SIX MONTHS LATER
CARL, MOSSAD HEADQUARTERS, TEL AVIV, ISRAEL—JUNE 24, 2021—13:30 / 1:30 P.M. IDT
The reports coming through on the operation were good. Sitting behind his desk, the door to his office not quite closed, Nir scanned satellite photos of the damage and was impressed at what one explosive-laden quadcopter drone could do. The targeted building was part of the Iran Centrifuge Technology company, or TESA. Located outside the city of Karaj, just an hour’s drive northwest of Tehran, TESA was responsible for the production of the fine-tuned pieces of machinery necessary to enrich uranium to a weapons-grade level.
As usual, Iran claimed it had thwarted the attack, but a thwarted attack doesn’t bring down the roof of a building like he saw in the photo. What had to be especially enraging to the IRGC was the fact that quadcopters have such a limited range. They had to suspect that this damage was caused by their own citizens.
And they’d be right about that. The ayatollahs would be amazed at how many people hate them enough that they would come alongside outside forces to sabotage their own government. But this is nothing compared to what we pulled off in our latest attack on Natanz in April.
The Natanz operation was classic Mossad. Nir would have loved to have been part of it, but it wasn’t his type of operation. It was an intricate plot carried out over the long-term, so there was no need for a Kidon-style strike. Mossad agents posing as dissidents approached ten scientists who worked at the Natanz nuclear facility, which was still recovering from the construction materials blast in July of last year. Over time, they won them over to their side and convinced them to sabotage their own nuclear plant. Using both quadcopters and food deliveries, pieces of an explosive device were smuggled in. The scientists assembled the parts, then detonated the bomb.
It wasn’t the size of the blast that caused so much damage but where it was located. The bomb went off alongside the main power supply for the plant. The ensuing blackout shut down the centrifuges in the uranium enrichment center, causing the machines to overheat. Ninety percent of the facility’s centrifuges were destroyed, setting Iran’s nuclear program back by months.
He tucked the photos and report back into a folder, then reached for an envelope. After unwinding a red string, he opened it and scanned the contents—something about rumblings with Putin in Russia. His mind, though, drifted back to the Iran operations.
Once again, the damage cost them only months. Those months will pass, and then we’ll be right back where we were with a soon-to-be-nuclear-equipped Tehran and a giant target right here on Tel Aviv.
Tossing the papers onto his desk, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. No matter how many times he flew, he still fought jet lag whether he was going east or west. During the April Natanz attack, he’d stayed in Antwerp working at Yael Diamonds. But when he heard about the TESA operation, he wanted to be here to watch. Using the excuse of having to buy diamonds at the exchange in Ramat Gan, he’d flown in three days ago.
The team, minus Nicole, had watched the action via satellite. This time Liora provided a huge bowl of caramel corn, and it was addictive. He still felt a bit of a sugar hangover after the massive quantities he’d eaten.
His mind drifted to Nicole. Right now she existed in his life only through phone calls and the occasional Zoom—well, on a secure Zoom-like video chat system she’d created just for them. Because she’d taken so much time off for Operation Bezalel, she felt she had to dive deep into modeling in order to reestablish herself in that world. Every time they talked, it seemed she was in another part of the globe. He didn’t know how she did it.
He wondered if he should be clearer with her about his feelings. Was it time for them to go to the next level and make a commitment of some sort? One side of him said absolutely, one hundred percent, without a doubt. But he knew that was because he missed the part of their relationship that ceased when she became a Christian and got her new set of morals. Yeah, it would be nice, but that motive wasn’t strong enough for a life commitment.
And she’d already made it clear she could never make a lasting pledge to any man who didn’t believe the same way she believed.
I could just pray some prayer with her and all would be good. But I don’t make empty commitments. If I say I’m going to give myself to something or someone, I’m going to do it. And the truth remains that I’m still not convinced about her Jesus. Besides, she has one of the greatest ingrained lie detectors I’ve ever seen.
His mind went back to one of the secure video calls he’d had with her in March. She was wrestling with the deceit sometimes needed with her work in the Mossad. In particular, she was feeling guilty about hiding so much from Alicia Marcos.
“Sometimes it feels as though I become another person. It’s like what I’ve heard people who go on reality shows say. ‘I’m really an honest person, but here I lie and cheat and steal. Yet it’s okay, because it’s all just part of the game.’ And I get that. But this isn’t a game. It’s real life.”
“But it kind of is a game, Nicole. Just with higher stakes. I remember a story about David from when I grew up. This was before he was king and Saul was coming after him. I think Saul had tried to attack him with a spear or something. But David went to where the priests were, and he was really hungry, so he had them give him and his men the sacred bread that was only for the priests. Technically, both David and the priests were in the wrong, but my teacher said it was okay because it was for a greater good.”
Nicole had laughed. “Jesus used the same story talking about the Sabbath.”
“Jesus and I must have gone to the same yeshiva.”
“I understand the greater good. I know sometimes you need to play a part. I just wish there wasn’t so much of it in the Mossad.”
“Unfortunately, it’s who we are. It was even in our motto.”
Nicole looked surprised. “What motto? The Proverbs motto on the Mossad seal?”
“That’s the one.”
Nicole shook her head. “I don’t think so. I memorized it in training. It’s Proverbs 11:14—‘Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.’”
“That’s what it is now, after they changed it. That’s why I said was. The first one came from Proverbs 24:6. I think your English translation says something like With wise counselors—or maybe it’s With wise guidance—you can wage war. An alternative translation of the Hebrew, though, says, ‘By way of deception you can wage war.’ In Israel, we’ve always known we can never be the strongest. So instead, we need to be the smartest.”
“‘Wise as serpents and innocent as doves’ is what Jesus said.”
“Yeah, I’m with Him, at least on the first part. We’ve got to be smarter than the rest. Another time Solomon, I think, talks about a city being under siege. The king and the warriors realize they can’t fight their way out. Then along comes this wise old man. He tells them what to do, and the city is saved. Not surprisingly, the old man is forgotten, but that’s okay because everyone survived.”
Understanding showed on Nicole’s face. “You’re saying we’re the old man. We use wisdom and trickery to defeat strength and weapons.”
“Exactly. And I have to say that for an old man, you’re looking pretty good.”
Now, as Nir sat at his desk, he could almost picture an old man in a raggedy robe walking up to the ramsad and saying, “You know, if you can convince ten scientists to smuggle in some explosives, you can blow up the nuclear plant’s power system and destroy all the centrifuges.” He smiled at the mental picture as he picked up the Russia memo again.
“Boss, you have to get in here now,” Yossi called from the workroom.