Hi-Tech Hijack (29 page)

Nir and Ronit met at the hospital cafeteria in the late hours of the morning, and he filled her in on the developments of the previous twelve hours—seizing MRI’s offices, tracking Mickey in Brussels, and the important conversation with Jacob Goldman in South Africa.

The day before, a representative of the Israeli police in Europe who was stationed in Berlin was instructed to engage the Interpol headquarters, per the request of the state of Israel. Simultaneously, the Israeli police representative in Washington contacted the secretary of homeland security at the federal government to ask that an arrest warrant be issued for the American citizen Mickey Rush and that an order be given to the American embassy in Brussels to have him captured immediately.

“Unfortunately we weren’t able to make the wheels of global bureaucracy turn quickly enough to get to Mickey’s arrest. What was important was to make sure he was in custody and couldn’t get away while the raid of his offices was taking place.”

“So could he have gotten away?”

“You underestimate us, Ronit.” Nir smiled. “A team of Mossad agents had been stationed early this morning outside his hotel. They got hold of him after he apparently tried to escape toward the Netherlands and was nearly killed by two men who were following him—probably guys working for the people in Lichtenstein connected with PSSIC. He was taken to a safe house, and they have already questioned him. However, we prefer the Americans handle him.”

“Why is that?”

“First, because the project in Saudi Arabia is under UNESCO sponsorship, and it’s best if the United States takes the lead on this action. They aren’t in danger of being condemned by the Security Council or sanctioned, which is what Israel would face if we spearheaded an operation where the UN is supposedly being attacked. So we’re going to wait until a warrant for his arrest is issued in Washington, and when that arrives, we’ll turn him over to the American embassy in Bern.”

“Can we fully rely on the Americans?”

“We believe so. Some people in very powerful positions in the CIA promised us their full cooperation, and in the past few hours, they have been making every possible effort to help us. It’ll be a lot easier to get Eddie and Reuben out with the Americans’ help.”

“Yes, but the question is whether the mission of capturing the terrorists will take precedent over Reuben’s and Eddie’s lives. How much of a sacred mission will rescuing them alive be to the Americans?”

“Ronit, our special forces have also had some failures where the bad guys were killed or captured, but the hostages died during the extraction. There’s no insurance policy for rescue operations.”

“I’m worried, Nir,” said Ronit, trying to keep her emotions under control.

“I hear you, Ronit. I am, too. We have to hope for the best and trust that the operation will be successful.”

“You talk as if it’s already been decided to go ahead with a military operation and not with some sort of negotiations with the help of the UN. I mean, if UNESCO is the sponsor and initiator of PSSIC, can’t we talk to them?”

“UNESCO will never admit their project does what we already know it does. I’m not sure some of the UNESCO clerks didn’t know what was going on there. That’s the same institution that has publicly condemned Israel for doing things that never even took place.”

“So what is the next step?” asked Ronit, her face expressing her anxiety. “I’m still waiting. We’re going to get the materials from Amit’s father-in-law in Israel by tonight. That’ll help us decide the feasibility of a rescue operation. The prime minister’s advisor on anti-terrorism is the coordinator, and he’s in touch with the Americans. When I left the office, they already decided that given that Saudi Arabia is the scene and given that the sophisticated action pattern indicates Al-Qaeda is involved, the Americans are going to act quickly and do this by themselves. After I report to them the information we’re waiting on from South Africa, everyone agreed it would be best to wait another day or two and study the material instead of running in head first and throwing the baby out with the bathwater.”

“So the Americans will wait?”

“Yes, they said they would.”

“Can’t you be involved in this? To make sure that apart from a terrorist hunt, they’ll also bring Reuben and Eddie back safely?”

“Someone from our end will probably accompany the operation. After all, the kidnapped men are Israelis and so is the development they have been working on, but our guy won’t actually take part in the rescue, since that’ll be done by an American force.”

“You do have an American passport, Nir. Need I remind you that you were born in New York at Mount Sinai Hospital during Dad’s relocation?” Ronit dropped a heavy hint.

“Interesting how you have such a clear memory of things that happened before you were even born, little sis,” said Nir, smiling.

But Ronit wouldn’t let up. “Look, Nir, the Israeli guy isn’t going to risk his life. He isn’t going to take part in the actual rescue. So why can’t it be you? You know Eddie and Reuben better than anyone else in all the security forces.”

