California Triangle

by Uzi Eilam

  Gideon’s room was deadly silent. Bill and Bob were attending lectures relating to their dissertations. He missed the commotion they always made. Despite the quiet, he couldn’t concentrate. He stared at the screen and tried to perform mechanical calculations, hoping to find a way to stop thinking about the mess he was in. He considered going over to Deutsch’s office to talk, but then he realized that he hadn’t seen him for a few days, an absence he found suspicious. Maybe I should talk to Yudke? he thought. He’s also involved in this matter, and maybe he’s thinking the same thing. Gideon dialed New Horizons, feeling the break with Nurit gave him the opportunity to have a more honest relationship with someone in the same boat.

  Before he could change his mind, he called Yudke and asked to meet, saying only that it was important. Yudke hid his curiosity, and they decided to meet at Peet’s at one.

  Gideon sat in his room for an hour. What do I want to achieve from this meeting? Coordinating the final stages of our projects? Yes, but that isn’t all. Am I allowed to share the information and my insights regarding the threat and ask him to share what’s happening on his court? We’re basically two responsible Israelis in the same boat…

  As usual, before making any important decisions, Gideon jotted down a list of points to discuss. He rode off on his bike and continued mulling over the issues he wanted to discuss with Yudke.

  “Good day, Señor.” His usual waitress approached him with a smile. “Are you waiting for the señora?”

  “No, not the señorita today,” Gideon answered, embarrassed. He knew that she’d seen the stormy meeting he’d had with Nurit. “I’m waiting for a friend…”

  Just then, Yudke arrived at the restaurant, and Gideon waved happily to him.

  “So we’re both here,” Yudke tried to joke, “but where’s the dangerous lion?”

  They smiled as they remembered the word games in the children’s book Lubengulu, the King of Zulu.

  Actually, Gideon said to himself, there’s real communication between the two trees now, and the lion down below is far less of a threat.

  “I wanted to update you on a number of recent developments,” Gideon said seriously, weighing his words carefully. “We both know the Revolutionary Guards are our lion.”

  Yudke nodded without saying a word.

  “Do you remember Ryan Davis? The violinist from the campus orchestra? I introduced you after the annual concert.”

  “Yes, of course,” Yudke replied quickly. “The short man with the darting eyes?”

  “He and no other,” Gideon confirmed. Yudke may be a nerdy engineer, but he has discerning eyes.

  “Well, although Ryan’s a talented violinist and a successful scientist, he is also an agent for the Revolutionary Guards. They recruited him to obtain information about our system.”

  “Really?” Yudke exclaimed, his eyes fixed on Gideon.

  Gideon watched Yudke as he told him everything that had happened and how they were dealing with it.

  Yudke’s eyes widened, and in no time, he was telling Gideon what was happening on his side. He even told him about the break-in to their home.

  Gideon thought about the threats Nurit had received. “Did anything else happen?”

  “Thankfully, no.”

  “Does Nurit know about the break-in?” he dared to ask.

  “Sure she does,” Yudke said, and a wave of guilt washed over Gideon. “She was a bit worried about it. She has no idea what I do at work, and she’s never really taken an interest in technical matters. She has her own world in Berkeley, and she’s happy there.”

  She certainly is, Gideon thought painfully. “We have to assume that they won’t stop until they get information on the card,” he said soberly, “just as they didn’t stop trying to recruit me.” Gideon hesitated for a moment before continuing. “There seems to be a new development… Ryan has disappeared and he hasn’t contacted me. He wasn’t at the rehearsal, and the company he works for doesn’t know where he is. Something might have happened to him.”

  “Do you have any idea what?”

  Gideon shook his head. Yudke, practical as always, moved on, telling Gideon how he was now taking similar steps to protect his own research, with the help of the FBI. “Sometime in the future, they’ll find out that it doesn’t work, but by then, a great many sins will be washed away by our Jordan River.”

