Just before noon Alia and Nagib checked in to a small motel in Pasadena and went to sleep for a few hours. They paid cash and told the fat woman at the reception desk that they would stay for a night or two. She acted as if she couldn't care less, which indeed was the case, and mumbled that check-out was at 11 a.m. and that the ice machine and snack dispenser were in the lobby. Nagib removed the battery from his cellphone and told Alia to remove the battery from hers and said that they would go out later, trade in their car and get an older model that would leave them with some extra cash and also purchase new SIM cards for their cellphones.
Nagib took out the laptop and powered it on, removed his pen from his shirt pocket and took the top off exposing the memory stick. He inserted it into the USB slot of the laptop and opened the directory with the classified files. Until that moment he only had a vague idea about the blueprints and designs he had downloaded. The laptop was an old model and rather slow so the two of them waited impatiently for the directory to open. When the list of files was displayed they could barely keep themselves from shouting cries of joy. One file was called "The super high yield (SHY) device", another was named "Dial a yield lightweight (DAYLIGHT) multi-purpose device" and there were several other files with strange names and acronyms. Nagib was fascinated by something that was called a "suitcase omnipotent bomb (SOB)" that was described as a remotely controlled, powerful, portable, tactical device that could be clandestinely placed behind enemy lines or carried into enemy territory practically unnoticed. He told Alia that this particular design would be greatly suitable for their purposes if they could get their hands on such a device, or convince a friendly partner to manufacture it. Nagib connected with Wikipedia and under the heading of Suitcase_nuke found some interesting data. The website mentioned the reports attributed to General Alexander Lebed who was a high-ranking officer from the former Soviet Union about missing suitcase bombs. These reports were treated on the whole by analysts merely as gossip but no one was sure that there was no substance in them. Nagib added that there were claims by the Center for Defense Information (sometimes referred to as the Center for Disinformation) that replicas were hand-carried on domestic flights for exercise purposes. Alia asked what explosive strength such a device would have and Nagib replied that yields of several kilotons could be achieved. Nagib continued his search in Wikipedia and saw that the US had developed a lightweight device named Special Atomic Tactical Munition (ironically the acronym SADM had nothing to do with Nagib's hero, Saddam Hussein). The bare warhead allegedly weighed 23 kg and was shaped as a cylinder that was only 28 cm by 41 cm and could be placed in a suitcase. However, the advanced classified design that he had downloaded was about the same size and weight but its yield was supposedly an order of magnitude larger than the old SADM. Nagib said that the information they had was invaluable to countries with budding nuclear ambitions and even to countries with small arsenals of nuclear weapons. Alia said that she thought that non-government organizations like Al Qaeda or the Islamic State, not to mention Chechens, Kurds and others, would find the small device much more suitable for their purposes. Nagib thought about this for a minute and said that it was probably true but fissile materials, plutonium or high enriched uranium, were needed and as far as he could tell those non-state entities did not possess this essential component.
Alia asked Nagib how he intended to guard the information he had downloaded. Nagib said that so far the only copy was on the memory stick that was concealed in his pen and that he had not copied it even to his own laptop. He added that presently the folder with all the classified files could be opened by anyone who possessed the memory stick and that the first thing they needed to do was limit access to the folder and protect it with a password. Alia said that this could easily be done by anyone with minimal computer skills, but could be undone just as easily even by a teenage hacker. Nagib who was an accomplished analytical chemist but not an expert in computer security was at a loss. There was nobody he could approach with the classified folder and ask for assistance in securing the information, and then Alia hit upon an idea. She told Nagib to access the internet and download pornographic material. Nagib was surprised at the suggestion made by his shy and reserved wife and asked her what she had in mind. She answered that he could then find a young hacker and tell him that he wanted to hide these files from his wife and pay him for his services, provided that he taught him how to encrypt files. Once he had the know-how and the program he could apply it to hide the classified folder. Nagib liked the idea and downloaded some erotic clips from the internet, and while on-line looked for the addresses of a nearby internet café where he would seek the help he needed.
The couple was so elated by the wealth of information they now owned that they decided to celebrate before going out. After a long hot shower that they shared in order to save water, of course, they made love inspired by the erotic video clips that they had just watched and took a short nap. When they awoke it was getting close to 4 pm. Alia waited in the motel while Nagib drove to the internet café they had located. He took his laptop computer to the pimpled youngster who was at the desk and described his problem. The guy looked him up and down, giggled and said that it would cost him $50 to do what he requested, and Nagib managed to drive the price down to $30 in cash, with no questions asked. The guy took the laptop, hooked it to the internet and downloaded a short program. He then loaded the pornographic material into the program, showing Nagib each step of the way what to do, and within five minutes the porn files disappeared from the directory. Nagib asked the guy how to retrieve the files and the youngster smiled and said that this would cost him another $30. After some haggling the guy agreed to show him how to do the retrieval for $20. For an additional cost Nagib purchased another two memory sticks from the youngster and returned to the motel. When he told Alia about the whole affair and she laughed and said that bargaining was no longer limited to the Middle East or the Far East, but that it was well worth the $50 it cost. They encrypted the classified folder and files on the memory stick that was hidden in Nagib's pen.