The Dreadful Renegade: A Thrilling Espionage Novel (Techno thriller, Mystery & Suspense)

by Charles Z David

  A couple of hours later an official announcement by the Pakistani government mourned the tragic death of the minister of defense who had left a suicide note pleading guilty to the accusations of corruption and took his own life by shooting himself. The government spokesman also stated that a forensic investigation would not be necessary because in his suicide note the minister clearly expressed the reasons for his final act. When the US ambassador heard the news from Blakey he called for an urgent meeting in which the severity of the situation was discussed, but there was not much they could do about it.

  ***

  General Masood was not pleased with the way the experts of the Pakistani nuclear establishment were handling the blueprints for the small nuke. He was frustrated that the committee had not reached a unanimous decision and no scientist was willing to guarantee that copying the design and building it with their lower-grade plutonium would work as advertized. What was even worse they had no constructive suggestions how to fix the problem and give him assurances that it would work at all. He realized that Professor Malick could not provide the scientific leadership he had hoped for and decided to disband the committee and summon Dr. Anwar Usman for a private meeting and ask him for his frank opinion. He was tired of receiving from the scientists answers like those given by lawyers – "on the one hand… and on the other hand…" – and looked for a decisive trustworthy opinion.

  When Anwar arrived at work he was surprised to see the PINSTECH chief security officer waiting for him. He was instructed to accompany the officer and was driven to the headquarters of the Pakistani intelligence service where he was escorted to General Masood's office. The general welcomed him warmly and invited him to sit down in a comfortable recliner at the coffee table in the corner of his office while he took the recliner on the other side of the table. With a small smile he told his secretary that he was not to be disturbed unless a nuclear war with India broke out. Anwar had never seen the general behaving like this and expected a truly unconventional meeting.

  The general started by flattering Anwar "I wish to commend you for being an outstanding scientist and a true patriot" and in a menacing voice added "Your personal life is none of the business of the intelligence service, but of course we know about your affair with gorgeous little Alma".

  Anwar paled a little but waited for the general to continue. Masood said "You have probably deduced that you and the other committee members were given only a sample of the information on the advanced designs of nuclear weapons that were copied from the Americans".

  Anwar nodded and the general continued "The American scientist who brought us these designs is undoubtedly considered as a renegade by his people, although he does have a good reason for handing these secrets to us. Actually two good reasons, one because he views Pakistan as the only Muslim country that can supply him with what he wants and the second reason that he can understand that we are not great fans of the US and its policy in Asia".

  Anwar started to get seriously worried about what the general was implying – a nuclear weapon in the hands of a fanatic, so he timidly asked "What did we promise him?"

  Masood said "Only two small nukes, and after he receives these he will hand over the schematics of much more powerful weapons, the top of the line in the American arsenal".

  Anwar was shocked "General Masood, you are aware that the origin of the small nukes could be traced back to us. Modern nuclear forensics is bound to be able to prove that the plutonium comes from Pakistan, not to mention other pieces of evidence that will point to us. And Allah knows how they will respond – look what they did after 9/11 when only 3000 people were killed on US soil – they invaded Iraq, intensified their war in Afghanistan, chased and persecuted Muslims everywhere and increased their support of corrupt Arab regimes and Israel".

  The general smiled bitterly and said "Yes, yes of course they did these things against countries that had weak armies and some conventional weapons but no nuclear weapons. Look at the American intervention, or actually fear of intervening, in what used to be Syria. They threatened war because the Assad's forces used chemical weapons but only after the Russians threw their weight around did Syria disband its chemical weapons, or at least convince the West that they were all destroyed. We know that some of these weapons had been smuggled out of Syria to Lebanon, Iraq, Iran and even Turkey for future use. No, my dear Anwar, the mighty Americans wouldn't dare to mess with a nuclear power".

  Anwar said "General, I have a suggestion that will allow us to obtain the rest of the blueprints without risking the wrath of the US. Why don't we simply arrest the American renegade and take the blueprints without giving him the nukes?"

  Masood looked up, surprised and said "I have given him my word of honor and so far he has kept his part of the deal".

  Anwar had his response ready "Of course we'll give him nukes, but we'll make sure they do not work properly. Alternatively, we could force him to reveal all the information, by force and torture if necessary. After all, it is our national security that is involved here and perhaps even our country's very existence".

  The general said "Naturally we also considered using force to extract the information but decided against it because we believed that an act against American assets is also in our interest, and having it done by an American citizen would exonerate Pakistan. We were not aware of the possibility that it would be traced to us and the ramifications if we are put to blame. Thank you for your insights. I see no point in continuing the committee's work but would like you to serve as my special advisor for nuclear and scientific matters". The general summoned Rahman who escorted Anwar back to PINSTECH to collect his personal belongings and relocate to the headquarters of the intelligence services.

