While the president was touring the museum, Colonel Alexandrova gave instructions to find the Mossad team and bring them promptly to the museum. By the time Putin exited the museum, David Avivi with Mata and Joe, were standing next to the colonel, waiting for the president to emerge. Putin noticed the colonel and the Israelis standing close to her. He recognized David from the photos he had seen several times before in briefings about Islamic terror organizations. The young attractive woman standing next to David looked familiar, and then he remembered the photos of Mata Hari he had seen many years previously and smiled when he recalled that she was nicknamed Mata after the famous spy. The third man had no distinct features, and Putin thought that he could be an excellent agent in the old KGB, or for that matter in any intelligence service.
He instructed the colonel to follow him to his next stop and bring the Israelis with her and got into the van. The small convoy made its way across the Neva River to the Peter and Paul Fortress, founded by Peter the Great in 1703, and completed as a star-shaped citadel three decades later. Putin particularly liked the fact that it was no longer needed to defend the Russian Federation against belligerent Swedes. He regarded them as tamed Scandinavians who had lost all will to fight, even against the waves of migrants that threatened their way of life. He hoped that the fortress would never be needed, as it had been in the time of the Czars and during the Bolshevik revolution, as a prison where executions were carried out. Even the Dom Bolshoy was now only a reminder of times of turmoil and unrest and protests against the government.
Putin led the way to the tomb of Peter the Great, motioning Colonel Alexandrova and the Mossad agents to follow. His security detail stood close by, following every move the three Israelis made, with their hands resting on their pistols ready to draw them at the drop of a needle. Putin, who usually refrained from speaking English in public, especially if TV cameras were on hand, addressed David. "Mr. Avivi, your reputation precedes you. The colonel told me that you have discovered a plot to detonate a nuke here in St. Petersburg. Do you care to elaborate?"
David was surprised by the entire situation and by the fact that Putin knew him. "President Putin, I think that every minute you stay in the city increases the danger to your life. I suggest that we continue this conversation on the way out of the city." He saw that the president didn't budge, so added, "We have tracked the head of NEMESIS, the arch-terrorist known as Le Docteur, in the company of a Chechen nuclear scientist. We suspect that they had managed to create an improvised nuclear device from an American atomic artillery shell that had gone missing in Germany over four decades ago. Our agent, " he pointed at Joe, "had seen the Chechen terrorist disembark from the cruise-ship. The man had unloaded a sealed coffin that was placed in a hearse. The driver of the hearse was killed by one of your agents as he tried to run through a roadblock. The Chechen and coffin have disappeared without a trace. If you consider Le Docteur's track-record, and his previous attempts to use an atom bomb in London and, probably, on the Eastern Coast of the United States, and put two and two together, then there is little doubt that they are planning something similar here. Your visit to the city must be the trigger to set the timing of the explosion. Therefore, if this man or the bomb cannot be located and neutralized immediately then I strongly recommend that you leave the city promptly."
Putin thought about this for a minute, "If so, why are you and your team still in the city?"
David shrugged, "The value of our lives is nothing compared to yours. We are here trying to prevent a provocative act that may be the trigger for the First Nuclear War, or the Third World War. If the bomb goes off in St. Petersburg, and your nuclear forensics experts determine that the origin of the nuclear material was American…" he didn't need to complete the sentence.
Putin said, "So, you believe that if I leave the city the terrorist will not set off the nuke?"
"Mister President, I believe this. If your visit is postponed the terrorist will wait for another opportunity. May I be so bold as to suggest that you announce that you were called away on some urgent crisis and that you'll return to St. Petersburg in a few days' time. That will give Colonel Alexandrova and her people time to locate the perpetrator and the bomb. Furthermore, the cruise ship can be boarded by your troops, or by the police in Sweden or Germany, and Le Docteur and his people can be arrested and interrogated."
Putin considered this and issued instructions that an announcement be made that he had to cut short his visit to St. Petersburg due to a developing crisis in Syria and that he'd be back in a couple of days. Everyone looked relieved by this.
Chapter 15
Dr. Yuri Bakavlev, the Chechen scientist, posing as Bogdan Borisovitch Basov, had called the number in Moscow the previous evening, exactly at 8 pm, as instructed. Much to his surprise, this time someone answered the call, and said a single word, "Tomorrow" and hung up. Yuri needed a couple of moments to figure the meaning of the single word. He returned to his small room and saw that the landlady had fallen asleep on the sofa opposite the ancient black-and-white TV set. Yuri glanced at the TV and saw a distorted image of the photo of Bogdan Borisovitch Basov's passport. He had altered his appearance so that he didn't worry about being identified on the street. He entered his room, spread his prayer mat on the floor, and bent down to pray. He then took a shower to cleanse himself in preparation for becoming a Shahid and going to heaven to be seated by the side of Mohammad.
He didn't sleep very much that night. He dreamt about his family and in his dream, he was at last united with his dead wife and children. When he awoke, he needed a minute to work out where he was, and then recalled what he was supposed to do. After washing and praying again, he entered the living-room. The TV set was still on and the landlady was in the very same position on the sofa. He made some noise in the kitchen while making himself a cup of tea and when he looked to the living-room he noticed that the landlady had not budged. He stepped up to the sofa and watched the old woman's face very closely. There was no movement and here open eyes seemed to stare into empty space. He gently felt her neck and took her wrist in his other hand, searching for a pulse but finding none. He didn't know if he should feel relieved that she wouldn't be able to report him to the authorities or feel troubled that he was stuck with a dead body. Anyway, he thought, she would have been dead soon, like a hundred thousand other residents of St. Petersburg, himself included.
He watched the TV and switched between the local channels to see if there was anything regarding Putin's visit to the city. All he saw were video clips of Putin and his followers celebrating his victory in the elections and some propaganda about what a great statesman he was and how fortunate the Russian Federation was to have such a man to lead it to grandeur. He had to ascertain that Putin was in the city before heading to the cemetery to detonate the nuke hidden in the coffin. He wondered if the information he received from the contact in Moscow was correct and decided that he would go to the cemetery and wait at a café nearby the side entrance. He didn't intend to go to the coffin until he received confirmation that his prime target was within range of the nuke.