“Exactly. Consider this a professional courtesy. If Elliot finds out, I’ll tell him that we didn’t want to bother him with it since he’s got so much going on.”
He felt a wave of relief spread over him. “Thanks, Lisa.”
She leaned forward and kissed him. “No problem.”
She pulled him up from the sand so that they were standing again, and then into the water. Chase hoped that Lisa could bring him good information, which would clear David. As they floated in the waves, buoyant in the high-salinity Gulf Sea, he tried not to think of the horrors that he had seen earlier in the day.
Chapter 9
Chase took another painkiller and guzzled water down before getting out of Waleed’s car. He was just about over his hangover from the drinking he’d done with Lisa the night before, but he needed to be completely clear-headed now.
As Chase followed Waleed into the Mall of Dubai, he could hear the Muslim call to prayer echoing over outdoor loudspeakers from a temple a few blocks away.
It was his first time here, and the mall was every bit as impressive as he had heard. As they walked inside, he passed by an indoor ice rink, a hundred-foot-high indoor waterfall, multiple luxury hotels, a train station, movie theaters, and a long line that led to tours of the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa.
Tourists were everywhere. The place was packed. Lines were long, but the diverse crowds were smiling for the most part.
“Where is this meeting spot?”
Waleed pointed up ahead. “There. Let us go.”
Chase looked down a long blue tunnel. It was part of the indoor aquarium, which lay on the other side. The tunnel was all glass, rising up around him in a circle of aquamarine. Small sharks and schools of tropical fish swam over and around him.
Chase walked into the middle of the thirty-foot-long tunnel. Gorji’s assistant waited at the far side. He indicated that they should follow.
Coming out of the aquarium tunnel, the three men walked along the giant glass aquarium wall. To their left, a two-level metallic grey observation deck wrapped around the giant fish tank, the throngs of onlookers illuminated by the blue light. Those observation decks were just a part of the mall, extending from the stores nearby. To their right, the glass wall of the aquarium rose up at least fifty feet. It radiated a dancing spectrum of beautiful blues. Exotic fish, rays, and the occasional shark swam by large sections of bright coral. It was a loud scene, with children hollering and tourists talking and snapping pictures with their smartphones.
Gorji’s man walked into one of the stores on the lower level. It was a slender cigar shop. A custodian had been standing at the door, and he shut the entrance behind them, locking the door and flipping over a closed sign.
He directed Chase to the humidor room, where a skinny man with curly black hair and a rich suit perused the most expensive cigars. Gorji.
“I thought it would be just you,” Gorji said, not yet looking at Chase or Waleed.
He spoke in polished English. His assistant had closed the door behind them. Waleed, Chase, and Mr. Ahmad Gorji of the Islamic Republic of Iran stood alone in the humidor room. Cigar boxes were stacked up in rows, four high.
Chase said, “Mr. Waleed Hajjar is working with me on this.”
Gorji turned to look at them. “He is UAE intelligence. They can’t be trusted.” He selected a long, thick cigar and held it up to his nostrils, inhaling deeply.
Waleed was smiling widely. So was Gorji.
Chase said, “What’s going on?”
Waleed and Gorji embraced and then began speaking rapidly in Arabic. It was too fast for Chase to follow.
Waleed looked up at Chase. “Now you know. And you are one of a very few who do. Ahmad is a dear friend. We grew up together.”
“Grew up together? Where?”
Waleed said, “In Iran. I was born there. My father died when I was young. My mother immigrated to Dubai when I was just a boy. She had relatives here. She remarried. For many years, Ahmad and I kept in touch. But recently, we have been forced to be more discreet with our friendship.”
“Does Elliot know about this?”
Waleed shook his head. “I do not want to risk anyone knowing about this.”
“And that’s why you had him approach the CIA instead of you?”
Ahmad Gorji said, “This is how I knew where to approach the CIA. I decided that this was the best course of action. I am privy to intelligence documents in my country. I knew that you were stationed in the UAE, and that your brother was on the list. It was the only way I knew of to prove to the Americans that my information was legitimate. I assume that you have examined your brother’s communications?”
Chase frowned. “I’m looking into it. But we are taking your claim seriously based on the Dubai leak that you uncovered.”
Gorji said, “So you haven’t evaluated your brother’s activities?”
“Not personally.”
“Why, may I ask?”
“You may not.”
Gorji looked at Waleed, then back at Chase. “I can tell you with certainty that he was on the list I saw. I don’t know your brother, but I understand your loyalty to him. Based on my knowledge of the situation, however, I strongly believe that he will be giving information to the men on the island. That is what I was told by my source on Abu Musa.”
Chase said, “Let’s talk about that. What is going on there? On Abu Musa?”
Gorji gestured to the group of thick leather chairs in the center of the room. “Come, sit with me for a moment. I am tired of standing and this will take some time to explain.” The three men sat.
Gorji said, “What do you know of the name Nakamoto Satoshi?”
Chase said, “I recognize the name. He is supposedly the creator of bitcoin, right?”
Gorji nodded. “In 2008, a person or group of persons published a white paper describing the bitcoin digital currency. The document was published under the name Nakamoto Satoshi.”
Waleed said, “I heard that the name Satoshi was a pseudonym.”
Gorji said, “Whether Nakamoto was really one person or many, no one knew. The modern legend that formed would have you believe that a single mysterious man began to collaborate with software developers for the next two years, at which time he handed over control of the source code and other important information to several prominent members of a now-loyal bitcoin community. This Nakamoto Satoshi created the world’s first widely used digital currency. Bitcoin is untraceable and therefore untaxed. Every transaction is uploaded into the bitcoin network of users. Unlike paper money, which can be created by governments, bitcoins are in limited supply, one of their two value drivers.”
Chase said, “What does this have to do with Abu Musa?”
Mr. Gorji held up a hand. “We’ll get to that. The other driver of bitcoin’s value is demand. This is basic economics. Supply and demand together will meet and support a given value. It is important that you understand how bitcoin is different than paper money. Let me ask you something, do you know how much money the US Treasury prints each day?”
Chase shook his head.
“I do. I have had to study these things in preparation for Iran’s shift to the bitcoin-backed currency. The US Bureau of Engraving and Printing creates thirty-eight million notes a day. That’s over five hundred million US dollars created by the American government each and every day. Now, the vast majority of that is used to replace what’s already in circulation. They are making old dollar bills look new. But the point is, the American regulators and other national currency regulators around the world control the rate at which they pump money into their currency supplies. And what happens if you pump more money into a currency supply?”
Chase said, “Inflation.”