CHAPTER 28

Prague, 2010

Just before leaving the hotel, Eytan made a quick call to the Israeli attaché in Brussels. Because Cypher had prohibited him from contacting the Mossad network, his options for obtaining a stash of weapons in Japan were limited. The Kidon operative was pleasantly surprised to hear that Colonel Amar was familiar with intelligence service methods and eager to help—no questions asked. Eytan, however, did have to promise that his actions wouldn’t cause an international incident, considering the last time.

Elena and he agreed that flying out of Prague would be too risky. The likelihood that a victim of the camp siege could give even a vague description of the duo was slim, but it was possible, all the same.

They left before sunrise for a more than four-hour motorcycle ride to Frankfurt and hopped on a plane from there. Both takeoff and the long-distance flight were smooth sailing. Cypher had sprung for two seats in business class, and Eytan was getting a taste of the sweet life, with all the legroom a giant could ever wish for.

After eleven hours in the sky, most of which were dedicated to contemplating potential scenarios, they landed at Narita International Airport in Tokyo, a city where they had never before set foot. With their false passports in hand, the two agents breezed through customs. They loaded up on yens and took a taxi to Shibuya.

The sidewalks of the bustling urban shopping district were crammed with an eclectic mix of people. There were briefcase-wielding businessmen in form-fitting dark suits and girls in high school uniforms. Teenage boys sporting buzz cuts, razor cuts, and flattops stopped here and there to ogle young women in dresses so short, Eytan could almost see what wasn’t underneath. Another woman in a gold silk kimono, a traditional bun atop her head, weaved her way against the current of pedestrian traffic. She looked like someone straight out of a James Clavell novel.

The pedestrians, walking alone and in groups, appeared largely indifferent to one another, yet the mass of humanity seemed to be in brilliant harmony. Live and let live, Eytan thought.

Like two kids entering Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, Eytan and Elena marveled at the huge billboard screens displaying advertisements of all sorts. Eytan had heard that there were digital billboards in Tokyo that could read a passerby’s gender and age. Off the main thoroughfares sporting these technological wonders were ancient alleys bulging with tiny shops offering anything a tourist or Tokyo native could possibly want.

The taxi dropped them off at the Neko Café, the spot where Ehud Amar had arranged to have the promised materials delivered. The two agents were ushered to a small room, where a strange figure—a cross between a teenager and a manga doll—asked them to take off their shoes and wash their hands. While Elena obliged with no trouble at all, Eytan fumbled. He wasn’t used to any ceremony of this sort and felt like a Barnum and Bailey clown. It took him a few moments, but once they were both barefooted and clean-handed, Eytan and Elena exchanged bows with their host and were allowed to go through the curtains leading to the restaurant.

Here they were presented with another rather unordinary sight.

The place was littered with cats. Felines pranced freely among the happy diners, who were sitting at tables and on large cushions on the floor.

The two agents found an inconspicuous spot in a corner of the room. Elena was grinning. She had teased Eytan that he would look even larger in Japan, and, indeed, young women all around were throwing glances at her colleague. The Israeli agent was usually able to adapt to any situation, but this was totally out of his comfort zone. Nonetheless, he sat quietly in his chair, his hands in his lap, even when two cats jumped up and began strutting across the table, their tails in the air.

Instead of a traditional menu, the waiter brought them a touch-screen tablet that displayed the food and drink selections—in English, to the agents’ relief. Their orders were sent to the kitchen with the press of a button. Distracted by the whole atmosphere of the restaurant, Eytan and Elena had almost forgotten their reason for coming.

Two minutes later, bowls of soup and meat arrived at the table. One of the cats, a Chartreux, glided over to Elena’s bowl of meat and started purring. Elena looked at it for a minute, then put a bit of meat in her palm and presented it to their furry guest. It delicately nibbled the gift and looked to her for more. The other cat sidled over to Eytan and did the same. He offered this cat some meat. The sensation of its small, coarse tongue licking his fingers clean put a smile on his face. It wasn’t long before Eytan and Elena had given most of their food to the creatures. In exchange, the cats allowed the pair to stroke them.

“What geniuses came up with the idea for this place?” Elena wondered aloud as she gently pulled on her cat’s ear.

“People in Tokyo are always working. They’re never home enough to have pets. So they need a place like this.”

He stopped talking when he realized a small black briefcase had been placed at his feet. Either the person sent from the embassy was extremely stealthy, or this eccentric restaurant had robbed him of his usual alertness.

“My elite secret-agent senses have been neutralized by a horde of harmless four-legged felines,” he said, with a grumble. “An embarrassing episode like this could ruin my reputation.”

He picked up the briefcase. “It breaks my heart to interrupt such an adorable scene, but we have to go.”

“Okay,” Elena replied without taking her gaze off the coiled ball of fur in her lap. She was rubbing its shoulder blades as it purred and looked ready to doze off.

Eytan rolled his eyes. “All right, let’s go!” he ordered.

She groaned but sneaked in several more seconds under the guise of finishing her drink. Eytan was about to tell her again when his phone rang. It was Avi Lafner, his doctor friend at the clinic.

“What does he want now?” the giant growled as he indicated to Elena that he’d be waiting outside. She nodded and turned back to the felines.

Once on the sidewalk, Eytan, answered the call. He opened the conversation with a dry and unwelcoming, “What do you want?”

“Wow, is that your standard greeting?” Lafner asked.

“Sorry, Avi, but I’m in a hurry.”

“You’re always on the go. I just need two minutes of your time. I have the exam results on your stubborn little prisoner.”

“I’m listening. Lay it on me.”

“With you, I thought I had seen everything. But boy, was I wrong.”