“I’ll try to work on that,” said Nir, giving her a reassuring smile and taking her clenched hand in his big, warm palm. “I have some ideas as well on how to get Goldmining in on the operation,” he added. But he said no more.

“What’s happening here at MRI’s offices?” asked Ronit after a tense silence.

“After the raid they printed out all their phone records and found the Hyatt in Brussels was on there several times. Once they confronted Tzipi, she admitted she knew where Mickey was, but kept insisting he was originally supposed to sail to Greece and that a large financial deal came up at the last minute and made him change his plans. The mistress exercised complete loyalty to her lover and gave no other information other than the facts that were already presented to her. Mickey knows Tzipi’s been arrested. They let her have a few words with him so that he would know she was also under arrest and hopefully assume she already spilled everything she knew. I’m guessing over the next few hours, he’ll crack and start pouring out information that we can confront Tzipi with to make sure it’s true.”

“You know, Nir, regarding what I told you last night, I can’t believe Reuben would take part in such criminal manipulations. Do you think I’m wrong since he’s my husband and I can’t be objective?”

“You know him better than anyone else. What do you think?”

“Although he’s been charmed by Mickey and his wealth and he has his mind set on becoming rich himself, still I don’t think he would have the nerve to participate in a criminal scheme like this.”

“It doesn’t look to me like he’s part of the organization either, but I’ve thought about what you said, and perhaps once he found himself in distress, he decided to cooperate, whereas Eddie is insisting on not playing along.”

“That is certainly possible. Eddie is made of much stronger stuff than Reuben is,” said Ronit, and immediately she felt embarrassed and blushed. Nir looked at her for a moment quietly and decided not to ask her about what he was thinking.

“I think we’ll have an update about Mickey’s interrogation in the next few hours. I want to go back to headquarters, and I’d like you to come with me. I’ll have a quiet room set up for you where you can rest. I’m going to need you from time to time for questions, and I’d rather not do it over the phone.”

“Whatever you say, Nir.”

Ronit finished her coffee quickly and joined Nir who had already paid the check. They headed out to Tel Aviv in his car.

The clean-up and damage assessment at the lab hall went on late into the night. Reuben, who had been brought back from his room, helped Isabella and the staff as best he could to rebuild the lab. Isabella paced around the room furiously barking short instructions in a harsh tone of voice. The lab techs and Reuben complied silently, careful not to give her a reason to take her rage out on them.

Per her instructions, Reuben made a list as accurately as he could of the test tubes that had smashed and the substances that had spilled. Some of the devices—ovens and lab refrigerators—were originally placed on the floor to begin with so the raging monkey couldn’t flip them over. The PCR machine, the genetic markers tester which had been standing on the counter, was one of the things the monkey did push down, and samples that had been inside it had shattered on the floor. Reuben worked long and hard to try and get the device working again, but there was some sort of malfunction he could not solve.

“I’m sorry, Isabella. I can’t get it to calibrate. The reference sample plate broke. Maybe Eddie can do it; he knows more about this than I do,” said Reuben, apologizing in a trembling voice with his eyes planted at Isabella’s feet. She stood before him, her face red with anger and frustration.

“You worthless lowlife.” She cursed him in Spanish and slapped him with all her strength across his left cheek, unleashing all her rage. Reuben had been unprepared and almost lost his balance. Alfonso, who was standing a few steps away from them, rushed over, steadied Reuben with one arm, and put the other over Isabella’s shoulder trying to calm her down in Spanish. Isabella pushed him away with a swift, angry motion and left the lab hall.

Reuben was sent to his room, and Alfonso was left to oversee the rest of the reorganizing of the lab. Then he went to his and Isabella’s living quarters. They had to wait ’til morning to find out if the server was sent to Switzerland. Like Isabella, he too understood perfectly well that even if the server did get there, several precious days would pass before all the damaged equipment and materials could be replaced and they could move forward with the information stored on the server. That meant Eddie’s cooperation was now more critical than ever. Only someone with his expertise could quickly fill the gap that the commotion at the lab caused. Alfonso now wondered what other ways, ones that he hadn’t already tried, were there of getting Eddie to cooperate, and he wanted to talk to Isabella about it, but she was in no mood to talk. She spent the night withdrawn into her own shell, mad at herself for the lack of self-control she exhibited by brutally lashing out at Reuben the way she did. Their years of marriage taught Alfonso it was wiser not to press Isabella and he decided to hold off the conversation ’til the next day.

