So, you’re saying there’s a grand conspiracy against us?” asked the prime minister.
Neeman responded, “Sir, there has always been a grand conspiracy against us, just like Kiva said.”
Her name is Kiva. One down, two more to go, thought Nir.
Neeman continued. “Antisemitism has always been rampant around the world. It’s just that sometimes it’s stronger than at other times. After our independence in 1948, the fight came primarily to our border states, as you know. But now, it’s expanding again. The states around us are too weak to come against us on their own. Iran tried using the militias and Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, but none of them have proven strong enough. But now there is a new axis of evil, and the center of it is Russia. Turkey is as sick as ever and desperately needs Russia, so it has joined the axis. As I said, Iran’s allies have failed, so they are joining Russia also.”
Nir raised his hand toward Neeman, who nodded for him to take over. “And each one of these countries is bringing its own allies. Belarus has threatened Israel. Why? Because Russia has. Once World War II was over, Turkey and the US became friends. They even became allies with us. But now Turkey is a member of NATO in name only, and we are at the top of their ten-most-hated list. Instead of their old alliances in the West, they are palling around with Russia, Libya, Somalia, and a bunch of other smaller states. And Iran has brought all their little minion states—Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Lebanon—against us.”
Neeman spoke up again. “Sababa. I know this is nothing new to you, Mr. Prime Minister. We’re just trying to put it into context. Everyone at the United Nations hates us, but who cares? They’ll keep passing resolutions, and we’ll keep ignoring them. All the dirty little militias around us will keep shooting things at us, and we’ll keep bombing the crap out of their explosives factories and launching sites. Who we truly need to be concerned about is the great bear lurking behind all this petty stuff.”
“So, back to your earlier question, sir, yes, there is a conspiracy against us,” Kiva said. Then looking at the row of team leaders and analysts, she added, “I think we all agree that Russia has created a distraction, and so has Iran. Russia wanted us to watch their growing troop accumulation near Volgograd and their pretend-weapons buildup down in Lebanon. Iran has been using their militias to bomb the US forces in Iraq and Syria, keeping the Pentagon looking that direction. They’ve also been shooting more and more rockets at us, keeping our attention on them.”
“Meanwhile, you’re saying that all this is happening so Turkey can build up for the true attack. And what are they going after?”
There were a number of answers on Nir’s side of the table, ranging from Haifa to Tel Aviv to the gas fields.
Libai, the other team leader, answered, “As you can tell, that’s a question we don’t have the answer to. But when it comes down to it, that isn’t what’s most important.”
Hurvitz put his elbows on the table and steepled his fingers. “What matters most are the warehouses.”
“What do we do about them?” asked the prime minister.
“We destroy them,” said Nir.
The prime minister pointed his finger and responded, “Back to that again. Listen, Tavor, destroying the warehouses is exactly what we are not going to do. That is what got us into this problem to begin with. It’s that Mossad cowboy attitude that has had my phone ringing nonstop from the time our jets hit that Russian humanitarian aid station in Beirut until now. Nothing will happen until we have proof. And I’m talking real proof. Not some former criminal’s musings and speculations.”
“Hey,” responded Lahav. But before he could say more, Nicole put her hand on his shoulder. Leaning back in his chair, he crossed his arms and scowled.
“Excuse me, sir, but we need to do something.” Neeman’s tone gave away that he was getting hot at the prime minister’s response. “Our alternative to action is waiting until they hit us, then trying to find a way to respond.”
Kiva interjected, “If someone is coming…”
The prime minister waved his hand. “Yeah, yeah, I know. If he’s coming to kill you, kill him first.”
Nir was getting frustrated with Prime Minister Snir. When the man had stepped into office last year, Nir had a lot of hope for him. He was from the Likud party and seemed to have a strong backbone. But it appeared as if October 7 had broken him. Nir knew that the man had lost a sister and brother-in-law during the attack. However, despite the violence perpetrated on his family and his country, Snir almost seemed gun-shy. Maybe it was all the personal attacks against him. Maybe he just couldn’t stand up against the constant vitriol and lies of the left and of the press. Maybe he feared his government couldn’t continue to stand if he was wrong again.
