For God and Country: Leona Foxx Suspense Thriller #1

by Ted Peters

  “Now, Jarrod, I see another problem. You equip the terrorists to outflank and outmaneuver the police and security forces. Great. But what if we make enemies and these enemies decide to use your technology against us?”

  “Did I mention our third company?”

  The two started to laugh at the same time.

  “It’ll be located in Fiji. That’s where we both will be.”

  The dual laughter only increased.

  “I like this talk of profit and cash,” said the man behind the desk. “But I wonder if we should get our asses in gear.”

  “Okay,” said Jarrod. He stood up and left through the office door. In the anteroom he addressed one of the men who served as office secretary. “Call Bagram Air Field. Tell our maintenance crew to ready the Cessna Ten to fly. We’ll arrive in an hour and a half. We’ll want to take off immediately. We’ll refuel in London, not Dubai.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Turning to Louie, who was sitting on the other side of the room, Jarrod said, “I’d like you to drive us to Bagram Field. Can you be ready to go in ten minutes?”

  “Certainly,” said Louie. “I’ll gas up the Hilux.” Louie disappeared up the stairway.

  “The base will want to know what flight plan to file,” interrupted the secretary. “Where are you going?”

  “Tell them we’re going to Midway. That’s Chicago,” said Jarrod

  22 Wednesday, Chicago, 7:05 pm

  Graham had asked for Leona’s story. She was finally willing to tell it. “This is going to be very difficult for me, Graham. If I decide in the middle to stop, will you respect that?”

  “Yes indeed, Lee.”

  Leona opened by explaining how she had graduated Michigan State University with a B.S.. Then she added, “When I was a little girl I was fascinated with the question: is there life on other planets? So, I took the opportunity at MSU to go on for a doctorate in astrobiology. My thesis had to do with the need for all spacefaring nations to cooperate on planetary protection. I loved East Lansing. While I was there I was approached by a CIA recruiter. He encouraged me to use my biology to become an analyst. Only later did the idea of becoming an operative enter the picture.”

  Graham had seated himself comfortably on the couch, welcoming a lengthy monologue. Leona’s shapely crossed legs set up a competition within Graham between what his eyes were seeing and what his ears were hearing. He had to work hard to remain focused.

  “Why would you even consider service in the CIA?” asked Graham.

  “I was young.”

  “You’re still young!”

  “As I was saying, I was young and had taken a real interest in foreign policy at MSU. I had patriotic feelings like most of us, and 9/11 reminded us how fragile peace can be.”

  “The fall of the twin towers shocked all of us. But not enough to prepare us for what would follow 9/11: two wars lasting for decades. How did this affect you?” Graham was trying to keep Leona talking.

  “I wanted to make a difference. And to make a difference with the skills I had developed in natural science seemed to provide just the right opportunity. My work, I thought, could play a small but important part in America’s service to the world, to establishing peace and justice everywhere on the globe. Making the world safe for democracy, you know. And especially protecting all of us from the proliferation of nuclear weaponry.”

  “You really thought that?” pressed Graham.

  “Yes, I did. In addition, of course, the CIA recruiters introduced me to important people in the military and in Washington. I was impressed. They treated me like somebody with a significant future. I wanted to live up to their expectations. Did this happen to you too?”

  “Precisely. The agency recruiters have a way of making an ordinary citizen feel important,” commented Graham.

  Leona went on to explain how she was recruited into the CIA initially as a lab researcher but later re-recruited for field operations. “I studied Arabic and Farsi during my intensive training. I learned hand-to-hand combat, electronic surveillance, and mind control. Among other accomplishments I became a marksman, a crack shot.”

  She looked him squarely in the eyes. “Now, Graham, I’m not bragging. I’m simply trying to inform you.”

  “Oh, yes. I get that. And, it’s okay with me if you brag a little.”

  “I’ll try to stick to the facts. I was told that with my feminine beauty on the outside and hardened skills on the inside I could become the perfect bait in a honey trap, a sexual arrangement to gain intelligence. Well, I had the cunning and courage to spring such a trap.”

