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chemistry and had served in the army as a chemist, and they wanted to know anything he could tell them about it. So Dubi asked. Specifically, he asked about activities taking place at Abu Za’abel, northeast of Cairo, an area where civilian and military chemical facilities stood side by side.
    Marwan was surprised by the line of questioning. He failed to understand why the Israelis were so worried about this particular field. Though he had never worked at Abu Za’abel, he was able to give remarkably accurate information about the work beingdone there. Dubi continued writing everything down. When he was done, Marwan handed him a manila envelope containing one final document. Dubi placed it in his briefcase without opening it. Marwan nodded his approval. To this day, no one recalls, or is willing to divulge, what exactly was in the envelope.
    During the entire meeting, Marwan did not once raise the issue of payment. In the way of gentlemen, he and Dubi left such unpleasantries for another time. Yet clearly the Egyptian was not working for the Mossad on a volunteer basis. From his end, Marwan wanted to demonstrate the value of his contribution before raising the matter of a fee. Indeed, it was wise on Dubi’s part not to risk spoiling the atmosphere. The two had quickly developed a sense of mutual trust. Dubi recognized Marwan’s charisma, his good nature, his sense of humor. Marwan found in Dubi a cultured conversationalist, serious and believable. It is well known that the early relationship between a handler and his agent can have a huge impact on the source’s long-term ability to contribute. In this sense, the Mossad’s first encounter with the son-in-law of the former president of Egypt was a stellar success.
    At the end of the meeting, Dubi reconfirmed that Marwan had the proper contact information to stay in touch by phone or mail. Marwan estimated that within a few weeks he would be back in London and promised to make contact when he arrived. He asked that at the next meeting, only “Alex” would attend. Dubi promised.
    Marwan left the room first, took the elevator down to the lobby, and walked out of the hotel. Mossad agents watched as he hailed a cab and rode off. Dubi made sure he had all the materials in his case and followed a few minutes later. He took a taxi as well, giving the driver an address near, but not exactly at, the Israeli embassy.
    When he reached his office, he found Shmuel Goren waiting for him. When Rehaviah Vardi and the Mossad bureau chief joined them, they were already plowing through the pages Marwan hadgiven Dubi. Goren looked up from the document he held in his hands and said, “Material like this, from a source like this—it’s something that happens only once in a thousand years.”
    THE REPORT MADE its way to Tel Aviv the next day via diplomatic mail, landing on the desk of Zvi Zamir, chief of the Mossad. It described how Marwan contacted the embassy in London, the fortuitous way his message had reached the attention of senior Mossad officials heading to Heathrow, the meeting between Marwan and Dubi in the hotel, and Dubi’s detailed account of the conversation. Mossad officials in London had translated into Hebrew most of the documents that Marwan had given Dubi, enclosing it in the same encoded communiqué.
    By the time Zamir finished reading the report, he fully understood the potential Marwan held as an Israeli agent. By themselves, the original documents were invaluable. He called a meeting of relevant individuals, including Shmuel Goren, who was summoned from Brussels, and Rehaviah Vardi, who had returned from London.
    It really did not trouble Zamir that the officers had made contact with Marwan without waiting for authorization. In 1968, when he first came to the Mossad despite lacking any background in intelligence, Vardi had been his mentor, teaching him everything he knew about working with human sources. Now Zamir had been in