  “I think the direction we’re going in is right,” Gideon said. “They’ll think they have the gun and the bullets.”

  ***

  After they promised to stay in touch, Gideon grabbed his bike and decided to ride past Ryan’s house. He enjoyed the ride through the hills south of Palo Alto. I have to update Yoni, he reminded himself, and speak to Deutsch too, as soon as I see him.

  Ryan’s driveway was empty, and no one answered the doorbell. Gideon sat on a bench on the next street and rang Yoni.

  Yoni heard him out and, not wasting a moment, asked Gideon to meet him at the consulate the following day at eleven.

  “I’ll be there,” Gideon said. As he rode back to work, a kaleidoscope of images appeared in his mind: Ryan… Deutsch…Yoni… Yudke… Nurit… Suzy…all turning around and around in his mind.

  42.

  Gideon was both looking forward to and concerned about the meeting that Yoni had insisted was urgent.

  Yoni met him without a smile or a handshake and led him straight to the conference room. A pot of Turkish coffee and fresh Danishes were waiting at the end of the table.

  “Is it that bad?” Gideon pointed at the tray, trying to make light of the matter.

  “There’ve been some developments, and we thought it would be a good idea to keep you in the loop,” Yoni said seriously.

  “And?” Gideon couldn’t hide his concern.

  “Enjoy your coffee first.”

  As if there was nothing pressing to discuss, Yoni sipped his coffee slowly, taking way too long for Gideon.

  “I wanted to tell you about a meeting I had with Yudke Avni,” Gideon decided to break the silence. “Deutsch is all for us coordinating the integration of the two systems.”

  “I know,” Yoni said. “Do you have anything else to tell me?”

  “Yes.” Gideon hesitated. “We also discussed the threat we’re under from the Revolutionary Guards.”

  “What exactly did you tell Yudke?” Yoni sat forward.

  “Yudke knows about Ryan now and about his attempts to obtain information on our algorithm. I understood from him that he’s also working on a fake card and that he’s aware of the threats.”

  “Yudke is considered to be responsible and reliable,” Yoni said severely, “but not everyone has to know the details that aren’t directly related to them! We’ll make sure to remind him that what you told him must remain confidential. And when you see him, Gideon, remind him that it was for his ears only.”

  Gideon bowed his head and nodded without saying a word.

  They sat in silence until Yoni said, “There’s been a leak. The Iranians know details about your project and Yudke’s.”

  “Where was the leak?”

  “They had a source at SRI.”

  “Who?” Gideon exclaimed, startled.

  “It started before you began working at the institute,” Yoni reassured him, “and shortly after that, we learned that general information, focusing mainly on your research, was getting to Iran.”

  “Has Dr. Deutsch been updated?” Gideon asked with slight hesitation.

  “Wait a minute,” Yoni said. “At first we didn’t know exactly how the data was being transferred to intelligence agents from the Revolutionary Guards. That became clear only at a later stage.”

  He’s avoiding talking about Gerald, he thought, so could he be the leak?

  “Ryan was a key technological figure in the Revolutionary Guards intelligence service. They spent years pre
paring him, and he wasn’t put into operation until a couple of years ago.”

  Was? Gideon thought. And where is he now? He waited uneasily for Yoni to continue.

  “He found a way into the institute, and his appearance at your lecture wasn’t the first time he’d attended events at the institute.”

  “And Dr. Deutsch?”

  “The director of your institute, Gideon,” Yoni said, choosing his words carefully, “learned about Ryan’s position with the Revolutionary Guards and of their penetration to the institute a little after the horse got out of the barn. The FBI’s counterespionage people filled him in and called him to order. He took it very badly on a personal level.”

  At least he isn’t involved, Gideon thought with relief. That explains his tense response when I told him about Ryan’s offer to find funding for further research.

  “You said that there was an unidentified source at the institute.” Gideon had so many questions competing to be asked. “Do we know who it was? I’m convinced that Gerald Deutsch wouldn’t quit until he knew everything and the problem had been solved.”