“Sir, if we got you more evidence, would you consider acting?” Nir asked.
Snir sat back and sighed. It was then that Nir could see the weight he was carrying on his shoulders. “Of course. If you get me incontrovertible proof that Erdoğan is planning an attack on us from those warehouses, I will make sure it doesn’t happen, using whatever means are at my disposal. But if there is any room for doubt, ein matzav. It can’t happen. Not now. Not after Lebanon.”
Neeman turned to Nir. “Do you have something in mind? I don’t see any way of getting into those warehouses with the large contingent of guards that have suddenly shown up.”
“I do have a thought, but, Mr. Prime Minister, you aren’t going to like it.”
Snir suddenly stood up. “Then I don’t want to hear about it. I already have too much dirt on my hands. Katz, if you think the idea is plausible, I can’t stop you. But if it goes bust, I will stand by plausible deniability. I will tell the press that you went rogue, and I will insist on your resignation. So, you listen to Tavor and your gang here and decide whether it is worth your job.” He walked out, with Hurvitz and Arens behind him.
All was quiet as the ramsad sat looking at the table, his pen tapping on his notebook. Then, with a grunt, he lifted himself up from his chair, walked over to the center of the table, and dropped himself back down. Another 30 seconds passed as he scanned the faces of the people across from him. Finally, he landed on Nir. “Okay, Tavor, let’s hear your plan.”
“Erdoğan has a fanatical bodyguard contingent around him. But his ministers don’t. I was thinking that we might borrow a few ministers—say the defense minister, the foreign affairs guy, and maybe interior—and ask them if there is an attack on the horizon.”
Katz started tapping his notebook again with his pen. Finally, the old man tossed his pen on the table, leaned back in his chair, and rubbed his face with his hands. “My God, son, you are brash. Do you ever think out logistics before you throw out ideas?” When his hands came down, Nir could see that there was a weary smile on the weathered face.
“Not really, ha’mefaked. I just figure that if we put enough brainpower to it, we can make it work.”
The ramsad’s eyebrows went up. “Okay, just for fun. Let’s think this through. How will Erdoğan react if we steal three of his ministers?”
Ehrlich’s analyst answered, “He’ll be extremely angry. But he’s about to bomb our country, so does that really matter?”
“Sababa. What if it turns out that this is all a big hoax?”
Nicole answered, “Is that a risk you’re willing to take? You’ve heard the evidence. You know we’re right.”
Reaching across the table, he patted Nicole’s hand. “Yes, I know we’re right. But we need to ask the questions. So, how do we think Russia will react?”
“This may start something big,” said Lahav. “They’re already moving troops down to Beirut after the warehouse attack. But they’re in on this anyway. They know about the attack, and they are preparing their troops to follow up when we’re down after Turkey’s first move. We’re going to end up facing the Putinistas one way or another.”
“Iran too,” said Ehrlich. “They’re totally in on this. That’s why they’ve stepped up their attacks on America’s bases. If this Turkey attack takes place, expect hundreds of rockets to simultaneously launch from Syria and Iraq in order to keep our resources occupied.”
“Hmmm, good, Ehrlich. You’re right.” Once again, the ramsad ran his hands over his face. “Are you folks confident enough to risk my job? Tavor, are you willing to get me fired if your gambit fails?”
Nir leaned onto the table and looked the old man in the eyes. “Sir, you have a boat moored in the bay and a lot of fishing line. If we fail, you’ll be okay.”
Their eyes held, then the ramsad burst out laughing. Everyone was a little shocked at first. It was a sound that was rarely heard coming out of the stern man.
“You all work it out and tell me what you need. Ehrlich, I want you in on the planning, but you won’t be going. You’re too toxic right now.”
Ehrlich began to protest, but the ramsad held up his hand. He stood and walked out the door with his team following him, all except for Efraim.