02:40 / 2:40 A.M. CEST
Nir pointed his pistol at the man’s face.
“Dr. Lindner. Oh, Dr. Lindner.”
The deep breathing of the German physicist never changed.
Nir turned to Imri. “Heavy sleeper.”
Imri shrugged.
Extending the barrel of his 9mm, Nir tapped the man on the forehead.
Lindner groaned and made a sleepy swipe across his face.
Nir tapped a little harder, and the man’s eyes snapped open.
“Augh!” he cried, scooting back into his wife.
Nir hushed him. “Quiet, Dr. Lindner. Your children are in the next room. You don’t want to wake them, do you?”
“Who are you? What do you want?”
“My name is irrelevant. What I want is to talk to you.”
As if suddenly noticing that his wife hadn’t awakened, he turned to look at her. “Ilse,” he said, shaking her. When there was no response, he turned back to Nir. “What have you done to her?”
“Nothing much. Just gave her something to help her sleep a little better. She’ll wake up tomorrow unaware we were here at all—unless you and I can’t come to an agreement tonight. Then she’ll likely wake up to a mess.”
“Please, don’t hurt my family. I’ll talk. Whatever you want.”
“Good. I appreciate that.”
Nir turned to see Imri walking back in through the bedroom door. He’d holstered his gun and was carrying two chairs from the breakfast nook. He set them in the middle of the floor facing each other.
“Please, sit,” Nir said, holstering his own gun, then sitting on one of the chairs. Without turning to look, he knew Imri’s weapon was back in his hand.
Lindner slipped from under the blanket. The only clothing on his “dad bod” was a white pair of briefs. He bent down to retrieve a T-shirt and shorts from the floor, but Nir stopped him.
“Those won’t be necessary. We won’t be here long.”
The man’s hand lingered mid-reach, and Nir knew this moment would determine the direction of the encounter. If Lindner defiantly continued his grab for his clothing, then whether the activities of the night would remain verbal or become physical would be up in the air.
With a sigh, Lindner pulled back his hand, then walked to the chair and sat down.
“Now, you asked me who I am. I represent a nation whose millions of citizens are at risk of annihilation due to your work.”
The physicist looked confused. He stammered, “I-I don’t know what it is you think I do. I am a consultant for TAPROGGE, a cleantech energy consultant. I have been on an extended contract in the Middle East…mostly in Iran and the Gulf States. I promise. That’s all I do.”
“So you don’t work with centrifuges?”
“What? No!”
“And your office is not in Karaj?”
The confidence in the doctor’s voice seemed to be building. “Certainly not. I have been there, of course, as part of my job with TAPROGGE. But that had nothing to do with centrifuge production.”
“So I’m completely mistaken?”
“I’m sorry. It’s true.”
Nir threw up his hands. “It is I, then, who must apologize to you. Here we have broken into your rental condo. Injected your wife with a narcotic. Threatened you with a handgun. And it was all based on faulty information.” Nir shook his head. “I must tell you, I am so embarrassed.”
The doctor gave a weak smile. “It is really no problem. I promise to tell no one that you were here.”
“That is a relief.” Nir prepared to stand. “Well, my friend and I should go. But before we do, may I ask you one more question?”
“Of course. Ask whatever you want.”
“Do you think they’ll call him Dad?”
Dr. Lindner looked confused. “Will who call who Dad?”
“Your two sons in the next room. Will they call your wife’s new husband Dad? I mean, she is fairly young and still quite attractive. I can’t imagine her not remarrying after you’re gone. Your children, too, are young. After a few years, those boys will forget your voice, then your face. Soon you will be just a distant memory, a smile on an old photograph.”
The scientist was shaking now. “I-I told you, I’m just a consultant. I don’t—”
“Stop lying to me.”
Nir’s voice was tinged with violence now. Lindner needed to know what he was up against. “Your work is assisting Iran in achieving a nuclear weapon. When they get one, they will use it on us—on my family. An old saying from the Babylonian Talmud says, ‘If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first.’ But this is your lucky day. I am rising up only to tell you that if you do not leave your service to the Iranian regime, I will come back. And then I will kill you, and quite possibly I will kill your family as well.”
“No!” When Nir shushed the doctor, he repeated in a loud whisper, “No. I will never go back to Iran. I promise. Just don’t hurt me or my family. I’ll never go back.”
“Do you believe me when I say that if you are lying to me, I will find you and I will kill you?”
The man vehemently nodded. “I do! You found me here, so you can find me anywhere, right?”
“Exactly. No wonder you’re a doctor. You’re very smart.” Nir stood and looked down at the man who was doing his best to control his emotions. “Do not disappoint me, Dr. Lindner. I will kill anyone who threatens my family or my country, and I will do it without remorse.”
As he was about to exit through the bedroom doorway, Nir turned and said, “Oh, and be sure to take your family to visit the Jardin boutanique d’Èze. I hear their collection of succulents is quite amazing.”
The doctor broke down, and Nir could still hear his sobs as he followed Imri out the condo’s rear door and onto the stony beach. They put up their hoods and made their way to the van. The only words that passed between them was when Imri chuckled and said, “Their collection of succulents is quite amazing?”
“I felt bad about the wife. Thought she might like it.”
Yaron was already at the van, and Dima ambled up 30 seconds later.
After daybreak, most of the team departed on separate flights for their circuitous trips home. By nightfall, all would be back in Israel, except for Nir. When mid-morning arrived, he climbed into his rented convertible BMW M440i and headed northeast along the coast of the Ligurian Sea. Two-and-a-half hours later, he made a brief stop for some bread and cheese in Genoa. Then turning north, he traveled inland for another 90 minutes before the spire of the UniCredit Tower came into view. The tallest building in Italy, the skyscraper dominated the skyline of Milan.