As expected Rahman, barely controlling the anger in his voice, said "The agreement was that as soon as you inspected the devices and approved them you would deliver the rest of the schematics".
Nagib protested "But if I give you the blueprints while still in Pakistan you can simply arrest me and take back the two devices and there is nothing I can do about it. I need some kind of insurance or at least strong assurances that this won't happen".
Rahman looked flabbergasted and said that he needed permission from General Masood to alter the agreement and left them standing in the middle of the hanger while he stepped into the small office to call the general.
Meanwhile Anwar looked at the situation rationally and said to Nagib "I understand your apprehension and am sure that we can find a viable solution. As one scientist to another I can say that if the Pakistani authorities had any intention to renege on the deal they could have done so any moment after you stepped on Pakistani soil. Remember that officially you never entered the country and no one who cares about you knows where you are, and you are certainly in no position to go to the American embassy – they would probably shoot you first and carry out an investigation later."
Nagib replied "So what do you propose?"
Anwar said "The best solution for everyone is that you turn in your American passports and Rahman will issue you with original Pakistani passports and allow you to leave the country. The two suitcases can be sent as part of a "diplomatic pouch" that is immune from being searched to any Pakistani embassy of your choice. You will go there and collect the suitcases that will be handed to you as soon as you deliver the rest of the blueprints. What do you think of this?"
Nagib consulted with Alia and after a few minutes said "This sounds reasonable but we need to retain our American passports to enter the US freely."
Meanwhile Rahman returned all worked up with a red face and ready for an outburst, but Anwar said "Before you say anything please listen to the following proposal" and reiterated the discussion. Rahman nodded and said that it was a good solution although the general had other ideas about how to terminate the negotiations, and then laughed and said "Nagib and Alia you must be dreaming of being able to use your US passports ever again. The minute they will be used for buying an airline ticket, presented at a passport control booth at any border crossing in the world or used in a hotel, car rental agency or anywhere else the NSA will know about it instantly and within minutes you'll be under arrest if not worse." Nagib thought about this for a minute but held on to the American passports saying that he would feel better with them. Rahman said that it would take 24-hours to issue Pakistani passports and asked them if they wanted any particular names on them. Alia said she always liked the name Fatima and suggested that for her husband Munir would be nice. Nagib agreed and said that their last name should be something symbolic that represented their objective and suggested "Abu Jihad". Everyone smiled and Rahman invited Munir and Fatima Abu Jihad to accompany him back to the safe house. They left the hangar after making sure that the suitcases were stored in a locker and a guard was posted at its door. The convoy made its way back to the safe house.
***
In the evening Anwar arranged a date with his girl-friend after calling her and telling her that he wanted something special to celebrate a breakthrough. Alma did not know what to expect but his jovial mood was contagious and she sang to herself softly while cooking his favorite dishes. She was surprised when he turned up on her doorstep at the appointed time and took a bottle of wine out of his bag and presented it to her with a big smile. This was quite unusual as they seldom drank alcohol together. Of course, he had no idea that she and Linda regularly consumed a couple of wine bottles whenever they spent an evening with each other. She opened the wine bottle and filled a couple of glasses and asked him what they were celebrating. Once again he smiled and said he wished to make a toast.
She looked at him as he said "Alma, it is time we got married"
Before he could continue she burst out laughing and said "Yes, but who will take us?" when she saw the astonished look on his face, she added "Of course, I agree. I love you."
Anwar suddenly felt relieved because for a moment he thought she was serious, and said "There is something else I wish to celebrate. You must have noticed that I had been distraught recently, and you know that I was away from my laboratory at PINSTECH on a special assignment. Well, now this problem has been solved and I'll return to the laboratory in a couple of days."
Alma suggested that they drink another glass to commemorate that and before long the bottle was empty. She went into the kitchen and brought out another bottle. He was a bit surprised to see that she had wine in the house and when she saw his inquisitive look she said that a girl-friend had given it to her and told her to open it if there was a very special reason, so his marriage proposal was indeed a good reason. Anwar didn't enquire who the friend was and that was just as well because Alma didn't want to tell him about her relationship with Linda.
Once they had consumed dinner and the two bottles of wine they retired to the bedroom to seal the deal in the most pleasurable way. Anwar had noted that their lovemaking had become much more intense and enjoyable during the last few months and attributed it to his own improved technique. This contributed to his ego and he felt elated that he had made her an active partner in their love life, not realizing that Alma guided him every step of the way. Alma was glad to see him in such a good mood and said "I would love for you to share this problem and its solution with me, if you can without breaching any security issues." He said "You know I cannot tell you all about it, but as the problem is solved I can tell you about something that happened today that concerns plutonium. In your work at PINSTECH you have come across this material and you know that the grade of plutonium cannot be determined by alpha spectrometry because the two important isotopes, plutonium-239 and plutonium-240 are practically indistinguishable. Today, I managed to convince another scientist that low-grade plutonium was high-grade material." She asked who the scientist was and he said "Someone who now calls himself Munir Abu Jihad and he will be very famous soon, so remember the name". Both of them fell asleep with a satiated smile on their face.