  Rahman helped Anwar settle down in his new office that was down the hall from General Masood's office and was then called to the general's office. The general told him to assemble the committee one last time and thank them for their time and effort and then dismiss them. He also told Rahman about the conversation he had had with Dr. Anwar Usman and about Anwar's insights which were the reason he decided to move him to the headquarters. Rahman asked if the couple, Nagib and Alia, should be informed about these developments but the general said that they should only be told that work was in progress and hopefully they would receive the two devices soon, without specifying a date. Rahman suggested that he should fly to Karachi to tell them in person, and the general who was no fool and knew about his affair grinned and said that he must make sure to give Junaid his warm regards. Rahman saw that the general actually winked when he said this, and blushed.

  ***

  Before leaving his office in PINSTECH Anwar called Alma and told her that he had been posted temporarily elsewhere and that he would tell her about it in the evening if she was free. Alma saw that he looked slightly relieved and the worried expression was gone and said that she would love to see him and would prepare something special for him. In the evening, after dinner he told her that he had been transferred to the headquarters of the intelligence services and would serve as a special assistant to General Masood. She told him she was glad that whatever had been bothering him before seemed to have gone away. Anwar smiled and said that he had found a way out of the dilemma that had troubled him before, a solution that would prevent the danger that he feared would sweep his country into a catastrophe without having to betray anything or anyone that mattered.

  Chapter 13

  July 5th, Karachi

  Nagib and Alia were getting used to the lifestyle of the rich and famous, enjoying the amenities of the hotel and their suite. Junaid did not complain either and actually started to get attached to the couple. From time to time Nagib asked her what was happening in Islamabad and she told him what Rahman had informed her that work was in progress. As they were planning another night on the town there was a knock on the suite's door and Rahman entered with a big smile. First he reassured Nagib that everything was going according to plan and the two "gifts" will be ready soon. Aft
erwards he asked Junaid what they had planned for the evening and she said that they intended to go out to the top ranking restaurant in Karachi for dinner. Rahman said that it was a very bad idea and a breach of security that could put them at risk because this particular restaurant was a favorite among foreign business people and many Americans ate there regularly, including members of the CIA. He proposed that they order take-away food from the same restaurant but have it delivered to their suite and this was accepted by one and all.

  Rahman spent a couple of nights in Karachi and made sure that the couple didn't take any more excursions into town. The four young people grew quite close together during their stay in the hotel suite and found they had a lot in common with regard to their views on the way the West, headed by the USA treated the "natives" in Asia and Africa. They all thought that the "natives" had every right to get even, or realizing that it was impossible to correct all historical injustices with one deed, at least make a contribution to this end. However, Rahman said that the plan might backfire if Pakistan was held accountable for the detonation of a nuclear device in the heart of Western democratic states including Israel, and the retribution may lead to a total destruction of his country. Nagib tried to reassure him that it would be impossible to trace the devices back to Pakistan but Rahman said that he had heard a lecture about the wonders of nuclear forensics and feared that the origin of the plutonium may be determined by advanced analytical methods that were practiced by a handful of laboratories in the West. Nagib couldn't argue with that as he knew that one of those laboratories was at Los Alamos. Nagib suggested that the Pakistanis could claim that some of their plutonium had disappeared and was probably stolen by sympathizers of some radical Islamic faction, perhaps by supporters of the Islamic State. In that case Pakistan could only be blamed for failing to implement appropriate security measures to guard the strategic nuclear materials. Rahman said that he would present this suggestion to the experts when he returned to Islamabad in a couple of days.

  ***

  The Iranians got word that some kind of special activity concerning Pakistan's nuclear program was taking place and that General Masood from the intelligence service was involved. Their informer in PINSTECH was a mid-level technician that worked in the same department as Dr. Anwar Usman and was surprised to see him collect his personal items and carry them out while being escorted by another young man. The technician's curiosity drove him to ask his co-worker where Anwar was going and who his escort was. His colleague said that it was a secret, but that she had recognized his escort as an operative of the intelligence services because she had seen him before. The technician who was ordered by his Iranian contact to watch out for any irregularities arranged a meeting with his contact and told him that Anwar was transferred temporarily to an undisclosed position, but he found out that it involved the intelligence services. The Iranian commended him on a job well done and rewarded him with a bonus, he said that he would receive another fat bonus if he could find out the name of the person who escorted Dr. Usman.

  The technician managed to discover that the escort's name was Rahman Chenna and indeed received the fat bonus he was promised. Rahman's name was well known to the Iranians as an operative of Pakistani intelligence and they also knew about his cover as a science attaché in Brussels and his involvement in bringing Nagib and Alia to Pakistan. Their hackers managed to penetrate the airline ticketing system and saw that he had been booked on a flight from Islamabad to Karachi. The Iranians didn't have an official consulate in Karachi, which was surprising considering the importance of that harbor town and its proximity to Iran, but did have several commercial offices that served as a front to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRG) and minded their substantial business assets in Pakistan. A phone call from Islamabad and a description of Rahman were enough to have two agents of the IRG at the arrivals gate in Karachi airport. They had no trouble picking up Rahman who felt totally safe in Pakistan and following him to the hotel in which the American couple was enjoying their suite. However, they did not know in which room Rahman was staying and were afraid to raise suspicion by asking too many questions, so they sat in the hotel lobby and sipped tea waiting for Rahman to emerge again. They noticed that there quite a few Americans at the hotel but as they had not been briefed on Nagib and Alia didn't know what to look for.

