The police investigation of the terrible accident found no one at fault. The Taormina public works department was accused of not taking proper care of the terrace's guardrail but as it was run by a local prominent member of the Cosa Nostra no action was taken. The young man who was requested to take the photo was questioned but released after it had been established that he was an innocent Canadian tourist that simply wanted to help the couple. He did not mention the fact that Mahmoud's cell phone remained in his possession nor that his Canadian passport was a clever forgery. The bodies of Layla and Mahmoud were shipped to Tehran for burial. A post-mortem performed in Tehran found no foreign substances in their body and the story of the accident was accepted with some skepticism.
Dr. Mustafa Fahami sauntered down Gerrard Street in Chinatown. He was in no hurry and took his time to look at the display of cheap merchandize from China, imitations of famous Parisian designer clothes and accessories, typical London souvenirs and strange looking things in jars that were considered by some as food delicacies. Like many other people in London he was enjoying the sunny day that was quite unusual for this time of year. He had been suffering from a persistent ache in his neck and shoulders, probably brought about by the tension he was feeling that he attributed to his clandestine mission. He was sent from the uranium enrichment facility at Natanz to interview a former-Iranian physicist who was currently employed at the Atomic Weapons Establishment in Aldermaston. The ex-patriot was an expert on the physics and metallurgy of highly enriched uranium and was ready to share his knowledge, or so Mustafa was told. There were two reasons for his willingness to cooperate — money and fear. He was promised a considerable sum for the information and was threatened that his aging parents and younger brother would be placed in the infamous Evin Prison in Tehran where they would receive VIP treatment. In case he didn't understand the not so subtle threat his contact explained that in Evin Prison VIP stood for Very Intense Pain.
Mustafa had another 30 minutes until the scheduled meeting with the scientist. He was gently rubbing his neck and trying to massage his left shoulder when a smiling Chinese man motioned to him to sit down on a wooden chair with wheels that was set on the sidewalk. A nearby store displayed a large sign that advertized a massage parlor and the sign promoted a special ten-minute massage for 5 pounds instead of the regular 20 pounds. Mustafa asked him if he could do a neck and shoulders massage and the Chinaman nodded and in broken English said "inside or outside" indicating the chair and the store. Mustafa said "outside" and pointed to the chair hoping to continue to enjoy the sunny day while being treated. The Chinaman smiled and signaled for him to sit down. An attractive young Chinese girl came out of the store and asked Mustafa if he wanted to remove his jacket and he answered that he would remain with it. She nodded to the Chinaman and he started by gently massaging Mustafa's neck and twisting his ears, before moving down to his shoulders. Mustafa wondered why the masseur had twisted his ears and was surprised by the pleasant sensation this caused. The masseur said something in Chinese to the girl who told Mustafa in English to relax and not tense his muscles and stop resisting the soothing motions of the masseur.
Mustafa was not aware that all this time a tall man waited in back room of the massage parlor and watched. The masseur held Mustafa's head in both his hands and tilted his head repetitively first to his right shoulder and then to the left shoulder until he felt that Mustafa let his neck muscles relax. He then motioned to the man who was still watching and the man stepped out of the store and silently exchanged places with the Chinese masseur. Mustafa was feeling the tension leaving his stiff neck and smiled. He tried to turn his head and look at the masseur but a pair of strong hands twisted Mustafa's head to the right and back to the left a few times not enabling Mustafa to get a look at him. Meanwhile the girl stepped into the middle of the sidewalk and started to do some acrobatics that were worthy of any "rubber girl" in a circus. That caught the attention of the people strolling down the street who stopped to appreciate the flexibility of the attractive girl. The fake "masseur" looked around to make sure that nobody was paying attention to him. In a sudden movement he yanked Mustafa's head and twisted it almost 180 degrees until he heard a sickening click when the neck vertebrae broke like twigs. Mustafa's head tilted forward but before anyone noticed the "masseur" wheeled the chair into the store and shut the door.
The ex-Iranian scientist from Aldermaston was surprised that Mustafa didn't show up for the appointment. He was terribly worried that he would be held accountable and his family in Iran would be persecuted, so he pulled out his cell phone and called the Iranian embassy. He explained the problem and was transferred to the head of security at the embassy who was a senior officer in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRG). He was told to come immediately to a new meeting point near Piccadilly Circus and stay away from the embassy. The whole conversation was recorded by British intelligence and a team of agents was dispatched to the new meeting place. They managed to take a few photos of the meeting and the physicist was identified and arrested while the Iranian who had diplomatic immunity was declared persona non grata and told to leave the UK within 24 hours. No one seemed to know what had happened to Mustafa and his disappearance was attributed to an operation of the British secret service. The Iranians didn't care if it was MI5 or MI6 and held the British responsible.
Dr. Jaafar Taghi was attending a conference that was organized by SIPRI — the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. He tried to keep a low profile as the Iranian Islamic Republic of Iran was not famous for its peaceful operations but rather notorious for its support of terror organizations in the Middle East and elsewhere. Jaafar was nowadays actually an intelligence officer who had rightfully earned his doctorate from Isfahan University but was enlisted to provide scientific support to the Iranian clandestine weapons program. His job was to attend scientific conferences that dealt with disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation matters and glean information that could help the program. A tall good looking dark woman whose nametag said that she was a member of a French anti-nuclear organization smiled at him and appeared to take a special interest in him. Jaafar was flattered by her attention and stealing a glance at her pert breasts and name tag saw that was Genevieve. He had been trained to avoid "honey traps" but felt that he had acquired enough experience to recognize such a trap and was sure that the young woman had a genuine interest in him. She made certain that he stood next to her during the coffee break and commented that as a French woman she detested the Swedish food and suggested that they share dinner later. Jaafar asked her what kind of restaurant she had in mind and when she said that she loved seafood he was overjoyed as that was his favorite type of food.
After the boring scientific session ended they headed toward a famous seafood restaurant in the center of Stockholm. Genevieve asked him if he drank alcohol and when he said that he occasionally enjoyed a glass of wine she ordered a bottle of good French white wine and said that it would go well with the oysters they had both ordered. Jaafar thought about the properties that were attributed to oysters and wondered if there was any truth in the rumors and was looking forward to a chance to test this with Genevieve after dinner. As if she read his mind she smiled and said that these were only rumors with no foundation in fact. He excused himself and went off to the restroom to relieve his full bladder. When he returned a few moments later a large plate of oysters was placed in front of him and another one was served to Genevieve. They ate the oysters while looking into each other's eyes and he saw great excitement and promise in Genevieve's eyes. Suddenly Jaafar felt the room was spinning around him and his eyes became unfocused. Foam came out of his mouth as a series of strong convulsions twisted his body. The last thing he heard was Genevieve asking him what was wrong.