***
Blakey and his staff at the American embassy were frustrated because they failed to stop Nagib and Alia. What was even worse from their point of view was the fact that the couple had been no more than a few meters from them in the hotel lobby in Karachi and there was nothing they could do about it because of the heavily armed entourage that accompanied them. Blakey's informers reported that the special jet had landed in Islamabad and that another armed convoy escorted the passengers to an undisclosed location. Blakey felt that the horses were about to leave the stable and that there was no way to bring them back. None of his contacts could provide any useful information except to say that the big project overseen by General Masood, whatever it was, appeared to be coming to an end. Blakey turned to Linda and asked her if she could use her own contact to figure out what was happening and Linda said she would try to arrange a meeting with Alma.
***
The Iranians and North Koreans were no better off than the Americans. They knew that something big was afoot in Islamabad and deduced that it concerned PINSTECH but none of their agents and collaborators could supply any useful details. The Iranians heard from one of the guards of the side gate that a small convoy headed by an operative of the Pakistani intelligence services entered the site and one jeep drove to a small hangar while the other two remained at the gate. The jeep's windows were shaded and he couldn't see who was inside but noted that there were silhouettes of a man and a woman seated in the back seat. He added that the small hangar was well guarded and that was quite irregular because it was usually empty. The Iranian who received this report told the guard to keep an eye on the hangar and report any activity. He also called his North Korean colleague and in an unusual gesture shared the information with him.
***
The
official announcement by the Pakistani Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) was extremely out of character. It said that the Head of PAEC initiated a formal investigation into the disappearance of an undisclosed amount of plutonium from the stores of PINSTECH. This was unusual because these things were generally kept far away from the public eye. The announcement was received by all foreign intelligence agencies as a ruse and not as a credible fact.
Chapter 15
July 26th, Islamabad
At noon Rahman entered the safe house in which Alia and Nagib were staying and waving a wad of American dollars and two Pakistani passports greeted them by their new names Fatima and Munir Abu Jihad. Nagib looked through the passports and was glad to see that they appeared to be used with several entry and exit stamps in the first five pages. Rahman then asked them if they had decided where they wanted to go, and more importantly what was their chosen destination for the suitcases. Considering that their prime targets were Israel and the USA that was a very complicated issue. First, because holders of Pakistani passports could not enter Israel at all and there was no embassy or even a Pakistani delegation in Israel. Second, going to the United States with Pakistani passports required a visa which they had no chance of obtaining and in addition it would also be very risky for the couple to set foot on American soil. Even if the suitcase could be shipped there with immunity and impunity as a "diplomatic pouch" they wouldn't be able to legally enter either country.
Nagib said that they wanted to detonate the devices simultaneously in Israel and the US and therefore each of them would have to travel alone to their separate destinations. Their plan was for Alia to travel to Mexico and infiltrate into southern California with the multitude of illegal aliens that crossed the porous border every day or night. So they requested that one suitcase should be sent to the consulate general of Pakistan in Los Angeles, either directly or via the embassy in Washington, DC. Alia would identify herself to the representative of the Pakistani intelligence service and he would hand over the suitcase. He would also hire some regular criminals to assist her if that was needed but in no way would directly involve Pakistan in the final act of planting the bomb.
Getting a device into Israel would be much more challenging. There would be no problem sending the suitcase to the Pakistani embassy in Jordan, Lebanon or Syria that bordered on Israel, but getting it across the border through the official checkpoints was something else, especially as Syria and Lebanon had no regular border-crossing arrangements with Israel. The only viable alternative would be to smuggle the suitcase and Nagib of course, with other terrorists but the chance of success was low because those borders were closely watched by the Israeli Defense Force. Nagib then came up with the idea that the Sinai Peninsula that belonged to Egypt had lately become an unruly place. Islamic State supporters freely launched attacks on posts of the Egyptian Army and police forces. They attacked roadblocks, camps, vehicle depots and population centers and inflicted severe damage and death. They adopted the heinous practice of making video recordings of mass executions of Egyptian soldiers and public beheadings of their officers. In addition there were other factions that tried to take advantage of the situation and smuggle drugs and refugees or work-seekers into Israeli territory or across the border into Israel or right through the southern part of Israel into Jordan. There were also tunnels that were dug from the Gaza strip that were prepared by Hamas and its supporters to carry out armed raids into Israel. Any of those could be used to get Nagib with his suitcase into Israel. Once inside he could count on the assistance of Palestinian radical factions to take him to the population centers in Tel Aviv, Haifa or Jerusalem where the bomb would have the biggest effect. Rahman said that although Pakistan wanted to maintain its good relations with Egypt the opportunities of getting across the border in Sinai were the most promising and said that he would see what could be done about it, with the obvious solution of sending the suitcase to the Pakistani embassy in Cairo. Nagib should encounter no problem flying from Islamabad to Cairo and using his Pakistani passport to enter Egypt.
