Karim said, "Do you want the short version or the full story?" Le Docteur didn't answer and let the man decide how much to reveal about himself. "I think that you have deduced that I am not a businessman and perhaps that I am not even Algerian originally. I know who you are and what you have done, or at least part of that. I have not tried to follow you, but when I saw your little group on board this cruise ship, I decided to keep an eye on you, and that's why I tried to befriend Fiona — I doubt that's really her name. I saw your colleague, the older man who must have been from Chechnya, disembark with his strange coffin and figured you were up to something."
Le Docteur was getting very uncomfortable. He had no doubt that Karim was an agent of some intelligence organization or clandestine group, although he didn't know which one. Obviously, he was not hostile to NEMESIS or else they would have been under arrest, or worse. He said, "So who are working for?"
Karim said, "Here come the women. Perhaps we should all go to a more private place." He stood up, "How about a nightcap in my cabin?", and without waiting for an answer led the way to one of the large suites. Le Docteur signaled to Lara and Fatima to follow and the four of them entered the suite that that was on one of the upper decks.
Karim went to the minibar and took out two snifters and two wine glasses and removed a bottle of cognac from the bedside table. He poured the cognac and said, "I apologize that there are only two snifters." He handed the snifters to the ladies and a wine glass to Le Docteur and poured the cognac. He raised his glass and said, "Here's to a successful mission — whatever it is."
Lara and Fatima exchanged troubled glances with Le Docteur, and he said, "Don't worry, Karim is a friend. He'll tell us all a little more about himself."
Karim said, "I am the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps in Europe. We like to use the name the Islamic Revolutionary Guards because we are fighting the for the entire Ummah — the Nation of Islam — not only for Iran. I know that you are Sunni Muslims and not Shiites like myself and my organization, but in the struggle against our common enemies these are minor differences."
Le Docteur was bothered, "But the Russians are your staunch allies. As you must have figured, St. Petersburg is our target."
Fatima didn't like Karim's smile, "If whatever you are planning can be blamed on the Big Satan, America, or the Little Satan, Israel, then we are happy. If you can guarantee that it is not attributed to an Islamic group, then it is fine. True, the Russian Federation is fighting on Assad's side in Syria, as we are, but it is restricting us from using advanced, unconventional weapon systems. Worse than that, they are pressuring Assad to deny us a naval base on the Mediterranean and the Russians are not giving us access to their airfields. It would be nice to see these neo-communists suffer a little for what suffering they have inflicted on our people in Chechnya and the other Islamic Republics that were exploited by them for centuries. These infidels are no better than the Crusaders and Colonialists."
Le Docteur said, "You speak like a true member of NEMESIS."
Karim shrugged, "Great minds think alike. We, at the IRG, have long sought to level the score with the Russians. They have provided us with advanced anti-aircraft missiles, the S-300 and S-400 systems, that deter the Israeli air force from attacking us in Iran, but they refuse to defend our IRG forces in Syria with these systems. The Israelis attack our troops by firing air-to-ground missiles from their own airspace, or even use the Lebanese airspace. Then the Israelis claim that they have not violated the Syrian airspace. The Russians can easily stop these dastardly attacks against our defenseless forces but refuse to do so. In fact, they have formed an alliance with the Little Satan at our expense. Seeing them punished will be good for the morale of our troops in Syria." He took a long sip from his cognac, and offered a refill, that was gladly accepted by all.
Fatima sheepishly asked, "So you knew who I was when you approached me?"
"I wasn't sure who you were, but I figured that you belonged to NEMESIS." He saw the disappointment on her face, "I am glad I did it. You turned out to be an exceptional woman, and my respect to you has increased since hearing you were an active member of NEMESIS."
Fatima was placated. She raised her snifter, "Karim, I am glad you did. Here's to a new Sunni-Shiite cooperation." She gulped down the cognac, "I think that Karim and I need some time in private to strengthen this alliance."
Lara and Le Docteur downed their cognac and rose to leave the suite. Lara laughed, "Don't do anything that I wouldn't do. You know I would do everything…"
The Mossad team discovered that the cruise ship had left St. Petersburg and was due in Helsinki the next day. They thought of catching a plane to wait for it there, but David said that they should remain in St. Petersburg and try find the nuke. He figured that Le Docteur and the two women accompanying him would continue the cruise and probably disembark in Kiel. By then the German BND, who cooperated closely with Mossad, would be persuaded to prepare an appropriate welcome party and apprehend the NEMESIS people. Mata and the others wondered if he was not giving them a chance to disappear in one of the ports of call, but he explained that in Finland and Sweden the intelligence services prefer to keep their eyes shut when asked to detain Muslims terror suspects, before committing a crime. Edna supported David, quoting several incidents, mainly in Sweden, where hate crimes that involved Muslims were not investigated properly and the culprits were never brought to justice.
Colonel Alexandrova was now more cooperative. She understood that the only leads they had — the driver of the hearse and the coffin — were dead-ends. Therefore, the search for the Chechen man was intensified. His identity was not known and the only description they had was provided by Joe. She didn't think of sending an agent to Helsinki to question the captain of the cruise ship, because Russians in general were not welcome in Finland. The history of conflicts between the two countries was centuries old and had intensified since the Winter War, the surprise attack of the USSR on Finland in November 1939, that ended in March 1940. This illegal attack ended only with the signing of the Moscow Peace Treaty which forced Finland to cede more than a tenth of its land and a third of its economy to the USSR, despite the fact the Russian casualties were fivefold higher than the Finnish ones.
Joe was invited to the dreaded Bolshoy Dom to work with the FSB artist to create an image of the Chechen man he had seen in the port, before he entered the waiting hearse. When the portrait was completed, the FSB matched it with the copies of the passports of all the passengers who disembarked in St. Petersburg, and finally the details of the man's passport were available. According to the passport he was from Uzbekistan, his name was Bogdan Borisovitch Basov and he was born in Tashkent in 1953. No one knew if the passport was genuine or if any of the details were correct, but his photo resembled the image made by the FSB artist.
After consulting with David Avivi, Colonel Alexandrova decided to have the photo posted in all police stations and shown on all local television stations. The photo was accompanied with an explanation that the man was wanted for murder and a warning that he may be armed and dangerous. David asked if a reward was offered, but the colonel stonily said, "It is the duty of every citizen to report criminals, therefore no reward is given for fulfilling one's duty." David realized that capitalism has not yet overcome decades of communist brainwashing.