David asked Eugene if the task force had developed any insights about possible targets and was told that there was a general feeling that he would try to sell the classified data to an entity, sovereign country or clandestine organization that would help him take revenge. They did not believe that he did this solely for money and considered that he would want to be involved personally in the final act. Although Eugene did not say it in so many words, David was now more convinced than ever that the classified material involved nuclear weapons, and as only a memory stick was taken he knew that it could only be technical information like blueprints or schematic designs. He therefore suggested that there were a very small number of entities that would be interested in the stolen files. Eugene agreed and said that the task force decided to focus on Iran and the Islamic State movement. David concurred but said that North Korea or even Pakistan should also be considered, not because they had any direct conflict with Israel, but because they could use some advanced designs to improve their own arsenal of nuclear weapons and their stature in the world. Eugene reacted by saying that he had not mentioned advanced designs but David responded that he had figured it out and did not want to force Eugene to divulge classified information. They agreed to meet again the following evening and David returned to his hotel and had a good night's sleep despite the jet-lag.
Early the next morning David called Eugene on his private phone and told him that he had to leave the US as some crisis regarding a Mossad operation in Europe was developing. David didn't mention that a Mossad collaborator inside the German police had alerted his Israeli girl-friend, who was actually a Mossad agent, that there were rumors of an operation by a fanatic Muslim faction, with ties to the Islamic State, against the moderate Muslim Ahmadiyya community that was seeking to hold a joint rally with the Jewish community for Peace-in-the-Middle East.
June 19th, Oregon
It was close to one thousand miles from Pasadena to Portland, Oregon, and Nagib and Alia once more took turns driving and napping. They had left Pasadena the previous evening, avoiding the rush hour traffic, and made good time travelling along Highway 5, stopping briefly at the outskirts of Sacramento for coffee and services. The old Nissan they got from the used-car dealership in Pasadena did not cause any trouble despite their concerns about the 5-50 guarantee. They did not want to check into a motel and waste too much time so they continued north until they reached Medford, OR, where they parked in a quiet corner of a rest area and took a nap. Alia lay on the back seat and Nagib tilted the driver's seat as far as it would go and within minutes he was snoring as if he had no worry in the world. When dawn approached they woke up, had a steaming cup of coffee and continued north to Portland. As they passed through Eugene, OR, Nagib muttered a juicy expletive. When Alia asked him what came over him he said that the town's name reminded him of the guy from the NNSA who had interrogated him and appeared not to believe him. When they passed close to Lebanon, OR, Alia started laughing and when Nagib asked her why she was so happy she said that they were almost home as they were just close to Lebanon. Nagib joined her laughter and was pleased that she took the whole affair in her stride. As they reached Portland they debated whether to check into a motel there or make an extra effort and cross into Canada before resting.
June 20th, Vancouver
The additional six hour drive from Portland to Vancouver was beyond their strength so they checked into a cheap motel, paid cash and went to their room. After resting for a few hours they woke up, took turns in the shower and went out for dinner at a fast-food joint near the motel. They turned in for the night and woke up refreshed, with new energies but with the same old worries. They realized that the sooner they got out of the US the better chance they had of avoiding being captured. Their biggest fear was that their photos and passport numbers were sent out to the US and Canadian border crossings. They decided to try and blend in with the many Canadians returning to Vancouver from their good paying jobs in the US and weave in with the busy afternoon traffic. They were surprised and relieved when this simple ploy succeeded and after entering Vancouver found a nice motel and celebrated their escape from the US.
They saw that their cash reserves were almost depleted and what they had left would barely suffice for airfare to Turkey. They couldn't use their credit cards because they correctly suspected that those were closely monitored, and although they were out of US jurisdiction they feared the US authorities would drum up some fake charges and get the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to detain and extradite them. Their only asset was the car they had bought in a trade-in deal in Pasadena so Nagib drove to a used car lot in Vancouver and the dealer at first did not want anything to do with it but when Nagib said that he desperately needed cash a transaction was made for about half the book value of the car.
