Twenty-Nine Cozy Bears

10

Moscow, Russia

The digital clock at the bottom-right of the screen flashed bright hazard lime, then faded down to an off gray with a black background. Shades of darkness and slivers of silver defined the motif of the rest of the screen, layered with eight console frames floating like crystal slides aligned in space. Digits and symbols of orange, yellow and bright blue informed the man watching of configurations and compiler settings in the MAKEs.

Sunlight, clean sunlight glowed out from the curtains, framing the window with a divine halo. Large hands then gripped the folds of the curtains and ...

"Don't."

"No?" Alek asked, his hands jerking to a halt.

"No. It brings back too many memories," the man told him. "Besides, we still have an hour before we have a half-hour to get ready to go to the airfield to wait an hour before we take off. And we can sleep on the plane."

"Only four hours," Alek pointed out, while turning away from the windows, his hands empty for inspection.

"That would be correct, for a commercial flight. We are traveling with lumber. It will be nearly six hours before we will be able to leave the airplane."

"Yes," Luca said as he came into the room, "But no infants or small children. And the vodka is much better."

The man nodded, "Though the service will likely feel missing in some areas."

"Ah, you had to bring that up. I am suffering here." Alek turned away with just a touch too much drama. "What I could do to a wide-eyed doe, or a confused young lad."

"Careful with your funny silver tongue in Iran, especially Tehran. We will be under their noses our entire stay," the man pointed out.

"I will see my sister, I believe. I hope." Luca said this and leaned back against the door. "It has been a long time."

چقدر زمان گذشته? The man responded with a whisper.

Luca smiled, "You have kept in practice. Your accent is good."

"He still looks like an embittered Russian," Alek said with a gruff cough.

The man paused in his mirth becoming somber, "So, they are sneaking us in so that the Israelis watching will be sure to follow us to the nuclear site. Agreed?"

Both of the others nodded their agreement. Да

"Nothing in our orders suggests that they would become aggressive while we are there, but they will likely use our presence as a justification for aggressive behavior soon after we leave."

"If they learn how long we are staying," Alek put in.

"We could play it week by week," Luca said.

"Play it for six months and leave early. Might mire their justification up enough to be criticized," Alek offered.

"Let's do both, the man said after some thought. "Say it will take a week, then report that it will be a few months. Three months sounds... more natural."

"Our aim is confusion, not deception," Alek pointed out.

Luca stood straighter, with his chin in his hand, "I like the idea of a week and then three months — with us leaving at the end of the first month. It is confusion, and possible deception. And when has deception not been desirable?"

"Could give our watchers pause to wonder what we are doing, or how we might react," Alek admitted.

"I would like to leave with a bang. A parting gift for our host. Eyes and ears for possible opportunities?" he asked.

"Sure, that sounds like a challenge," Luca said.

"Challenge? Go ahead and crash that bank I cracked an hour ago, before we have to leave. There is your challenge."