Shimony looked around and saw that all the participants seemed to agree with David's comment, so he asked "What do we do now?" When no one volunteered to speak he added "I think that we have to approach the Iranians through backchannels and convince them that we were not involved in the incidents with their nuclear scientists. We can do this through our European friends that were so eager to do business with Iran after the nuclear deal was signed and implemented and the sanctions were removed". He then looked at David and said "I appoint David Avivi as my personal envoy to head our efforts in resolving this matter. It is his prerogative to also enlist the help of the Americans and Russians or even the Chinese if he sees this helpful. You are all required to fully cooperate with him."
After leaving the meeting, David used a secure line to call his friend from the American National Nuclear Security Agency (NNSA), Dr. Eugene Powers. He gave him a short update on the missing Israelis and asked him to enquire if the American intelligence community had picked up anything relevant and Eugene promised to get back to him. David then called one of his colleagues, Dr. Fritz Mayer, in the German Federal Intelligence Service, known by its German acronym as the BND. Dr. Mayer was glad to cooperate and said that the BND had heard about the Iranian scientists and missing Israelis and suspected that there was a direct connection. He added that several German firms were doing a thriving business with Iran, and mainly with firms controlled by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. He promised that he would enlist the help of their contacts in Iran to try to discover the whereabouts of the missing Israelis. Finally, David called General Dmitri (Dima) Koliagin who was in charge of the Iranian desk of the FSB, the Russian state security organization, and asked for his help. Dima asked what he had to offer in return and David, who had expected this question, said that he would reveal something that would truly surprise the general. The general agreed to see what he could find out and arranged to speak to David the next day. David considered calling the Chinese but then decided that they were too enigmatic and in any case the Russians were deeply involved with the Iranian nuclear program, especially after the agreement to remove sanctions was signed. The Russians had received the Iranian stocks of low-enriched uranium and in return supplied Iran with natural "yellow cake" uranium. They were also negotiating a deal to build a couple of new nuclear power plants in Iran in addition to the one operating in Bushehr.
September 25th, Tehran, Iran
The Senior Assistant of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran summoned General Aslawi who was in charge of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards for a private meeting to discuss the progress of the plan to retaliate against Israel.
The general asked "Is the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) late?"
But the Senior Assistant just said "His presence is not required, because what we are going to discuss may upset him."
The general shrugged and brought the Senior Assistant up to date. He said "So far eight Israelis are held in Evin Prison. All of them had been captured without any evidence of our involvement". He added "The Israelis are probably suspicious that Iran is behind the kidnappings but our agents made sure that there would be no proof of that". He asked the Supreme Leader's representative "When should we present our demands to Israel. Do we need more hostages?"
The Senior Assistant looked at him and answered "We'll wait until there is a public outcry against the Jewish government, until Israelis fear to travel abroad, until everyone who dares to leave the safety of Israel will look over his shoulder every moment. Yes, we should continue to capture a few more hostages to strengthen our position."
The general who knew that Israelis were not easily intimidated sighed and said "This could lead to an extended confrontation without any winners. The people of Iran want revenge and want it to be seen and want it now."
The Senior Assistant's face turned red "This is the decree of the Supreme Leader. Perhaps you want to join the hostages at Evin Prison? I am sure the Israelis will gladly pay a nice price for getting you alive." The general could barely restrain himself from getting up and walking out of the room or perhaps even slap the guy who tried to threaten him. The Senior Assistant realized that he had gone too far and in a conciliatory tone said "General Aslawi, I know you are doing your best. Perhaps we should look for hostages with a high profile in Israel – journalists, celebrities, people closely related to the ruling elite, important scientists or high ranking officers or intelligence operatives." The general nodded his approval, and the Senior Assistant added "Make a list of prime targets that may be accessible by our agents or collaborators and give me operational scenarios that could be implemented."
