A week later Ross and Segan met again at the same place. Ross asked "What did you think about my proposal? Have you reached a decision?"
Segan said "I need to know more about your plan".
Alan Ross leaned back in his chair and his eyes seemed to stare into space for a moment. Then he sat straight up "The contract calls for the elimination of a number of Iranian key scientists and security personnel who play an important role in Iran's nuclear program. This will be done by your most experienced and trustworthy people, preferably former Mossad agents with field experience. They must not be caught alive, meaning that if there is a risk of them being captured they must be willing to sacrifice their lives. As you correctly reckon, this will do your home country a great service. I was led to believe that your ex-Mossad agents, like yourself, are Israeli patriots and willing to give their life to fight Israel's most bitter enemy. The people of Iran are not the enemy, the hateful Islamic regime and the Mullahs are. Once the regime is stripped of its nuclear weapon capability and is forced to give up the dream of becoming a nuclear power and dominate the region through intimidation, then the people will rise and overthrow the confining tyranny imposed by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. The IRG has manipulated the Mullahs and now controls the economy and strangles it. They have become so greedy that the leaders have bank accounts in Switzerland and the Cayman Islands. The common people know this but are afraid to say anything. Once the IRG is toppled this information will become common knowledge with bank statements as proof and the voice of the people will resonate throughout Iran and the world."
Segan was shocked by the emotional outburst and began to doubt if Ross was indeed an Englishman and not an Iranian. He asked "You mentioned a large sum of money. I know that the Iranian opposition is pitiable and without outside financial support would have crumbled long ago. Where does the money come from?" Segan knew well the old axiom that was taught to all intelligence operators and police forces across the globe "follow the money trail".
Ross looked a bit uncomfortable "I cannot say where the money for this operation comes from, but I can give you a brief review of the recent developments in the region and their roots. You can then draw conclusions at your own risk. You know, as all experts on the Middle East discern, that Iran regards itself as the leader of the true Islam while Saudi Arabia sees all the Shiites, and the Iranians in particular, as infidels and traitors. No love is lost between these two rivals. Periodically the tension between them erupts overtly. For example, when hundreds of Muslims, including several Iranian Shiites, were trampled to death in Mecca, Iran blamed the Saudi royal family. When a Shiite leader was executed by the Saudis, together with dozens of Sunni Al-Qaida terrorists, the Saudi embassy in Tehran was sacked, supposedly by crowds that gathered spontaneously. When Iran threatened to develop an atomic bomb the Saudis ran to Pakistan begging to purchase one of their nuclear bombs to counter Iran's threats. So you can guess who is funding the opposition groups in Iran. Unfortunately, there are several such groups that operate separately and each faction wants to lead the opposition resulting in an uncoordinated effort against the Mullahs. Only if the regime is perceived as ready to fall will they unite. That's why the operation is so important."
Once again Segan was surprised at the flare-up of temper by the apparently cool man. He said "Do you sincerely believe that eliminating a number of nuclear scientists would be the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back?"
Alan Ross just nodded, before Segan said "Well, in view of the potential rewards for the financiers of this operation, and the risks involved to my people, I would have to add to the contract a clause that ensures a bonus for success. And I would need a list of targets and detailed information about them, particularly where and when they can be hit outside of Iran because my resources inside Iran are practically non-existent".
Ross responded "The bonus is agreed in principle but we need to agree on the size. I could add 25 % to the original offer as a reward for toppling the regime and another 25 % if my sponsor's closest group gains control. I'll prepare a list of vulnerable and worthy targets. I have to stipulate, just in case it wasn't obvious, that all the operations must not be traced to me or my group and certainly not to the source of our funding. No official announcement will be made…"
Segan interrupted "The Iranians will suspect their natural enemies — what they call the Great Satan and the Little Satan — and who knows what their response would be."
Ross continued "I was just about to say that your bonus would be doubled if the Lesser Satan could be blamed".
Segan thought about this and said "Realistically this would be impossible. The Russians would not jeopardize the large market that has opened up after the nuclear deal. There are already advanced negotiations for the construction of two more nuclear power plants at the Bushehr site to be built by the Russians. These are multi-billion projects that will be signed by the Mullahs regime, while a democratic government would probably prefer French technology or even the American safer power plants".
Ross shrugged and said "As long as we are not caught red-handed you can let the Iranians speculate and guess but leave no footprints or fingerprints."
Segan said "Before we sign, well not literally of course, a contract for the job, I'll need to know how many people are to be eliminated and the schedule. I would prefer to carry out the job within less than one month because once we start the level of watchfulness would rise and the next targets will be harder to strike."
Ross replied "This is a good point. I'll gather the background information and we'll set the schedule for the beginning of the operation and the timeframe for its completion. I suggest we meet in six months to conclude our deal. Meanwhile make sure that you use your most reliable and capable people for this operation."
Segan said that he needed an advance payment of 10 million dollars in addition to the fees for the contract and when Ross agreed he gave him the number of one of his accounts in a Swiss bank.
Segan checked that the money was transferred to his account and called on his two most trusted operatives — Ruby and Sam — and briefed them on the upcoming contract. Once again Sam was skeptical and Ruby cynically said that this operation should have been carried out a decade earlier as that would have stopped the Iranian nuclear weapons program in its infancy. Segan agreed with her on this point but said that in this case "better late than never" applied. He proudly said that this operation could possibly reinstate the three of them as true patriots and that their dishonorable discharge from Mossad would be forgotten. In his own mind he hoped that this spectacular operation and outcome would renew his chances of becoming Mossad head after Shimony. None of them stopped to reconsider the whole operation and the dangers involved.