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    Blind Scorpion: Iran's Nuclear Sting, Book 1
    Blind Scorpion: Iran's Nuclear Sting, Book 1
    Blind Scorpion: Iran's Nuclear Sting, Book 1
    Ebook135 pages1 hour

    Blind Scorpion: Iran's Nuclear Sting, Book 1

    By Mike Wells and Farsheed Ferdowsi

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    About this ebook

    (Note: This book is published as Mushroom in the Sand, by Farsheed Ferdowsi, as a hardback. Please do not purchase this title if you have already read that book unless you want it in ebook format, too).

    Readers of Tom Clancy, Brad Thor, Stephen Hunter, John Le Carre will enjoy this fast-paced, international spy thriller.

    5 STARS! “Fast paced and suspenseful, it features a surprising range of highly likable characters...a thoroughly well-researched book by a person in the know.” - Claude Forthomme, former United Nations worker

    5 STARS! “Suspense, intrigue, and betrayal - the game of spy versus spy where corruption, espionage and the quest for the ultimate power rule, governments have their ways, and Iran is no exception.” - Dii, Top 500 Super Reviewer

    5 STARS! “I found it impossible to put down. Thrilling, suspenseful as it dove into the world of espionage among world powers. Fast paced and based loosely on world events of WMD’s.” - Jeff Mattice, Book Reviewer

    5 STARS! “Masterpiece! Timely, fast paced and hard to put down. Would make a helluva movie!” - Fred Bowditch, Book Reviewer

    5 STARS! “What interests me more is the depth of his knowledge (clearly the author has a passion for it) about nuclear technology and how people can use it to destroy things. In addition to that, we have many big players in the book: MOIS, Mossad, US and Russia, all in it for various reasons.” - Ailyn Koay, Book Reviewer

    BOOK DESCRIPTION

    The BLIND SCORPION is a Top Secret computer program for simulating nuclear weapons explosions and the catastrophic havoc they wreak. Dr. Ross Shaheen, the developer of the software, is living the American dream. Between his internationally-recognized nuclear weapons research career at the prestigious Berkeley Lab and his picture-perfect family in the San Francisco suburbs, it's a good life that can only get better...until he is lured into lecturing before an elite group of scientists in the country of his birth: Iran.
    The seven thousand mile trip takes Shaheen back to the land of the lion and the sun, yet it also delivers to Iran's very doorstep an important American citizen with a Top Secret security clearance. It soon becomes clear what the Iranians are really after: the BLIND SCORPION. The coveted software is the key to advancing their clandestine nuclear weapons program without the rest of the world being able to prove its existence. Shaheen becomes entangled in a twisted web of espionage, corruption and survival, putting to the test not only his secret knowledge but also the very core of his allegiance to the land he now calls home.

    If he lives, Ross Shaheen could walk away a hero.

    The question is, for which country?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMike Wells
    Release dateJun 4, 2015
    ISBN9781311184757
    Blind Scorpion: Iran's Nuclear Sting, Book 1
    Author

    Mike Wells

    Mike Wells is an author of both walking and cycling guides. He has been walking long-distance footpaths for 25 years, after a holiday in New Zealand gave him the long-distance walking bug. Within a few years, he had walked the major British trails, enjoying their range of terrain from straightforward downland tracks through to upland paths and challenging mountain routes. He then ventured into France, walking sections of the Grande Randonnee network (including the GR5 through the Alps from Lake Geneva to the Mediterranean), and Italy to explore the Dolomites Alta Via routes. Further afield, he has walked in Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Norway and Patagonia. Mike has also been a keen cyclist for over 20 years. After completing various UK Sustrans routes, such as Lon Las Cymru in Wales and the C2C route across northern England, he then moved on to cycling long-distance routes in continental Europe and beyond. These include cycling both the Camino and Ruta de la Plata to Santiago de la Compostela, a traverse of Cuba from end to end, a circumnavigation of Iceland and a trip across Lapland to the North Cape. He has written a series of cycling guides for Cicerone following the great rivers of Europe.