The next day the general returned to the Senior Assistant and brought a list of two dozen names of senior Israelis that were currently in Europe. Some were regarded by Israeli security authorities, and of course by themselves, as worthy of having bodyguards when they travelled abroad. These were initially ruled out because an armed confrontation on foreign soil would not serve Iran's objective of appearing not to be involved. Some others were currently in countries where the local police was very effective like Switzerland, and others were on a family vacation with small kids that could complicate their quiet extraction across international borders. The general recommended that they focus on an elderly Member of Knesset (the Israeli parliament) from the coalition who was on a very private, and semi-secret, vacation in Cyprus with his young boyfriend. The Senior Assistant approved and said that the potential for a scandal that would be noticed by the international media was very promising. He cautioned the general, quite unnecessarily, to avoid leaving any evidence of an Iranian operation.
September 26th, Tel-Aviv, Israel
David didn't receive any useful information from his American and German colleagues. Eugene said that the US had not managed to develop a network of informers inside the IRG and that official ties between the two countries were only progressing slowly. He added that the US was still regarded widely by the Iranian government and masses as the Great Satan, while the students and intellectuals wanted to copy everything from the West but had to do so surreptitiously. Dr. Fritz Mayer of the BND said that he needed more time because the commercial firms were unwilling to cooperate with the BND as they didn't want to risk their lucrative business arrangements in Iran.
General Koliagin was more forthcoming and willing to discuss the situation. He said "David, I have information. First, let me tell you that the Iranians are simmering with anger with regard to the assassinations, they said nefarious murders, of so many of their nuclear scientists. They regard this as a plot to make them lose face in the world and also to throw a wrench in their peaceful nuclear program. They hold Mossad responsible for this, as they are sure that the CIA and MI6 are incapable of executing such an operation without getting caught. Second, they are set on exacting revenge. They know how sensitive public opinion in your country is when it comes to freeing captive Israelis. Third, this time they do not want you to release what you call terrorists in an exchange but want to force Israel to change its non-transparent nuclear policy. Finally, the FSB knows that one of the hostages is related to your Prime Minister but will not inform the Iranians."
David was speechless for a couple of minutes, only when Dima said "Hello, are you still there?" David managed to speak. "General Koliagin, if this fact gets out Israel may have to strike out with great force".
The general suppressed a sigh "Yes, you primitive tribes of the Middle East always react emotionally and not rationally. Do I need to remind you that Stalin did nothing to release his own son from Nazi captivity?" David knew that Stalin's eldest son, Yakov, was held as a prisoner of war by the Nazis and that Stalin refused the offer to exchange him leaving him to his death. The general continued "So, David, what can you tell me that the FSB doesn't know?"
David answered "You have my assurance that Mossad is not involved with any of the deaths of the Iranian scientists. Israel had never commented on this, denied or confirmed its involveme
nt, but you have our solemn word that we were not responsible for any of those deaths."
The general was quiet for a moment "So I can tell you that all your missing citizens are held in basement of the terrible Evin Prison in Tehran". He stopped talking when he heard David gasp, but then continued "They are treated well as the Iranians are looking forward to exchanging them in return for your government's policy change, as I said."
David said "Thank you General Koliagin. Israel would be grateful if you could convey the information I gave you to the Iranians. It would be best if it were not officially passed to them but made to look as if leaked out."
The general laughed "I never thought Mossad was naïve but do you really think that the Iranians would believe that this operation of eliminating nuclear scientists could be professionally executed by anyone else? Even in the good old days, when the KGB carried out this sort of "wet" operations, I doubt if they could get away with "terminating" seven senior scientists without leaving any traces. No, my friend, it would take more than your assurance and solemn oath to convince the Iranians. There is only one thing you can do – find the offenders and turn them over to the Iranians."
David stuttered "Dima, I understand your point. Mossad will do everything in its power to apprehend the culprits. Thanks again."
David called Shimony and gave him a summary of his fruitless efforts. The only positive piece of information was that all the prisoners were held in Evin Prison and were unharmed.
