Free Esther's Sling by Ben Brunson Page B

must admit – are perfectly suited for his role at Rafael.” Fiegelbaum paused and sized up his underling. He felt a fatherly attachment to every man and woman he sent out on missions. “Enough about Dov. We have a new assignment for you.”
    “Sounds good.”
    Fiegelbaum shook his head. “I have always thought that to be an odd expression. You haven’t heard what your assignment is yet.” Margolis smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “You have done a great job in Russia. This has been noticed and appreciated. We need you to do something very important, but it might compromise your ability to return to Russia.”
    Margolis was excited. He was tired of being assigned to operations in Russia and ready to spend time back home. “It sounds important.”
    “It is. And you are the one who made it this important. The operation you handled a few years ago when you got the chips into the Iranian Tor systems was a huge success. Now we need you to keep the value of that mission intact.
    “As I am sure you are aware, the Russians signed a contract in December 2007 to sell the S-300 anti-aircraft system to Iran. This was a billion dollar contract, enough to make the Russians eager to see the deal through. Since then there has been intense pressure on Russia from the USA, us and Europe to kill the deal. Unfortunately, the Russians have been using this deal as leverage and we are afraid that they are getting close to going ahead with delivery. We need to stop that from happening.
    “Your assignment is to meet a Russian FSB operative named Dmitri Arkanov. You will be negotiating on behalf of Israel. We need to figure out what they will take in order to call off the deal permanently. You understand Russians and you understand business. You are the right man for this job.” The FSB, or Federal Security Service, is the Russian descendant of the Soviet Union’s KGB.
    “Sounds exciting. I’m on board. Timing?”
    “Here’s the deal. We want the negotiation to be between us and Russia. No Americans. No Europeans. No one but you and Arkanov. You will need to be very discrete and very careful.”
    “Then I suggest that either I go to Moscow or he comes here. Since the headquarters of FSB are no secret, I should go there. If he doesn’t have to travel, we cut out at least half of the traceable chain.”
    “Exactly my thoughts, except that I’m not sure about you going into the Lubyanka. The Americans watch that place closely and it wouldn’t surprise me if the NSA can listen in on most of what goes on in there.”
    “I will have to think about that,” replied Margolis. “To be honest, I would be happy to die without ever seeing the inside of the Lubyanka. There must be a million ghosts in that building. Makes me ill thinking about it.” Both men thought about the bloody history of the building, which had housed Stalin’s secret police, the NKVD, before being home to the KGB and now the FSB. This was the same building where Lavrentiy Beria in the late 1930s built a drainage area for the more efficient cleaning of blood from the execution of prisoners every night, typically dispatched with a bullet to the back of the head. The same place where Beria was himself executed shortly after Stalin’s death.
    Amit came back to the issues of the moment. “May I ask why me? You realize that once I show up in Moscow and make contact, I am blown for future operations there.”
    “First, this has been discussed. You have done your duty in Russia, Amit. It is time for you to change venues. As for why you were picked. That is easy. You speak fluent Russian. You know how Russians think. You clearly know how to negotiate. You are trusted and this is a critical mission. By the way, you will be alone. No team. No backup. If you have trouble, you will need to get to a friendly embassy on your own. Can you accept that risk?”
    “When do you want me to go?”
    “I have your tickets.” Fiegelbaum opened a drawer in his desk and passed an