Tel Aviv
Night of the Assassinations
Zeb looked at him in astonishment. ‘Investigate you?’ he repeated.
‘Not me, personally,’ Levin growled. ‘Look into every Mossad kidon member. Find out if any of them were the killers.’
‘Why me? Surely you have investigators yourself.’
‘You know why,’ the ramsad glared at him.
He doesn’t know whom to trust. If a kidon had gone rogue, who else might have?
Zeb fingered the keycard around his neck and now knew why the ramsad had arranged for it. In normal circumstances he would have been given a temporary pass.
‘I don’t know what to say,’ he said helplessly.
‘Say yes,’ the Israeli snapped, ‘and get to work. We don’t have time. We don’t know what those killers are planning.’
‘The negotiations are going ahead?’
‘Don’t you follow the news? Our prime minister and Baruti put out a statement. That they will not be deterred by these assassinations.’
‘Which means there are—’
‘More negotiators out there, yes. And the killers might know that, too.’ He passed over a thumb drive to Zeb. ‘Every one of my kidon is in there.’
‘They must be all over the world.’
‘Not any more. I have recalled them. They are dropping their missions and returning.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘In a few hours, all kidon will be in Jerusalem.’
‘Which means they weren’t far … maybe in neighboring countries?’ Zeb probed.
‘I will be asking them to come to the office immediately. I’ll conduct a lie-detector test on each one of them. Those can be beaten, but I have to do it. You’ll find their mission details in that drive,’ Levin continued, stony-faced. Just because he and the American were friends didn’t mean he was liking the prospect of an outside investigation.
‘You have other departments, other teams.’
‘I might get Shabak to investigate them.’
Zeb’s jaw dropped. ‘You’ll allow another agency access?’
‘I am giving you access, aren’t I?’ Levin exploded and then put up a palm in a peace gesture. He rubbed his eyes and sighed. ‘The prime minister is putting together a special investigative unit from Shabak, the police, other departments. He suggested I should let Shoshon’s people look into my people. I rejected it outright … however, now that I think of it, there might be merit in it. So long as you focus on the kidon.’
‘The killers could be anyone. They could be Shabak operatives. They could be foreign agents.’
‘I know. You’ll carry out your investigation, they’ll conduct theirs … the goal is the same. We have to find them. Failure isn’t an option.’
Zeb hadn’t heard fear in Levin’s voice before. He could feel it emanating from his friend and understood its reason.
The Middle East can burst into war if the killers are not found.
It was almost inconceivable that the killing of a couple could trigger military conflict. However, this was the Middle East, a perennial powder keg. Something about the assassinations had grabbed headlines and had stoked rage and fear in the region. Accusations and counter-accusations had slipped out of every political leader in the geography.
And if conflict erupts here, there’s no way in hell it will stay contained.
Zeb inspected the grey, inconspicuous storage device. ‘Have you have got any security camera footage of where it happened—’
‘Everything’s in that,’ Levin pointed to the thumb drive. ‘Not many cameras in the area, but a few passersby used their phones. Not much help there. The shooter was an old woman, a male in disguise. We gait-analyzed the footage to confirm. The killer went down the street and disappeared from view. No trace of him. No sign of a getaway car.’
Zeb knew German Colony well. He was aware of the hotel’s location and the busy street that was Emek Refaim. ‘A getaway wouldn’t be that difficult that time of the day,’ he mused. ‘The killer knew what he was doing. He capitalized on shock and traffic conditions.’
‘How would you do it?’
‘Two-person team,’ Zeb answered immediately. ‘Three at the most, but I would prefer two. Easier to coordinate and less conspicuous. A getaway vehicle out of sight but within walking distance. Another vehicle a block away. Remove the disguise in the first vehicle. Put on another. Dump vehicle. Take the second one and drive away. Any reports of stolen cars?’
‘Several. The police are checking.’ Levin rose and pointed to a glass-walled cabin down the hallway. ‘You can use that office. No one will disturb you. Jarrett Epstein is a field agent who has come in for some administrative work. That’s your cover.’
‘I don’t need it. The less anyone sees of me, the better.’
‘There’s one more thing.’
‘What?’
‘I’ll be letting every kidon know about you. Inform them that you are the investigator.’
Zeb shook his head and grinned ruefully. ‘You aren’t making it easy for me.’
‘At Mossad, we don’t know what that word means.’
Zeb rose, stretched and pocketed the thumb drive.
‘You know I can’t offer you any protection.’ Levin came around his desk and gripped Zeb’s arm.
‘I know.’
He returned his friend’s clasp and left the Mossad HQ. He wouldn’t return to it again.
He knew why the ramsad had mentioned his name to every kidon and what he had meant about protection.
The kill team, if they were kidon, could come after Jarrett Epstein.