The PM answered "Haim, I have given you a lot of credit and ample leeway to solve the problem. I have also allowed you more time than I had initially allotted but I realize that the matter is very complex. If we handle this incorrectly we may find ourselves in an unwanted conflict with Iran. We have to discover who is behind this, what their motives are and provide irrefutable proof. I understand that you shouldn't rush to conclusions. You have put my mind at ease with regard to my granddaughter's fate – as long as the Iranians remain ignorant of the fact. If they do find out that I am her grandfather and use this to blackmail Israel I'll resign my office in order to avoid a conflict of interest between my official position as PM and my family".
Shimony was surprised by this bold statement, but as a true cynic he doubted if the PM would really step down from his high office because of something so sentimental. He knew that deep down in his heart the PM was not as hardened as the Steel Man, Stalin, but was no less determined to maintain his stronghold on the coveted job. So he tried to comfort his boss by saying "Sir, I hope that it never comes to this and that we bring all the captives safely back to Israel. I have great faith in David and his abilities to succeed in convincing the Iranians, and actually the whole world, that Israel was not involved in the sordid affair of murdering innocent, or not so innocent, Iranian scientists".
The PM was silent for a moment and then said "Well Haim, at least this time we are not guilty, but will the world believe us?" The PM hung up and called his most trusted consultant, actually the only person he trusted absolutely, his wife. "Honey, I need you here. Could you please come down to my study?"
She answered "As soon as I finish my glass of wine, or should I bring the bottle with me? After all, it is already quite late in the evening."
The PM's impatient reply was "Honey, come down now with the glass and bottle".
The PM's wife had already consumed a few glasses of wine so it took her some time to collect herself, find a couple of empty glasses and an open bottle of expensive red wine, usually only served at official dinners with visitors on the PM's A-list.
The PM looked at her as she entered his study and said "I hope you are in full control of your faculties because I need your advice on a very crucial matter". When she nodded he continued "I am not pleased with performance of Shimony on several matters. He failed me miserably with the US fiasco when he didn't manage to keep his own house, the Mossad, in order. Fortunately in that affair the Americans were as embarrassed as we were and didn't want to make a public issue of their own shortcomings in safeguarding their national security. Haim got away by firing his Deputy Director, Segan, and a couple of top operatives and now these two operatives were murdered in Berlin while working for Segan. This is related to the current situation with Iran and the fact that they are holding a dozen Israeli citizens, including Inbal, my own flesh and blood, in captivity and trying to hold the state of Israeli for ransom. Shimony doesn't know how to get them back safely. I am considering replacing him by someone I can rely on to carry out my wishes. What do you think about this?"
The PM's wife was now completely sober – there is nothing like shocking news and high level backstabbing to get out of the stupor induced by alcohol. She said "I never liked Shimony, he was always too independent. He never acknowledged that he owed his promotion to Mossad head to you. We need someone who would be grateful and indebted to you personally. Let's wait until this crisis is resolved one way or the other. If he fails then we can easily hold him accountable and replace him without any public fuss. If he succeeds than we'll make sure that you get all the credit and just commend him for following your guidance. Then offer him some job with a fancy title as a token of gratitude but make sure that it has no substance and appoint your man."
The PM looked at her with admiration and said "I knew I could trust you. Let's have a glass of wine and then go up to our bedroom."
October 8th, Evin Prison, Tehran
The contest between Yonathan (Johnny) Shmaryahu, honorable Member of Knesset, and Zorik for the alpha-male position in the jail cell ended when Johnny broke down in tears, crying about his fate. Zorik, a natural leader of people in battle and in peacetime, assumed the position of the chief negotiator with regard to the interaction with the jailors. He had heard from Johnny and his companion about the meeting with Imam Mourtashef at the airport and the opinion expressed by the Imam on the root cause of the hatred of the Iranian people toward America and Israel – the Great Satan and Little Satan. Zorik figured that they were all pawns in a much larger game and hoped that a meeting with the Imam could clarify their position. He reckoned that Imam Mourtashef was very close to the religious leadership of Iran, probably even one of the senior leaders, and was in a position of authority. He had no idea of the meeting that took place at the office of the Senior Assistant of the Supreme Leader earlier that afternoon. He certainly had no clue that the Imam was in charge of the most sensitive clandestine operation of the Iranian regime that took place in the very same building where the Israelis hostages were held.
When the midday meal was brought to their cell Zorik asked for permission to talk to guard they had named Fatso, refraining of course from using the derogatory nickname. Half an hour later Fatso appeared with his whip and cruel smile and griped "What do you filthy dogs want?"
Zorik stepped away from the far wall of the cell, where all the hostages were squirming, and said "With all due respect we wish to speak with Imam Mourtashef".
Fatso was taken by surprise at this request and said "How do you even dare to mention the name of the Imam?"
Zorik said "We wish to learn about the true Islam from a high religious teacher". He saw the look on the face of his cell mates and understood they were no less astonished than Fatso by this statement.