September 29th, Dahab, Sinai Peninsula
Eyal was napping under a palm tree on the sandy beach of Dahab. The sound of a soft voice singing a popular song woke him up and he lazily opened his eyes looking for the source of the harmonious melody. He made a double-take when he saw that his girlfriend, Yanna, emerged from the water wearing nothing but sandals and holding a mask and snorkel. For a moment he felt just like James Bond (Sean Connery if you really care for details) in the movie "Dr. No" when Honey Ryder (he liked the choice of the name for Ursula Andress) came out of the ocean carrying a large shell and wearing an unforgettable white bikini. Eyal liked what he saw and his attention was so fully focused on the rhythmic movement of Yanna's breasts that he didn't notice the two Bedouins that approached him from behind. One of them was holding a curved sword while the other had an automatic rifle that he identified as an outdated M-1 carbine. In broken Hebrew the man with the rifle told Eyal to put his hands behind his back and the other guy stuck his sword in the sand and quickly bound Eyals hands with a plastic cable tie. Yanna tried to run back into the water but the Bedouin with the sword was much faster and tackled her before she could reach the water line. He was in no hurry to get up from her but his buddy shouted something in Arabic and tossed Yanna's Abaya and told her in broken Hebrew to cover herself and then cuffed her. A battered pick-up truck stopped just a few meters from the group and the two Israelis were hastily thrown into the back of the truck and were covered with a dirty tarpaulin. The truck sped towards the small port where a fisherman's boat was waiting. The Israelis were transferred to the boat that reeked of stale fish – even worse than the tarpaulin's smell – and were dumped in the small hold below deck.
The fishing boat headed north-east towards the Jordanian Red Sea port of Aqaba. Yanna and Eyal were taken off the boat and placed in a closed van that left the port area and headed north to Amman. A private jet with Iranian markings, the very same plane that had flown Avi and Ari from Thailand a few days earlier, waited at the airport and they were flown directly to Tehran and transported to Evin Prison. There they were taken to cell in which the other Israelis were held. They received the same welcome that other newcomers got and after overcoming the shock of being transported from the lovely, sandy and warm beaches of Sinai to the dreary prison in Tehran told their story. The veteran prisoners told them that they had been treated nicely and had nothing to fear, except perhaps some abuse by Fatso.
September 30th, Ayia Napa, Cyprus
Yonathan Shmaryahu, honorable MK (Member of Knesset) known by one and all as Johnny, was lying on a straw mat under the shade of a colorful parasol and sipping a cold beer. Despite his fashionable sunglasses, the late-September Mediterranean sun was reflected from the white sand of the beautiful beach, and he had to narrow his eyes and squint in order to see his much younger boyfriend, Oded, cooling himself in the water. He was not glad to see that a tanned muscular blond guy was taking an active interest in Oded and the two younger men seemed to be talking and laughing. Johnny had hoped that Oded would be so grateful for the opportunity to spend a week in the resort town of Aiya Napa and would not indulge in flirting, as he tended to do whenever attractive young men were around. Johnny and Oded had travelled from their five-star hotel in Aiya Napa to the small beach of Kermia that was practically exclusively for gay people. Heterosexuals were not chased away from the beach but were made to feel uncomfortable and usually left after realizing that most of the bathers, surfers and sun lovers had a different preference.
Oded and his new friend came out of the water and approached Johnny who sat up. Oded introduced his friend as Gustav and said that he was from Denmark and appeared to be lonely and looking for company. Johnny looked closely at Gustav and liked what he saw so he invited them to sit down and passed a couple of cold beers from the icebox they had brought to the beach. He invited Gustav to join them for dinner at one of the fanciest restaurants in Aiya Napa that was located in an old building that used to serve as a fortress.
