106
AS THE SUN RISES over Highway 2, which links Tel Aviv to the international airport and then continues east to Jerusalem, the commander of a division of Egyptian mechanized infantry, some ten thousand men in two hundred vehicles, spots an Egyptian Humvee and several truckloads of personnel coming straight at him.
The commander opens communication. “Eastbound force, identify. This is Eagle Green. Identify.”
“Eagle Green, Eagle Green, this is Reconnaissance Group Gamal, this is Reconnaissance Group Gamal.”
“Gamal, I know no such formation. Over.”
Laughter erupts from his headset. “Nor were you to know. Eagle Green, we are an independent unit, very hush-hush, attached to Field Intelligence HQ. We expected to be out of your line of fire an hour ago, but ran into small Jewish resistance. Over.”
“Gamal, Jewish resistance? I am informed the entire city has surrendered. Please amplify, over.”
“Eagle Green, this appears to have been a dissident group. You know our cousins: two Jews, three opinions. Small arms. Nineteen men. I personally counted the bodies. Neutralized. Repeat, neutralized. Over.”
“The city is wide open, then? Over.”
“Like a beautiful woman on the cold steel table of a gynecologist,” the voice on the phone comes back. “We are returning now to Field Intel HQ, adjacent Arafat International Airport. Please stand by for signal to proceed west. Over.”
“Copy that, Gamal. Over.”
“Eagle Green, Force Gamal now moving out of your trajectory. Happy hunting! Over.”
The Egyptian commander watches through his binoculars as the reconnaissance unit pulls onto an exit ramp marked with the sign of an airplane. The Hebrew and English for Ben Gurion International Airport have been painted over, but no one has relettered Yasser Arafat over it in Arabic and English. “Allah willing, Gamal. See you in former Tel Aviv. Over.”
The reconnaissance unit has moved beneath the road to an underpass and is temporarily out of sight.
“Eagle Green, Eagle Green. Don’t kill all the Jews, my brother. Leave some for us. Over.”
“Not to worry, Gamal. We have before us many days of hard work. Your assistance will be welcomed. Thousands of blond Jewesses await. Over and out.”