Fatso growled and walked away without a reply. As soon as he left the cell the other Israelis asked him if he was out of his mind. Only Inbal understood that Zorik chose the only approach that had any chance of granting them a meeting with someone high enough in Iran's religious hierarchy that had some influence on their destiny. She defended her fiancé and managed to convince all the others that no one was really interested in getting a religious sermon from the Imam.
***
Later in the evening Fatso appeared with his whip and four other jailors that surrounded a man wearing the traditional garb of a senior Iranian cleric. The respectable looking man greeted Johnny and Oded by their names and then asked to be introduced to the other prisoners. Zorik stepped forward and started by introducing all the cellmates, giving a brief account of where they were captured. He said that on the whole their treatment was reasonable and they were all grateful for that. He added that they were innocent civilians and did not know why they were not released.
The Imam took his time, first looking at Zorik for a long moment and then at each of the other Israelis. His glance lingered for a while on Johnny and he noticed the swollen red eyes and realized that he was not the true person in charge although by all rights he should have been. He met Zorik's gaze once more and said something in Farsi that caused his bodyguards to leave the cell. Fatso tried to question the instruction but the Imam gave him a short order, and after bringing a chair for the Imam to sit on, he too left the cell. The Imam continued in English "Please sit down, all of you. We are a civilized people and mean you no harm. We know you are innocent bystanders who got caught up in a tough situation due to no fault of your own. We will hold you here until we can contact your government and negotiate the terms for your release".
Zorik looked around and saw that all the other hostages were silent and left with a sense of bewilderment. He spoke up "Imam Mourtashef, we thank you for your kind words. We also have a keen sense of history and fondly remember that the Great King Cyrus allowed the Jews that were exiled to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar to return to Judea more than 2,500 years ago. We are sorry that the relations between modern Israel and the Islamic Republic of Iran have deteriorated so far. But all of us here in th
e cell have had nothing to do with this sad state of affairs. Please let us go and we promise to be the best emissaries that Iran has ever had in Israel and the West".
The Imam smiled benevolently "Zorik, is it? I know that you will truthfully report that no harm has been done to you, but you must understand that you are mere pawns in a game that involves political considerations in which individuals don't count. So you will all just play the role that your fate has burdened you with and pray to your God that you live to see your families again."
Zorik was put out by this explicit statement, but gathered his wits and said "Thank you Imam Mourtashef for your visit. You have earned our great respect and hopefully one day we'll meet again as free men".
The Imam smiled "Inshalla, praise God" and called for his bodyguards. Fatso bowed deeply to the Imam but as soon as he was out of earshot swore and promised the inmates that their little ploy would cost them their dinner that would not be served that evening.
Imam Mourtashef left the prison wing in which the hostages were incarcerated and made his way to the laboratory in Basement S, where the work was progressing nicely. He was one of the very few people in Iran who knew that the fate of the hostages was so closely linked to the advancement of the project.
Chapter 12
Two Years Earlier, Basement S, Evin Prison, Tehran
The visit of the Supreme Leader was considered by Dr. Muammar Fathi as the pinnacle of his career. Exactly one year earlier he was placed in charge of a small group of scientists that were the elite of the Iranian military-industrial complex. Each member of this group was vetted by the most feared organ of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, the department that was in charge of ensuring the loyalty, zealousness and religious fervor of people in sensitive positions of authority. Fathi's own vetting included a thorough investigation of his personal life and that of his family members, a series of interviews with his close friends and the Mullah of the mosque in which he regularly attended prayers and heard sermons, and the inevitable polygraph test. The latter was a joke as the interrogator decided to focus on Fathi's ties with foreign scientists ignoring the fact that most of his training in nuclear physics was in a British university. The interrogator wanted to know if Fathi was still in touch with his thesis advisor and co-students and when Fathi said that they occasionally met in international scientific conferences he insisted on getting a verbatim account of every conversation. Fathi seized the opportunity and started a downpour of technical terms, complex theories and detailed descriptions of sophisticated experimental systems. After 10 minutes of this tirade the interrogator held up both his hands and placed them on his ears begging Fathi to stop. Fathi remained serious outwardly and said that he was only getting started on the subject but inwardly had a big laugh. Finally he was cleared and received the highest security clearance that the Islamic Republic of Iran could install on a person who was not a religious leader, after all members of that select group were above the law and accountable only to Allah.
He assembled his group that included a few carefully selected scientists and engineers. During one of the coffee breaks he hinted at the interrogation and the fun he had with the interrogator in its final stage and was awarded by knowing smiles from his colleagues. One of them, Dr. Raffsani a renowned mathematician, went as far as commenting that inferior minds had no chance when trying to ensnare super-intelligent people like him, but before he could develop the subject any further Fathi pointed discreetly at the smoke detector. The "super-intelligent" scientist closed his mouth, but moments later the door opened and he was "invited" to join the security officer and leave the room. He was not heard from again despite Fathi's protests that Raffsani was a vital part of the group. He was told to find another mathematician or do without one. Fathi didn't know that his attempt to ridicule the security vetting and polygraph examination has been reported to General Aslawi, the head of the IRG, and wasn't aware of the animosity the general now harbored towards him in particular and the uppity scientists and intellectuals in general. Had he been more sensitive to the feeling of other people, especially those with an inferiority complex like General Aslawi, he would have known what to expect at the upcoming meeting. Had he read any popular psychology textbook or even an article in the popular press he would have known the difference between "general intelligence" reflected in a high IQ like his own and "interpersonal intelligence" that shows the ability to understand and interact effectively with other people.