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      Book preview

      Blind Scorpion - Mike Wells

      BLIND SCORPION:

      IRAN’S NUCLEAR STING

      BOOK 1

      (International Spy Technothriller)

      By

      Farsheed Ferdowsi & Mike Wells

      © Farsheed Ferdowsi & Mike Wells All Rights Reserved

      This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, settings, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, settings or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

      For Aram,

      Kimia, and Donesh

      Chapter 1.1

      Lying on his side with his left arm over a large pillow, Ross stared at the amber glow of the alarm clock as the digits declared 2:47 a.m. It had been a sleepless night. At times, he felt angry at the clock for not moving faster. Maybe it’s stuck. The thought had occurred to him more than once. Then, as if the device could sense his desperation, it would dole out another minute, causing him to rejoice. But his relief would be short-lived, as the agony of waiting would quickly return. The appointed hour was inching closer.

      Oksana was fast asleep on her side of the king-size bed. Surrounded by pillows, wearing an eye mask, and drowning all ambient noise in the whooshing sound of her noisemaker, she was dead to the world. He had listened to that machine for so long that it somehow sounded natural to him.

      2:55 a.m.—it was time to go.

      Ross quietly rose and sat on the edge of the bed. He felt exhausted. As he arched his back to stretch, his glance fell on Oksana. Her silhouette, in a long satin nightgown, was barely visible in the starlight. For a moment, he felt guilty. Danger loomed near, but she was in the dark. He had weighed the pros and cons of confiding in her time and again. And on every occasion, he had arrived at the same conclusion: it was better this way—at least for now.

      I wonder if they can see us in the bedroom, he thought. With these people, anything’s possible.

      For twenty-five eventful years, Oksana had stood by his side. Her love for him was unconditional, as was his for her. Together they had weathered many storms, raised a beautiful family, and managed to develop stellar careers despite the obstacles that are part and parcel of being foreign-born citizens living in America. They had made it.

      At seventeen, their daughter Marina was a delightful and serious teenager, methodically narrowing her list of university options. She was named after Oksana’s grandmother, who had been a seamstress in the court of the last Russian Tsar, Nicolas II. A cross between her Caucasian mother and her Middle Eastern father, Marina was a stunning beauty and, like most daughters, she had a mystical grip on Ross’ emotions that he could not explain.

      Victor, fourteen, was a dashing young man with features that favored Ross more than Oksana. This pleased Ross greatly. To him, watching Victor grow up held a twinge of déjà vu. He loved to tinker and build model airplanes, much as Ross had in his teens. As a scientist, Ross saw in his son the continuation of his own life: an engineer in the making. And in spite of his sarcastic accusations to the contrary, Ross loved Victor no less than he did Marina.

      They framed his existence.

      Ross peered out of his second-floor bedroom window. The house on the other side of Gordon Street was completely dark. The Millers used to leave their porch light burning all night, but not the new tenants. Why did the Millers leave so abruptly? Ross wondered. And why rent a fully furnished house to three single men? The Millers didn’t know these people nor did they need the money. It makes no sense. How were they talked into this? He shook his head. They must have been made an offer they couldn’t refuse.

      Oksana was mystified by the three men; they were secretive and clearly out of place in a family neighborhood. Not Ross. He suspected who they were: Iranian agents, sent by MOIS—the Ministry of Intelligence and Security—to watch him.

      Are they training invisible laser beams at our windowpanes to eavesdrop on our conversations? Ross thought. Are they using heat sensors to monitor our movements inside our home? Maybe they’re using old-fashioned binoculars, bugs, and wiretaps? Ross had no way of knowing, but he assumed the worst. He felt their presence like one does a nagging rash. And it angered him.

      3:02 a.m.—he put on his black jogging suit and stepped into a pair of loafers. Careful not to make any sound, he picked up his Oakland Raiders cap from the nightstand and tiptoed out of the bedroom.

