By the time David's plane landed in Berlin, a mere two hours after he had left Kurt and the laboratory, the secure lines between Berlin and the rest of the Western world were close to collapsing from intensive use. The commotion was unprecedented: cabinet ministers in a dozen countries were recalled for urgent secret meetings with the chiefs of their intelligence services. Experts on international affairs were brought in to those meetings to deliver their opinion on the implications. Scientists were consulted, advice was sought from political analysts and top military authorities were requested to develop operational scenarios. Politicians of all kinds just waited for the news to become public so that they could gain some credit, or at least get some time in the media. However, all governments, without exception, swore their members and consultants to secrecy with the threat of prosecution for high treason if a word leaked out. Surprisingly not a word did leak and even the most well-connected journalists and reporters didn't catch on.
David decided to cut short his stay in Berlin and return to Israel. However, due to the late hour, the next scheduled flight from Berlin to Tel-Aviv was due only in the morning. Julia met him at the gate and took him straight to her apartment. She had already received word from Mossad headquarters that David had discovered some troubling news about Iran and wanted to know more about it. David was reluctant to share all the details and just said "There are strong indications that the Iranians had deliberately and blatantly violated the nuclear deal that they had signed. There is some evidence that they had been working with fissile materials in a clandestine laboratory in the heart of Tehran".
Julia wanted to get more specific information "Does this mean that they are trying to build an atomic weapon?"
David replied "There is not much use for fissile materials of this type for other applications. Yes, we fear that they are up to something that goes way beyond conventional warfare."
Julia then hit the nail on the head and said "Is all this connected to the elimination of the Iranian nuclear scientists that Segan's firm had carried out?"
David just hummed "Possibly, but we have no evidence" he then added "I wonder if this is related to the murder of Sam and Ruby. Is it likely that they had found out something from the scientists they eliminated?"
Julia said "I guess we'll have to find Segan and ask him if they said anything about this, but I don't think that they had any type of discussion with their victims".
David said "I have to return to Israel on the first flight in the morning. Could you try to question Segan with your local people?"
Julia nodded and pulled David to the bedroom "Let's make the most of the couple of hours you have before going to the airport."
She drove David to the airport and he boarded his flight. He fell asleep even before the wheels of the plane left the ground. This time he wasn't bothered by the captain's announcement or the cabin attendants' antics — he was much too tired. He woke up just as the plane landed after a dreamless sleep.
The Prime Minister of Israel was a great orator and was considered as one of the world champions in manipulative public relations. His entrance was announced by the press secretary and he approached the podium with a brisk stride, took a long moment to look at the representatives of the mass media that filled the press-room. He was pleased to see that all the seats were taken and more reporters lined up along the walls of the room. He was especially glad to see that behind the last row of chairs a large bank of TV cameras that represented all the major networks were focused on him. He looked down at the prompter and decided to ignore the statement that had been prepared in advance. After welcoming the reporters and thanking them for attending he said "I would like to commend the humanitarian behavior of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its gesture of goodwill. I call upon Vicki and Morris Aladgem to come and stand by my side". The elderly couple rose from their seats in the front row and stood on both sides of the PM. He continued "They will answer your questions after my short speech. You all know that ever since the Islamic revolution in Iran that took place in 1979 the relations between Israel and Iran were not good". Some of the reporters appreciated the gross understatement and barely managed to refrain from laughing. "We were strongly opposed to the nuclear deal between Iran and the Six Powers and to the subsequent lifting of the economic and trade sanctions that were imposed on Iran. But once the deal was signed by all parties and Iran was reinstated as a regular member of the international community we toned down our opposition. We were glad to see the results of the 2016 elections in Iran that indicated that things were beginning to change — the ultra-conservative faction in Iran lost some of its power to more moderate representatives of the people". A round of applause interrupted his speech. The PM paused dramatically, made sure that all eyes and ears were focused on him, and said "The nuclear deal includes several clauses that impose much closer supervision of the declared nuclear sites and the right to carry out inspections at any suspicious site. In case a violation is found the economic and trade sanctions may be put back in place, and even more severe measures may be taken if the infringement is considered as a major or gross violation". The audience fell silent, expecting the PM to announce that something was afoot, but he stepped back from the podium and indicated that Vicki and Morris should take his place.
The senior reporter for Israeli television Channel 22 raised his hand and shouted "Mr. Prime Minister, will you take some questions, please" but the PM ignored him and the press secretary intervened "Please direct your questions at Morris and Vicki" and gave the floor to the reporter from Israel's official channel. "Mr. Aladgem, can you tell us how you were captured?"
Morris was a bit uncomfortable by the unaccustomed attention he received. "I have been persuaded by a major publisher to write a book about that and what happened in the prison, so I'll be brief. My wife, Vicki, and I took a hot air balloon flight in Turkey. When we landed we were taken as prisoners by a group of armed men that threw us into a van and drove all across Turkey to Iran. We were placed in Evin Prison and locked up in a large cell with a few other Israelis. I must say that we were treated well from the moment we were captured until our surprising release a couple of days ago. I wish to thank Imam Mourtashef for allowing me to join my wife or else I wouldn't be here today". He looked at Vicki and hugged her as she started shedding tears.
A reporter from Channel 10 raised her hand and said "Vicki, could you tell us about the other hostages?"
Vicki took the microphone "I can only tell you that they are all well. We were advised not to go into any personal details". The reporter was disappointed but didn't pursue the matter. She realized that there were probably some sensitive issues involved. She recalled the case of the Air France flight to Paris that was diverted to Uganda by a mixed group of German and Palestinian terrorists in 1976. Among the captives were a man and a woman who had deceived their spouses and traveled together to the city of lights. The embarrassment that followed their release superseded the relief of their spouses when they returned home.
The press secretary took the podium "Morris and Vicki are still recovering from their ordeal. Please respect their privacy."
The television set in the office of the Senior Assistant was turned on to the France-24 channel in English that covered the press conference in Jerusalem. The Senior Assistant and Imam Mourtashef had taken seats on the sofa facing the TV set while General Aslawi paced to and fro while keeping an eye on the TV. After hearing the Israeli PM praise the humanitarian gesture they all smiled, but when he continued his speech they began to feel uncomfortable. They weren't sure if his warning about violation of the nuclear deal was just a continuation of his attempts to intimidate Iran or if he suspected specific foul play. In the back of their minds they worried if he somehow got word about the clandestine laboratory.