  “How often did you spring the honey trap? What did you catch?”

  “I’ll not answer that. What’s important, as we all know, is that the 9/11 attack in 2001, along with the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, contributed to the construction of a new worldview, to a new way of understanding reality. According to this worldview, the American way of life is under attack from Islamic jihad. I read the Qur’an and the history of Islamic theology, focusing on those elements that seemed to foster violence in the service of Allah.”

  “So, you’re both a biologist and an Islamacist, eh?”

  “Sort of. Cram courses do not in themselves make one an expert in Islam. Immersion helped. But even so, I can still be sophomoric about what I think I know.”

  “Where did the CIA send you?

  “After brief tours of only a month each in northern Africa and the Malay peninsula, I was assigned to The Islamic Republic of Iran.”

  For a momentary distraction, the two opened their fortune cookies. Both contained the word “happy” but neither of the fortunes left an impression.

  “Back to Iran,” said Graham.

  Leona continued. “Before doing anything practical, I studied Iran’s history. For five millennia this region was known as Persia. Persia made it into the Bible, with special mention of Cyrus the Great. Cyrus liberated the Jews from their Babylonian captors. The Persian Empire lasted from the sixth century before Christ until conquered by the Greeks in 330 BC. During the third century after Christ, Christianity spread like wildfire from the Middle East to Mesopotamia and up the Royal Persian Road to central Asia. Not many people know this little fact of history,” said Leona reaching for her drink.

  After a sip she continued. “During the Sassanian dynasty—which had replaced Greek rule with native Persian rule—many Persian leaders joined Christian churches. But then in the fourth century, Constantine took over Rome. He established Christianity as the state religion. Fears ran rampant in the non-Roman world. Persian leaders tried to distance themselves from Christianity. They engaged in massive persecution and marginalization of the religion of Jesus. Even before Muhammad’s century, Christian growth in Asia had been contained. Muslims then conquered Persia in 651 AD. By the sixteenth century the land became a Shia stronghold. Although we in the West simply write off Persia as a Muslim country, the history is much more complicated and nuanced. Unless we get this straight, we’ll never understand.”

  “That’s Persia. Where does Iran come in?”

  “With the Nazis. The Nazis persuaded Persian leadership to change their nation’s name to Iran in 1935. The modern Persian term Iran, recalls the ancient pre-Persian term Aryānā, now a name given to many Persian girls. The word Iran is a cognate of Aryan. The country’s name today, then, means ‘Land of the Aryans.’ Fars is the original Persian name for Persia. I learned to speak some Farsi.”

  “So, that’s what you read. That's ancient history. Let’s get to your history.”

  “Please be patient, Graham.”

  “Okay.” Graham sat back and relaxed the muscles in his face.

  Leona looked about the room. Then, she turned again to make eye contact with her visitor. “Once I arrived in Iran, the CIA Station Chief set me up with a post-doc slot at Sharif University of Technology in Tehran. I was strategically placed among an international group of laboratory faculty studying the effects of radiation on the human body. We lea
rned that acute exposure is far less deleterious than chronic exposure, meaning that workers in a typical power plant are not likely to suffer permanent damage should they experience a brief nuclear accident. But this study was a cover. My unannounced goal was to gain intelligence on nuclear weapons development in that country. It was my task to make contact with the mystery person you would love to identify.”

  “Did you wear a burqa?”

  “I dressed very conservatively. In fact, I liked the burqa and full body covering. This meant I could travel about in public without being recognized as a Westerner. I was seldom acknowledged as a foreigner.”

  “I’m glad you’re not covering up now that you’re back in Chicago,” remarked Graham, looking up at the ceiling as if he were expressing secret and embarrassing thoughts.

  Leona smiled, keeping her eyes aimed squarely at Graham. “I’ll take that as a compliment. Thank you. Now, back to business.”

  Leona adjusted herself in the chair. Her voice dropped to a near whisper. Graham found it necessary to lean forward to hear clearly.

