193: Chapter 174 Closing the Net

April 16, 1982, Ahvaz.

The day after Reza returned, Hosseini made a move.

Karimi came in at seven in the morning and placed a photograph on Reza's desk.

The photo was taken at eleven last night at that alleyway. Hosseini had come out of the back door, holding an envelope in his hand.

"After we pulled our men out of the alley, he made his move that very same night," Karimi said.

Reza looked at the photo.

"Who did he go to meet?"

"Someone we don't recognize. They exchanged envelopes in the alley, and less than two minutes later, they went their separate ways."

"A photo of that person?"

Karimi placed the second photo down.

Reza glanced at it and shook his head. "Don't recognize him. Investigate."

"We're already investigating, but he headed toward the market. It was crowded, and we lost him."

Reza placed the two photos side by side and studied them for a while.

"The plan Hosseini passed on is a fake," he said. "So, Iraq now has an incorrect defense map of the refinery area. They will launch missiles at two unprotected nodes, and we will be waiting for them at those two nodes."

"But what if Iraq discovers the plan is a fake—"

"How would they discover it?" Reza said. "Their source of intelligence is Hosseini, and Hosseini gave them this plan. They have no second source to verify it."

Karimi nodded. "Then what do we do about Hosseini now?"

"We can't move yet," Reza said. "Regarding the network behind him, we've only seen one contact person; there are more people we don't know about. If we move against him, the network will be severed, and the rest will vanish. Keep waiting, but feed him a second piece of false intelligence."

"What content?"

"Persian-5," Reza said. "Tell him that our Persian-5 development has hit a technical bottleneck and it will take at least six months before we have the first finished unit."

Karimi paused. "But in reality, Fatima says we can have two usable ones within two weeks."

"That's why it's false intelligence," Reza said. "If Iraq believes our Persian-5 will take another six months, they will accelerate their timeline for attacking the refinery area because they think our anti-aircraft capabilities won't improve. If they accelerate, we can learn their true timeline earlier. Furthermore, they will strike the wrong location at the wrong time, using intelligence they believe is correct."

Karimi left.

At ten in the morning, Fatima called.

"The first prototype of the Persian-5 finished assembly today."

Reza paused. "And the testing?"

"Not yet," Fatima said, "but there are no structural issues. I need a test site and your authorization."

"Use the old firing range in the south; I'm giving you the authorization now," Reza said, "but one thing: the time and results of the test are only to be known by you, me, and Galani. Anyone else, including your team, should only know that the test hasn't started yet."

Fatima was silent for a second. "You're guarding against leaks."

"Yes."

"Fine, I understand."

The call ended.

In the afternoon, Galani came in.

April 16, 1982, Ahvaz, afternoon.

Galani came in and placed a list on Reza's desk.

"The transfer of the refinery area's first batch of equipment was completed early this morning," he said. "The control modules for the three core Pump Stations have all been moved to the underground warehouse in the southern suburbs."

"Losses?"

"Two minor components were damaged during loading and unloading, but it doesn't affect functionality."

Reza looked at the list and flipped to the second page. "What about the second batch?"

"It starts tomorrow, but there's a problem." Galani paused. "This afternoon, a group of people came to the refinery area, claiming to be sent by the Ministry of Defense to conduct a safety assessment of the equipment. The team was led by Kazemi's assistant."

Reza put the list down.

"What did they see?"

"The first batch of equipment had already been moved, and no traces were left at the site," Galani said, "but they asked the workers, and the workers said a convoy had entered and exited last night."

"What did the workers say?"

"They said it was routine maintenance, replacing a few aging pipe components."

"Did they believe it?"

"On the surface, yes," Galani said, "but before that assistant left, he took a few photos."

Reza sat in his chair for a while without speaking.

Kazemi was watching the refinery area. This was no coincidence; it was his way of continuing to interfere after losing that argument in Tehran. He sent people not to assess safety, but to collect evidence of Reza's unauthorized operations so he could overturn the case with the Supreme Leader.

"The second batch transfer," Reza said, "pause it for a day."

