Jerusalem
Eleven days after Assassinations
The day of the Announcement
Beit Aghion, Morning
‘President Baruti, what a surprise!’ Alice Monash hugged him. ‘Yago is playing his cards very close to his chest. He didn’t say you were here.’
‘Ziyan,’ Cantor looked the Palestinian up and down. ‘You are looking good.’
‘If I can’t look good today, when will I?’
The prime minister took out their speeches and handed one to Baruti. ‘Here’s yours. All changes incorporated, as we agreed.’
He waited for the Palestinian to finish reading, then handed over another sheet. ‘And that’s mine.’
‘This won’t be easy, Yago. I can see a lot of troubles for both of us ahead.’
‘I know, my friend. But this is the right step. It is the seed.’
‘You two,’ Alice Monash beamed at them. ‘You should be proud of yourselves. I never thought I would see this happen, not in my lifetime.’
‘Which is our cue,’ Cantor winked at Baruti. ‘Madam Ambassador,’ he addressed her formally and drew out a medal. ‘It gives me the greatest pleasure to make you an honorary citizen of the State of Israel. And, unlike Zeb, you can’t say no,’ he chortled as he placed it around her neck.
‘Madam Ambassador,’ Baruti quickly followed, and draped another medal around her neck. ‘You are now an honorary citizen of the State of Palestine.’
Alice Monash was dumbstruck. ‘I ...’ she wiped tears from her eyes. ‘I can’t thank you enough.’
‘No, it’s we who should thank you,’ Cantor rumbled. ‘It was your tireless effort. You bullied us into pursuing this idea when we both almost gave up. But for your efforts, today wouldn’t have happened.’
He looked up when there was a knock on the door and an aide poked his head in.
‘Sir—’
‘Go,’ Alice Monash pushed him. ‘I will be here with President Baruti.’
Teddy Stadium, Jerusalem
Evening
Avichai Levin picked up Zeb, Beth and Meghan from the American embassy. He was insistent on it.
‘You’ll come with me,’ he said. ‘No one else. Not even your embassy vehicle.’
Zeb knew where the stadium, the venue for the announcement, was located. It was near Malha train station and was home to four soccer teams in the city. It had a capacity of just over thirty thousand and, judging by the traffic on the roads, was going to be packed.
There was a strong military presence on every street. Choppers and drones flew overhead. Bomb squads and sniffer dogs routinely stopped cars and inspected bags and personal belongings.
‘Wow,’ Beth breathed, ‘I have never seen security like this.’
‘The prime minister of Britain, the president of France, the chancellor of Germany, they are all here,’ Levin said proudly. ‘Leaders of most of the G20 are here.’
‘President Morgan as well?’ Meghan asked in surprise.
‘No,’ Levin met Zeb’s eyes in the mirror. ‘Not him.’
‘Avichai,’ Zeb leaned forward. ‘This isn’t the way to the stadium.’
‘We are going to my office first.’
‘Your office is in—’
‘That isn’t the only office I have,’ the ramsad frowned. ‘You Americans think you know everything about Mossad. You don’t!’
‘What are we doing there, anyway? Won’t we be late?’ Meghan glanced at her watch.
‘We won’t,’ Levin said comfortably, and refused to answer any more questions.
‘Eyes down,’ he joked when they strode down a corridor, past work stations and cubicles. A few women and men greeted him, and he responded.
‘It wouldn’t surprise me if you two,’ he mock-glared at the sisters, ‘recorded everything as you entered my office.’
He led them inside a glass-walled office, kept them standing while he went around his desk.
He pulled open a drawer and pulled out something that shined.
He came back toward them, three ribboned medals in his hand.
‘You are honorary kidon, now,’ he told them simply, as Beth gasped.
He draped the awards around the sisters’ necks and, when he came to Zeb, he drew out his Glock.
‘It’s that,’ he pointed at the medal, ‘or a bullet. That’s the Mossad way.’
The stadium was bursting at its seams when they arrived. They were stopped several times, their vehicle inspected—and the twins’ bags—despite Levin’s security clearances.
