ONE WEEK LATER
AROMA ESPRESSO BAR, TEL AVIV, ISRAEL—FEBRUARY 5, 2020—16:30 / 4:30 P.M. IST
I feel like we’ve wasted seven days we couldn’t afford to waste,” Nir said. “Have we made any progress anywhere?”
Nicole put her latte down without having taken a sip. They were back at Aroma, which had become their unofficial late afternoon hangout. “We’ve mostly just ruled things out. There’s no land route for a militia to get to the UAE. They’d have to drive through Saudi Arabia, and that’s not going to happen. It’s possible to parachute in, but because the Saudis monitor their airspace so carefully it would have to be some sort of high-altitude airdrop. That sounds more military than militia.”
“Besides, you’d have to parachute in the UAVs as well. The risk of their being damaged or getting lost on a drop like that would be way too high.”
“So that leaves us with the water. The UAE navy is on high alert.”
“When you say UAE navy, is that anything like saying the Palestinian air force?”
Nicole chuckled. “Actually, it’s decently fortified compared to the country’s size. Nine corvettes and a few dozen coastal patrol boats. Several of the corvettes will be kept in the area, and they’ll be concentrating the patrol boats around Abu Dhabi.”
“But smugglers have been sailing those waters for centuries. If they want to get a boat in, they’ll likely be able to get a boat in.”
Nicole shrugged. “Maybe.”
“What’s the typical range for a UAV?”
“It varies. For many of the smaller ones, you have to be within about a kilometer to control it. Larger ones can fly much farther.”
“What’s the distance if you want to go from Iran across the Persian Gulf to Abu Dhabi?”
“About 240 kms. Out of range of most UAVs, except for larger military grade drones.”
Nir picked up his mug. “You know, you’re kind of smart.” He drank the last of his latte. “I mean, for a Gentile.”
When he set his mug down, Nicole laughed and swapped it with hers.
“You’re too good to me,” he said.
“Better than you deserve.”
“Isn’t that the truth. So we’ve ruled out land, air, and most likely sea. I guess our only other option is that they’ve found a way for the weapons to materialize out of thin air.”
“I think the only option we can completely discredit is your ex nihilo hypothesis. When I say we’ve ruled out options, we haven’t actually ruled them out fully. They may have found a way we haven’t thought of yet.”
Lifting up her first finger, she said, “Land. Maybe they’ve compromised a border guard, although it would probably have to be a full shift. Or maybe there’s some smuggling route or underground tunnel system we don’t know about. For instance, the IRGC is the primary backer of the Houthi rebels from Yemen who keep attacking the Saudis. Maybe terrorists B have discovered a way to help terrorists A across the border.”
She put up a second finger. “Although it sounds preposterous, maybe some militia members are trained for a high-altitude parachute jump. Or maybe they have a way to mess up the Saudis’ radar long enough to get choppers across the border to where they could drop a KSS team. They could then be picked up by Houthis or some Shiite sympathizers.
“Finally,” she said, raising a last finger, “maybe they just need to get the boats close without having to come all the way to shore. Or, as you mentioned, maybe there’s an already-established smuggling route. Still way too many questions out there.”
Nir shook his head and sighed. “Great. You’re essentially saying we know nothing.”
“No, not really. If we were to divide it all up into three boxes, I’d say we are currently populating the ways it can’t be done box and the ways it might possibly be done box. We just haven’t been able to put anything into the last and most important box—ways it will be done. But I have a real peace that we’ll find the answer.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Nir saw three girls at a table who looked to be in their late teens. They were staring at him and whispering. Great. This could get awkward. While he was certainly outclassed in beauty by the woman sitting across from him, he knew he wasn’t bad looking. His cropped hair and tight beard gave him a look that matched well with his naturally muscular physique that always had him playing defender in pickup football games rather than forward. The Mid-Eastern olive skin of his face was marred only by a faint scar that ran from his hairline down to the outside corner of his left eye, courtesy of a glass bottle wielded by an unhappy Moldovan in a bar fight. He’d been approached by plenty of women in the past but usually not when he was accompanied by another woman—and certainly not by girls this young.
He continued. “I know our team is good. A little nuts, but good. I just don’t know them well enough yet to be able to put that much confidence in them.”
“Nir, this team is great. Top of the line. But my confidence isn’t in them. Even though they might be the best there is at what they do, they’re fallible just like anyone else. My confidence comes completely from God.”
Nir was tempted to roll his eyes, but he stopped himself. His automatic reaction to any kind of religious talk was still dismissiveness or ridicule. Religion just seemed so fake to him. It was rituals and rules. It was saying the same prayer for the same occasion every single time. If you got the words wrong or you washed your hands the wrong way or you didn’t touch the mezuzah when you walked into a house, God would be angry with you and maybe hit you with a plague. It had been especially bad on the kibbutz as he grew up. Rule after rule and ritual after ritual. He was constantly being told how furious God would be if he messed up.
After a while, it felt like the only one more petty than the synagogue rabbis was God Himself. The Almighty seemed more like a petulant child than the great creator of all things. Do it My way or you’re going to feel My wrath!
But with Nicole, Nir did see something different. There had been a remarkable change in her—one definitely for the better. When they were together as a couple, there had always seemed to be an underlying anger to her. Nir figured it was from her difficult upbringing; he’d just never had the courage to ask. But that anger was gone now. She seemed so happy all the time. Well, maybe happy wasn’t the right word, although plenty of times he would hear her laughter out in the workroom. But there was a peace about her, like no matter what you threw at her she wasn’t going to break. All that hostility he’d figured she’d built up to hide an inner fragility? All that toughness and bitterness were gone.
