by Uzi Eilam
“I agree, sir,” Kayghobadi said. “Based on the little we’ve spoken so far, in French of course, I got the impression that she wouldn’t object to a monetary bonus.”
“Good. Then that’s the direction I prefer you follow,” Jamshidi concluded. “Proceed, and Allah will assist you.”
Chapter 27
The large office in the Defense Ministry Delegation building was almost completely at Dan’s disposal. The people in the building had already grown accustomed to seeing the quiet bespectacled young man arrive at varying times, sometimes in the middle of the night, to spend hours working quietly. This time, when he connected to the system and began reading the decrypted communications of the Iranian embassy, he learned something new. According to an initial perusal of the page churned out by the monitoring system, General Jamshidi had arrived in Paris. A closer examination revealed the full conversations between the general and his men and enabled him to distinguish between two men who had updated the general. He referred to them as Farid and Arash. Dan tore off the sheet and quickly dialed Gideon.
“Hi, Dan,” Gideon said evenly on the other end of the line. “What’s up? Anything new?”
“There sure is!” Dan sputtered excitedly. “Are you at the hotel? I’m leaving the delegation building now. I’ll be right over.”
The lobby of Hotel Saint Jacques was completely empty when Dan walked quickly through the front door. Gideon was seated in the corner, sipping water from a glass he had poured from the bottle of Perrier on the table before him.
“Have a seat, Dan. Will you join me for a Perrier? You look like you could use it.”
“Sure,” said Dan, impatiently sitting down. He accepted a glass of carbonated mineral water from Gideon with a nod of gratitude and took a long sip. “It’s been hard to find the time to eat or drink these past few days. In any event, the contents of this printout seemed important enough to rush over.” He held up a few pages he had removed from his bag.
“Let’s hear it,” Gideon said coolly. “What’s got you so excited?”
“General Jamshidi’s in Paris! And this is a transcription of his meetings with his men.”
“Wow! That truly is interesting.” Gideon sat up straight and leaned toward Dan. “Where did the meeting take place?”
“That was also surprising. The meeting did not take place in the safe house we knew about, the one on Rue Fresnel that’s connected to the Iranian embassy. It took place in the 4th Arrondissement, on Rue Sainte-Croix-de-la-Bretonnerie.”
“And who are the men?”
“I could only get the first names by which Jamshidi addressed them. The one based in France is named Farid, and the other—who, according to the transcription, holds a position in Germany—is named Arash.”
“So they’re here too,” Gideon said, half to Dan and half to himself. “Farid Madani and Arash Jawad are two of our old acquaintances. Madani and Jawad are two of General Jamshidi’s most senior and talented agents. How did you discover that the general was here? Using his glasses?”
“Yes, and it works great!”
“Don’t forget that this is one of our most sensitive secrets,” Gideon reminded Dan. “Á propos, you should probably invite Haim to join us. We don’t want to give him the feeling that we’re excluding him. He’s in his room now. Why don’t you call him and tell him that you just got here and that, if he’s free, he should join us.”
“Uh, okay, I’ll go do that,” Dan said hesitantly. “But there’s something else I came across that I wanted to discuss with you privately…”
“Let’s deal with the visit of the Iranian general first. It’s important we update our partners on these developments. We’ll have a chance to talk after the meeting with Bernard.”
“All right,” Dan said finally, although Gideon could feel that his young protégé was uncomfortable about the delay.
“Hi guys.” Haim was yawning, wiping sleep from his eyes from an afternoon nap. “Well, aren’t you two being especially productive this afternoon?” Haim chuckled, making note of Dan’s flushed face. “Have there been any new developments?”
“Pull up a chair, Haim,” Gideon said. “Dan has some important new information.”
“I hope it’s important enough to give up my afternoon nap.”
“Start talking, Dan. You can be the judge of how important it is.”
“General Jamshidi, commander of the Guardians’ development and technology division, is here in Paris. So far, he has met with his agents who are running things for him in Germany and France. The meeting took place in a safe house in the 4th Arrondissement—”
“They have another safe house?” Haim interrupted. “How did you discover it? With your listening system again?”
“I gather fragments of information, Haim,” answered Dan, who had long since discerned his compatriot’s jealousy of his abilities, “and put them together like a puzzle. That’s why I’m here.”
“Go on, Dan,” Gideon said. “Give it to us in brief.”
“The general’s conversation with his agents indicates that he’s here in Paris to get a firsthand update on the state of procurement. They’re clearly increasing their efforts and trying to evade the tightening European controls over supervised products and materials. They referred to the German company as an important supplier, and they also made references to intentions to purchase parts, primarily small-scale jet engines, from French defense industries.”
“What do you think, Haim?” Gideon asked. “There seems to be enough here to justify immediately updating Professor Bernard.”
“Without a doubt, Gideon,” said Haim, who now appeared to be wide awake. “Excellent work, Dan.”
***
“Hello again, you busy Israelis!” said Bernard cheerfully as the three men shuffled into his office. “Based on the sound of your voice over the phone, Gideon, it must be important. Monsieur Avni,” he continued, turning to Dan, “would you be so kind as to bring us up to speed?”
