home, he found his son Amitai, who had been eagerly awaiting his arrival.
“Hi Dad! It’s good to see you!” Amitai said cheerfully, hugging his father tightly and then stepping back to take a look at him. “You look exhausted,” he said decisively. “Can I make you something to eat?”
“No thanks, Amitai. I ate enough during my meetings. Tell me, what’s new with you? I haven’t heard about your project for quite some time.”
“Actually, I have some good news,” Amitai said with a smile. “It looks like we’re about to make an exit. We fly to California next week for meetings.”
“That’s great, son!” said Gideon with enthusiasm. “I hope you’ve got everything well prepared. Large corporate lawyers are real sharks.”
“It’s all covered, Dad. We have a team of experienced attorneys who specialize in precisely our area of technology, and we’ve already had meetings here in Israel with representatives of the American companies involved. It looks promising, but the deal still needs to be closed.”
“I hope it goes well. Make sure to stay fully focused on your interests.”
“I know, Dad. I will. The trip will also give me a chance to see Mom and Noam and, of course, Grandma and Grandpa. Should I send them your regards and tell them you’re fine?”
“Yeah, thanks, Amitai. Please do.”
Gideon thought back over his meetings at Nahari’s office. Before he’d left, he had been presented with an in-depth briefing by the man from counterespionage on the threat to their personal security, and he had gone into detail about the dangers posed by the Quds Force. The groups in question were well-trained guerrilla warfare units consisting of skilled and seasoned fighters.
As a team, Dan and Gideon had generated important information, intelligence, and insights for the effort in Paris, and Nahari had emphasized how critical it was that they exercise extreme caution in the days to come, avoid regular schedules and routines, and maintain vigilance at all hours of the day and night. He had impressed upon Gideon the need to share these recommendations with Professor Bernard and to make use of the gendarmerie to thwart Quds Force attacks against members of the task force.
Overall, the meetings had left him encouraged and confident that he enjoyed the state’s trust and backing, through the support of Yitzhak Nahari. He knew that this was important, as he would need all the moral support he could get to contend with what the future held in store, particularly pertaining to Haim’s betrayal and the need to begin investigating Dominique.
***
The cabinets that filled Professor Bernard’s office were overloaded with files, binders, and documents, and his desk was hard to find beneath the piles of material awaiting his attention.
“Good morning, my friends,” he began slowly, with an expression of curious concern, as Gideon, Dan, and Deutsch filed into his office. “Is anything wrong? Did something happen?”
“It’s Haim Bar-Oz,” Gideon answered. “He’s been passing on information to the Iranians.”
“What?!” Bernard looked shocked and confused.
Gideon continued. “He was arrested not long ago by a special Israeli detail that flew into Paris with me. He was taken to the Israeli embassy and interrogated for hours. It was not an easy experience. At first he denied any involvement with the Iranians and insisted that he was being wrongly accused. He said it was ridiculous to think that he could collaborate with the enemy and boasted about his military past and the wars he had fought in. He came down on me in particular—he said that I was acting out of a sense of jealousy and personal competition. Fortunately, I was accompanied by two experienced interrogators from Israel who presented him with the evidence against him in their own special way. He broke and admitted to the facts only after hours of exhausting work, but he’s continuing to insist that he’s innocent and that he was pressured into committing the crimes that he’s accused of.”
“I can’t believe it!” Bernard exclaimed. “He was with us at almost every vital crossroads in our work! He placed his combat experience at the disposal of the task force.” Bernard looked at Gideon, who remained silent and lowered his eyes.
“It also seems surreal to us,” Deutsch said shaking his head. “But that’s not all. Equally as troubling is the possibility that Dominique may also somehow be involved in the leak. Gideon and I analyzed recent developments and concluded that some of the information that was, apparently, conveyed to the Iranians pertained to issues in which Haim simply wasn’t involved.”
“What do you think, Gideon?” asked Bernard.
“It’s all extremely difficult for me to accept,” Gideon said softly, “but I think it’s a reality we need to acknowledge.”
Now Bernard turned to Dan. “And just what is it that you’ve found that substantiates such serious charges?”
