David then brought forth the problem that had been on his mind ever since he revealed that Professor Modena was missing and that he was probably trying to produce U-233 on a larger scale than in his laboratory experiments. He asked the delegates representing the four countries that were the first to produce atomic weapons if they thought their governments would support a crash program for testing the feasibility of Modena's idea. He then looked at the delegates but all avoided eye-contact. David, who knew a thing or two about human behavior despite his young age, suddenly recognized the fact that these people were first and foremost patriots of their own countries and that the ITF was only their secondary commitment. He smiled and said "OK, don't go into specifics, but tell me what your scientists think about the feasibility".
The US delegate responded "They do not rule out that the process may be feasible but have doubts about its efficiency and production rate". David asked what the production rate would be if all missing gamma sources that "disappeared" between last May and August were used in the clandestine laboratory and the Russian delegate said grudgingly that his scientists estimated that it would be between one and three kilograms a month. David did a quick mental calculation that in the time since Modena's disappearance in July and the present time they could already have enough for a critical mass with the higher estimate and not far from it even with the lower estimate. David did not take into account the cooling period of three months before the first batch of irradiated thorium would be ready for extraction of U-233 because he assumed a "worst case scenario".
David summarized the meeting by emphasizing the need to locate the whereabouts of Professor Modena and Dr. Smalley as this would be the key to finding the laboratory and eliminating the production of fissile materials that could serve for making an improvised nuclear device. He suggested approaching the Spanish authorities and requesting their help in finding Modena and the northern European countries for tracing the origin of the mysterious blond man as he probably came from one of those countries. He also called for more help from Interpol in an attempt to reduce the number of suspects. Finally, he set a meeting in 10 days time. The others did not respond immediately, saying that they would need to consult with their governments.
Over a meal that Orna cooked for them in her apartment, David shared the new information from the meeting and asked her to continue to be his local contact with the task force. They enjoyed a couple of bottles of good Israeli wine that he had purchased at the Duty Free store at Ben-Gurion airport in Tel Aviv and then went to bed. Orna slowly undressed David and told him to close his eyes and lie still on the bed with his hands behind his head while she tended to his stress and worries. When he tried to protest she told him to relax and be quiet and then she slowly rubbed her ample breasts lightly over his firm body, touching him only with her nipples. He tried to hold her breasts in his hands but she reprimanded him and told him to keep his hands behinds his head. She started by caressing his head, almost poking his eyes out with her erect nipples, placed one breast in his mouth allowing him to flick his tongue over one breast and then the other one as she continued her slow journey down his taut body. When she reached his manhood she wrapped her breasts around it and let it nest between them for a moment before continuing on her way towards his toes. Relaxation was not on David's mind and he sat up, took her shoulders in his strong hands and pulled her up gently. When she was facing him they exchanged a passionate kiss and he slid into her waiting moist womb. Without even moving both exploded in an orgasm almost immediately and she collapsed on his body with her full weight. After a few moments she rolled over and lay next to him and they both fell asleep.
The Israeli task force also met on the same day. Gabi Golan, who coordinated the small team of Israeli Mossad agents, asked them to present their findings and conclusions. All the agents noted that there seemed to be a strong buzz in the Nationalistic racially prejudiced movements that something big was about to happen but details were not available. The political leaders of these movements appeared to be more confident and vociferous than usual, making promises that soon there would be a great change and support for their nationalist causes would grow immensely. The rank and file of these movements increased their provocative acts against Muslims and Jews and the streets were becoming more and more unsafe for the immigrants. Even tourists were frequently harassed if they could not speak the language like the locals. Gabi thought that this may be connected with the information that David provided about the possibility of the manufacture of a nuclear device or a "dirty bomb". There were more and more reports on attacks of synagogues by racists that also painted swastikas on windows of Jewish owned businesses. The Mossad agents could not find any connection between these activities and Israel but feared that the increased xenophobia and the rise in anti-Semitic incidents may endanger the local Jews.
The next day David returned to Israel and met with Gabi and the Deputy Director. Both agents updated Shimony and each other on their findings. Shimony introduced them to Gideon who was a representative of the Israeli Security Agency (ISA) also known by its Hebrew acronym as Shin Bet. Gideon said that there was no change in the noticeable level of terrorist activities in Israel, except for the Jerusalem area in which incidents involving Palestinians were on the rise. For example he mentioned confrontations where Palestinians tried to drive their cars into groups of Israelis on the sidewalks, cases where young Palestinian men and women drew knives or even screwdrivers and tried to stab soldiers and Jewish civilians and rising occurrences of stone throwing by Arab youths targeting private cars and public transportation. He noted that this appeared to the result of local initiatives in response to the prevailing feeling of hopelessness in the Arab community rather than an organized effort by a central command. There were no rumors of something big that was about to happen.
The ITF met again in Vienna. All the delegates had been very busy working on the items discussed in their last meeting.
The US delegate, Dr. Eugene Powers, informed the meeting, emphasizing that this was off the record, that the scientists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory had managed to produce trace amounts of U-233 through gamma radiation and that meticulous isotopic analysis showed the level of U-232 was around 50 parts per million. He said that this was significant as it ruled out the possibility of making a simple "gun type" device like the one used with enriched U-235 to bomb Hiroshima in 1945, and a much more complex implosion type device was needed. He added that in any case a "gun type" device would require much more fissile material than the implosion type apparatus. He also said that the opinion of the scientists was that this would be an almost insurmountable task for amateurs but if an experienced person was put in charge, and detailed blueprints were available, it could be possible.
The Russian delegate, Dr Vassilly Nomenkov, said that their experts had recalculated the critical mass and believed that even 12 kg might be sufficient but a device with that amount of fissile material had a 50 % chance of a fizzle unless experimentally tested designs were available, further supporting the assessment of the US scientists.
The French delegate, Nicolas Berrard, reported that the French nuclear organization had no experience with U-233 and nothing to add to the scientific estimates, but mentioned that the unrest in the streets of all the major cities in France, especially those with a considerable immigrant population, was at a very high level and street riots were erupting in some mixed neighborhoods.