Habib Nassour whistled beneath his breath as his driver navigated the streets of the city and brought him back to his residence on Kasra Street.
That call from Parvin had lightened his mood. Both the sisters were attractive and had the right kind of buxom body that he preferred.
Sure, the Quds man had a wife, but how did that matter? A man, an elite soldier like him, had to take his pleasures wherever he got them.
Twins. Nassour felt a stirring in his loins. He had never had two women before. These German Iranians might be a first for him.
His phone buzzed. He looked at it, didn’t recognize the number.
‘Yes?’ he barked.
‘Agha,’ a man’s voice came tremulously. ‘It’s me, Suleiman, the truck driver. You asked me to—’
‘Yes, I remember,’ Nassour said irritably. ‘Meet me tomorrow. At six pm. I will text you the address. And be sure to be there or I’ll find you,’ he warned.
The Quds man reached his home, nodded to the guards and went inside. He turned on the lights and went to his bedroom. Stripped his clothes and showered. Ate the dinner the cook had prepared and watched TV for a while. Grinned when his boss came on a channel and repeated his threats against America.
It was a calculated strategy. While their enemy might suspect an attack was being planned, Mostofi’s repeated appearances were not only to stoke up anger among the citizens but also to manage their expectations. The Shaitan would retaliate and Iranians had to be prepared for that.
He’s a master at this, Nassour smirked, changed channels and watched a reality show for a while. He turned off the TV when he got bored. Removed his laptop from his bag and connected his phone to it and synced his notes and latest contacts, Parvin and Mahya Hajar. His smile broadened as he went over his emails. Oh, yes, he had to get Karim Golzar’s file for the boss.
He logged onto the Quds Force intranet, went through more access protocols and downloaded the dossier. Skimmed through it quickly to refresh his memory of the killer, for that’s who the man was.
Golzar, twenty-eight-years old, five foot ten, lean, close-cropped dark hair, dark eyes, clean shaven. He had come out of the training camp and been deployed straight to Lebanon. He worked with Hezbollah, the terrorist group, to infiltrate Israel and there, had carried out several bombing attacks.
Nassour had managed the mission and the young Quds soldier had come to his attention immediately. He was smart, proficient with several weapons, could work independently or in a team, had leadership qualities, and above all, spoke English like an American. He had spent a couple of years in that country, living with relatives, which was where he had picked up the language and the accent and familiarity with the country.
Nassour had met him several times and knew he was the man for the operation his boss was planning.
He checked his watch. It was nine pm, but time was relative in Quds. He called a secure number which rang twice before it was picked up.
‘Golzar, it’s Habib Nassour,’ he introduced himself.
The candidate was back in the Imam Ali base after a mission, preparing to go into Syria on yet another operation the major was handling.
‘Yes, agha,’ the soldier’s voice said alertly.
‘I am thinking of nominating you for a special mission. A one-man one.’
‘It will be my honor, agha.’
‘It is a suicide one.’
‘I am ready to die for my country any day, agha.’
Nassour nodded. He knew the soldier wasn’t lying. All the Quds operatives underwent strict tests before and after missions, physical as well as psychological. They were continually assessed during their downtime. If Golzar said he was willing to die, it was true. No elite operative in the organization would dare to lie.
‘I will get back to you. Your Syria mission is on hold until a decision is made on this new one. You might have to travel to Tehran at short notice for this one.’
‘I will do anything, agha.’
Nassour hung up and crossed his hands behind his head. He was sure his man had a good chance of being selected. He had checked out the files of the three other men and none had carried out lethal missions like Golzar.
He wondered what his boss was going to show them at the university. It had to be a new weapon.
He shut down his screens and headed to his bed. Thoughts of the Hajar twins and killing Americans filled his mind as he drifted off to sleep.