“I have a record of two conversations with Dominique and encrypted emails to Iranian addresses. But most importantly, I have audio and visual documentation of a meeting that took place in the safe house on Rue Fresnel,” Dan explained. “That’s where Bar-Oz was issued a James Bond briefcase full of hundred-euro bills. I recognize the Iranian who gave him the case from the meeting with General Jamshidi, a few weeks ago, at the Iranian safe house in the 4th Arrondissement. All this information was passed on to the investigators who flew in from Israel.”
“It’s difficult for all of us, but it’s even harder for Gideon and Dan,” Deutsch said to Bernard. “I really appreciate Gideon’s discernment and the way he worked with Dan to substantiate the charges against Bar-Oz.”
“I completely agree. I’ll update the minister immediately,” said Bernard decisively, walking his guests to the door and placing his hand on Gideon’s shoulder.
“We’re with you,” said Bernard. “This all must be extremely hard for you. Has Bar-Oz already been taken to Israel for further interrogation?”
“He boarded an El Al flight this afternoon, handcuffed and escorted by two GSS agents and a French security team,” Gideon told him. “I’ll inform you of relevant information about the investigation the moment I receive it.”
“Good,” replied Bernard. “It will help us with the rest of our work here. A quiet investigation into Dominique de Saint-Germaine will get underway immediately. I can’t even begin to imagine the shockwaves this will send through the General Secretariat, right up to General de Villiers.”
Chapter 36
“We have a problem,” said Dan as he sat down across from Gideon at the table in the hotel restaurant, where he was drinking a cup of coffee. Gideon had returned from Israel the night before, and he was eager for an update. He had set a breakfast date with Dan for precisely that purpose.
“We?” asked Gideon.
“Yes, we. The project. The task force.”
“What kind of problem?”
“Our special communications transmission from General Jamshidi’s glasses has vanished,” said Dan quickly.
“What?! What do you mean, ‘vanished’? The files have been deleted from the computer?”
“No, Gideon. But the transmissions are sputtering. And since the day before yesterday, they’ve been on and off, appearing and disappearing.”
“Have you checked with your friends at the American embassy? Maybe there’s some kind of problem with the relay station.”
“I have. I’ve been working on it with them since yesterday morning, and they’ve found no problem with the channel between Iran and us.”
“And what’s your conclusion?” Gideon asked, truly beginning to worry.
“There’s a problem with the electronic chip. It needs to be analyzed, and that can only be done in the New Horizons labs in California. It’s something that only I’ve worked on. I was developing it when I was serving in the intelligence unit. When I started working at New Horizons in California, I realized that the foundation my father had designed would enable me to finish developing it. I completely compartmentalized the technical information and the purpose of the device. I’m the only one with knowledge of it or access to it.”
“And who else knows about the problem?”
“Our friends from NSA know there’s a problem with the transmission, but they don’t know the details of the device itself. My father knows about the flaw, but he was not involved in the development and I don’t think it would be right to call him out to California.”
“So, what do we do? You’re the only one who can solve the problem?” Gideon asked.
“Unfortunately, I am. I don’t think we have any other option but for me to fly back to California and deal with it in our labs. With a bit of luck, I’ll be able to reprogram the system in just a few days,” Dan said.
“We need to consult with Professor Bernard and Dr. Deutsch. It’ll mean making do without your communications monitoring for a few days.”
“It’s not the end of the world,” Dan assured him. “We’ll just need to get our partners at the American embassy to do the round-the-clock monitoring while I’m away.”
At a meeting with Professor Bernard and Dr. Deutsch, the four reached a consensus on the importance of Dan’s trip to California. Deutsch took it upon himself to ensure that the NSA personnel at the embassy monitored most of the channels to which Dan was constantly listening and, before leaving, Dan spent a full day at the American embassy preparing them for the task. He also gave them the number of his secure line at New Horizons in case anything urgent arose.
***
Spirits were high at the Goldman home when Noam brought Dan to Friday night dinner at Grandma Barbara’s. They doted on him and made him feel loved, and they couldn’t hear enough about Paris, the City of Light. For the most part, Dan was able to elegantly sidestep their questions about the project and what he had actually been doing in Paris.
“Dan! Come on in here and say hello!” called Michael from the living room. “Please, join me for a bourbon. Do they let you drink anything but French wines over there?” he teased with a smile, handing Dan a glass. “Now, why don’t you tell me what’s really going on in Paris?”