Now they faced a new problem. Ever since 9/11 all airlines were suspicious of passengers who paid cash, of travelers who bought one-way tickets and of travelers that purchased their tickets shortly before travelling. In addition passengers with Arab sounding names were immediately suspected. Nagib and Alia suited all four criteria. However, when they checked the price of airline tickets from Vancouver to Istanbul they discovered that buying a one-way ticket was much more expensive than buying a round trip. A little further search of the web found that there was a special deal on tickets to Frankfurt, Germany, and they figured that they could fly to Germany and then continue their travel with one of the European low-cost airlines to Istanbul. These airlines did not care if you just purchased a one-way fare so they could save a considerable sum of money. They still had to overcome the other problems so they decided to concoct a heartbreaking cover story. They would claim that they had been on vacation in Vancouver when someone broke into their hotel room and stole their credit cards. Fortunately they had some cash and by selling their car – they had the documents to prove that – they raised some more. They received a message that Nagib's father was in a hospital in Istanbul and tradition dictated that Nagib as the eldest son, had to see him before he passed away. That would also explain why they couldn't wait for new credit cards and clarify why they had to pay cash as well as explain their Arab sounding names. They hoped this would be convincing and as a back-up Alia was ready to shed tears because of the bad fortune that transpired while narrating her story.
Obviously they couldn't buy their tickets on-line because using their credit cards would instantly alert the authorities, so they entered one of the few remaining travel agencies and explained their predicament. The polite travel agent examined their US passports, found nothing wrong and was favorably impressed by their appearance as solid citizens, so she didn't even mention the problems they had anticipated. They handed her the cash, received the printed tickets and walked out of the office holding hands. There were direct flights from Vancouver to Frankfurt but the cheapest fare they found was operated by Icelandair and was scheduled to take off early the following morning. They were not worried about the stopover in Reykjavik because they were convinced that no one would be looking for them there.
June 21st, Los Alamos
The first task force, responsible for locating Nagib and Alia was clueless as to their whereabouts. The couple had been traced to California, the used-car lot in Pasadena where they had traded in their fancy Toyota for a cheap sedan had been found by the Pasadena police that alerted the junior FBI agent. The dealer instantly recognized Nagib from the photo the agent had shown him but said that he did not get a good look at Alia. He described the car he sold he sold them as an old Nissan in excellent mechanical condition and gave them the license plate registration number. He added that they looked pressed for cash and that he was very pleased with the good deal he had made with the trade in. When asked if they gave an address in Pasadena he said that he thought that they mentioned a cheap motel nearby, and when asked if they said where they were headed he answered that they didn't speak much. He neglected to repeat the joke on "the 5-50 guarantee" which was not really surprising.
The FBI agent looked at his map and saw that there were only two motels near the dealership. The woman at the reception desk of the first motel sighed when the agent approached her and showed her the photos of Nagib and Alia. She mumbled something about police harassment and confirmed that they had stayed a few nights at the motel. She mentioned that they had paid cash and kept to themselves, adding that those were the kind of guests that were most welcome. She said she knew nothing about their past, present and future plans, and really couldn't care less where they had come from and where they were going to. The FBI agent didn't even bother to ask to see their room and reported the news to the senior FBI agent, Penny, who was in Los Alamos.
The meeting of the task force proceeded. The fact that the couple had been seen in Pasadena a mere two days earlier was encouraging as it indicated that they were in no hurry to leave the country, because this could have been done easily before anyone had an inkling that they had gotten away with the classified information. To Penny and the more experienced members of the task force this indicated that they were dealing with amateurs that were bound to make more mistakes. Furthermore, they had a good description of the car the couple had purchased. However, in two days they could easily be a thousand miles from Pasadena, or perhaps just a couple of blocks away from the motel in which they had been staying. The police force in Pasadena and the neighboring towns was ordered to search for the car but no trace of it was found.
The DHS representative immediately made sure that all border-crossings from California to Mexico and all airports in California were put on alert to watch out for Nagib and Alia, or for all young couples who even vaguely fit their description just in case they managed to acquire fake passports. He added that these passports may be under different names, not necessarily as a married couple, so the authorities should be really alert. In June, close to the height of the tourist season this led to many unpleasant moments because innocent citizens were aggravated by the intrusive questioning. Several adulterous couples who were just trying to get away from their spouses for a fling in Baja California or a vacation in Hawaii were embarrassed by the attention they received. Many threatened to write to their congressman and a few were detained because they refused to cooperate and caused a scene. There were some unexpected side benefits for the DHS – drug smugglers were caught, wanted criminals gave themselves in, Muslim agitators were stopped and even a few patients who had escaped from their mental asylum were reprimanded.
