No, General Koliagin was not happy. Conspiracy theories were the bread and butter in Communist countries, and people of his generation grew up suckling such stories with their mother's milk. He wanted to discover what each side was scheming.
David and the Imam arrived at the same time. Koliagin opened the meeting "This is our third meeting and I hope we'll continue to make progress. I am glad that our last meeting went so well and that the Iranians released two hostages, not just one as agreed, and that the Israeli Prime Minister himself acknowledged that humanitarian gesture and thanked Iran in public. I would like to see how we can help to further resolve the differences between your countries" he looked at David and added "and of course expedite the return of the remaining hostages."
David said "Before we start I would like to thank the Imam and convey our gratitude for the wonderful silk rugs that he had so kindly sent us".
The Imam adopted a jovial expression "You are welcome. I hope you make good use of them. The Islamic Republic of Iran is willing to proceed and release the remaining hostages. We have realized that our original demand that Israel dismantle its nuclear research centers and allow IAEA inspector free access would not be acceptable, so we have changed our demands. There are more than fifty political prisoners in Israeli jails that we want released. They are mainly Shiite freedom fighters who worked for Hezbollah and we demand that they are to be returned to Lebanon promptly. In addition we demand all the bodies of dead Shiite freedom fighters also be returned to Lebanon. I have prepared a list of the prisoners. This is not negotiable. We insist that every single one of them will be released, regardless of the allegations against them."
David glanced at the copy of the paper that the Imam handed to him "I see that there are several terrorists with blood on their hands. They have been involved in the murder of innocent civilians. I need to consult with my government before agreeing to such a deal".
The Imam looked at General Koliagin and said "General, look at this proposed exchange. For each Israeli we are demanding only five of our people. Surely you recall other deals where the Israelis released more than one thousand prisoners for just one captive soldier! In the markets of Tehran this would be an offer no one can refuse."
David asked the general's permission to make a phone call. The general summoned his secretary and she escorted David out of the conference room and pointed at a telephone that was on her desk. David had his encrypted cell phone but decided to use the telephone she showed him. The call to Shimony was brief and, as the Russian FSB later heard from the recording of the call, the deal was immediately approved. Shimony emphasized that it should be done quickly.
David returned to the conference room and said that he got permission to agree to the proposal.
General Koliagin was pleased "It looks as we have reached an agreement. Honorable Imam, when do you wish to execute this deal?"
The Imam looked at David "As soon as the Israelis are ready. We have all the hostages in a safe place and can get them aboard the same private jet that delivered the first two hostages at a moment's notice. So I propose to carry out the exchange on the day after tomorrow. Our freedom fighters will be brought to the Lebanese border checkpoint and as soon as they cross into Lebanon the hostages will descend the plane's staircase and be reunited with their families. I suggest that both exchanges are simultaneously shown on TV." He grinned and added "A classic split screen event showing the joyous welcome by families and friends on both sides."
General Koliagin's instincts that there was some conspiracy involved were signaling to him that the speed with which this mutual agreement was reached was highly irregular. He decided to pursue the matter later and simply concluded the meeting saying he would be glad to continue to serve as the middle man.
David returned from Moscow and made his way directly from the airport to Shimony's office. He was surprised to see that Julia was there, but figured that she had some news about the murder of Sam and Ruby. Indeed, she said "I have collared Segan and questioned him. He was cooperative but adamantly declares that he had nothing to do with the murder of Sam and Ruby. He is sure that Alan Ross had contracted another firm to do the job in order to prevent them from giving any evidence that would surely implicate him in the elimination of the Iranian scientists. I believe Segan. So now you have to decide what to do about it".
Shimony thanked her and asked her to leave the office. As soon as the door closed behind her he said "David, I believe her. I think you can permanently remove her from your list of suspects. We'll deal with Alan Ross later and make sure that he pays dearly for these murders. Now, tell me exactly what happened in Moscow."
David repeated the conversation, not to say the negotiation that took place in Koliagin's office. Shimony heard him out and said "Well, now we have to really suspect the Iranians motives. The deal they offered us is too good to be true, and when something is too good it is probably not true. I couldn't care less about the 50 Hezbollah terrorists and certainly not about returning the bodies, but something smells fishy."
David agreed "Yes, I think that Koliagin was also suspicious. It is not like the Iranians to acquiesce so easily. I wonder if the private jet is the means for delivery of the device and the return of Morris and Vicky Aladgem was just a "dry run" to test us".
Shimony nodded "My sentiments exactly. We need to bring this to the PM".
David said "We should not allow the jet to land at Ben-Gurion airport near Tel-Aviv. Air traffic control can direct it to a remote air field. The best choice would be at Ovda air field that is mainly a military base that also accepts civilian flights, usually charter flights to Eilat. We can take precautions like transferring all our planes away from the base, install a powerful transmitter that will emit strong electromagnetic pulses to interfere with any electronic device on board and have a very small reception committee for the hostages. We can say that Ben-Gurion airport had to be closed down due to an emergency. So if indeed there is a nuclear device on the plane and it is not neutralized its detonation in the middle of nowhere will cause minimal damage".
Shimony said "I like the idea — start working. You have unrestricted authority to do whatever you see fit. I'll update the PM and tell him that the hostages may be at risk, in case the plane is booby-trapped, but the country is safe."
The Imam returned from Moscow and met with Senior Assistant and General Aslawi to report that their plan is working according to schedule. He told them about the negotiations and Israel's immediate agreement to the new toned down demands. He said "Every customer in the Souk knows that when something is unreasonably cheap it is either broken or stolen. The super-intelligent Mossad agent is probably used to the American way of doing business where the customer can return faulty merchandize and be refunded. This is not how the Middle East works."
The Senior Assistant said "Honorable Imam we commend you once again for pulling the wool over the eyes of the Zionists".
General Aslawi was more practical "So what is the schedule and how do we continue?"
The Imam said "The exchange is scheduled in two days' time. The fifty Hezbollah prisoners and dead bodies of the fighters will be brought to the border with Lebanon simultaneously with the landing of our jet with the hostages. The nuclear device will be placed in the same locked trunk in which we sent the Persian rugs last time. The pilot will get a key and be told that it opens the trunk but it will not work because we changed the lock. The device has a double triggering mechanism. It has an electronic trigger that can be set off by an encoded radio message. The message will be transmitted by a radio operator, one of our IRG officers, that we have positioned in a Hezbollah controlled enclave in southern Lebanon and has a range of 250 km — enough to cover Ben-Gurion airport that is about 200 km from the border with Lebanon. The officer will watch the TV coverage of the exchange and select the appropriate moment to send the signal. The fallback mechanism is mechanical and triggered by a change in air pressure. It is set to automatically go off exactly 15 minutes after the jet lands and its door is opened. We assume that the timing would be good even if we don't have direct control. This is a new type of device and the Chinese manufacturer assured us that it is foolproof."