Karim intervened, "So, you are saying that it must be done in the middle of the day, and we must make it look like a natural thing. Do you have any idea how often coffins are exhumed?"
One of the women said, "The only thing I can think of is to pose as police investigators sent to exhume a coffin because of suspected foul-play. Make it look like official business. We can take advantage of the culture inbred in every Russian — to keep away from anything official that involves the police. We can obtain all the necessary items for the operation. Hassan knows that we had done this before — not in a public place like the cemetery — but to intimidate Muslims who refused to cooperate with the IRG."
Hassan nodded, "It can be done. Karim, I want an honest answer — is it worth the risk?"
Karim said, "You all know what lengths our country has gone to, to obtain an atom bomb. Our people have suffered decades of near starvation and mass unemployment, sacrificed basic human rights and democracy, just so that our leaders will make Iran great again." He wasn't aware of the irony of using the same phrase that POTUS and President Putin used so often. "Furthermore, if this nuke is miniaturized, it can be placed as a warhead on one of our long-range missiles and serve to retaliate against our enemies. If we get caught, we can trigger the device on the spot and send half of St. Petersburg with its infidels straight down to hell, where they deserve to be. We'll go up to Allah as martyrs and join our righteous ancestors sitting by the side of Mohammad. So, yes, there is no doubt that it is worth the risk." He looked around and saw the expressions of the faces of his small group and knew that they were with him. "Hassan, can you have everything we need for the big show ready for tomorrow? I think that at about two pm would be the best time." Hassan nodded, and they agreed to meet near the side gate at noon the next day.
Edna Rieger entered the building in which Malmo branch of the Sakerhetspolisen was located and was met by the director who handed her the list that Mossad had requested. She was surprised by the brevity of the list of known Islamic activists in Malmo. There were less than a dozen names on the list. She asked to speak to the officer in charge of counter-terrorism operations and he was summoned to the director's office. When the introductions were made, she asked, "Lieutenant Andersson, I understand that Malmo is the crime capital of Sweden and that it is attributed by the popular press to the rapid growing number of Muslims. They now comprise over one fifth of the residents of the city. How come the list you gave me is so short?" She had read on the internet that about 40 % of the city's 320,000 residents were foreign born, most of them Muslims.
The officer shrugged, "These are the Muslim activists who were convicted of terror activities and are in prison."
Edna gave him a look that she reserved for her grandchildren when they tried to deny their responsibility for breaking an expensive ornament by accident. She didn't say a word and waited for him to continue. The officer squirmed uncomfortably in his chair and stared at his boss. The director said, "Olaf, don't play dumb. Give the lady the list of known terrorists and suspects that are still at large."
Olaf reached into his pocket and presented Edna with a five-page list of names and addresses. Edna wasn't placated. "Please highlight the names of the leading suspects that have been involved with radical groups like Al Qaeda, Daesh and NEMESIS. I am not interested in the small fry." She returned the list to the intelligence officer who now seemed to lose his complacent expression.
He said, "Give me a couple of minutes to sort this out" and left the director's office.
Ten minutes later Lieutenant Andersson presented the same list with several names that were crossed out with black ink, and half a dozen were marked with a bright yellow highlighter. He pointed at one name, Bjorn Erik Larsson, "This is our prime suspect. Despite his very Swedish name, he is known by the locals as Abu Amar, in honor of the dead Palestinian leader he admires." Edna kept quiet, waiting for him to continue and after a long pause he added, "We have apprehended him several times but never managed to prove that he was personally responsible for any criminal activity. He has a very small group of followers but is greatly feared by the moderate Muslim community because of the cruel punishment he has dealt out to anyone who refused to give a 'contribution' to his cause. He has allegedly used a knife to scar Muslim girls who dated Christian men, but none of the victims were willing to testify in court against him."
Edna thanked Lieutenant Olaf Andersson and the director for their cooperation. She was acquainted with Mossad's methods of interrogation of suspects who were about to commit a major crime. They were not restricted by any national rules or international laws, especially in cases that were time-sensitive.
After leaving the Sakerhetspolisen office, she was joined by 'The Fish' and by Joe. Together, they devised a plan to get this Abu Amar guy to spill his guts out. In the evening, Joe was sent to the address on the list. It was in the middle of a neighborhood that consisted mostly of Muslims from all over the Islamic world. Joe had no problem posing as one of the many refugees from Syria who were seeking asylum in Sweden. He found a small café near the suspect's house and sat down to gossip with some of the other clients about the difficult times in Syria. He could speak Arabic like a native of Homs, or for that matter like a native of several other Arab countries. After three cups of coffee he saw a man whose description fitted the suspect, enter the building. A moment later, he saw lights go on and curtains drawn closed in the third-floor apartment that faced the café. He noted the apartment's location and then placed a discreet call to Edna telling her where he was. Edna told him to return to the hotel in which the Mossad agents were staying.
Once they were all together, 'The Fish' said, "We need to carry out the interrogation ourselves and do it tonight. It must be done in his apartment because we don't have the manpower and organization to kidnap him and take him to a safehouse."
Edna said, "We don't have time to study the man and discover his weaknesses and fears, but I think that brute force won't break him. We need to use psychological tricks to get him to talk. What we need from him is one thing only — the location of Le Docteur." She looked at 'The Fish', "You have a lot of experience in this field, after interrogating numerous Palestinian terrorists. You take the lead and we'll follow. Joe, you'll find a ruse to get him to open the door of his apartment, I'll have the dart-gun with the tranquilizer ready and 'The Fish' will grab him when he falls."
"Fine, then we'll disorient him, so that when he gains consciousness he'll be confused", said 'The Fish', "When he sees us, we'll make believe that he was transported to Israel and has no hope of getting free. While he is still unconscious we'll rearrange his apartment to look like an improvised interrogation chamber." They liked the simple plan although they knew that many things could go wrong with it.
The experienced Mossad agents knew that in real life even the best plans are often thwarted by unforeseen factors. The present operation was no different. Joe knocked on Abu Amar's door, while the other two agents leaned against the wall on both sides of the door, so they couldn't be seen from the peephole in the center of the door. The door was opened by a young woman, wearing a striped dressing gown, who had obviously been expecting someone else. She tried to close the door, but Joe pushed her aside with so much force that she fell. The three agents rushed through the door and saw the man they recognized as Abu Amar lying in bed, trying to cover himself with one hand and reaching for a gun that was under the bed with the other hand. Edna aimed the tranquilizer gun and shot a dart that hit Abu Amar in his bare chest. He yelled more in surprise than pain and a couple of seconds later lost consciousness. 'The Fish' grabbed the young woman by her hair and placed his large hand over her mouth to prevent her from screaming. Edna quickly drew another tranquilizer dart from her pocket, loaded the gun and fired it at the young woman. When she was out, 'The Fish' carried her to the bathroom, tied her hands and feet and laid her in the bathtub. He secured a scarf around her mouth to keep her silent and then checked her pulse and breathing. He nodded to Edna that she was neutralized and would not cause any trouble.