Penny called for a wider search and the photos of the couple and details of the car's registration were sent to the crossing points on the Canadian border and to airports in a radius of 500 miles from Los Angeles.
Part 3. Getting around
Chapter 7
June 22nd, Frankfurt, Germany
Nagib and Alia landed at the bustling Frankfurt airport through which some 60 million passengers pass every year. The flight from Vancouver to Reykjavik and the short layover there were tiring but uneventful. Security in Canada was not nearly as rigorous as in the US, and although a few brows were raised when they presented their airline tickets paid for in cash and purchased the previous day, their heartbreaking story about Nagib's father dying in Istanbul and Alia's tears about being robbed and losing their credit cards was accepted and they passed through airport security and passport control without a hitch.
After landing in Frankfurt, as they were only in transit on their way to Turkey they did not even have to go through German passport control. However, when they proceeded to the gate where their low-cost flight was scheduled to leave for Istanbul they saw that the flight had been cancelled and far worse, the airline had gone out of business. There were a few other stranded passengers at the desk by the gate and a young lady, dressed as a stewardess (sorry, cabin attendant) who was a representative of the now defunct airline. The young lady was in tears and told the angry passengers that their tickets were not worth the paper they printed on, if they bothered to print the electronic tickets, and she herself had not received her salary over the last three months. She said that they could sue the company but doubted whether this would solve their immediate problem. She added that statistically Istanbul was the busiest route from Frankfurt and assured them they would be able to get to Istanbul and suggested that they try to get on another flight but she had no specific information regarding the alternatives. Alia and Nagib were at a loss and tried to plead with the young lady to no avail. Nagib said that they could either try to get on another flight or go look for a cheap hotel or a bed and breakfast until they could get on another flight, or perhaps reconsider their original plan.
Alia said that she felt safe so far away from the Los Alamos and the US and that she wouldn't mind spending some time in Frankfurt. Nagib was concerned that the long arm of the law, or the intelligence services, would catch up with them and in addition was worried about their dwindling finances, so was quite reluctant to take the chance. But then Alia said that she had some distant relatives, second cousins she believed, that had a small business in Frankfurt. She knew that they had accepted the teachings of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad who claimed to be the metaphorical second coming of Jesus. The Ahmadi religion embraced some of the principles from other religions and adopted the teachings of monotheistic and Eastern sages from Abraham, Moses and Jesus to Confucius, Buddha and Guru Nanak, to name a few. She added that the Ahmadiyya Muslim community was known for its tolerant approach and quest to end religious wars and was therefore accepted by most European authorities as being a potential bridge between the local governments and the more fundamental and fanatic Islamic movements. Nagib said that he preferred zealots that had their mind set on destroying Western civilization, or at least were actively fighting against Israel, but she responded by saying that these would probably be under surveillance by the the BND (Bundesnachrichtendienst) that was the Federal Intelligence Service and the foreign intelligence agency of Germany. When Nagib asked her if she knew how to contact those relatives she said she could call her father and ask him if he had their phone number or knew their address. Finally, Nagib acquiesced and said that a few extra days would give them time to formulate their plan and perhaps also enable them to make contact with the Iranian or Islamic State people, who were bound to have representatives in Germany.
In order to leave the airport they had to go to the passport control booths and wait in line with the non-EU residents. The line was quite long but moved quickly with typical German efficiency. They noted that some people, especially those with Arab features, were questioned at some length and sometimes escorted to another office, so they were a bit tense when they reached the booth in which a tough looking blonde with a sour face was sitting. However, she took a look at their US passports, held up each passport with the photo page and compared it to their faces, and when she was satisfied with the resemblance she smiled, stamped the passport and wished them a good day and a good stay in Germany. They went to a moneychanger at the terminal and exchanged some of their US dollars for Euro notes, collected a tourist map and then boarded the train that connected the airport to the city.
The Dreadful Renegade: A Thrilling Espionage Novel (Techno thriller, Mystery & Suspense) Page 8
