By the time Eli and Eitan returned to their flat, they were both too shaken to discuss what they had heard from Vera. They thanked her profusely and told her they would return in a few days with packages of food and some money. They also discussed the possibility of getting her to Israel as soon as possible, but that would be a decision for superiors in Jerusalem. In the meantime, Eli and Eitan discussed the implications of what Vera had told them. They needed to get to Kiev as soon as possible and brief their colleagues. After hours of discussion, both men fell asleep, content in knowing they had finally located the pin in the haystack that they needed. They fell asleep around midnight, but only three hours later they were awakened by the loud blare of their unmistakable fire alarm. As smoke filled their bedrooms, Eitan and Eli instinctively fled the flame-engulfed flat and barreled into the street.
The police would later discover that the fire was the result of several Molotov cocktails. Someone had cracked open the window and hurled the makeshift bombs into the main salon. Fortunately for the rabbis, their families were back home in Jerusalem and Miami. These days, no men had their families around anymore. Virtually every woman and child had long abandoned the city following the Russian incursion. As they rushed in unison from their respective bedrooms into the outer salon and out the front door, they shared a momentary glance of grave concern. They were safe for now, but clearly the situation for Jews in Ukraine was deteriorating.
By the time the fire in their flat was quelled and the rabbis completed their interview with the police, both rabbis had drawn a few conclusions of their own.
“This was no random action, Eitan,” Eli said once the two men were out of earshot of the Ukrainian detectives.
“Clearly someone is trying to scare the Jewish community,” Eitan responded.
“Thugs scaring off the community don’t just stumble onto the apartment of an Israeli operative,” Eli shot back. “This came from much higher up. Someone with a fair bit of intelligence. Someone who knows that we are getting close to what we are looking for.”
It was clear to Eli that the attack was not just another routine anti-Semitic incident in a country where such attacks were becoming commonplace. This was someone sending a message. And it was one that he heard loud and clear. For Eli and Eitan, the time to accomplish their mission was running out. For Rabbi Groh, his altruistic adventure was taking on an entirely new dimension.