Fathi was now going over the presentation he had prepared for the Supreme Leader one last time, as the door to the conference room opened. The first to enter was the General Aslawi, the head of the IRG. He gave Fathi a contemptuous look and scrutinized the room before giving a hand signal that all was safe. The Supreme Leader walked in and took his place at the head of the table, facing the large screen, and motioned to his entourage to take their seats on both sides of the table. Fathi and his two senior assistants, a theoretical physicist and an engineer with a doctorate in material science, stood by his side near the screen. Fathi introduced them and the Supreme Leader acknowledged them with a small smile and a slight nod of his head.
The head of the IRG, General Aslawi opened the meeting "With the grace of Allah we have assembled a small elite group to defend our Islamic faith against the infidels. Dr. Fathi has headed this group from the start and devised the action plan to fulfill the tasks the Supreme Leader has assigned to the group. He has done a relatively reasonable job and he will now present the plan, the progress that has been made and outline what additional steps are needed to accomplish the aims of the project."
Fathi began his presentation by reiterating the objectives of his group. His first slide was projected on the screen "First let me outline the plan. We have adopted a two-pronged approach. On the one hand, with some assistance from our allies, we have made all the necessary steps for the construction of a nuclear bomb. On the other hand, based on our own expertise we have drawn out the blueprints to build a radiation dispersion device, an RDD in short or what is colloquially called a "dirty bomb". There are three main steps involved with each of these objectives: design the device, get the necessary materials and actually construct the device. I am ready to continue with the description of the work, unless there are some questions."
Imam Mourtashef, who was seated next to the Senior Assistant on the right of the Supreme Leader, raised his hand "Dr. Fathi, when you talk about allies, to whom do you refer?"
Before Fathi could answer, General Aslawi stood up and said "You know that common enemies make good friends. The North Koreans regard the Americans as their dire enemies who keep trying to impose on them unacceptable things like democracy, openness, international supervision of their nuclear ambitions, and worst of all, economic sanctions. We view the Great Satan exactly in a similar way. The North Koreans have agreed to supply us with a small amount of fissile material, that the Americans call special nuclear material or SNM for short. This is vital for building an atomic bomb. They are also willing, for a considerable price, of course, to give us their blueprints. However, we think that their design is very primitive and requires a large amount of fissionable materials. Our other ally is Pakistan, or more precisely a faction within the Pakistani nuclear community, who is as anti-American as we are. They are working clandestinely as their government's official policy is to adhere to the non-proliferation treaty, the infamous NPT, and not export any prohibited materials or information that may serve in the construction of nuclear weapons. Both these countries are also no lovers of the Little Satan, Israel. The North Koreans have helped the Syrians, before the troubles started there a few years ago, to build a small nuclear reactor that was designed to produce weapon grade plutonium. We all know that this reactor suffered the same fate in 2007 as the damned Iraqi reactor suffered in 1981. You may recall that during our bloody war with Iraq, from 1980 to 1988, our air force tried unsuccessfully to destroy the Iraqi reactor. The Israeli air force did the job for us, unintentionally of course, because
they were concerned that Saddam Hussein would build a bomb and use it against them. The Israelis may have saved Tehran from the fate of Hiroshima but they deserve no laurels for this because they were only worried about Tel-Aviv."
The General sat down and the Imam thanked him for the political introduction, refraining from saying political indoctrination. The Supreme Leader motioned for Dr. Fathi to continue his presentation.
Fathi's second slide showed a schematic of a simple gun-type atomic bomb "This is a schematic of "Little Boy", the atomic bomb that was used in war by the Americans to destroy Hiroshima. It was constructed with enriched uranium that the Americans manufactured. According to Wikipedia it was very heavy weighing 4,400 kg, used a lot of fissile material, 64 kg of uranium-235 with an average enrichment of about 80%, and had a low efficiency as less than one kilogram underwent nuclear fission. On the next slide you can see a schematic of "Fat Man" that was used to destroy Nagasaki. It weighed slightly more than "Little Boy" and was fueled by 6.4 kg of plutonium. The main difference as you can see is that it had a more sophisticated implosion-type design that therefore required less fissile material. The next few slides show the more advanced designs that the Pakistanis, through AQ Khan's network, and North Koreans have given us. Our scientists have improved these designs with the help of schematics sold by a former Soviet-Union renegade scientist. As we have a very limited stock of fissile materials we have devised an innovative design in which plutonium is combined with enriched uranium. This is somewhat like the MOX fuel in nuclear power plants where a mixture of plutonium oxide and uranium oxide provides the energy for producing electricity. I must emphasize that this is an original approach to manufacturing atomic bombs, something the Iranian people should be proud of."
The Dreadful Patriot: A Thrilling Conspiracy Novel (Techno thriller, Mystery & Suspense Book 3) Page 14