"The Fish" and David arrived just before noon at the checkpoint and asked to interview Misha. Misha, who had immigrated to Israel from Kazan in Russia when he was 10 years old, still had not quite gotten over his inbred fear and distrust of the authorities, and cooperated hesitantly. David and "The Fish" used the "good cop" "bad cop" approach. David promised Misha that no harm would come his way if he fully cooperated with them while "The Fish" threatened him with a long prison sentence for treason if he did not disclose every little detail of the Savana. David gently asked Misha to describe the driver and passenger while "The Fish" huffed and puffed right behind Misha's back. With David's gentle guidance and leading questions Misha recalled that the driver looked like an Oriental Jew, or perhaps an Arab, and the reservist was wearing a military issue uniform but his head was not completely covered so he could see that he had short blond hair. Before allowing Misha to leave "The Fish" asked him if he remembered anything about the vehicle. Misha thought for a moment and then said that it appeared to be carrying a heavy load in the back as it was slightly tilted backwards but he could not quite see what it was carrying because of the tinted dark windows. Upon hearing this David and "The Fish" exchanged a look of comprehension and concern. They called the control center of the police and alerted all patrols to stop every black Savana van and search it, but to approach it carefully as the people inside were dangerous and possibly armed. They also issued a warning that the passenger may be posing as an IDF reservist and he was not to be trusted. Within 30 minutes traffic blocks were positioned on all highways in the area close to the crossing point and on the main highways leading to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. In addition, unmanned drones and police helicopters were dispatched to survey the whole vicinity in search of a black Savana. Traffic delays were caused all over the center of Israel and the public was informed that this was due to a surprise exercise intended to test the readiness of the police forces and simulate an incident in which a terrorist element penetrated Israeli security at the border.
Nasser's cousin who was sent to steal license plates saw the commotion and called Nasser informing him that some unusual police activity was taking place in their vicinity. Nasser switched on the radio and heard the announcement about the surprise exercise and skeptically murmured to Ollie that this was a typical ploy of Israeli security and their vehicle was probably compromised. Ollie said that they shouldn't take any unnecessary risks and asked Nasser if they could transfer the device to another vehicle and not rely solely on the switch of license plates. Nasser proposed to call a friend of his who had a garage in which pick-up trucks were serviced and repaired and ask him if he could borrow one of the trucks. Ollie liked the idea and Nasser made a few phone calls until he located a suitable pick-up truck. Ollie didn't inform Nasser that the truck would be destroyed as he feared that this would discourage him. They agreed to bring the truck to the house in Tira in the evening and arrange a small derrick for transferring the device from the Savana to the pick-up truck. When they stepped out into the yard to survey the van they could hear a noisy police helicopter circling over and around Tira. This increased their conviction that the Savana's crossing into Israel had been reported and that word of its deadly cargo had been spread. Nasser knew that this flurry of activity could not be due to a simple theft of a van and started to suspect that the device he had helped transport was more than a simple bomb, or even a "dirty bomb", but he did not broach the subject with Ollie whom he began to regard as an extremely dangerous person. Ollie's bag and papers, including his forged passport, arrived from Umm al-Fahm with a short note from Sheik Khalil wishing him luck with his endeavor and warning him that the ISA was trying to locate him. Little did he know that the very act of delivering Ollie's belongings gave the ISA the key to find him.
After dusk an Isuzu pick-up truck was driven into the yard and parked close to the black Savana and the derrick was set up to enable the transfer of the device. Ollie had planned to arm the device before taking it to Jerusalem but was not enthusiastic about driving from Tira to Jerusalem, probably using back roads and possibly bumpy dirt roads with a few hundred kilograms of armed explosives a meter behind his back. He also wanted as few people as possible to witness his actions so the device was simply moved to the Isuzu and the metal suitcase was placed behind the passenger seat where Ollie's belongings were also positioned. The shock absorbers of the old Isuzu groaned under the full weight of the device, and would have complained bitterly if they could speak. The device was still covered with the same tarpaulin and its unique shape was camouflaged with the wooden poles. Nasser, who had a lot of experience in dodging police road blocks from his career as a car thief, suggested that one of his cousins drive a few kilometers ahead of the Isuzu and warn them about police road blocks, allowing them time to find an alternative route to circumvent the road block. Ollie liked the suggestion and the initiative and patted Nasser on his shoulder.
The ISA agents that had remained at their post near Sheik Khalil's house picked up the change in the signal emitted from Ollie's passport and reported this to the officer in the control room. He ordered them to follow the signal at a safe distance and alerted "The Fish" who in turn called David and informed him that the passport was in motion. The agents reported that they were following a dark green Mazda and were on route 57 from Umm al-Fahm towards Netanya but then the car took a sharp turn south on a secondary road leading to Tira. They were following it but knew that going into Tira would expose them and suggested that a drone be used to follow the Mazda in case it entered Tira. "The Fish" who had been in direct contact with his agents said that a drone would be overhead within five minutes and they must stick with the Mazda until relieved from duty. Just before the green car entered Tira the agents received a message that the car was now in the sights of the drone and were ordered to remain alert on the outskirts of the village, so they parked on the side of the road leading from Tira to Highway 6.
"The Fish" and David went directly to the ISA control room to be at the "nerve center" at this crucial stage of the operation to seize Ollie and the deadly device. The drone that was following the green Mazda sent live photographs of it entering the walled yard of a large house in the center of the village. However, the drone operator said that he had fuel only for another 15 minutes until it had to return to its base. "The Fish" called for a replacement drone, preferably one equipped with a receiver for the signal sent from the chip in Ollie's passport but was told that the proper equipment was not on hand, and the best alternative was to use a drone equipped with infrared night vision. David was not satisfied with the alternative but had no way of getting anything better.