Kadikoy, Istanbul
Three Days Before
It took a couple of hours for Riva and Adir to open up, and it happened gradually.
Zeb went to the small refrigerator in their hotel apartment and brought out two bottles of beer. He handed one to each of them and picked a water bottle for himself.
‘What about you?’ the female operative asked, as she sat on the bed. She was dark-eyed, with a narrow face, hair tied back in a ponytail.
‘I don’t drink.’ He held up his water. ‘This is good for me. How will you grab them?’
The kidon looked at each other. Sharing operational details with a third party didn’t come easily to them. Even if said party was a close friend of their boss, who had instructed them to cooperate fully.
‘We’ll drug them. Make them passive.’
‘Just the two of you? What about a getaway vehicle?’
Adir took a swallow, placed his bottle on the table and bent to the floor. He ripped up the loose carpet piece and removed the floorboard. He ran his eyes over their cache of weapons and equipment. Nodded to himself, and removed the neighboring floorboard.
‘Huh?’ Zeb exclaimed in surprise. He hadn’t checked out the surrounding boards.
The kidon reached into the opening and brought out two white shirts and two pairs of dark trousers that had high-visibility strips at their bottom.
‘Emergency services?’ Zeb guessed.
‘Ken,’ Adir confirmed. ‘We’ll go as ambulance staff. That café is near a hospital. We have observed emergency vehicles park near it, and the staff go inside for tea and snacks.’
‘What about the vehicle?’
‘We’ve arranged it.’ Riva finished her drink and placed the empty bottle beneath her bed. ‘It’s not far from here. What role will you play?’
‘Walk me through it again?’
The two kidon broke down their plan for him, answering his questions patiently.
‘What if police come?’
‘The ambulance is genuine. Our paperwork is good. We’ll take the two to the hospital.’
‘Then?’
‘It’s a busy hospital,’ she shrugged. ‘We’ll lead them out through the rear. We’ve been through dry runs.’
‘What if passersby interfere?’
‘We are ambulance staff. We can keep them away.’
‘What if other vehicles crowd?’
‘They won’t crowd an ambulance.’
‘Does Shahi have any security with him?’
‘He’s come alone, always. We don’t see any reason for this next meeting to be different.’
‘Why do you think they’re meeting?’
‘That’s why we’re taking them,’ Riva replied, drolly, ‘to find out.’
‘What role will you play?’ she asked again.
‘I’ll watch. Provided you share intel with us.’
‘That’s what the ramsad told us. We have our orders. You’ll get your information, without your doing anything,’ Riva told him with an undertone of anger.
Ramsad. That’s what they call Avichai.
Zeb pocketed his disguise and left without a word. He took counter-measures when he reached the street, to shake any tails. Just in case the Mossad operatives tailed him.
Once he reached his hotel room, he drew out his screen from his backpack and turned on an app.
Two green dots glowed on it. Riva and Adir, the soluble GPS trackers in their bodies signaling their location. It had been a simple matter to slip the trackers into their drinks as he opened their bottles.
It was clear the female kidon didn’t trust him. Now, it didn’t matter.
He had eyes on them.