Galani frowned. "But the timeline—"

"I know," Reza said, "but if Kazemi's people are still there tomorrow and we continue the transfer, he'll have solid proof. Let them wait for a day; once they feel there's nothing to see and leave, we'll move again."

"Is one day enough?"

"Not enough," Reza said, "but it's better than being shut down by Kazemi."

Galani left.

Reza picked up the phone and called Karimi. "What is the name of Kazemi's assistant?"

"Farouk Tabari," Karimi said, "he's worked at the Ministry of Defense for six years and is Kazemi's confidant."

"Where is he staying tonight?"

"At the Ahvaz Military District guesthouse."

"Have our people watch him," Reza said. "If he contacts anyone, I want to know the content of the contact."

"Yes."

The call ended.

In the evening, Karimi brought new information.

"Tabari sent a telegram to Kazemi this afternoon," Karimi said, placing a copy of the telegram on the desk. "The content was: 'No abnormalities at the site, but worker testimony is questionable; suggest continued monitoring.'"

Reza read through the telegram.

"Questionable," he said. "That word is used very carefully. He has no solid proof, but he is leaving a fallback option for Kazemi."

"Then what should we do?"

Reza thought for a moment. "Arrange a tour for Tabari," he said. "Tomorrow morning, have the person in charge of the refinery area take him around. Focus on the equipment that hasn't been transferred yet; let him see that the refinery area is operating normally and the workers are calm. At the same time, have the person in charge tell him that last night's convoy was transporting newly purchased spare parts that had just arrived and were being put into storage."

"Do we have spare parts?"

"Go purchase a batch, tonight," Reza said. "They don't need to be many, just enough to fill two trucks. Tomorrow, let Tabari see the warehousing records with his own eyes."

Karimi nodded and left.

At ten at night, Walsh's intermediary delivered a letter.

Reza opened it and read it twice.

The content of the letter was short: The fifth node, I have confirmed, is the main substation. The other two, I still cannot obtain. There is one more thing you need to know: Kazemi has had contact with the Iraqi side, the channel being through a Turkish businessman. I have no further details.

Reza placed the letter on the desk and stared at the last sentence.

Kazemi.

He opposed the transfer plan in Tehran, he sent people to monitor the refinery area, and he has had contact with Iraq.

These three things, viewed individually, each could have a reasonable explanation. Put together, there is only one explanation.

Reza picked up a pen, wrote Kazemi's name in his notebook, drew a question mark next to it, then crossed out the question mark and replaced it with a circle.

It wasn't suspicion; it was confirming a direction. But he had no evidence now, only a word from Walsh, and Walsh's word itself needed verification.

He wrote a line in his notebook: Kazemi's problem is more dangerous than Hosseini's problem. Hosseini is at the execution level; Kazemi is at the decision-making level.

Then he turned to the next page, wrote down the words "Main Substation," circled them, and added them to the node list of the refinery area defense plan.

Seven nodes; now he knew five.

There were two more, beyond Walsh's authority.

Reza closed the notebook, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes.

He was thinking about one thing: if Kazemi really was passing information to Iraq, then Iraq's understanding of the refinery area might be more comprehensive and accurate than what Hosseini had passed on. The effect of the fake plan might be smaller than he had anticipated.

But the fake plan had already been sent out and couldn't be taken back.

What he could do was add another layer on top of the fake plan.

He reopened the notebook and started writing the framework for a third document.

This one was not for Hosseini, but for Kazemi.

The content was: The actual inventory of Persian-4 is one-third less than the public figures because a batch was damaged during transport last month and has not yet been replenished.

If Kazemi passed this figure to Iraq, Iraq would think Iran's anti-aircraft capabilities were weaker than they actually were, and they would push their attack plan more aggressively, exposing more deployment details.

Reza finished writing the framework for this document and put it in the drawer.

Tomorrow, he needed to find a way to make this document naturally appear where Kazemi could see it.

He stood up, walked to the window, and glanced at the night sky.

The two-week countdown had already seen two days pass.