The following morning, Reuben resumed work at the lab trying to put together the bits of equipment that were not harmed. Eddie was kept in his room. Isabella stayed in her office and only came out to check on Reuben’s progress once in a while. Alfonso was shuffling back and forth restlessly between the lab and his office, where he kept nervously checking for the awaited message reporting the server’s arrival in Geneva.

In the early afternoon, Alfonso burst into the lab hall and then into Isabella’s room in an emotional state.

“What’s the matter?” asked Isabella as she saw his pale face.

“I wish I knew. My contacts in Lichtenstein have informed me that Mickey has fled his hotel in Brussels toward the Netherlands and that our people are after him. Tzipi, his contact in Israel, isn’t answering any calls, and the package naturally hasn’t been delivered. It looks like the whole operation is crumbling down.”

“They must have caught the guys who were meant to break into Eddie’s apartment and get the server, and pressured them for all the information.”

“I’m not sure; it all happened too fast. What could they have possibly gotten from the burglar other than Tzipi’s name or Mickey?”

“Wouldn’t that be enough?”

“I hope Tzipi hasn’t leaked any more information.”

“We won’t be able to know any time soon.”

“And in the meantime, we’re stuck without the server and the genetic markers it stores,” said Alfonso, wishing for some revelation from Isabella’s part.

“I’m sure Eddie remembers a considerable part of the markers by heart. He did use them on a daily basis.”

“The question is how do we get it out of him? You think about that. I’m off to Riyadh to report to the commanders about what’s happened. They’ve called me to an evening meeting, so I’ll stay over at the apartment in the city. Want to join me?”

“I’d rather stay here and keep an eye on the progress in the lab. Maybe I’ll come up with an idea about Eddie, too.”

Alfonso stared at his wife for a long minute. He thought he detected a spark of naughtiness that wasn’t appropriate in the circumstances. “I hope you’re not thinking of anything like the tricks you pulled with your students?”

“That wasn’t very nice of you to say. I thought we put all that ugliness behind us and that you believed me that it was all unfounded gossip.” Isabella’s anger instantly turned the calming blue of her eyes a daunting shade darker.

“I’m sorry. That was uncalled for.”

“Or perhaps you think that’s something I should try? You of all people believe the ultimate goal justifies the means, so at a desperate time like this even a Jewish sub-human can be seen as an option.”

“Stop it, Isabella. Forget I said anything. We’re both on edge. I’m going to the city, and you take care of yourself here.”

“You be careful with those barbaric commanders of ours. They might try to pin something on us.”

“Don’t worry. They’re hot headed, but they’re not stupid. They need us and depend on our knowledge, and they know that very well.”

“Even so, you need to consider your words tonight and stay safe, Alfonso.”

Isabella got up, hugged her husband, and kissed him good-bye lightly on the lips. Later that evening when work at the lab was over and after a light supper, Isabella headed to Eddie’s room, but not before spending several long minutes at her dressing table.

“I’m going in for a meeting with Eddie. You make sure there’s someone here outside this door at all times until I come out,” she told the guard in the hall.

“As you wish, madam.” The security guard complied and opened the door for her. He handed her a coded key card. “This is so that you can get out without having to call me.”

“Excellent. Thank you very much.” Isabella smiled and her steely eyes softened for a moment.

“Good evening, Eddie,” Isabella greeted him. She stood with her back to the door, which she pushed shut with her right heel. She left her bent leg leaned against the door, exposing her knee beneath her thin, light blue skirt. She stretched her shoulders back, leaning her head against the wall and making her sleeveless top cling to her perky breasts. A thin, gold necklace she had around her neck also stretched, and a small, bejeweled cross peeked from her cleavage. Eddie was lying in bed on his back and had been deep in thought before she entered the room. He didn’t have time to prop himself up, so he found himself lying, staring in surprise at the unexpected guest. Now it was his turn to size up the woman standing before him in an evocative pose. He looked at her, and without even giving it any thought, his eyes went up and down her body until they rested on her generous décolletage. His gaze focused on the cross, and suddenly he realized it was no ordinary cross—the gems at the four corners were placed at a ninety-degree angle, and he could see it was actually a swastika. It was small enough so as not to draw too much attention, but clear as could be to whoever looked at it for more than a few seconds.

Isabella felt flattered. Eddie’s impeccable self-control included a regular demonstration of indifference toward her. She wasn’t used to men treating her that way, and it only made her want to challenge his resistance. After all, young students had always sparked her appetite and were one of the main reasons Alfonso had volunteered for this project to take them both away from the university surroundings in Buenos Aires.