  “When I was in Iran, it was difficult to measure the degree of threat. More recently, CIA fears regarding Iran’s capability to develop a nuclear weapon have been exacerbated by progress in rocketry. In 2009, Iran launched its first satellite on a Safir-2 rocket. In 2011, its second satellite, Rasad-1, went into orbit. And, as you may know, Iran’s also got the Shahab-3 missile, the one most likely to carry a warhead.”

  “Do any of these missiles constitute a threat to us?” interrupted Graham.

  “No, not in themselves. None of these launch vehicles would be capable of sending a warhead to North America. Nevertheless, these events mean we have to watch both weapons development and delivery development.”

  “Is that what you did?”

  “In my situation, I could not look into the missile matter. I had to zero in on uranium enrichment and weapons development. The lab work on rad exposure put me into contact with those connected to enrichment at Malek-Ashtar University of Technology, also in Tehran. The Iranian plan is to enrich the uranium 235 isotope. Out of the ground, natural uranium includes about one percent of the isotope. When enriched in centrifuges to 3.5% or even to 5%, you get fuel for a power plant. You need 90% or above to make a bomb.”

  “Why don’t they just use plutonium 239? It’s much more explosive.”

  “Because plutonium processing takes a big facility. Easy to spot by air reconnaissance. Uranium 235 facilities are smaller, easier to disguise. Here’s what’s interesting, Graham. They plan to detonate the bomb with an implosion. In the core of the warhead on top of the missile they’ll put uranium 235. They’ll surround it with a uranium tamper and an evenly distributed explosive. When it first goes bang, it implodes, compressing the 235 to critical mass. Then, boom! A really big bang.”

  "But with the 2016 stoppage of Iran's nuclear weapons development program, the world is now safe, right?"

  Leona glared.

  “Did you connect with our mole?” asked Graham.

  “He’s not a mole. He’s not engaged in intelligence transfer to the U.S. or to any other international interest. Rather, he’s a Muslim committed to world peace. And he believes his own nation is a threat to that peace. So, from within he tries to retard Iran’s progress toward weapon development. You’ve probably heard of Stuxnet.”

  “Stuxnet? Who hasn't?”

  “Here's what's important. Stuxnet is a computer worm, a weapon in the cyberwar. It appears that Israeli intelligence at Dimona in the Negev successfully placed this worm into Iran’s computers at Nantanz, discombobulating the centrifuges used to enrich uranium for use as nuclear fuel in reactors. The speed of the Nantanz centrifuges must be modulated perfectly, because slight vibrations make the machines break down. Stuxnet was carefully designed solely for the Iranian system, to make these centrifuges run erratically. The vibrations caused them to break down. It wreaked havoc. This set back Tehran’s ability to make its first nuclear arms for at least two years. Let me say that the person about whom you’re speaking does this kind of work, but on his own.”

  “That doesn’t answer my question. Did you connect?”

  Leona ignored Graham’s question. “Here’s another interesting facet. The Nantanz computers are not connected to the Internet. So, how was the Stuxnet worm introduced? It must have been someone on site who used a USB thumb drive. Cool, eh.”

  “Would this person on site with the thumb drive be a spy for Israel? Is your mole friend connected with Israel’s Mossad?”

  Leona stood up. Then sat down again. She seemed to look over Graham’s shoulder and out the window. In a voice that was obviously controlling an underlying impatience, she mumbled calmly, “What do you think of Mossad’s euphemisms, Graham? I especially like the phrase ‘better world’ to refer to killing an enemy agent. Or, ‘measles’ for an assassination that appears to be a death by natural causes.”

  “Damn it, Lee! You’re frustrating. I asked you if your mole friend works with Mossad.”

  “I will ignore the ‘mole friend’ remark.” She returned to her sitting position, crossing her legs. She spoke with emphasis. “No. He’s not connected with Israel. I tell you he is an Iranian and not an international stooge. Here’s the problem. The CIA wanted me to offer our mysterious peacenik resources so he could more effectively carry out his sabotage. But I thought then, and still think now, that this could be the worst thing for us to do.”

  “Why?”

  “Because he’s been very effective in his anti-nuclear work to date. And, he’s gone undetected largely because he has no international connections. Should we in the CIA establish such a connection, we might inadvertently render him more vulnerable to detection.”