“Certainly, Professor Bernard. I have new information regarding a number of issues. General Jamshidi, head of the Guardians’ development and technology division, is currently in Paris. His trip was an urgent one. From what I’ve been able to decipher, its purpose is to accelerate procurement in Europe for the projects that are his responsibility: long-range missiles, a project to develop a drone by replicating the American aircraft that crashed in Iran, and the procurement of materials for uranium enrichment by centrifuges.”
“That is extremely important!” Professor Bernard said, somewhat taken aback. “You learned all that from the general’s meetings? Whom did he meet with? Where did it all take place?”
“Well…” Dan hesitated momentarily, throwing a glance in Haim’s direction and looking at Gideon. “The meeting took place in an apartment on Rue Sainte-Croix-de-la-Bretonnerie in the 4th Arrondissement.”
“That’s a new location for me,” Professor Bernard interjected. “That’s not the apartment on Rue Fresnel, with the tunnel to the embassy. Did you know about this, Gideon?”
“No. It’s also new to me.”
“The general flew into Amsterdam and traveled to Paris accompanied by an assistant. Since he’s been here, he’s met up with two of his senior operatives in Europe, one based in France and another in Germany.”
“We know both of them,” Gideon noted. “Farid Madani is Jamshidi’s senior representative in France, and Arash Jawad is running operations for him in Germany. They are talented and experienced men who both hold degrees from local universities. They are also fluent in the local language and have connections with individuals who enable them to engage in a broad spectrum of activities.”
“What else have you learned?” asked Bernard.
“Well, as we know, they attempted to transport a shipment of electronic switches, manufactured by Deutsche Optics, to Portugal—through the mountains via Spa
in—but they called off the operation, at the last moment, when they learned of the ambushes that had been planned for them.”
“Have you discovered where they got their information yet? Who leaked it? Was it one of the Basque collaborators who were supposed to lead the convoy of smugglers?” Bernard asked. Dan exchanged glances with Gideon, who nodded for him to continue.
“They have a source for Kevlar fibers, which are required for manufacturing the large missile engines that use solid propellant fuel. They also have carbon fibers, for the development of advanced centrifuges for uranium enrichment. The planned route is from the production plant in the German city of Cologne to the Port of Rotterdam in Holland.”
“That’s also news to me,” Bernard said. “Good work. We’ll need to take measures to intercept the shipment.”
“The material also contains information regarding the procurement of parts for the large drone they’re developing. It’s a reverse-engineered replica of the American aircraft that crashed on Iranian soil not long ago,” Dan continued. “They’ve identified Safran and its avionics and electronics subsidiaries as possible sources of avionic and electronic parts, particularly small-scale jet engines.”
“We thought about that,” Bernard replied. “Gideon, are you handling the issue with your contacts in the electronics company?”
“Yes. I’ll have some information for you later.”
“The last part of the communications,” Dan continued, “has to do with the possibility of terrorist activity by Quds Force operatives who are undercover here in France.”
“What do you mean?” Professor Bernard asked loudly, visibly alarmed. “Do you have any details?”
“The general’s two representatives informed him of difficulties in the procurement effort and proposed they make use of the services of Ali Reza Sulat, the cultural attaché who was recently assigned to their embassy in Paris.”
“And as you pointed out, Professor Bernard,” said Haim, speaking for the first time during the meeting, “this guy’s a former commander of the recruitment and training base of the Guardians’ commando and terrorist force.”
“Yes, General Bar-Oz,” said Bernard, “this cultural attaché is an expert in a culture of a particularly uncivilized nature. We’ll need to put the gendarmerie’s antiterrorist unit on alert. I’ll speak with the minister today. And you, Monsieur Avni, can help by getting us precise information about their intentions.”
“We should also remember that we have an American SEAL unit at our disposal,” Gideon reminded Professor Bernard. “They’ve been inactive since the ambushes in the Pyrenees and—”
“I have greater trust in our men,” Bernard snapped. “After all, they’re local, and they have experience fighting terrorism on French soil.”
“That may be true,” replied Gideon, “but it’s also important to keep the Americans in the picture. We all have an interest in facilitating their involvement. I therefore suggest we call in Dr. Deutsch to take part in Dan’s briefing.”
“All right, Gideon, that sounds logical,” said Bernard. He instructed his assistant to contact Dr. Deutsch and ask him to join the meeting.
“That’s amazing information!” Deutsch marveled after listening to Dan’s succinct review of the new intelligence acquired from General Jamshidi’s meeting with his agents. “With regard to the anticipated activity of the Quds Force,” Deutsch said, addressing Bernard now, “it would be worth our while to update our SEAL unit here in Paris if and when we acquire information regarding an attack and to make use of them in the event counteractions become necessary.”
“I have two more brief issues to report,” Dan said.
“Certainly,” said Bernard. “Please, go ahead.”
