Nagib hugged her and let her tears fall on his shoulder. He gently lifted her chin and looked into her eyes and when she managed a shy smile he kissed her eyes and then her lips in a comforting and soothing manner. Their kiss turned into a hungry, passionate kiss, and Alia pulled him to his feet and led the way to her bedroom holding his hand. Nagib knew that he needed to act as if he had little sexual experience and played coy, letting Alia take the initiative. After all she had been married and supposedly knew something about making love. He followed her lead and obeyed her tutoring and really enjoyed being seduced. Once in bed he did not care about her plain looks and actually enjoyed her full figure that was a welcome change after the skinny all-American girls he used to date in Albuquerque. In fact, since he had moved to Los Alamos a couple of years earlier he had not formed a serious relationship and had gone a long time without a woman. So it was expected that their first sexual encounter would not last long — she ascribed this to his lack of experience while he attributed it to the long period of abstention. Both were young and energetic so the second time around came shortly and this time both were more considerate and gentle, and with her firm guidance both were fully satiated, collapsing in each other's arms and snuggling comfortably. Afterwards, when they were sitting quietly and drinking a cup of tea Nagib told her about his parents' house that was bulldozed to the ground by the IDF and about the death of his brother, the Shahid. Alia asked him if he returned to comfort his parents after their loss and he replied that he didn't want to be noticed by the Israeli authorities as he had grand plans for avenging the injustice brought upon his family. She enquired what he had in mind but Nagib evaded the question saying that his plans had not yet been thought through and that he would be glad to share them with her. Alia offered her unconditional help to get back at the Israelis and held his hand tightly.
Alia and Nagib decided to move in and live together, and as his apartment was slightly bigger than hers she terminated her lease and moved all her belongings to his apartment. They were required to notify the Lab security office of their new status, but both were employees of the Lab this was not a problem and each kept their job. Alia's colleagues at the security office were thrilled with the news and congratulated her on her choice of a handsome partner, especially after her unsuccessful marriage to the cowboy. Nagib's colleagues were also glad to hear that he was at last settling down. His supervisor, Dr. LeClerk, who Nagib informally addressed as Brian, invited Nagib and Alia to a poolside barbecue party at his house, and it was attended by the whole group of the analytical chemistry laboratory.
Alia called her parents in Durango and told them she had found the love of her life and they immediately invited her to bring him over for a visit. So, the following weekend Nagib and Alia left the Lab after work on Friday afternoon and took the four hour drive to Durango, arriving late in the evening. Despite the light snow the roads were open so there were no delays. Alia's parents were thrilled when Nagib wished them a good evening in perfectly accented Palestinian Arabic, but somewhat disappointed when it turned out that he was a Muslim. However seeing the radiant glow of their daughter's face and hearing that he was a non-practicing Muslim alleviated their concerns about the relationship. When it turned out that Nagib's parents lived less than 20 km from their village of Beit-Jala they started looking for common acquaintances and within minutes found quite a few — the game of Palestinian Geography brought them closer together. Alia's mother was busy in the kitchen preparing the favorite dishes that her husband and only daughter loved and blushed when Nagib gave her the ultimate compliment saying that it was just like his own mother's cooking. Alia's father was also glad to see that Nagib drank his share of red wine during the meal and then joined him on the cold veranda for a whiff of a nargilah. The weekend was very pleasant and Alia's parents smiled and did not protest when Nagib and Alia slept together in her childhood bedroom. On Sunday afternoon the young couple drove back to their apartment in Los Alamos and felt closer than ever and started to discuss wedding plans.
Dr. Eugene Powers was combining business and pleasure by attending a conference organized by GICNT (Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism) in Jerusalem and spending a few days vacationing in Tel-Aviv. The conference, like most other conferences of its kind, was 90 % politics and 10 % science and technology. The senior delegate of each country, and there were over 30 countries represented here, read a dry statement about the dangers of nuclear terrorism and the importance of stopping it. It was practically impossible to find differences between the statements, even with a magnifying glass, although with a scanning electron microscope one could find some fine nuances. Eugene was bored out of his mind, but when his turn came he read the trite declaration drafted by the State Department and feigned as much passion as if Archimedes had just discovered the buoyant forces in his bath tub. He was glad when the conference was over and he was free to roam the beaches of Tel-Aviv that even in late November were crowded with fun seekers and health aficionados. He noted the large, practically windowless building close to the sea front and saw the armed security guards and knew that it was the Embassy of the United States. He was looking forward to having a home cooked dinner later that evening with his friend David Avivi, the Mossad agent.
David and Eugene became close friends when they had worked together in Vienna on the case that became known in the popular press as the Dreadful Alchemist affair. So when he rang the bell of David's modest apartment in Ramat Aviv and the door opened he was received with big smiles and warm embraces by David and by his girlfriend, Orna. She had been the security officer of the Israeli delegation to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) when Eugene and his Russian colleague suspected some foul play with gamma radiation therapeutic sources and sought the help of Mossad. Orna had made the contact between Eugene and David and worked closely with them and the International Task Force.
After a delicious home cooked dinner the three of them relaxed in the living room and over a few glasses of chilled homemade Limoncello chatted about their present work in as much detail as they could, considering their occupation. Orna told Eugene that after the affair in Vienna she had been given a citation of merit and was invited to join Mossad and work with David, which she gladly accepted. David didn't say much about his work but let Eugene understand that he was still involved in chasing the "bad guys" that posed potential threats to Israel's security. Eugene informed them that he was now posted in the Washington office of the NNSA, the National Nuclear Security Administration that operated under the Department of Energy. He said that his job involved a lot of travel to the National Laboratories that were supervised by the NNSA. David told Eugene about the time he had spent in New Mexico when his father was there on sabbatical, and Eugene mentioned that he had returned from a visit to Los Alamos just before heading to Israel. David knew better than to ask him what he did there so they discussed the tourist sites of New Mexico. As they were parting Eugene mentioned in passing that while visiting the Lab he attended a presentation on advanced analytical procedures that was given by, what he jokingly called, "a former close neighbor of yours". This intrigued David who asked Eugene what he meant by that and Eugene said that he was referring to a naturalized ex-Palestinian scientist, who was a graduate of NMSU. Eugene said he did not remember the name of the scientist but would look it up and send it to David upon his return to Washington.