Mousavi looked unsteady for a moment as he processed this news. But Saad had already run it through. At the most, Iran was only months from joining the nuclear club. But the rest of the world wasn’t doing anything about it, so Israel believed it was up to them to shut down the program for their own personal survival.

Kamal was right. This would change the Middle East. If Iran was prepared for the attack, they could do great damage to the Israeli Air Force while drawing on the sympathy of the world. Meanwhile, Kamal could launch his attack on the royal family. If he succeeded, Saad would be friends with a king. If he failed, the man would finally be out of his hair forever.

“Well, General?” Kamal asked.

“This is certainly momentous,” Mousavi said. “Yet if the Mossad discovers we have the information, won’t they just change the date?”

“It is a good thing you have a sharp mind like mine on your side, Arash. Yes, you prepare for that date and hope it will not be changed. However, my gift to you is not just the Mossad agent’s information. It is the agent himself. Imagine the international furor your country will create when you show this man to the world as proof of Israel’s evil intentions. This one Jew’s confession can have the same power as all those binders and discs stolen from your vaults.”

Kamal smiled. “In fact, once you have extracted every last bit of information you want from him about the workings of the Mossad in your country, you can try him for espionage and execute him—publicly, if you wish. No one could deny the justice of that. So what do you think now?”

“Habibi,” Mousavi replied with his hand outstretched, “you have yourself an army.”

Chapter 56

CHAPTER 56

CARL, MOSSAD HEADQUARTERS, TEL AVIV, ISRAEL—13:50 / 1:50 P.M. IDT

The helicopter is five minutes out,” Nicole heard Dafna say. Her teammate was following its progress on a large monitor at her workstation.

“Kamal’s phone is on board,” Liora added. She turned toward a separate monitor and typed on a keyboard. “Nir’s next ping is scheduled in seven minutes. His last one placed him in Mumbai. We can’t confirm yet if he’s on board the copter.”

“Very well,” the ramsad said gruffly.

To Ira Katz, Nicole had reported that Mousavi had been visually confirmed to be aboard Saad Salim’s yacht off the coast of Mumbai. She also informed him that Ali Kamal’s phone had landed in a private jet at the Maharashtra capital’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. Soon after, it had lifted off in a helicopter owned by ASEnergy in the direction of the yacht. However, they were yet to receive a visual confirmation of the man’s presence. The last ping from Nir had placed him eight minutes ago in the private hangar to which Kamal’s Gulfstream V had taxied.