Dr. Anwar Usman was still feeling the burden of the great responsibility thrust upon his shoulders by Prof. Malick, or for that matter, by his country. Although he was the youngest member of the committee he knew that his colleagues respected his opinion and waited to hear his viewpoint at the next meeting of the committee that was set for the following day. Anwar thought that he would be able to think more clearly after a date, a close encounter as he defined it in his mind, with Alma. On the way from his laboratory to his office he entered the laboratory in which Alma was making precise measurements of a finely shaped object and called her aside for a moment supposedly to ask her what the object was for. Her co-workers suspected that the relationship between Alma and Anwar extended beyond work hours and pretended not to notice his unexpected appearance in the lab. Anwar said that he wanted to arrange a date for that evening, and although she was a bit surprised as that was not on their normal schedule, she smiled and said that she was looking forward to it.
Anwar arrived in the evening and the moment Alma saw him she knew that something was bothering him. She didn't say anything about it until they had finished the fine dinner that she had prepared, and then she commented that he looked absent minded and asked if she could help. Anwar had enlisted her help several times previously as a sounding board for his ideas and admired her practical approach to problems and her agile mind. That had been the main reason he was attracted to her in the first place, and her good looks did nothing to daunt his enthusiasm about her. What he didn't know was that most of things he told her she shared with her lover, Linda, who said she wanted to know her better by understanding more about her work. As yet the information that Alma passed on was interesting from a scientific or technical point of view and was not really classified, and certainly not of a sensitive nature with regard to Pakistan's national security.
After dinner they went to bed as was their custom in those meetings. It was evident to Alma that Anwar's mind was not where his body was. His body went through the motions and Alma did her best to demonstrate how satisfying it was by groaning and moaning until the act was completed. When they lay quietly in her bed with her hand caressing his chest gently and her head nestled on his shoulder she asked him what was going on in his mind. Anwar was a bit embarrassed by his absent minded lovemaking and told her that he couldn't disclose what was really bothering because he had been sworn to secrecy. He said that he would like to discuss a hypothetical question that troubled him and she said that she liked hypothetical problems.
Anwar said "What would do if you had information that could affect the security and future of Pakistan?"
Alma didn't know what he was referring to so she said "Would sharing this information change the situation?"
Anwar answered "Yes, but it could be viewed as treason."
She asked "Who would be betrayed?"
His response was ambiguous "If I go to the administration I would be betraying my friends and colleagues and perhaps the national security because exposure may lead to a blood bath. If I don't do anything a potential catastrophe may befall us and I would feel like the ultimate traitor to my country".
She thought about this for a few moments and asked "What if you do nothing?"
He pondered this and after some time said "Then I would not be able to live with myself".
Alma wondered what this poor man was going through and said "Then you have to take action. Without knowing any details I assume that the safety of our country must come first and putting it in danger is out of the question".
"I am not sure that the pathways I mentioned are absolute — there is a chance that going to the administration would lead to the same result as betraying it, and a chance that a foreign power would cause as much damage to Pakistan as if it did not receive the information". Alma did not know what to say so she just continued to pat his head and hug him tightly.
They made love one more time before falling asleep. In the morning he said that he had to leave early because he had come to a decision. She tried to enquire which option he had selected but he evaded answering.
Chapter 12
While these events were taking place in Islamabad Nagib and Alia were moved from the rustic Melmastun Hotel in Swabi to Karachi where they were lodged in one of the nicest hotels in that cosmopolitan city. The bustling city of Karachi with its 13 million inhabitants was the largest city in Pakistan and considered as one of the five most populated cities in the world. The city was the main seaport and financial center of Pakistan and had several first class hotels. Although Karachi was called "the city that never sleeps" because of its night life Alia and Nagib slept very well in the comfortable bed after enjoying a long soak in the hot tub that was in the suite that Junaid had arranged for them, courtesy of General Masood and the Pakistani intelligence service. The suite was large and contained two bedrooms — one for the couple and one for Junaid who was appointed as their "babysitter" and instructed to watch over them and make sure that they were happy.
Apparently, after the first meeting with Prof. Malick and the nuclear physicists, the general realized that abiding by his part of the deal, namely constructing two small nukes according to the Los Alamos blueprints and handing them over to Nagib in exchange for the rest of the stolen diagrams would take much longer than initially estimated. He heard from Rahman that they were very unhappy about the living conditions in the Swabi region and even hinted that they would like to reconsider the whole agreement. Masood was sure that they were bluffing — there was no way that they could manage on their own to get out of Pakistan without being stopped and he believed they certainly couldn't go the US embassy and ask for asylum. On second thought he had to consider the lenient approach the Americans adopted when it came to criminals who confessed all and were forgiven if no actual damage to US interests was evident. Rahman reported to him that Nagib mentioned the fact that while they were in Germany Iranian and North Korean agents had tried to strike a deal with the couple and the general thought that in desperation they may go to one of these embassies for shelter. His conclusion was that it was easier to keep them happy and satisfied than worry about what they would do if they felt disgruntled.
Rahman flew over to Karachi from Islamabad to pay them a visit and update them on the progress of the deal, without informing them of the debate about the plutonium quality that took place in the committee. He told them the scientists and engineers were studying the blueprints and checking them in order to devise a schedule for producing the two small warheads. When Rahman saw the hotel in which they were staying and heard from Junaid about the suite she was sharing with the couple he wanted to stay in Karachi for a few nights, but the general only allowed him to spend one night there before returning to the committee's meetings. Rahman and Junaid made the most of that night, first having a small party with Nagib and Alia in the hot tub and then each couple retired to its bedroom for further partying.