Isabella loved seeing her students’ eyes follow her, the senior lecturer, with the heat of lust and fear at the same time. All she had to do was pick one, which was what she did every semester there in Buenos Aires, which seemed a million miles away.
Eddie could have been my flavor of the semester
, she thought,
but the game here is different and much more dangerous
, she reminded herself. Whenever her desire almost took the better of her, she would come to her senses and tell herself who Eddie was—a Jew, an Israeli, an enemy. But tonight things were different. She could see no wrong in trying to work her charm on him to get what she needed for the sake of the project.

Isabella slowly approached Eddie’s bed, and as he began to change into a sitting position, she quickly sat on the right edge of his bed, crossing her legs tilting the upper thigh toward him and lightly placed her left hand on his leg.

“You can stay lying down; it’ll be more comfortable for us to talk that way.”

Eddie moved his leg and flinched a bit, but he remained lying down.

“I didn’t think you scared so easily.” She smiled and her eyes beamed at him alluringly.

“I’m not scared at all, just surprised.”

“That was my intention. It’s time you saw me as a person, a woman, not the enemy.”

“I could say the same thing to you.”

“It takes two to tango. I’d like us to start afresh.” She went on in a low, soft voice. “There were some things I wanted to talk to you about. First, there’s the issue of your relationship with Reuben. I understand he’s very upset with you for sleeping with his wife, and that you feel very guilty.”

“That’s true,” said Eddie curtly, trying to understand where Isabella was headed.

“I only know the two of you a little bit, but I can understand why Ronit would choose you over him. In fact, any woman would choose you.” She smiled.

The intimate ambiance Isabella created confused Eddie for a minute. He had one hand under the pillow holding the surgical knife he had stolen from the lab during the commotion.

This is a priceless moment
, he thought.
A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take Isabella hostage and force her to get me out of here
.

“What is it you want from me?” asked Eddie, trying to keep his composure at the sight of Isabella’s heaving bosoms in her purple lace bra.

“First of all, I want your conscience to be at ease. Reuben cheated on his wife even before you got into the hospital.”

“How do you know that?” Eddie was surprised.

“He never told you this, but we have a video of a little adventure he had on Mickey’s yacht with a friend of Tzipi’s, an extremely attractive woman.”

“And Reuben’s seen it?”

“Of course! We wouldn’t deprive him of the pleasure of looking back on that delightful night,” she said sarcastically.

A silence fell across the room. “That’s the way it is, Eddie. You can’t help human nature. You shouldn’t think of what happened between you and Ronit as a betrayal of Reuben; he’s not so innocent himself. I wanted to tell you this so that you could relax a bit. You’re so tense during work. It’s important to me that we work together well as a team free of any unnecessary tensions. I want there to be a new relationship between us, one of cooperation and mutual appreciation.”

Eddie felt Isabella was putting his self-control to the test. The hand holding the knife under the pillow started to sweat, but the voice of reason prevailed. He reminded himself he was being kept underground in Saudi Arabia and that the chances of making it out alive on his own were practically non-existent. The short conversation with Ronit and Nir’s explicit instructions—not to do anything rash before they could speak again—echoed in his mind. He decided to buy himself more time. As long as they didn’t have the server and assuming Nir and Ronit made sure Mickey didn’t get hold of it, he didn’t have to worry about Alfonso and Isabella gaining access to the critical information. He let go of the knife, took his hand out from under the pillow, and propped himself up to a seated position, which made Isabella recoil for a moment.

“I still think how you acted to gain hold of our knowledge is wrong and unheard of, and it’s going to take a while before any sort of trust can be built between us. Holding us prisoners, not telling us where we are—that doesn’t exactly mean you trust us, so how can you expect me to open up to you?”

“I assure you, the quicker you can restore the information we need that’s kept on your server at home with the means you have at your disposal here, the shorter your stay here will be.”

“I’ll try my best to do that,” said Eddie, and he looked straight into Isabella’s inquisitive eyes.

“I’m sure you’ll succeed.” She smiled back at him and as she got up stroked him on the cheek. She turned toward the door, letting her hips sway. “Good night,” she said, but she stood there for moment with her back turned to him. Eddie got the sense she wasn’t in a hurry to leave and that maybe she was waiting for him to ask her to stay with him. He pushed aside the crazy thought and allowed Isabella to depart without ever turning her head toward him.

“Good night,” he said as the door closed and another night of loneliness and fear descended upon him.