DUBAI, UAE—09:40 / 9:40 A.M. GST
The Mossad driver, who had introduced himself as Evan, took another quick right turn, and the silver Land Rover moved inland, leaving the seacoast behind. Nir had never seen this guy before, but it was evident that he’d been doing this for a while. His tradecraft was spectacular. His intersection work and rapid turns were well-planned and choreographed to ensure that no one could follow them without detection. From his place in the back seat behind James, Nir stored away what he was learning for future use.
After driving around the city for another 45 minutes, the SUV turned into the parking lot of a massive shopping mall. Evan spoke from the front seat in his distinctly Irish brogue. “Just walk around. Pretend like you belong. Either Gail or Kevin will find you. They’ll have something for you and some instructions. Then just walk the mall, kill time. I’ll be back at 12:40 to pick you up from where I drop you off.”
Three hours seemed like a long time to be out and exposed, but it was no use expressing his misgivings to Evan. He was just the messenger. Besides, who knew what was going on in the ops planning? There was likely a good reason they’d be here that long.
Evan left them at an entrance and drove off. James held the door for Nir, and they went in. Immediately, Nir knew why this place had been chosen for the meet. It was swarming with people from all over the world. Every ethnicity, every style of dress, every language appeared to be represented. The variety was so great that the differences blended together into one rainbow, where no one person stood out from another.
The mall was enormous, bigger than any shopping location he’d ever seen. Four stories, and it seemed to stretch out forever. Like everything else in Dubai, the building looked like it had just been constructed. No fading paint, no stained flooring… Everything simply sparkled.
“This place is insane,” James said.
“No doubt. I think the kibbutz where I grew up would fit in here three times over.”
They wandered for a while. Every luxury brand one could think of had a storefront here, and they were definitely doing good business. Everyone seemed to be carrying shopping bags, except for a few women whose hired help toted their purchases a respectful one-and-a-half meters behind them.
After 20 minutes or so, a young woman brushed up against Nir. “Gail is to your right,” she said without looking at them, then continued on.
Nir elbowed James, and they altered their course. About 30 meters ahead was a small alcove with a number of tables. Gail sat at one of them, her back to a wall. She was pretty, with blond hair, a long, narrow face, and a ready smile.
“Michael, James,” she said as they sat down. “So glad to see you.”
“Hi, Gail. I like the look.” Nir knew her as Eliana, a dark-haired agent from Tel Aviv.
“It’s my glamour look.” She laughed. “Okay, here’s where we are. Plasma Screen’s plane arrives at 15:30. We don’t know where he’ll be staying, but it’s usually one of three hotels. We’ll have surveillance on him from the time he lands. Also, we’ll have teams watching the entrances to those hotels in case we somehow lose him from the airport.”
A pair of colorfully dressed Nigerian women passed close to the table, and Gail paused. When they were gone, she picked up again. “Once he checks into the hotel, we’ll get a room right by his. Obviously, we don’t know his schedule, but we do know he always meets his IRGC contact for dinner the first night he’s here.”
“Nothing kills you faster than routine,” James said.
Nir agreed. “True, but you’ve got to kiss the ring of your masters, especially if it’s the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.”
Gail centered them back in. She had a script she needed to deliver, and it didn’t seem like she had time to get sidetracked. “Listen, if he does go out, we’ll hit tonight. If for some reason he breaks routine, then we’ll be on hold for whenever he next leaves his room. Once he’s gone, we’ll get you and the other team into the hotel and into his room. When he returns, you two will subdue him. From the other team, Chester will stand as backup, and David will use the device.”
“Tell me about this device,” Nir said.
“It’s an ultrasound injection device. David will hit him with a lethal dose of suxamethonium chloride. But instead of using a needle, he’ll deliver it using ultrasound waves. That way there won’t be a mark.”
Nir inwardly marveled. “Ultrasound waves? I didn’t even know that was possible.”
“Make sure they get the dose right this time,” James said.
“What do you mean, this time?” Nir asked.
“Four months ago, right here in Dubai, they spiked Plasma Screen’s drink with something. It was supposed to kill him, but instead it just gave him a bad case of the runs. I doubt he even knows he dodged a bullet. He probably thinks he just ate some bad fish.”
Gail shook her head. “Come on. I need you to focus. I’ve got other teams to talk to. Trust me, the dosage is fine this time. You do your job, and the operation will be a success. There’s a shopping bag at your feet. At the bottom of it is a phone. I know you’ve run through that whole drill. Just speed dial 1, and it will connect you to us.”
Nir used his foot to move the bag up against his chair.
“You’ve got some time before Evan picks you up to take you back to the hotel. Wander around. Blend in. Go see the aquarium. Make yourself hard to tail. If it’s a go tonight, we’ll meet in the parking garage of whatever hotel Plasma Screen checks into. Evan will bring you. I’ll let you know either way. Now, go.”
Nir snatched up the bag, then he and James blended back into the crowd.
Time dragged as they roamed through the mall. In one of the food courts they found a Canadian coffee shop called Tim Horton’s. There, they killed twenty minutes with lattes and a couple of bagels. Never much of a shopper, Nir felt like he was trapped in a giant luxury funhouse. To add insult to injury, when he tried to find the ski slope on a giant mall’s map board, James informed him that the indoor skiing was at the Mall of the Emirates. They were at the Dubai Mall. Sad. That was the one thing he’d wanted to see.
Evan delivered them back to their hotel by 13:30. Although they weren’t tired, they both tried to nap. They would need their wits and strength when it all started to go down.