  “As I said,” Yoni said cautiously, “Deutsch took the leak personally. He asked and received permission from the FBI to join the senior team working to expose the entire Iranian network. Ryan, as I told you, was a central and important element, technologically speaking, but his contacts and the investment company in New York were also exposed.”

  Gideon noticed that Yoni hadn’t answered his question—who was the Iranian source at the institute?—and he decided to let the matter pass and move on to his next question.

  “Is it so vital for them to attain intelligence on our projects? Doesn’t it seem a bit over the top to you?”

  “It isn’t, Gideon,” Yoni said patiently, “when you remember who the Revolutionary Guards are and what areas of responsibility they received with the blessing of their supreme religious leader.”

  “What do you mean, exactly?”

  “The Revolutionary Guards are responsible for all aspects of short-range and long-range missiles,” Yoni explained, “and they develop and operate Iran’s range of missiles. In other words, they run everything in that area. It’s no wonder that word of a system that reduces or even eliminates the threat of their missiles would concern them. Although they’re developing nuclear capability, that goal is still far off. Long-range missiles are considered Iran’s main strategic arm in her quest for hegemony in the Middle East, and so it should come as no surprise to us if they feel that we’ve stepped on their toes.”

  Yoni paused for a moment and poured himself another coffee. Gideon tried to digest all he’d heard. Suddenly, he viewed smooth, intelligent Ryan with the darting eyes, as Yudke had described him, in a different light. The man played a pivotal role in all the guards’ missile defense–related intelligence operations? How did they manage to plant him so deeply and to get so far? And Gerald Deutsch, according to Yoni, took it personally. But there’s something that Yoni isn’t telling me. What am I supposed to do now, if he comes back and asks for the rest of my research? What leverage will they use on me after giving me that briefcase full of money? And what about the physical danger?

  “I would imagine that setting up such a complex network would be very expensive,” he said.

  “The Revolutionary Guards have no financial limitations, Gideon,” Yoni said. “They’re basically a state within a state, financially too. It is the third-largest organization in Iran, after the Iranian oil company and after the Imam Reza foundation. Do you think,” Yoni smiled for the first time,“that you’d receive a hundred thousand dollars just like that if it weren’t for the guards?”

  They both fell silent, and Yoni poured them another coffee and offered Gideon a Danish.

  Gideon thought for a few minutes before asking, “What should I say to Ryan if he or the investors contact me?”

  “I don’t think there’s much chance of that,” Yoni said. “Ryan probably won’t contact you again.”

  “And what about work at the institute? What do I do to avoid the leak, if we don’t know who it is? I wanted to talk to Dr. Deutsch, but he hasn’t been in for a few days. Is there any reason I shouldn’t ask him how to handle myself at work?”

  “None whatsoever,” Yoni said, watching Gideon’s concerned face. “He’ll be back tomorrow.”

  Gideon stood up. “Thanks for your time and for the update. I’ll remember what you said about Yudke,” he promised, “and I’ll try to set up a meeting with Deutsch at the institute tomorrow.”

  Yoni was still thinking about what Gideon had told him as he accompanied him to the door and watched him leave. Perhaps it’s best he isn’t in the loop when it comes to the latest developments. He doesn’t need to know all the details. Even he could be a weak link, if only because of his relationship with Nurit Avni. He decided to monitor what happened around Gideon for the next few days.

  A few minutes after Gideon left, the consulate secretary called Yoni on his internal line. “Urgent, from the FBI,” she said.

  “Hey, Yoni,” John O’Connor’s voice was loud and clear ,“do you have time to come over for a brief consultation?”

  Yoni knew there was only one answer he could give. “Of course,” he said. “When?”

  “If it’s not too difficult, right now.”

  “I’m on my way,” Yoni said.

  When Yoni walked into O’Connor’s office, he found Gerald Deutsch sitting there too. O’Connor shook his hand as he said, “Ryan’s been arrested.”