“It’s like the dance of the honeybees,” Dan replied, sipping his drink and marshalling the patience he would undoubtedly need to endure the impending torrent of questions from his new interrogator. “Each side is trying to assess the advantages and disadvantages of the other.”
“Of course, of course,” Michael said. “But what’s going on at New Horizons? You were there all day, or at least that’s what Noam tells me.”
“There’s nothing she doesn’t know,” said Dan, smiling. “I needed to check on something there to help solve a technical problem.”
“Something classified? Is it something that’s important for Israel?”
“Come on, Grandpa!” called Noam from the kitchen. “Give him a break! He came over for dinner to relax after all the running around he’s been doing. He’s going back to Paris the day after tomorrow.”
Regardless of the questions, which continued after they sat down to dinner, Dan felt good being back in the bosom of Noam’s warm family. Around the table, he told them everything he could about his plans before his flight out, which was not much. He would be spending another day in the company’s labs and would be paying a visit to the Israeli consulate in San Francisco.
***
The New Horizons development labs were located in the eastern Silicon Valley town of Los Altos. Dan had informed the company’s director of labs that he would be coming into the office and all the material he had been storing in his safe was, naturally, at the director’s disposal. In the course of the morning, Dan connected the model of the electronic chip to the multipurpose table in the lab. Piece by piece, the picture began to emerge. The source of the problem had been the chip’s algorithm, not the hardware. Within two hours, he had confirmed his assessment and loaded the revised software onto the chip.
He then called in the director of labs and asked him to use the pieces that were in his safe to assemble ten new devices identical to the existing ones. Dan would install the new software himself. After his round-the-clock marathon in the lab, Dan drove to San Francisco and entrusted his package to Yoni Feldman of the Israeli consulate, who assured him that it would be sent to Paris immediately via diplomatic pouch.
***
“We need to bring the new devices to our contact at Deutsche Optics the moment we receive them,” Dan explained.
“That sounds easy enough,” said Gideon. “But how will we get the new devices
to Tehran?”
“I’ll take care of that,” Dan assured him. “I can send a message to Arash Jawad in Berlin that will appear to have been sent by General Jamshidi in Tehran. Jawad will think that there’s something wrong with the general’s glasses, and he’ll send a new pair to Tehran immediately. Trust me, it’ll work.”
Chapter 37
“Good morning, Dr. Deutsch,” Professor Bernard said warmly with a smile, stepping out from behind his desk to shake his colleague’s hand. “I’d like to apologize for not being able to find the time to meet with you about your meetings in Washington as soon as you got back. As you know, I’ve been extremely busy with all the new developments. So, how did things go in DC? How were your meetings at the National Security Council?” Professor Bernard and Deutsch settled into their chairs.
“Overall, it was fine…”
“But?”
“Well, let’s put it this way,” Deutsch said, not surprised that the professor had sensed the uneasiness in his voice. “The deputy director of the NSA gave us a thorough dressing down over Dan’s close collaboration with the NSA people stationed at our embassy here.”
“But what’s the problem? The US and Israel are close strategic allies.”
“O’Connor and I managed to deflect his criticism with a logical explanation. And we also received strong support from the president’s national security advisor, who ran the meeting. Between you and me, they’re clearly still troubled by the Snowden affair, which is seen as a failure of the NSA to recognize what was going on in time. I think they also weren’t thrilled by the fact that the collaboration was our initiative. Those kinds of attitudes are commonplace at the NSA.”
“I’m glad to hear that you managed to successfully deal with the challenge. Well done,” Bernard said. “What else?”
“We also consulted with them about our suspicions of a leak from the task force discussions. The clear, unequivocal message of the FBI was to suspect everyone with access to the issues discussed by the task force. They were adamant that no one should be exempted from suspicion until they are thoroughly checked out and their reliability is confirmed. They were puzzled by our arrangement with Dr. Kayghobadi and recommended that we exercise extreme caution in our dealings with him. The FBI didn’t like the idea of an agent being handled by only one person—in this case, Mrs. de Saint-Germaine. Not only is this asking for trouble, but our working conditions here make it completely unnecessary.”