The Imam read it slowly and Koliagin could see that the mention of each scientist and the way he met his fate visibly shook the Imam. Koliagin himself just glanced at the document and noted "David, this testimony is not signed. You could have concocted the whole thing".
David had expected this reaction and simply said "I could have easily forged a signature to please you, but I believe that after seeing the video you will understand why no signature is needed."
The Imam looked up from the document and simply stated "This looks convincing as far as the details of the murders of my people are concerned. But again, if Mossad sanctioned these murders then you would obviously know all the details. This document could have been written by anybody who ordered or carried out the heinous murders, not only by a renegade ex-Mossad operative as you claim. Let's see your video and then judge the authenticity of the document you presented as a testimony. I doubt if any court would accept it at face value."
David sighed inwardly although appeared to be nonchalant. He asked the general's permission to screen the video and General Koliagin responded "I am now really curious. Please go ahead."
David took hold of the remote controller and turned on the overhead projector. He inserted his thumb drive, manipulated the mouse and clicked on the icon of his video. Nothing happened at first so the general looked at the Imam and David and said "I guess we have to reboot the computer, just as you both need to do so with the relations between your two countries." David smiled at the witticism but the Imam reverted to his poker face and didn't respond.
Finally the video was on. David tried to read the expressions on the Imam's face and on the general's face. At the beginning neither had shown any emotions but as Ross, actually his silhouette, continued with his narrative they appeared to be fascinated by the revelation of the contract. The Imam kept wondering if Ross had a mole inside the IRG or the secret laboratory and feared that its secret existence was compromised. The general was more interested to find out who Ross was and to lay his hands on him and on Segan. David figured that the body language of both of them indicated their skepticism and cold detachment.
David asked them if they wanted to watch the video one more time and both nodded. When it reached the end David switched off the projector and waited to hear their impressions. General Koliagin spoke first "Why did you hide the identity of the person in the video and the man who gave the testimony you showed us earlier? This makes your whole story less credible and raises the question if this is just a clever red herring." The Imam nodded again to indicate that he agreed with the general.
David turned the projector back on and said "I was afraid that you would want more proof. So I'll show you the first part of the video and hopefully this will convince you that Mossad was not behind the elimination of the scientists." He screened the part where Alan Ross gave his name, his former name in Iran and his position at the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office. David noticed that the body language of the Imam and the general had changed and they were now in a receptive pose. He figured that they were now assured that Israel and Mossad had nothing to do with the contract.
The Imam said "We had always known that the head of the Iranian desk at the FCO was a supporter of the opposition. Of course we knew that he was a former Iranian but we had never suspected that he would be actively mixed up in a dastardly attack on the democratically elected regime. I cannot but wonder if it was possible that his masters at the Foreign Office didn't know what he was up to. If there is any proof of government involvement this would lead to a major crisis between the UK and Iran."
The general was still interested in the identity of Segan. He said "We've also come across this Alan Ross character but thought that he just another of the British civil servants that were self-appointed experts on Iran. I also question the behavior of his bosses at the FCO — is it possible that they knew nothing about his activities? I tend to believe you, and Ross's statement, that Segan's firm operated on purely capitalistic grounds without any moralistic guidelines. I believe that Mossad condones his participation in the contract. I only don't understand why he is still alive after all the trouble he caused."
David looked directly at the Imam and said "I hope you are convinced that Israel had nothing to do with your scientists. We now need to negotiate the release of the hostages you are holding in your prison."
The Imam made a show of deliberating the issue. He said "I now believe that the Zionist Entity had nothing to do with the murder of our scientists, but there are many other reasons for regarding you as our enemies. Your Prime Minister keeps threatening us that your air force will attack us, he keeps calling us liars and claims that we are deceiving the world and not following our obligations under the nuclear deal, he keeps trying to turn the American administration and congress against us, he keeps blaming us for supporting terrorists in the Middle East and elsewhere, he keeps inciting the Europeans against buying our oil and trading with us. Why should we be concerned about the fate of a dozen Israelis?"
General Koliagin wanted to make some progress so he proposed "Honorable Imam, why don't you start negotiations with the Israelis? Your country is ten time bigger that theirs so what are you afraid of?"
The Imam responded "If the Zionist Entity will stop meddling in our internal affairs and publicly admit that it was a former Mossad agent that was responsible for the murder of our scientists we would be willing to release one hostage as a gesture of goodwill, and then continue to negotiate."
The general was pleased with this declaration while David suspected that the Iranian had some ulterior motives. So he cautiously asked "Which one will you release first and what more do you want?"
The Imam pretended that he didn't hear the second part of the question and said "We'll select one of the hostages — probably one with medical problems — and send that person in a private jet directly to Tel Aviv. You will publicly commend the humanitarian behavior of the Islamic Republic of Iran and hold a press conference parading the hostage and praising our regime."
David agreed and the left the room after thanking General Koliagin for his hospitality. All three were satisfied with the outcome of the meeting, but the Imam was the happiest. After all, his scheme had made one more step towards completion.
Three press conferences were held simultaneously in Moscow, Tel-Aviv and Tehran.
In Moscow, General Koliagin announced that an agreement was reached between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the State of Israel on the release of an Israeli hostage that was held in Evin Prison. He emphasized that it was a gesture of goodwill by the Iranians. The international press that was summoned to the general's office was caught off guard. They thought the press conference would be another boring propaganda opportunity about the Russian policy in Middle East and that the general would express his country's continuous yearning for world peace. After the announcement the general's press secretary said that he would take a few questions.
The correspondent for the official Russian television network asked "Does this mean that there were direct negotiations between Iran and Israel?"
The general said "I have personally hosted two unofficial meetings between representatives of both countries. At the first meeting both sides were suspicious of one another but at the next meeting their attitude had changed and they demonstrated some flexibility. This does not mean that Iran and Israel are about to resume diplomatic relations but it is a small step in that direction."
The next question came from CNN "General Koliagin, can you give more specific details about the negotiations. What exactly did the two sides agree to do?"