“No.”
“China. Almost two-thirds of all bitcoins are mined in China. And about eighty percent of all bitcoin is traded in Chinese yuan.”
Chase said, “So why would Jinshan want to open up new bitcoin mines on Abu Musa if they already have all of that going on in China?”
“Why indeed? This is the thought that bothered me a few years ago while I was in the midst of investigating Satoshi’s true identity. So I began to conduct occasional inspections of the Abu Musa facilities.”
Waleed said, “What did you find?”
“The bitcoin mines on Abu Musa are not just any mines. These mines have been set up to connect with the undersea cables that transfer information between the new Dubai Financial Exchange and the rest of the world. The bitcoin mines on Abu Musa are special.”
“How so?”
“Believe me, I have been trying to find out, but even I don’t fully know. But my theory is that this setup will allow Jinshan to artificially manipulate the currency. Either way, Jinshan’s operation has become too secretive for his own good. Some of the IRGC members who work there seem to have forgotten where their loyalty lies. I believe you know one of them. A Lt. Col. Pakvar.”
Chase and Waleed looked at each other again, and then back at Gorji.
Gorji folded his arms. “Iran wants Jinshan’s Abu Musa operation shut down. But we want the bitcoin-backed currency adoption to continue, without any illegal value manipulation. Which places us in a precarious position. How do we regain control of the Abu Musa facility without angering Jinshan, who has so much influence over the Dubai Financial Summit decisions?”
Chase said, “You want us to shut down the Abu Musa operation?”
“Any illegitimate parts of it, yes.”
“How do you propose we do that?”
“I believe that there is someone who can help us. While inspecting the Abu Musa facilities, I met with a foreigner who was working there. Jinshan’s bitcoin expert, I was told. From what I could tell during my limited exposure to him, Jinshan has essentially imprisoned this man on Abu Musa. I met with him years ago, before Pakvar got involved and security was tightened. I believe that this man would be open to defecting to America. If we can make that happen, he could help us ensure that the bitcoin-backed currency is free of malicious code. But I need his extraction to be an American operation. Otherwise Iran could suffer the wrath of Jinshan’s anger. Can you help?”
Chase said, “I’ll have to take this up my chain of command. But I think this would be mutually beneficial. Would you be able to get me access to this man? This expert?”
“I believe so. I have contacts on Abu Musa who are still loyal to me. I think that they could help me get him away long enough for you to extract him.”
Waleed said, “So who is the expert?”
Gorji smiled. “Isn’t it obvious? It is the man that I was searching for all along. The expert on Abu Musa is Nakamoto Satoshi.”
They spoke for a few minutes more, hammering out details of their next communication. Waleed would stay in touch with Gorji through their normal channels. Waleed would receive a message indicating where and when Satoshi would be available. The rest was up to Chase and his team.
Chase said, “What about the list of American names? When can we see that, and how does that fit in to this?”
Gorji said, “I came across it during my most recent inspection of the Abu Musa facilities — a few months ago. A young man who was working with Pakvar mistook me for someone who worked on Abu Musa on a regular basis. An Indian boy in his twenties. He’s actually an American citizen. Natesh, I believe his name was. I did not learn his last name. I don’t believe he was supposed to speak of the list with me. I took a picture when he was not paying attention.”
Chase shook his head. “That’s how these things happen. Tiny mistakes.”
Gorji said, “I will provide you with the list of American names once Satoshi’s extraction is complete. That is the deal that I am authorized to make.” He looked at both men. “I’m sorry that I cannot give it to you now. I serve many masters, you must understand.”
Waleed said, “We understand. We will make this right. Inshallah.”
They shook hands and walked out of the humidor room and toward the front of the store. Chase could see the blue light of the aquarium on the other side of the cigar shop’s glass windows.
They walked out of the cigar shop and into the mall. Then Chase’s world slowed down.
Chase had been in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan when he was with the SEALs. It was very different in those two theaters. In Afghanistan, battles in the mountains could be slow and deliberate. Firefights could take days or weeks. In the streets of Iraq, combat was much faster. It could be over in a matter of seconds. But in both settings, it was crucial to maintain good situational awareness, understand the terrain, and know the capabilities of one’s opponent. Chase had been trained in observing the people and things around him until it became instinct to know when a firefight was about to erupt. Right now, his instincts raised the hair on the back of his neck.
Walking out into the blue light of the aquarium, Chase saw several men that didn’t fit the tourist profile. The first was a hulking, dark-featured man that towered over everyone around him. Pakvar.
He stood in the middle of a crowd, glaring at Chase and his group. He held something under his jacket. A lightning-quick scan revealed at least two more men that were dressed like him and staring Chase’s way. Both had their hands hidden behind clothing as well.
“Stop,” Chase called to Waleed and Gorji.
They stood in the entrance of the store, swarms of people moving all around them. Chase felt under his sport coat to where his Sig lay in its shoulder holster. He unbuckled it and flipped off the safety, keeping his hand on the grip and his eyes on Pakvar.
Pakvar yelled something in Persian. His voice was loud and he spat as he spoke.
Gorji said, “I must go. He said I am to go.”
Chase said, “What? Waleed, what did he say?”
“He told Gorji to leave, that he wouldn’t hurt him.”
Chase wasn’t sure what to do about Gorji. Hell. “Go, get out of here.”
After Pakvar yelled, a clearing formed around him as people realized that something wasn’t right. One of Pakvar’s men held Gorji’s assistant by the collar. He threw him into the glass wall of the aquarium. Pakvar yelled something at Gorji and then looked at his man.
Chase’s grip tightened on his weapon. There were too many variables. Three of them and one of him. They weren’t firing yet, which meant that something was restraining them. Chase’s CIA training had taught him to look for options and minimize the possibility of civilian casualties. He couldn’t fire his gun here unless he absolutely had to.
Gorji stopped and turned when Pakvar called his name. Pakvar took his weapon out. A thick, boxy weapon with a long, straight magazine — it looked similar to a MAC-10. He fired a spray of bullets at Gorji’s assistant. A two-foot flame shot out from the weapon and Gorji’s assistant’s white shirt filled with dark red holes.
The aquarium wall behind him began cracking and tiny streams of water spurted out. Gorji screamed and started to walk toward Pakvar, then stopped and thought better of it. He cursed Pakvar, turned and ran out of the mall.
Screams from the crowd. Hysteria. Tourists running. Mothers guarding their children, their heads still turned and watching Pakvar. Even the mall security guards ran.
A moment later, Waleed and Chase were left alone in the mall’s wide-open floor space. The sounds of water shooting out from tiny holes and hitting the tile floor echoed through the room. Pakvar and his men were spread out about thirty feet away, Pakvar at Chase’s eleven o’clock, the other man at his two o’clock position. The third man was behind them.