The ramsad had promised front-row seats, and he delivered.
On each side of them were rows of foreign dignitaries. Zeb scanned the crowd behind them. As many foreign attendees as Israelis.
He counted four choppers in the sky and spotted several more drones.
‘The city is closed to private air traffic,’ Levin murmured. ‘There’s a shoot-first policy in the air, and on the ground as well. Snipers everywhere. Stadium’s been inspected maybe hundreds of times. Nothing untoward will happen tonight.’
Nothing did.
A joint Israeli and Palestinian cultural performance began at five pm.
Meghan nudged Zeb. ‘Is this going where I think it is?’
‘I have no idea what you mean,’ he lied smoothly.
She looked at him suspiciously and then turned to the stage, caught up in the excitement.
At six pm, the lights dimmed. A solitary spotlight illuminated the stage.
Prime Minister Yago Cantor stepped out from behind a curtain, to wild applause. He greeted the crowd and waited for the audience to quiet down.
‘Ten days back, President Ziyan Baruti,’ the curtain parted and the Palestinian leader joined him, ‘promised you something special. An announcement.’
‘You will be aware,’ Baruti took over, ‘that teams from both our countries have been working on something. A peace treaty.’
The crowd cheered wildly.
‘Such treaties take a long time. Months. What we have today is a very basic outline. The basis for further talks.’
‘I promise you,’ Ambassador Alice Monash appeared on the stage and took the mic, to thunderous clapping, ‘that what the two countries have agreed will …’
Motion down the line of seated attendees caught Zeb’s attention. He tuned out from the proceedings on stage and looked to his left.
Major General Zarab Tousi, in dress uniform, was taking his seat. He sensed Zeb’s stare and looked their way.
Zeb didn’t know what came over him. He didn’t know if the Iranian knew him; it didn’t matter, in any case. He winked slowly, deliberately, and smiled unpleasantly when Tousi stiffened.
Levin caught the byplay. ‘He’s mine,’ he growled softly. ‘Stay away from him.’
‘Only if you promise to act soon.’
‘I will.’
‘What have I missed?’ Zeb turned to the stage.
‘Nothing much. The ambassador set the scene for someone else.’
There was an expectant hush from the crowd as Alice Monash rearranged herself to stand to Cantor’s right. The curtain rippled. It parted to reveal a figure.
Thirty-one thousand people roared when President William Morgan strode toward the dais.
‘You said—’ Meghan looked accusingly at Levin.
‘He’s Mossad,’ Zeb deadpanned. ‘They are the world’s best liars.’
The president greeted the crowd in Hebrew and then in Arabic and held a hand up to quiet the rapturous ovation.
He took Cantor’s left hand and raised it to the sky. ‘The United States has always stood by Israel. It always will.’
The audience couldn’t contain itself. Thousands got to their feet and cheered.
The president then took Baruti’s right hand and raised it, too.
‘From this day onwards, the United States will always stand by Palestine.’
The sound that erupted was deafening. Zeb looked about him. Several people had tears in their eyes. The leaders of the G20 had risen and were clapping continually.
Prime Minister Yago Cantor took the mic. He waited for the crowd to quiet. ‘On this day and from now on, the State of Israel recognizes the State of Palestine and the rights of the Palestinian people to have their country.’
Zeb had been expecting it. He had guessed what would be declared. Still, he found himself on his feet along with the entire audience, clapping and cheering. Beth and Meghan were hollering and punching the air in delight.
President Baruti leaned forward. ‘The State of Palestine thanks the Israeli nation and promises to co-exist peacefully with our dearest neighbor. We will have our differences, but what we have in common is so much more.’
The crowd roared thunderously.
President Morgan allowed the cheering and applause to continue for a good few minutes. At last, he raised his hand. The roar from the audience became quieter, but not by much.
And the applause that followed his next words could be heard around the world.
‘On this day, from Jerusalem, the holiest city in the world, peace will spread and embrace the world.’