The Dreadful Renegade: A Thrilling Espionage Novel (Techno thriller, Mystery & Suspense) (21 page)

Alma made sure that Linda would never forget this particular Fourth of July celebration by performing the things Linda liked most. Alma proved that she was a keen student who enjoyed learning theoretically and practicing experimentally what her tutor showed her. Linda reciprocated and added a few new tricks to their expanding playbook.  After a while the two young women lay in each other's arms. Linda knew that Alma had seen Anwar the previous evening – after all Alma told her about her affair with the brilliant physicist – and asked if all was well with the other part of her love life. Alma said that she noted that Anwar was under a lot of pressure and Linda waited to hear some details but these were not forthcoming so she decided to take a more active approach. She said that the trouble with men was that they cannot express their feelings or share their problems as opposed to women. Alma sighed and said that was indeed the case with men but in a very uncharacteristic manner Anwar raised a strange dilemma which really seemed to bother him. Alma added that he presented a hypothetical question that concerned national security, potential catastrophe and loyalty, but she could not fathom the reason for this question and could only guess that it related to some decision he had to make and present it to a top-secret committee. Linda felt that she had heard enough to confirm her suspicion that Alma's other lover held a pivotal position in the Pakistani nuclear establishment to which the classified data was presented. She didn't want to appear to be too inquisitive so she said that these hypothetical matters were way above her head and leaned over to kiss Alma gently on her soft earlobe. One thing led to another and soon they had fallen asleep after making love slowly and gently.                  

July 5
th
, Islamabad

Despite the holiday in the US and its official sites worldwide, a meeting was held at the embassy at noon. The ambassador, Blakey and Eugene listened to Linda's report. She did not go into any details about her relationship with Alma, although they all understood that it wasn't a casual fling, and focused on the information she had gleaned about Anwar. They all inferred that Anwar was a key player in the Pakistani nuclear establishment and that he was entrusted with a difficult decision. Evidently he understood the implications of acting on the data that had been handed over by Nagib and the alternatives – doing nothing or informing the authorities. Blakey suggested putting a tail on Anwar but Eugene said there was no point in doing so because whatever he was involved in would take place either at PINSTECH or at the offices of the intelligence services and unless they could record the meeting they would not learn anything new. Their main objectives were to find the couple and retrieve the data before it was passed on and following Anwar would get them no closer to that. Blakey thanked Linda for her performance and achievement and asked her to stay in touch with Alma and try to learn more about Anwar and the committee. Linda said that she intended to do so anyway and asked if there was any specific information they wanted. Eugene intervened and said that they would like to know what Nagib had already handed over to the Pakistanis, and added that he didn't expect Anwar to know where the couple was staying.

After Linda left, the ambassador repeated that he had issued a terse warning to the Pakistani minister of defense, and wondered what effect that would have on the plans of the nationalist faction who were sure to get word of this. While they were discussing this question the duty officer entered the conference room with a printed message and gave it to Blakey. The CIA station chief read it and said that the show had begun and announced that he had just been informed that the minister of defense was placed under house arrest by the Pakistani intelligence service and was facing an investigation of corruption in the department that dealt with purchasing armament for the military. He added that he was sure that it was not a coincidence and was probably a countermove by the nationalist faction to prevent a probe that the minister had initiated that morning.

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. 

July 5
th
, 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. Afterwards 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 6
th
, 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 British, 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.

So she asked Alma "How is your affair with Anwar progressing?"

Alma's answer surprised her "We no longer work together as he had been suddenly transferred from PINSTECH, but we will remain in contact as before because he was still in Islamabad area".

Linda didn't want to appear to be too inquisitive about Anwar's new posting and asked "Will Anwar's new job affect our own relationship?"

Alma said "It should not have any effect because I'll still be spending time with Anwar, as before".

Linda wondered "Have you seen Anwar recently?"

Alma said "We spent some time together last night and he behaved as if the great burden that had troubled him lately had been removed. I think it has something to do with a decision that had been made and with his new job as an advisor".

Linda asked "Whose advisor?"

Alma recognized her indiscretion and said she didn't know. Linda realized that the atmosphere had changed and patted the seat next to her and motioned for Alma to join her. After holding each other and some tender kisses they moved to Linda's bed and made love. Alma felt that their relationship has gone through another stage and the level of intimacy and mutual trust has risen while Linda felt torn between her lover and her job.

Alma didn't sleep over claiming she had to tidy her apartment. Linda was glad because she wanted to report the news about Anwar's new posting, to what she was now sure was as an advisor to General Masood in the intelligence services. She knew that it must be significant and related to Nagib and his information although she was uncertain in what way.            

July 23
rd
, Islamabad

Rahman had presented Nagib's suggestion that Pakistan should announce that some of its plutonium was missing. General Masood asked Anwar what he thought about this idea, and the physicist replied that it had certain merits, even if the statement was not believed by anyone. He added that the Pakistani government should first deny this and state that no material was really missing and it was only an error of accounting, and after a couple of days admit that some plutonium was indeed stolen and inside cooperation was suspected. They knew that Pakistan had a bad track record after the way the government handled the case of the AQ Khan network a few years previously, but they agreed that as long as denial was plausible it would do no harm to announce that some plutonium was missing. The timing of this announcement was to coincide with the transfer of the devices to the hands of Nagib. 

Two small nukes were manufactured by PINSTECH according to the blueprints supplied by Nagib. Testing them was out of the question because the global networks for monitoring nuclear tests were sure to detect such a test. These systems were operated officially by an organization called CTBTO (Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization) but there were other informal monitoring networks operated by different intelligence gathering entities like the American NNSA, the Russians, Chinese and of course by India that was watching what Pakistan was doing with a hawk's eye. Under Anwar's guidance the core of the devices consisted of plutonium as described in the blueprints but it was of a lower grade because there was no super high grade material in Pakistan. General Masood asked Anwar if Nagib wouldn't discover the switch and Anwar told him the famous anecdote about the first atomic bomb of the Soviet Union.