      He donned the cap as he crept down the stairs. Passing Victor’s bedroom, Ross sneaked a peek. The boy was asleep on his stomach hugging a stuffed blue rabbit. Ross smiled, thinking, Habits are hard to break.

      Standing in the middle of the kitchen tilting his head, Romeo greeted him with an inquisitive stare. Ross was never more grateful for the Shih Tzu being one of the quietest breed of dogs than he was at that moment. When he knelt to scratch Romeo’s head, he laid on his back waving his paws in the air, begging him to rub his belly.

      To buy his continued silence, Ross obliged.

      * * *

      Fear was all that Ross had known since the message had been delivered to him three days earlier. The horror it induced into his core was such that it rendered his many attempts at distraction useless.

      Men are creatures of habit, and Ross was no exception. His Saturday routine began at dawn when he would drive across the Golden Gate Bridge, park on West Crissy, and set out for a five-mile run on the promenade. He usually finished the course in about forty-five minutes.

      During his last jog, the morning chill felt particularly exhilarating to Ross. He loved the Bay Area, especially San Francisco. He found the scenery breathtaking. While he ran, he took in the reflection of the first light on Alcatraz as it glowed majestically against the white of the morning fog. It was poor visibility. When he approached the end of the pier, he noticed the silhouette of a burly man leaning against the rails. He seemed to be taking in the view like most people who showed up on the promenade that early. But when Ross got closer, the man turned to face him, as if he’d anticipated his arrival. Suddenly, Ross recognized him—it was Kazem, a man he had first met two weeks ago in Las Vegas. Seeing him now surprised him. What the hell is he doing here? he thought.

      What a glorious morning, my friend, Kazem called out.

      What is this? Ross asked. Are you stalking me now?

      He stopped in front of Kazem and bent over, panting to catch his breath. Without any attempt at disguising his contempt, he said, Didn’t I tell you . . . to leave me the hell . . . alone?

      No, my good friend, I’m not a stalker, Kazem said. I’m simply carrying a message.

      Okay . . . deliver it and . . . get lost.

      Your rejection of our invitation to visit Iran has angered powerful individuals.

      Pushy people were as annoying to Ross as stupid ones. At that moment, he thought Kazem was insisting on being both. Less winded, Ross said, First of all, I seriously considered the invitation and was willing to come to Iran. Ross paused to wipe the sweat off his face with a small towel. But, as I clearly explained to what’s his name, the Chairman?

      Dr. Hakim, Kazem said, jogging Ross’ memory, the Chairman of the Physics Department at Shiraz University.

      Yes, Dr. Hakim. I explained to him that my position in the United States is somewhat sensitive, and it prevented me from accepting his invitation. I regret it, but that’s the way it is. Ross then got into Kazem’s face, staring into his eyes. Second, I don’t give a rat’s ass who’s pissed off in Iran. As far as I’m concerned, they can all go to hell.

      Ross, Kazem said calmly, I’m your friend. Please reconsider. You must come. It’s in your best interest.

      I told you, I can’t.

      With that, Kazem became quiet. Resting his arms on the guardrail, he turned to take in the view. Ross did the same. After a moment’s pause, Kazem reached into his coat pocket and retrieved a manila envelope. He handed it to Ross without breaking his gaze.

      What’s this? Ross said.

      It’s the message.

      Ross ripped the seal open and impatiently pulled out its contents, which seemed to be photographs—glossy four by sixes. Suddenly, he felt nauseous. One was a close-up of Victor playing with Romeo in their front yard. The other was of Oksana and Marina carrying shopping bags at the mall.

      You son-of-a-bitch! Are you threatening me?

      Take it as you wish. I’d rather call it motivation.

      Ross grabbed Kazem by the collar. Do you know what I can do to you?

      Kazem stood motionless.

      One phone call to my friends at the FBI and your fat ass will be in jail for an eternity.

      Do not shoot the messenger, my friend, Kazem said coolly. "I know you

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