This plan was in contradiction to Alia's original statement that she did not want to do anything against the United States that afforded her family a chance for a better life, but was a result of the fact that Nagib was the one who would have to cross Sinai into Israel because a woman didn't stand a chance to survive the expected hardships in the company of a wild bunch of men. The plan also called for some coordinated timing so that the two events would take place simultaneously. Alia started to have second thoughts and then came up with a new idea that depended on the good will and ability of the Pakistani intelligence services. So she asked Rahman if his service could equip them with fake passports from European countries, like Greece or Turkey where their darker skin color would be the norm, or even from Scandinavian countries in which many immigrants from North Africa and the Arab world now resided legally. Rahman said that it would take time and could be done but wondered aloud how that would solve the problem of getting the suitcase bombs through airport security and customs without diplomatic immunity. After some further discussions they decided to continue with the original plan. Rahman was pleased that the details for their departure from Pakistan were finalized because he feared that their plan would be discovered by the official government who would terminate it. In addition he feared that the "suicide" of the former defense minister would alert the authorities to open a real investigation of the circumstances of his death and that may foil the whole plan.
***
Linda had arrived in time for dinner but as soon as she entered Alma's apartment and they exchanged their usual loving and tender kisses Alma pulled Linda to sofa and said that she had some exciting news and proceeded to tell her about the upcoming wedding. Linda was not totally surprised because she knew that deep down Alma was not a rebel and would follow the norm in Pakistan and stick to the standard life style and raise a family. Same-sex marriages were nonexistent in Pakistan and even having an open affair with a member of the same sex could get both members of the couple in serious trouble with the law. Linda was truly glad that her close friend and lover was so happy and although she knew that she would really miss her relationship with Alma she felt no resentment.
After dinner that was consumed quickly to allow them to spend more time in an intimate fashion they moved to the bedroom. Their lovemaking was extremely slow and gentle as they both knew this would have to be the last time in view of Anwar's marriage proposition. After feeling fully satiated Linda cuddled with Alma and asked her how Anwar had proposed – wondering if there were dramatic gestures that she deemed as pathetic – and was glad to hear that Anwar had been very civil and straightforward because, based on what Alma had told her about him, she had come to respect his intellect. Alma excitedly related everything that happened the previous night with Anwar and even told Linda about the low-grade plutonium that he presented as high-grade material to a foreign scientist with a funny name. Linda said she had no interest in stuff like plutonium but asked what she meant by a funny name and Alma said that it was Munir Abu Jihad. When Linda enquired what was so funny about the name Alma said that Abu Jihad meant "father of the holy war" which she considered as hilarious. They made love once more and Linda wished Alma all the happiness in the world with Anwar and left with tears in her eyes while Alma stood sobbing at the door.
As soon as Linda was in her car she called Blakey and asked him to meet her immediately. By the time she reached the embassy Blakey was already there and he led her to the safe conference room where she told him about Anwar, the plutonium and Munir Abu Jihad. Both realized that this was the new name Nagib Jaber would be using and that plutonium was involved although they were not quite sure what low-grade material meant. It was late afternoon in Washington, DC so Blakey called Eugene on a secure line and updated him on these recent developments. He also said that he had a gut feeling that the elimination of the minister of defense a few hours after they spoke to him at the embassy was related. Eugene said that he
had talked to a professor at Georgetown University who was an expert on Pakistani politics and got a long lecture about the two factions in the Pakistani administration and the rivalry between them, in particular with regard to national pride and the country's nuclear arsenal.
Eugene deliberated whether to call his Mossad colleague David Avivi and share the shocking news with him and decided that due to the fact that special nuclear materials, SNMs as fissile materials were called, were involved it would be beneficial to alert Mossad and get its experienced agents to help track the culprits and plutonium. David was woken up by Eugene's call and when Eugene said that he had news of extreme importance and urgency that he could not divulge on the phone he agreed to fly to Washington and meet face to face as soon as possible.
July 27th, Islamabad
Alia and Nagib, now holders of Pakistani passports with the names of Fatima and Munir Abu Jihad, spent what they realistically considered as their last night together. Alia asked Nagib if he had any second thoughts about the plan that would most likely lead to their deaths and he looked at her and said that it was their historical role, their historical duty, to avenge the crimes committed by Israel and their American ally against the Palestinian people and Islam. Alia noted a new resolve in his eyes that were staring into empty space and avoiding eye contact with her. She asked him once more if he did not prefer to start a family and leave the business of taking revenge to others but he insisted that it was their responsibility. She tried once again and said that they could make a major contribution to the strength of Islam by delivering the advanced blueprints to Pakistan, but he said that they would probably never use them against the West for fear of retaliation. Alia looked at him once again and wiped a tear from the corner of her eyes and said that history will remember him as a true champion of the Palestinian cause and as the person who made the biggest contribution ever to the Ummah, an Arabic word representing the entire nation of Islam.
The Dreadful Renegade: A Thrilling Espionage Novel (Techno thriller, Mystery & Suspense) Page 22
