The Increment: A Novel - By David Ignatius Page 0,111
over the years. He found nothing in this first scan; then he went back and looked for any business concerns in Mashad that might have touched his net. Again he came up dry.
“What did you say they were doing at this facility in Mashad?”
“I didn’t,” said Harry. “But my guess is that it parallels the work at Tohid. So they would be doing the basics of weaponization. Work on a trigger, probably with a neutron emitter. Work on timing the firing. Work on miniaturization of the core. Materials science, maybe. The key thing is the neutron trigger.”
“Well, let’s look, shall we?” Atwan went to a different document on his flash drive, this one organized by products sold. He went to the subcategory for neutron generators and the related instruments for testing and simulation. Tohid had been a customer, all right. Many shipments through various cutouts, over many years. But there was nothing for a company called Ardebil or for any concern in Mashad.
“Dear me,” said Atwan, “they seem to have gotten past us. I wonder how anyone could have sold them this sort of equipment without it coming to my attention. That disturbs me, more than you might imagine.”
“Accidents do happen,” said Adrian. “Even to you.”
Atwan ignored his genial British friend, who was still a bit red-faced and giddy from his earlier activities. It was as if he could smell the sex on Adrian, and he didn’t like it. Atwan was peculiar in that respect; he used debauchery freely enough to get what he wanted, but he was not a debauched man himself. That was his power—to use others without being used.
“Perhaps you could get us something to drink, Adrian. Some tea, perhaps. A whiskey if you prefer. I’ll have a cup of tea. And a sweet biscuit, please. How about you, Mr. Fellows?”
Harry said that he would have tea and a biscuit, too. Adrian knew that he was being sent away, but he didn’t seem to mind. He had taken the master’s shilling, many millions of them. And he did as he was asked.
“This is just about our worst nightmare, isn’t it?” said Harry, turning to Atwan once they were alone. “I mean, we’re spinning them for all it’s worth on one side of the house—so much so that they’re getting suspicious that we’re playing games. Meanwhile, there’s another side of the house we didn’t even know about. And over there, they’ve got a whole other program on ice. As soon as they get spooked about Track A, they’ll go to Track B. And then we’re fucked. Pardon my French.”
“That is the problem, my dear Mr. Fellows. Quite right. But it has an answer. We are not without resources. Certainly, I am not without resources. The question is how to use them.”
Harry rubbed his forehead, as if by that action he could bring forth a plan. What were the tools he had to use? How quickly did he have to play his next move? What could Atwan’s network do quickly that might make the pieces of this puzzle fit together the right way? In the space of a few minutes, he had gone from resenting Atwan’s presence to depending on him for advice and operational support.
“Let me ask you some questions, Kamal. Do you mind if I call you that? I promise that I won’t steal anything from your cookie jar or order one of your fashion models for Christmas.”
“Of course you can, my dear. And I am sorry that you will not accept a present or two, but I quite understand.”
“So, for starters, I’m wondering how quickly you could penetrate the supply chain for the Mashad facility. So that you could get your gizmos in, and make the equipment there as unreliable as the other tools the Iranians are playing with.”
“Months, I am afraid. If at all. The Iranians are not stupid. None of their suppliers are, either. They go to very great lengths to avoid precisely the tricks that we are using. They accompany all their shipments. They have twenty-four-hour guards at all their warehouses. They do not hire anyone in the chain whom they do not know, and even then they test them for loyalty. To build my network has taken the better part of thirty years. I am using now penetrations that I set down when I was starting out in the business. I can work through many governments, it is true. But I cannot conjure up companies and shipments out of thin air.”