Johnny had made a fortune as the founder of a start-up company that had created a website that served gay people who were looking for partners – for life, or for spending a vacation or just for a short fling – that managed to maintain the anonymity of its users. The main advantage of this website was that it maintained a firewall that thwarted all the attempts by criminals, extortionists and curious media reporters to acquire the true identity of the site's members. Johnny had used the money he got from selling his website to launch a political career as a successful businessman with an astute sense for identifying technological and social trends. Whenever he appeared in public he was always accompanied by his bodyguard who doubled as his very close and very personal boyfriend, a position that was now taken by Oded.
The three men had a delicious dinner that lasted for several hours and included copious amounts of alcohol in cocktails before dinner, three bottles of wine during dinner, excellent cognac after dinner and finally coffee with Kahlua. After the meal the three men stumbled back to the hotel in which Johnny had reserved the most expensive and largest suite for the whole week. At Johnny's suggestion they all took off their clothes and wore bathrobes supplied by the hotel.
Johnny called room service and had a couple of bottles of chilled champagne delivered to the suite. The three of them got into the Jacuzzi, not bothering with bathing suits and continued sipping champagne. They stayed in the Jacuzzi until the skin on their fingers became all wrinkled. As the three of them got out of the Jacuzzi and entered the bedroom, Gustav said that they had to drink a nightcap as a token of gratitude to fate that had brought them together. He drew a silver flask from his backpack and poured its ivory colored content into three shot glasses. He raised his glass and said that this drink will take them to astonishing places and to new heights they had never even dreamt of. Oded and Johnny looked each other in the eye and drank, while Gustav just tilted his shot glass and only pretended to drink.
***
When Johnny woke up it was close to noon. He had to keep his eyes closed because he had a brain-splitting headache, much worse than any hangover he had ever experienced. He figured out that he was in a moving vehicle but had no idea how that was possible because the last thing he remembered was a nice warm Jacuzzi in his hotel suite. He tried to put his right hand on his forehead to see if he had a fever but found that his movements were restricted by something. The same happened when he tried to move his left hand. Finally, he opened his eyes and after adjusting to the pain from what seemed to be a blinding light, realiz
ed that he was lying naked on a narrow stretcher with both hands and both feet tied with plastic cable ties to the stretcher. A beach towel covered the lower part of his body and he was embarrassed when he noticed that it was wet near his midsection. He turned his head slightly to the left and saw that Oded was struggling to free his hands that were bound to another stretcher. He looked to the right expecting to see Gustav trussed in a similar fashion but instead he saw Gustav seated on a deckchair smiling.
Johnny's mouth was dry but he managed to mumble "Gustav, please untie us".
Gustav just looked at him, uttered an expletive about gullible homosexuals and then said "Well, I did promise you that this drink would take you to astonishing places that you had never even dreamt of. I only forgot to add "dreamt of in your worst nightmares". So now here you are already in the Karpas Peninsula that is in the Turkish controlled northern part of Cyprus."
Johnny thought that he could get out of this problem, as he had many time before, and offered "Gustav, I'll pay you one million dollars if you let us go". When Gustav didn't react, he added "I mean one million for each of us. It can be in your bank account tomorrow. Just release us."
Gustav only laughed at this and said "If you knew where you were going you would offer me ten times as much but even that would not help you. You may be surprised to know that my mother was a Danish woman that had fallen in love with my father, who was from Iran. Both my parents died in a car crash when my father hit a guardrail and wrecked the car while under the influence of alcohol. I was raised by my uncle who is a senior officer in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. He told me that I could atone for my father's sin of marrying outside the faith and drinking alcohol by proving that I would do anything for the IRG and my country. I agreed to do so and was put in charge of the operation to kidnap a senior Israeli politician. I have been following you and your bodyguard and must say that you both were an easy push-over. So don't tempt me with money." Gustav leaned over, withdrew a couple of syringes from a small metal box and injected each of the Israelis with a powerful anesthetic and within seconds they were both in a deep sleep. Blankets were thrown over their bodies to cover them and keep them warm but they were not even aware of the fact.
The Dreadful Patriot: A Thrilling Conspiracy Novel (Techno thriller, Mystery & Suspense Book 3) Page 7
