Satan's Spy (The Steve Church saga Book 2) André Gallo (top 100 books of all time checklist TXT) 📖

traces on Ali Pakravan, he was a low-level informer for several police and security services of the Islamic government. Pakravan had managed to bump into Steve several times, and Steve had decided that, although Mousavi seemed to be convinced of his credentials, letting Pakravan set up some of his appointments would also satisfy Pakravan’s current police contact. Even two-bit informants have to earn a living.

* **

In a restaurant in the hills north of Tehran, overlooking the city, Yazdi laughed as he said, “I heard that you played chess with Mousavi in his office. Incredible! And you’re still alive. Now that’s a record of some kind.”

Steve and Yazdi were dining on kebabs, grilled hamburgers and fries, and cream-filled chocolate pastries. Steve had left his hotel several hours ago before discreetly checking for surveillance. He had detected none and, therefore, had proceeded to the meeting. The first rule is always to protect your agent. If surveillance sees the agent anywhere near the case officer, the agent’s life is in danger.

Still building a personal connection with the agent, Steve asked Yazdi about his personal affairs and learned that Yazdi’s nephew Firuz Yazdi had recently arrived from the States.

“Really? What’s he doing here? Family visit?” Yazdi hesitated. “Yes, family visit.”

Steve first debriefed him on the information he had gleaned on the nuclear program: the number of centrifuges, their locations, and their production rate. With those facts, the CIA could figure out when Iran would have enough weaponized uranium for a bomb and how many bombs they could produce in any given period. That was the easy part. As the birthplace of chess, Iranian leaders presumably had to be looking several moves ahead. How did they believe the other players were going to react if the Supreme Leader put its newly created Queen, the nuclear option, in play?

“What is the decision making process Hashem? Who really makes the decisions? How can we learn their thinking, their planning?”

“According to Article 110 of our constitution, the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei establishes general policies after consultation with the Expediency Council,” Yazdi began. “Conveniently, he also appoints all the members of that council. Under his general policies, the Supreme National Security Council, which is chaired by the president, implements and fills in the details. Now that Mousavi is Minister for Intelligence, he sits on that council.”

Steve put a hand up to stop him. “Okay, Okay. How do things really get decided?”

Yazdi acknowledged Steve’s impatience with a nod. “In practice, Khamenei uses his office to bypass the system. Everyone knows that. For nuclear policy, there is another body, the Council of Heads, and there is also the Policy-making Committee.”

“Besides Mousavi, who do you know on any of these important committees? How about in Khamenei’s office?”

“I’ll have to see. Maybe I do. By the way, tonight I don’t have much time.

I’m waiting for a call from one of our mullahs in Southern Iraq.” “Well, we’re not done. Let’s meet again in two days.”

“Okay, let me give you some advice. With Mousavi, you’re playing with fire. It will be best, for both of us, if you stay away from him. He is a cobra.”

* **

Kella closed the drapes to her hotel room and sat at a small table. Leaning down, she opened the small refrigerator and pulled out two bottles of water and handed one to Steve who was telling her about his meeting with SENTINEL.

“He has this American nephew visiting, and this is the first time it came up, by accident. It’s supposed to be a family visit, but the nephew is not living with him. I wonder what that’s about.” He sat on the bed in the sparsely furnished room.

“Don’t be so suspicious. He’s simply visiting.”

Steve gave her back the water, “Don’t you have a beer in there? Let’s ask Headquarters for traces anyway.”

She in turn told him about Farah’s party, the inconsistent enforcement of officially decreed virtues, and the preoccupation with the election. “They’re all going to vote for the opposition candidate, a former president who was far from liberal when he was in office. His primary attraction, I think, is that he stands for change.”

Steve smiled, “Sounds familiar,” he said and took a swig from his bottle. “Of course, the people I met were European-type liberals, many educated in Paris and London.” Kella continued, “I met several who had lost relatives in the Iraq War. It touched so many people. So many died. Farah told me about the thousands of children, yes children, who were used to clear the minefields. In any case, I feel that we connected. I like her, and I think she would be willing to help us. What do you think?”

“Keep her warm,” Steve advised. “Keep developing her. I want her to like you so much so that if you pitch her, but she feels that she can’t accept, it will be a ‘freebee,’ and she won’t run to the cops.”

“I think I’m there now. I think the last thing she wants is to attract the cops’ attention. It looks like SENTINEL is working out all right, don’t you think?”

“I thought so, too. I’m still curious to know more about his nephew. Just the way Yazdi reacted when I asked told me he was sorry that he had mentioned him. Why? My problem is that we know so little, and he has so much information. I have to prioritize. I have to focus him on the most important stuff, the nuclear issue.”

Kella prepared and sent her nightly message to Langley. Afterward, she joined Steve, who was sitting on the bed and leaning against the headboard.

“So far, so good, right?”

Steve seemed in his element. In Alexandria he had seemed frustrated. “I think you like this better than living in Old Town,” she said. “Why?”

“Sometimes, that’s true. Although I’d rather be out of the line of fire. Who