"Are you now, or did you ever work for a foreign government?"
"No".
"Were you approached by a foreign intelligence service?"
"No".
"Are you now or were you ever a member of a terrorist organization?"
"No".
"Are you now or were you ever a member of the communist party or a sympathizer?"
"No".
"Are you now or were you ever connected to an extreme racist or Nazi movement?"
"No".
"Did you obtain your student visa or your US citizenship under false pretenses?"
"No."
This series of questions was repeated twice more. Nagib's reply to all these questions was negative and the investigator appeared to be pleased with the answers and thanked Nagib for his cooperation and released him from the machine. Nagib laughed to himself quietly — he was not an agent of a foreign government, was not contacted by intelligence services, was not a member of any organization (terrorist, communist or racist) and did not lie in his visa application. He was never asked if he plotted to harm the US or its allies, if he planned to betray the confidence of the Lab or steal any secret information from it and use it.
At last Nagib received the clearance to attend the dismantling of the nuclear warhead that was selected for a thorough analysis of its state of fitness, or degradation, as part of the stockpile stewardship project. All he saw were a lot of small components that were carefully dissembled from a strange looking device. He was impressed by the skill and confident way that Dr. Max Level's people handled these parts. No one bothered to explain to him what each component was and what function it performed and he did not want to raise suspicion by being overly inquisitive. After observing the procedure for a couple of hours he could not come up with astute remarks or useful suggestions, so he returned to the analytical laboratory and supervised the analysis of the samples that were collected. He already knew the isotopic composition of enriched uranium and plutonium that were in the core, or pit, of each warhead type, as did anyone who could surf the net and read Wikipedia, so did not learn anything new from the analyses that were performed in his laboratory. He also read some things about the construction of atomic weapons — once again things that were common knowledge in the public domain. So far, he had not gained a single fact that could be used for bartering and he was deeply disappointed.
In the evening he returned home and told Alia about his frustration with the failure of their idea. He knew he would have to return to the Deputy Director and admit that Dr. Max Level knew his job, so he wondered if he could use this to befriend Dr. Level and get some useful information from him. Alia encouraged him to continue with the efforts to obtain classified information that could be used for bartering.
The next day, Nagib submitted his report to the Deputy Director of the Lab, with a copy to Dr. Max Level. He was summoned to a meeting in which he praised Dr. Level's professional approach and said that there was no need for personnel from the analytical laboratory to be present during the dismantling process for sample collection. Max was pleased with the report and even the Deputy Director smiled and said that it took an honest man to admit that he had been wrong. After they left the office Max thanked Nagib for his frank report and said that they should meet for coffee or for a drink some time and asked him if he and his wife were free on Friday afternoon.
The two couples met in the Pyramid Café that had become Alia's favorite place after the first date with Nagib. When Max introduced his wife as Minnie, Alia and Nagib could barely suppress their laughter because both of them remembered the other line on the kettle that said Min Level. Minnie, who had a degree in mechanical engineering, was also employed at the Lab so the four of them had a lively conversation about life in Los Alamos and work in the Lab. The two couples hit it off despite the age gap between Alia and Nagib who were in their early thirties and the Levels who were in their early fifties. The Levels had a daughter who was attending college in Denver and came home only for Christmas and in the summer. While the women were engaged in their own conversation Max asked Nagib if their two departments could increase their professional cooperation and hold regular meetings and seminars on issues of mutual interest. Needless to say that Nagib was overjoyed with this suggestion but managed to appear as if he was considering the idea and asked if this wouldn't raise security issues. Max said that he would work through channels and try to obtain the Deputy Director's approval and permission from the security office. The two couples departed agreeing to meet again soon.
The first meeting of Nagib's analytical laboratory people with Max's operations division personnel was held in a small conference room, and kicked off on a positive note. After a short round of introductions, each section leader presented the responsibilities and capabilities of his group. It appeared as if some of the problems that arose in the operations division, like evident corrosion and degradation of components could be addressed by the use of analytical tools to study the extent of the problems and the rate of the processes. Max said that viewing the blueprints and pointing out the areas in which the degradation was most prominent would be helpful and Nagib gladly approved. So they agreed to meet on a bi-weekly basis and devise an action plan, pending proper approval from management and permission from the security division, of course. Max said that he would be responsible for carrying out the bureaucratic procedures to gain the necessary clearances.
Max entered the small conference room with a big smile and immediately switched on his laptop and connected it to the overhead projector. Nagib could hardly believe his eyes — on the screen there was a detailed diagram of one of the most advanced warheads in the US nuclear arsenal. Max described each component, its exact dimensions, materials of construction, and once he started to describe the problems that were encountered enlargements of the relevant areas were displayed. Nagib had to clear his throat and drink some cold coffee before he allowed himself to speak. He said that they should address one problem at a time and asked Max where he thought they should start. Max zipped through the presentation until he found the best view of the problematic component and reviewed the problems that they had encountered with that component. Before long a brainstorming session was in full gear with the analytical chemists raising questions and making proposals after hearing the answers from the operations people who had hands on experience with the component. Nagib and Max exchanged a look that showed how pleased they were with the way the two teams were interacting.
In the evening Nagib returned home and told Alia about the way the meeting had progressed and said that they had struck gold or at least a gold bearing vein. Alia suggested that they go and celebrate at their favorite restaurant and Nagib readily agreed. So off they went, ordered the best and most expensive bottle of wine, and drank it raising toasts to each other. That night they got very little sleep as both were feeling a need for close physical contact and a strong desire for each other.