“The general went out for lunch with his agents to a nearby restaurant named Benedict, which is located on the same street as the apartment. We have evidence that they encountered a police patrol that appears to have suspected something. However, after Madani, Jamshidi’s senior man in France, said a few words in fluent French, they continued on their way.”
“Interesting. I have a report here from a gendarmerie soldier who was part of the patrol that encountered the general on the way to the restaurant. He was suspicious based on their ‘not very European’ appearance, to quote the report. However, due to their upscale dress and Madani’s fluent French, they assumed they were Algerians and allowed them to pass without stopping them.”
“Madani appears to have been relieved when the encounter with the police concluded without incident,” Dan continued. “And with regard to their lunch break, I can also say that additional meetings had been planned for the general following the meal, this time with an unknown party. Unfortunately, I have no information on this meeting. All I can say is that it was supposed to be a one-on-one meeting, just the general and the other party.”
“Thank you, Monsieur Avni. You’ve been extremely helpful,” Bernard said. “And thank you all for your patience and your contribution to this meeting. We have a great deal of information and a considerable amount of work to do on each of the issues we discussed. I’d like each of you to devise courses of action in your respective areas of responsibility. You’ll present them tomorrow at the meeting of the full task force.”
Gideon, Haim, and Dan returned to the hotel, and Haim was quick to take his leave. “Where are you running off to?” Gideon asked with a smile. “What’s the rush?”
“I promised Zehavit I’d buy her some perfume at Galeries Lafayette. There’s a sale today and I don’t want to miss it.”
“Of course, Haim. Zehavit truly is a higher power,” Gideon teased. “Try to have some fun while you’re at it.”
***
“Was there something else you wanted to discuss with me?” Dan asked Gideon, as the two men sat down in the lobby.
“Yes, actually there is. I noticed that you didn’t report all the details during the meeting. Was that to avoid giving away too much information to Bernard and Haim?”
“That’s exactly what I wanted to talk to you about before the meeting with the professor.”
“I’m all ears, Dan. What’s up?”
“In addition to the material on Jamshidi’s visit,” Dan began, “but completely unrelated, I recorded a troubling conversation between Haim and someone whose voice I couldn’t identify. They spoke in English, and the other man had a foreign accent that was neither French nor American—”
“What?!” exclaimed Gideon. He sat up straight and turned his head sharply toward Dan. “Are you sure it was Haim?”
“One hundred percent, Gideon. It was Haim responding to a question about the work of the task force.”
“Who was he talking to?”
“I wasn’t able to identify the voice. For a moment, I thought the accent sounded Iranian, but I can’t be certain. In any event, it was a brief conversation,” Dan said apologetically.
“We need more information. See what you can do to improve your listening.”
“What do we do about Haim?” Dan asked.
“We let him continue reporting to the Iranians via his contact, if it turns out that’s what he’s been up to. And for now, we need to make sure not to expose him.”
“And just let him pass on our secrets to the Iranians?”
“Not necessarily. What we need to do is to plant false information among the genuine information so that the Iranians regard it all as true. We’ll take it as far as we can in this direction but, at some point, we’ll need to cut off his communication with them.”
“That sounds like a good plan, but we’ll need to carefully consider everything we tell him.”
“We will, Dan. But first we need to inform Professor Bernard and Dr. Deutsch as soon as possible. We’ll use our combined intellect to avoid slipping up.”
“I have to hand it to you, Gideon,” Dan said, looking both grateful and relie
ved, “you sure know what you’re doing. I feel like a heavy weight has been lifted off my shoulders. And now I have even more reason to monitor Haim’s actions.”
“That’s good, Dan, because that’s exactly what we need you to do.”
Chapter 28
Jamshidi awoke after a night of broken sleep. He had returned home on a flight from Holland late the night before, and he could not stop thinking about the jumble of issues he had dealt with in Paris. He was troubled by uncertainty regarding the success of the procurement plans and whether the newly recruited agents would live up to his expectations. He trusted his senior men in Europe, but he also knew that their adversaries were becoming more threatening with each passing hour. Still in his pajamas, he went downstairs and entered the kitchen, from which the distinct sounds of morning could be heard. His son Kemal was already seated at the table drinking his second cup of coffee.
“Good morning, Kemal,” said a bleary-eyed Jamshidi in a voice that was thick with sleep. “You’re up early today.”
“Good morning, Father. Welcome home!” Kemal’s face lit up. “I didn’t see you last night. Did you get back very late?”
“Yes. The flights from Europe always leave late. I took off half a day to rest up and get organized before returning to the everyday madness of directing the division.”
“Good for you. You deserve it.”
“And what about you? Are you leaving for the university already? How are you doing there? It’s been a while since we’ve talked about that. Are you studying for your midterms?” Jamshidi had to know everything.
“I’m fine, Father,” said Kemal, smiling. “You have nothing to worry about. Exams start next week, and I plan on winning the dean’s prize for the faculty this year too.”
“I’m happy to hear that, son. I hope you do. Did you know that academic excellence increases your chances of being awarded an advanced studies scholarship from the Guardians of the Revolution?”