  Yoni hid his surprise.

  “He came to SRI following an invitation from Dr. Deutsch. He thought he’d been invited to attend an interesting lecture in the evening on missile defense, and we can thank Dr. Deutsch for having a talk with Ryan in his office, allowing us to get all we needed to arrest him.” O’Connor looked appreciatively at Deutsch, who was sitting opposite him. “We told Ryan he’s suspected of espionage and that we were detaining him for further questioning, in accordance with the law. He was stunned and didn’t object when we cuffed his hands and feet.”

  “Didn’t he ask to speak to a lawyer?” Yoni asked O’Connor.

  “Not at first. He demanded his rights only after we moved him to our interrogation facility here in the city.”

  Yoni was familiar with the FBI’s Basement where they carried out special investigations. It had a separate, secret entrance from the residential building above it, and only a select few knew of it.

  He looked from O’Connor to Deutsch and then back. “What did you get out of him? Did he confess? Did he give names? And what about the source within SRI?”

  Dr. Deutsch replied. “The interrogation lasted for hours into the night, during which we moved from one stage to the next. We told him we knew about everything he’d done, and we proved it with names and information. We threw the names of his Iranian operators at him, the address of the apartment on Grant Avenue, and the true identity of the investors in New York. Ryan refused to answer questions and chose not to respond, especially when we called him Rustam.” With a smile, he added, “After a long night, he wouldn’t give us even a hint of who their mole is. He repeatedly insisted that we had no proof against him and that he wouldn’t talk without his lawyer present,” Deutsch finished with a shrug.

  “And what happened next?” Yoni asked.

  Deutsch looked at O’Connor, who looked back. Yoni wasn’t sure how to interpret the silent messages they were sending each other.

  “We went to court and received permission to detain him until the investigation’s over,” O’Connor said. “We had no difficulty convincing the court. Dr. Deutsch gave them every detail we know about Rustam’s activities for the Revolutionary Guards. He stressed that Rustam is dangerous and that we’re safer with him behind bars.” He paused for a moment, measuring the effect of his words, and then continued. “We mustn’t forget that we haven’t yet cleared
the Iranian vipers’ den. We still have plenty of work ahead.”

  43.

  Gideon was in his office when Yoni called to tell him about Ryan’s arrest.

  He was stunned by how directly Deutsch was involved. “So are you saying that we can go back to normal now?”

  “No, Gideon, it’s important to understand that although Ryan’s part is over, the Iranians won’t stop trying to obtain the information we have.”

  “Don’t worry, Yoni, I remember that very well,” Gideon said.

  “Take care, and please keep your eyes open,” Yoni advised in a friendly tone.

  Gideon could think of nothing but the sensational news he’d just heard. He had many more questions, but he knew he could talk them over with Deutsch. He was thinking about his history with Ryan when suddenly he recalled something that, at the time, he hadn’t placed much importance on. During one of his conversations with Bob and Bill, one of them blurted out something about his relationship with Ryan. He couldn’t remember if it was a question or a statement, or which one of them it was. He wondered how they knew about Ryan. Did Deutsch tell them about him? If so, why? I have to find out what Deutsch thinks of this. And what he thinks of the situation now and of the steps we should take in the future.

  Deutsch’s knock at the door snapped him back to the present. He was pale and looked exhausted. “I heard you want to meet—I’ll let you know when I’m free,” he said as he waved his hand weakly.

  ***

  Deutsch sat in his office thinking about the events of the last few days. He asked his secretary not to disturb him or put any calls through. The last few hours of the interrogation proved just how brainwashed Ryan was. He knew perfectly well what he’d done and what would happen to him, but even in the final moments of the interrogation, he continued to insist that he was innocent of all charges. Ryan’s ability to withstand the pressure of the interrogation was admirable, and he didn’t betray any of his partners. That was an achievement the Revolutionary Guards could certainly take credit for.