Jerusalem
Eleven days after Assassinations
The day of the Announcement
Beit Aghion, Morning
Prime Minister Yago Cantor’s official residence was buzzing with activity. A small army of television vans and journalists from all over the world had gathered outside, pointing their long-range lenses at the house. They badgered the prime minister’s spokesman every now and then. They wanted more details on the announcement. They wished to know who was attending.
The woman in question, an old hand at the game, tapped her watch. ‘Five pm. It’s not long now. Surely, you can wait till then.’
They didn’t want to, but neither was she budging from her position.
Inside the residence, a high-powered meeting was taking place. The prime minister was with several of his cabinet ministers and a few other select attendees. To his right was Alice Monash; Spiro, Levitsky, Shoshon and Levin were to his left.
Their positioning wasn’t lost on anyone, especially those representing the dissident coalition parties.
Cantor ran through several items of business rapidly. The announcement, which he and Baruti would be making jointly. ‘I have the speech ready. You have copies in the folders in front of you.’
Papers shuffled. Heads bowed and read the speech. Zeev looked up, as did Haber.
‘Nothing will be changed,’ the prime minister told them grimly.
‘This won’t go down well with our parties,’ Haber huffed.
‘I know.’
‘There will be riots—’
‘Are you threatening me, Jaedon?’
‘No, Yago. I am reminding you of what the country thinks. It is not too late to change your mind. You and Baruti can still go up there and make bland announcements. You won’t lose face. In fact, the majority of the people, the world, expects to hear just that.’
‘Thank you for your advice.’ Cantor didn’t bother to hide his sarcasm. ‘I know what some parts of the country think. I know what the other parts think as well, and also what everyone else in the world feels. I didn’t come to this initiative just like that. I spoke to people up and down the country. Even in Palestine. I listened to world leaders—’
‘You and Baruti. You are just after personal glory. Like the Nobel Peace Prize.’
He startled when Cantor did his palm-slamming trick.
‘Enough,’ the prime minister thundered. ‘Say no more. I have listened to your concerns, to Zeev’s and the other parties who share your belief. This is the course Israel will take. Nothing will stop it, even though enough people have tried, already.’
He cast a meaningful glance at the people sitting at the back, in a line of chairs against the wall. Zeb, Beth, Meghan, Shoshon, Spiro and Levitsky’s aides.
‘Now, about the foreign leaders.’ Cantor bent back to his papers. ‘President Baruti is already in the city. Security arrangements?’
‘All in place, Yago. A fly can’t enter Jerusalem without us knowing about it,’ Levitsky said confidently.
And this time, Cantor knew, it was the truth.
He went through his agenda rapidly. He had a full day ahead and wished to get the small details out of the way.
‘Stay back, please,’ he told Levin an hour later, after wrapping up. ‘You too, Alice, your aides and Brown.’
‘How are you, Zeb?’ he eyed the American keenly, noting the cuts on his face. Levin had briefed him fully the previous day, as had Moshe Abhyan. Cantor knew what had gone down and how.
He had made an executive decision, using some of his powers. The showdown in the IDF base would never be made public. Only Levitsky, Spiro and Shoshon were to know. They had agreed with his decision. As far as the Israeli populace and the wider world was concerned, the EQB was behind the first two attacks, and that’s how the story would continue to be reported.
Even the Iranian involvement was known to just a handful of people and wouldn’t be disclosed to the rest of the cabinet.
‘I am fine, sir.’
‘You don’t look it.’
‘Shortage of sleep, sir. Nothing more.’
‘Any other findings?’ he asked Levin.
‘We have filled many of the gaps, Prime Minister. Eliel and Navon were acting alone. They had an apartment in Ein Kerem. We are still going through it, but I am confident we found our traitors.’
‘Tousi?’
‘There’s conclusive proof that he was the mastermind. We don’t know how long the kidon were working with him. We are still investigating, sir—’
‘Yes, I know. Time. Besides, almost every government resource is mobilized for today.’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘We will deal with the Iranians later.’ He went to his file and brought out three ribbons, something shiny dangling at the end of each.
‘Zeb—’
‘Sir, I can’t accept that.’
Prime Minister Yago Cantor stiffened. ‘Zeb Carter, I am the elected leader of Israel. This is an honor that I am privileged to bestow on you and Beth and Meghan Petersen.’
‘There is no honor, sir.’ Zeb’s face was wooden, his hands straight at his sides as if he was on a parade ground. ‘I failed. I was taken in by Eliel and Navon. There were many opportunities for me to identify them. I was blind to all. A simple matter, like checking in Haifa—.’
‘I checked that,’ Levin interrupted him. ‘The police checked that. Eliel was smart. His foster mother is ill, but not as critical as he made out to be. We all failed to follow up on her prognosis. You can’t blame yourself.’
‘I still can’t accept that,’ Zeb replied stubbornly.
Cantor was lost for words. A flat-out refusal to accept an award wasn’t something he had experienced.
‘Sir, there are three people I know who deserve those,’ Zeb made a face-saving offer. ‘Two of them are Avichai’s kidon. Carmel and Dalia. They pointed me in the right direction in the first place. They helped me when they didn’t need to. The third is Colonel Moshe Abhyan. But for his planning, the body count would have been much higher at the Galaxy and the base.’
‘Avichai—’ the prime minister accepted Zeb’s suggestion.
‘I will make arrangements, sir. I will bring them to you once we are done with today.’
Cantor put the medals back in his file and returned to his visitors.
‘You won’t accept that, but you will take this,’ and with that, he grabbed Zeb, embraced him and thumped him on his back.
He did the same for the sisters, who looked dazed and couldn’t stop smiling.
‘You are friends of Israel. Anytime you need anything, any help the country can provide, give me a call. Even when I am no longer prime minister.’
He glanced at his watch. ‘You are coming to the announcement?’
‘They are, sir,’ Levin answered. ‘Front row. There’s something, sir …’ He reached into his jacket pocket and handed over a letter to the prime minister.
He stood stiffly while Cantor read it. The leader broke off, glanced at his impassive face and went back to reading.
‘You have a way with words, Avichai,’ he folded it and tapped it against his thigh. ‘It’s his resignation,’ he explained to the others.
The sisters gasped and looked at the ramsad in shock.
‘Zeb didn’t fail, sir. I did,’ Levin said woodenly. ‘I had traitors in Mossad. I don’t know how much damage they have done to my organization. Every mission, every kidon, might be compromised.’
‘I know.’ The prime minister tore the letter to shreds and dropped them in a trash bin. ‘You have a lot of work to do. Go, do it.’
‘Sir—’
‘Avichai, there’s not a single intelligence agency in the world that hasn’t had traitors at some point. I know how you feel. But you aren’t going anywhere. You are the best director the Mossad has had in a long while. I am not letting you go.’
‘But—’
‘Enough, Avichai. There will be no more discussion on this.’
‘Sir, you said I was the best director.’
‘In some time, yes.’
‘About my salary, sir—’
‘Go, Avichai. I want to spend a few minutes with the ambassador.’
Avichai went, taking Zeb and the sisters with him.
The prime minister and Alice Monash shared a laugh when they were alone, and then the leader took her by the elbow. ‘Come. There’s someone you should meet.’
He led her to the next room, where a single person was waiting.
President Ziyan Baruti.