He asked, "Are there any sections of the city in which there is a large Muslim population? This is probably where he could get assistance and keep a low profile."
Colonel Alexandrova looked at him, "St. Petersburg has attracted people from all parts of the former Soviet Union. There are many Muslims among them. I cannot say which part of the city they favor because they are all around. We even have some FSB agents of Muslim origin as well as many informers."
"So, where do we start?"
"David, you are impatient. We'll wait for citizens to respond to the posted photos and TV notice. I fear that there will be many false alarms — but we have explicitly warned people from reporting anything unless they are certain that they have identified the suspect."
The red phone on the desk of Colonel Alexandrova started chirping. She picked up the receiver and listened. David saw from her body language that she was getting instructions from a person who must have been very high up the totem pole of the Russian Federation. The colonel sat straight up, her backbone stiffened and to David it looked as she was having trouble controlling her right hand, as if trying not to salute. She said one word, "Da" and replaced the receiver.
She maintained the stiff posture she had adopted, and after a long period said, "David, I have just received notice that the President of the Russian Federation will visit St. Petersburg next week. It will be a private visit, meaning that he will not attend any official state affairs. There will be no live coverage of the visit by the press and TV channels. They will get permission to report the visit only after President Vladimir Putin leaves the city. I am sharing this confidential information with you because I think that the visit may be related to the activity we are investigating." She hesitated before continuing, "You must understand my delicate position. If I report that we suspect that radical Muslims are preparing an attack in the city and cause a lot of panic, and then nothing happens, I'll lose my job, as well as being punished for spreading 'fake news' and 'false rumors'. If we don't do anything and an attack takes place while Putin is visiting the city, then I'll be put on a public trial for treason and my whole family will 'disappear'. I must apprehend this Chechen terrorist or find this coffin and neutralize the threat." She was now perspiring profusely, and her face was so pale that David feared that she was having a heart attack.
He said, "Colonel Alexandrova, we still have a few days. I suggest that you postpone sounding an alarm until the last minute. Will you have the schedule of the visit?"
"The schedule is kept secret. I'll be notified only before he arrives. The security system of the Russian Federation has changed its approach to safeguarding the President. If he goes on a state-visit then they send an advance-team and prepare 'sterile areas' around the places he will be visiting. They screen the crowds, make sure that all military personnel and police forces are not armed with live ammunition. Only the elite bodyguards have weapons that can fire." David, like every Israeli and Egyptian, knew how the Egyptian president Saadat was assassinated on October 6th, 1981 by armed soldiers who participated in the parade celebrating the opening of the 1973 War. "The security service's new policy is that it is safer if no one knows where and when the President will be. Of course, they have a lot of trustworthy security personnel going undercover in the immediate vicinity, but they are deployed shortly ahead of the President's entourage."
David thought about the extra security arrangements each time the Israeli Prime Minister appeared in public. He recalled the assassination of Prime Minister Rabin by a lone Jewish, right-wing, assassin and the lax security that enabled it to occur despite being forewarned. He cynically thought that the lessons were learned too late, just as the murder of Czar Alexander II in St. Petersburg in 1881 did not help prevent the assassination of Grand Duke Ferdinand in 1914. He said, "I am worried that there is a security leak somewhere among President Putin's closest circle. Will you be able to make last minute changes in the schedule?"
The sight of the colonel's smirk made David uneasy, "David, you are so naïve. How can I, the head of the FSB in Russia's second largest city, change a decision made by the President of the Russian Federation? Even his most trusted advisors in Moscow are afraid to say anything that may contradict his word. Do you know how many of his closest advisors have lost their jobs, their freedom or their lives?" She paused for a moment, and then a more genuine smile replaced the cynical smirk, "At least when the close advisors of the American President lose favor with him, they only lose their jobs, not their lives or freedom." In a more relaxed tone, "I must cease the cooperation with your team. If word gets out that Mossad was involved the repercussions could be catastrophic for your country, as well as my organization."
David shrugged. He decided that his team would conduct their own investigation. "Colonel Alexandrova, this meeting never took place. The FSB had never heard of a Mossad team operating in St. Petersburg."
The tough colonel smiled and gave the trite answer, "What meeting?"
David thought that she winked at him but wasn't sure if she was just chasing away a bug that landed on her right eyelash. He rose, shook hands with the FSB colonel and left the room.
Le Docteur and his entourage, that now included Karim, the Iranian agent, joined one of the tour-buses that headed to the famous Vasa Museum. This was a museum favored by radical Muslims and anyone else who wanted to belittle the achievements of Western technology. The Vasa was a warship that was the pride of the Swedish fleet in the 17th Century. Alas, it capsized and sank to the sea-bed of Stockholm harbor on her maiden voyage in 1628. It was discovered and salvaged in prime condition in the 20th Century. It turned out that the saline waters prevented the deterioration of the wooden parts. After an extensive preservation effort, the ship was placed in a museum specially created for it. The Vasa Museum that is the most visited museum in all the Scandinavian countries. The NEMESIS group stood in line with the other tourists and followed the crowd through the ship. Le Docteur pointed at the heavy cannons that were blamed for causing the ship to capsize, and whispered, "Artillery guns and shells can sometimes cause more damage to the side that uses them than to the enemy."
Lara poked his ribs with her elbow, "You'd better not joke about this. Cannons like these have inflicted pain and death on our people."
Karim was getting impatient, he wasn't used to playing the part of an innocent tourist. "Are we going to skip ship here? This is the last port of call before returning to Kiel."
Le Docteur answered, "Karim, my friend. Have you ever heard the expression favored by old Jewish housewives, that can be freely translated as 'don't grab hot noodles'. It's a way of saying that you should be patient and not rush things or else you'll be burned. We'll return to the ship with the tour bus, take whatever we need from our cabin and get off the ship when most of the tourists go out to spend the evening in Stockholm. We'll leave the rest of our stuff in the cabin and our absence won't be noticed until the end of the cruise when the ship reaches Kiel. This will only happen the day after tomorrow because the ship will be cruising overnight today and tomorrow night. By then we'll be far away from the Baltic Sea." This was not true, but the Iranian didn't need to know that.
Karim asked, "Where will we be?"
Le Docteur laughed, "I cannot tell you." He saw the offended expression on the Iranian's face, and added, "It's not that I don't trust you", both men knew that was an understatement of the lack of trust, "but the arrangements by our man in Sweden have not been finalized."