“What? No, snarky comment?” Nicole smiled.
“Ouch! You know me too well.” He laughed.
The girls at the other table were still watching him. Two of them seemed to be encouraging the third one to come say something. Oy, please stay away.
“I have to admit, Nicole, I don’t get it. When I hear that kind of God’s peace talk from most people, it just sounds fake. But there’s no doubt that you’ve changed. And for the better. Not that you were bad before,” he quickly added.
“I know what you’re saying.”
“It’s just… I’m glad for you, Nicole. You know, glad that you’ve found something that has helped give you peace and confidence. It’s like you’re a fresh version of you, but you’ve still found a way to keep the best parts of the old you. You’re like a new, improved model.”
“I see what you did there.” Nicole winked.
“Excuse me,” said a female voice.
Nir realized he’d flustered himself enough that he’d missed the approach of the girl from the table.
“Yes?” said Nicole.
Great, here it comes. How can I politely extricate myself from this girl’s attention?
“Aren’t you Nicole le Roux?”
Nicole smiled sweetly. “I am. What’s your name?”
“Oh my goodness! My name is Shira.” The girl turned to her friends and waved for them to come join her. “It’s her! It’s Nicole le Roux!”
As they scrambled over, Nir looked around for a box he could crawl into. Still, he grinned. When you’re with this beauty, you’ll always be the beast.
“I saw you in Marie Claire,” said Shira. “You’re beautiful. I always talk about your eyes. Don’t I talk about her eyes?” She turned to her friends for affirmation.
“We all do! I’m Abigail, and this is Noya. We saw you here and thought, That can’t be her. But it is you. What are you doing in Tel Aviv? Are you here for a shoot?”
“No, I’m just here on vacation visiting my friend.” Nicole indicated Nir.
He was about to introduce himself, but Shira totally blew past him. “Would you be willing to give us your autograph? You’re the first celebrity I’ve ever met.”
“That’s sweet. Of course. I’ll sign whatever you want.” The girls each ran to get napkins. Nicole grimaced and mouthed Sorry to Nir, then rummaged through her purse and pulled out a pen.
Nir marveled at how cool and calm Nicole was through all this. She signed her name on three napkins and personalized each one with a little note. Then the girls gathered around her for a series of selfies, one on each of their phones. He considered offering to take a group picture for them, but he didn’t think they’d even recognized his existence. It might be frightening for them to suddenly hear this male voice coming out of nowhere. They each hugged Nicole, then practically skipped back to their table.
Embarrassment was evident in Nicole’s tone. “I’m so sorry. That doesn’t happen often.”
“Nothing to be sorry about. You handled it well.”
“They were kind of rude to you. I was going to say something, but I’m still not that good at this being recognized thing.”
How typical of you to be worried about me. “Again, you did great. I’m just wondering how your celebrity might affect your safety in operations. Has anyone discussed that with you?”
Nicole shook her head. “That might be because, other than what I did for the Iran operation, I’m pretty much behind the scenes.”
The mention of Iran stung him, but he didn’t say anything about it. “Maybe we can work on some sort of disguise for you. Like, we could get you one of those plastic nose and glasses things.”
Nicole laughed. “Listen, I pay enough to have this top lip waxed. I’m not going to have some bushy fake mustache hanging off my nose.”
Nir’s attention was suddenly and completely focused on Nicole’s upper lip, trying to discern any kind of shadow. She laughed and covered it with her hand. “I’m joking, you dork.”
“Sorry.” He felt one hundred percent the dork she’d just accused him of being. “So what I was saying before, you’re like Nicole 2.0. I’m just glad this Christian thing is working for you.”
“It doesn’t have to be just for me.”
Now Nir did roll his eyes. “Come on, Nicole. You’re sitting in a Jewish café in Tel Aviv, Israel. Music with Hebrew lyrics is playing in the background. Yet somehow you still manage to forget that I’m a Jew.”
“What you’re saying, then, is that because you’re Jewish you can’t be Christian.”
“Hello. We’ve talked about this before. I’m a Jew, you’re Gentile. I am of the people of Judaism, you are of the Christians. I’m Old Testament, you’re New Testament.”
Nicole sat back in her chair, nodding. “I finally get it. It makes perfect sense. That’s why only Arabs are Muslims and only Chinese are Buddhists and only Indians are Hindu.”
“That’s not what I’m saying. I mean—” It dawned on him that this was exactly what he was saying.
Nicole reached across the table and put her hand on his. “I’m sorry. You paid me a sweet compliment, and I’m turning it into a battle. You’re right. This is working for me, but not in the sense of it being some sort of self-help thing. It’s not like I’ve gone on a diet or I’m starting yoga classes or I’m trying out meditation. This isn’t a lifestyle change; it’s a life change. The Bible says if anyone is in Christ, then he’s a new creation. There’s no more old because the new has come. That’s what I feel like, Nir. Jesus took all the fear and anger and bitterness from me and replaced them with peace and joy and confidence. The fact that He replaced them means those things are not based on me and my abilities. They’re based on Him.”
“I don’t know, Nicole. Again, that’s great for you. I have to admit, sometimes I’ve kind of envied your changes. It’s just… I don’t know. I’m a Jew, and I’ll always be a Jew.”
Nicole smiled one of her stunning smiles. She lifted her hand from Nir’s and placed it on the side of his face. “And I wouldn’t want you any other way.”
“Wait. You want me? Does that mean we should take the rest of the evening off?”
Nicole laughed and gave his cheek a light tap with her hand. “Sorry, mister. Not what I meant. Besides, we have a world to save.”
Nir sighed. “Ah yes, duty calls back at headquarters.”
He drained the last of Nicole’s latte, then they strode to his car.