They raced east on 22nd. Suddenly, the road split into a T. They went right, then made a quick left. Waiting for them was a cargo van with no back windows. The writing on the side advertised a moving company. Imri pulled in next to it, and everyone transferred from one van to another. Yaron slid into the driver’s seat and started the engine.
“Everyone in?” Yaron called from the front.
“Go! Go,” called Nir.
Yaron accelerated, but he didn’t tear out. The goal now was not to rush past everybody, but to blend in. A few turns later, Yaron did just that as he merged in with the rush of the afternoon traffic.
In the back of the van, a dangling ceiling light swayed with the movement of the vehicle—casting erratic shadows that were disorienting enough that Nir had to pause for a moment before he began his interrogation. Dogan was propped up against a wall, sandwiched between Dima and Imri. Nir sat down cross-legged.
“Gil,” he called out, holding out his hand. The operator stood and reached into a cooler he had been sitting on. He tossed a water bottle to Nir, who twisted the cap off. Nir offered it to the minister, but the man ignored him.
Dogan’s dossier had shown that he graduated with a master’s in political communication from the Université de Montréal. That intersected perfectly with the French that Nir had picked up while living in Belgium. But that also meant that when Nir spoke, it was in a language that only the two of them understood.
“Do you know who we are?”
“No. And I don’t care. Whatever country you are from will pay for this, and you will die for your sins.”
“It doesn’t seem to me that we are the ones in danger of dying.” Nir pulled off his balaclava and took a long swig from the bottle.
The minister stared at him for a long time, then said in an accusatory tone, “You are Israeli.”
“Guilty as charged. And we’re here because we’ve heard that you have some big plans for us. We’re pretty sure we know what it is, and quite frankly, we already have assets in place to stop your president’s little revenge plan. All I need to hear from you is, ‘Yes, as a matter of fact, we are going to use drones to destroy your gas fields.’ ”
Nir could see surprise in the man’s eyes at the extent of his knowledge. But the expression on his face never changed. “You are a fool to think that. And you are a fool to think that I would ever betray my country, even if that was true.”
Nir drank some more water, then offered again to pour some into the man’s mouth. Dogan sat mute. Nir drained the rest, then threw the bottle to a corner. “You know, Oltan, the first thing you said was a lie. ‘Straight from the pit of hell,’ a friend of mine would say. But that second part I think is true. In fact, I even told my higher-ups, ‘Old Oltan, he won’t say anything. He’s too proud, too set in his ways.’ So they said, ‘You could torture him. Force him to talk.’ But I said, ‘No. He’s probably already been shot and stabbed and all that sort of stuff already.’ Am I right?”
The minister glared silently.
“Yeah, I’ve been shot and stabbed too. No fun at all. Anyway, the folks back home said, ‘Maybe if you threaten his life, he’ll talk.’ Again, I said, ‘No, not old Oltan. There’s no better way for a soldier to go out than dying for his country.’ So, why, you may be asking yourself, did I go through with this knowing you wouldn’t talk? Two reasons. First, because we don’t need your confirmation. I’ve got a group of friends with Günes Kapanli right now, your interior minister. Did you know he had a little honey on the side? Yeah, you knew. I can see it in your eyes. What do you think he’d be willing to tell to keep his secret from getting to his wife?”
A phone rang. Imri answered it, then walked over to Nir. “Yeah?… okay…okay…good work.”
“Perfect timing,” he said, passing the phone back to Imri. “Seems Günes couldn’t wait to tell all about the drones and the MAM-Ls and the flight path to Leviathan and Tamar. Which means we don’t need you anymore.”
Nir stood, but then snapped his fingers and quickly dropped back down. Dogan continued to stare into Nir’s eyes, but for the first time there was a hint of fear in them.
“I promised you two reasons why we snatched you up. The second is that I want you to pass a message on to your president. You tell him that no one is safe, and that Israelis never forget.”
Nir pulled back his fist and drove it forward. Dogan was prepared for it, and slid down the van’s back wall. The pain was electric as Nir’s fist connected with the van’s shell. At the same time Nir hit, Yaron slowed the van for a light. Off-balance after the miss, Nir tumbled on top of Dima.
With a surprising burst of speed for his age, Dogan rolled past where Nir had just been and got his feet under him. He took two steps and flew into Gil, who was on the cooler leaning against the rear doors. The force of the blow burst the doors open and the two men fell out backward into the middle of the road. Tires screeched as brakes slammed.
Not believing his eyes but acting on instinct, Nir shouted to Yaron, “Keep going. We’ll catch up with you. Go!” Nir then took three steps across the van floor and dove out the back door.