  “Damn it again, Lee!” Graham raised his voice. “You’re really good at not answering my questions!”

  “By agreeing to tell you about my experience in Tehran, I did not agree to tell you absolutely everything.”

  “But knowing who this person is could be important. It could be important to protect him. Scientists in Iran associated with the nuclear program are subject to assassination. Perhaps you recall how in 2010 Majid Shahriari, the nuclear physicist, was driving on Artesh Street in Tehran. A motorcycle pulled up next to him. The guy on the cycle attached a magnetized bomb to Shahriari’s Peugeot and then sped away. Boom. The bomb killed the scientist and wounded his wife and bodyguard. That could happen to your mole friend too.”

  “I remember the incident well. So, let’s ask: who killed Shahriari and why? Two possibilities. It could’ve been Mossad trying to slow down arms development. Or, it just as well could have been the Tehran government itself, taking out one of its own. Scientists such as Shahriari have international connections. That’s the nature of big science today. Perhaps Shahriari’s loyalty was suspect. Perhaps Tehran thought it could get rid of this threat and blame the Zionists. Things can get pretty crazy in Iran.”

  “Regardless of whether it was Mossad or Tehran, your mole friend might be subject to the same treatment. I think you should tell me his name. Perhaps I could arrange for some protection.”

  “Graham, I’ve said passively, No! Now I’ll say actively, NO! What is there about the word ‘no’ that needs further explanation? Shall we move on, or do you want to just end it right here?”

  “Okay. Let’s move on.”

  23 Wednesday, Chicago, 8:14pm

  “The day came when everything went wrong.” Leona sighed. She stopped talking and stood up. Her hands clasped each other behind her neck, pressing her own tense flesh. After a silent moment, she dropped back down into the La-Z-Boy. Her posture was erect.

  “I was working in the lab, enjoying myself with a colleague and new friend, Mehdi Rashed. The lab doors flung open with a bang and in marched a half dozen police, perhaps the Ayatollah’s guards. Everyone’s head jerked to see what was happening. The officials came straight for me. They cuffed my hands behind my back and put a hood over my head. A thick darkness over
whelmed me. My heart raced. I became nauseated and sweaty. I was terrified. No amount of advanced training can eliminate that feeling of terror.”

  “Oh, my God, Lee!” said Graham shaking his head. He paused. “What happened then?”

  “They escorted me out and shoved me into a van. I was thrown into the back. No seats. I was sprawled on the floor. They drove for an hour. Maybe longer. I lost sense of time and direction. I was delivered to a prison. To this day, I actually do not know which prison I was taken to.”

  “Could it have been Evan prison?” Graham bent his torso a bit forward, revealing a touch of urgency to his question.

  “Probably was. But I simply don’t know because of the blindfold.”

  “Did they harm you?”

  “No, there was no physical abuse, if that’s what you’re asking. Just some bruises from the manhandling.”

  “Then what?” Graham laid back, resuming his more relaxed posture.

  “When my hood was ripped off I found myself amidst a crowd of people in a room the size of a classroom. Undecorated institutional green walls. No windows. Cement floor. More than half of these bewildered people looked American. The others looked to be of different nationalities, some Iranian. Mostly men, but a few women. I’d never seen any of them before. A soldier climbed a low speaker’s platform and addressed us in Farsi, and I know enough Farsi to have understood what he was saying. He said that all thirty of us were spies for the United States.”

  “Spies!” Graham exclaimed. “That’s the excuse Iran uses when kidnapping foreigners and demanding ransom in the form of bail.”

  “No bail would help in my case. The guy went on to tell us that the foreigners among us were in the country illegally. He claimed that all of us were guilty of crimes against the Islamic Republic of Iran. He added that his government would be asking the American government to publicly acknowledge its responsibility for this reprehensible violation of international law. Once this public acknowledgement had taken place, then we would be freed and deported back to our home countries. I took this to mean that the Iranians among us would be sent to the United States, but I could not be certain how to interpret this.”