  July 6th, Islamabad

  Linda and Alma spent the evening in Linda's apartment. Their relationship had now reached a phase where they spent most of their free time together. The sex continued to be formidable and even better as Alma took on a more active role but their relationship had deepened and extended beyond pure atavistic satisfaction. In a liberal society they would have probably moved in together to share an apartment and become a couple but in the conservative Pakistani society that was out of the question. Alma's affair with Anwar didn't interfere with the way the two women regarded each other just as the fact that both worked in organizations that frowned upon significant relationships with people of foreign nations. One of the advantages for Linda was that from Alma she learned to cook Pakistani dishes and was also driven to extend her repertoire of fast food beyond salads, pasta and hamburgers. One could say that in her own way she was becoming domesticated. Her boss, Blakey, knew about her affair with Alma and actually encouraged it because of the access to PINSTECH in general and to Dr. Anwar Usman in particular.

  The tall athletic blonde American girl who was nothing less than an operative of the CIA and the attractive dark skinned young woman who was an engineer in one of Pakistan's classified institutions may have looked like an odd couple to an observer. But in fact they had a lot in common – both were highly intelligent, independent and strong willed women who did not receive the credit they deserved from the mainly male society in which they operated. The discussions they had were philosophical and concerned the world situation in general but they also talked a lot about the radical Islamic movements and the threat they posed to the current world order.

  With great difficulty Alma managed to convey to Linda the feeling of a large part of Pakistani society about the roughshod meddling of America and the West in the affairs of the rest of the world. This was particularly troublesome in the Asian sub-continent that included India, Pakistan and also Bangladesh, Afghanistan and some of the smaller countries like Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Tibet. She said that democracy may be the best type of government for the US, Australia and parts of Europe but was unsuitable for most societies in Asia and Africa. This was especially true in countries that were artificially created by drawing straight lines on a map by representatives of colonial powers with total disregard of ethnic, religious, cultural and traditional features of the population. Notable examples were Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, or more accurately what used to be Iraq and Syria, where Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds, Christians of various sorts and many other minorities were forced to share a geographical region and a formal government. As long as a strong dictator held power and kept this mélange together, the country seemed to be unified and stable. This could be done in a society that knew no better and was kept in an ignorant state. However, the advent of television and the increase in the level of literacy and especially after the dissemination of the internet, Facebook, Twitter, cellular phones and other information and communication channels things changed. People could see that in other countries the standard of living was much higher and wanted a better life for themselves and a better future for their children. Everyone could see demonstrations against the rulers, masses in the streets throwing stones and tossing burning flares at police forces, saw mass murders carried out by members of one tribe, or religion, against people who were their good neighbors for centuries and wondered if they were next in line. Linda said that these things had occurred throughout human history and mentioned well known historical precedents like tribal wars in the ancient world, the empires founded by the Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks and Romans, the conquests of the Americas by the Spanish, Portuguese, French and Britis
h, not to mention incidents such as the massacre of the French Huguenots by the French Catholics or the mutual genocide of Hutu and Tutsi in Burundi. Alma argued that all these examples were irrelevant because of two things: first, the scale of the potential conflict was unprecedented and included one and half a billion Muslims and secondly the availability of weapons of mass destruction that could lead to mutual annihilation of civilization. She said that if radical, fanatic factions like the Islamic State could not be stopped dead-in-their-tracks a world conflict was inevitable because that movement was not ready for a compromise or even negotiations. IS had a totalitarian approach –you are either one of us and accept the teachings of Muhammad and the law of Shariya or you are no more. Linda saw the opening that was offered and asked Alma if she believed in the goals of IS and was not surprised to hear that Alma opposed their approach although there were anti-American elements in Pakistan that thought they could use IS to settle the score with the West. Linda said that she was relieved to hear that Alma herself was against IS and wondered how strong was the support for it inside the Pakistani administration. Alma said that there was a faction that had inroads with the intelligence services and the nuclear community and they could be persuaded to participate in dangerous and adventurous actions against the USA. Linda innocently asked if Anwar was one of these and Alma said that he was opposed to these factions but had to keep quiet about it because if he were suspected as not being patriotic enough he would surely lose his privileged top secret status and his job.

  Linda now realized that Alma and Anwar wouldn't knowingly give her classified information and she would have to either resort to blackmail and use the video she recorded during her first intimate encounter with Alma or use subterfuge and try to get her to inadvertently reveal the items that interested her most – where Nagib and Alia were being kept and what classified information they had passed on to the Pakistanis.