Kill Them Wherever You Find Them (17 page)

The two weeks that he decided he might invest
in Mona grew into months, then a year. Avi detected a few
inconsistencies in that time. Given the fact that she was always
moving and had to keep reinventing herself just to stay alive and
safe, he was neither surprised by them nor particularly alarmed. He
always looked forward to their time together. Between their
emotional and physical connections he started to think that he'd
like to settle down with her.

Considering the status of his senior position
in the General Staff this would be enough to give her the
protection she sought, a sense of normalcy as well as the
possibility of her own family that she often said she wanted.

The night he proposed to Mona was just over a
year from the night he first met her. The conclusion of that night
would end dramatically differently.

Avi had it all arranged and bought the most
beautiful of engagement rings at an Arab shook in the Old City. The
ring sparkled and glittered; he could not wait to see it on her
hand. He knew that she'd realize that, being married to him, she
would finally be safe and secure; more so than always moving from
place to place. She was so frightened by those who wanted her
family dead that he was only twice allowed to meet her at her flat
late at night – even then only after careful planning to ensure he
wasn't seen.

While he could not offer the same protection
to her parents unless they lived with him, something he wasn't
prepared to offer unless she broached the subject, he knew she
would be safe with him.

The evening started out well enough, nice
restaurant and Mona dazzled. He loved the way he felt with her on
his arm. After the final course they would finish with another
drink of white wine. The waiter, having the engagement ring in his
hand in advance, effortlessly slipped it into her glass as he was
pouring.

Raising their glasses she saw the ring,
magnified and slightly distorted through the crystal. She looked at
him, a mix of happiness and surprise, followed by a sadness that
completed her expressive reaction. Avi was crestfallen.

"Dodie," she had been referring to Avi as her
dodie
the last several months, the ancient Biblical Hebrew
word for
my beloved
, "nothing would make me happier, you
know that. With all of my heart I want to say 'yes,' but I can't.
I'm afraid I have not been completely honest with you. Seeing your
feelings for me, knowing my feelings for you, I think you deserve
to know everything so that you'll understand why we can't plan a
life together. I am so sorry. I have wanted to tell you a million
times but there never seemed to be a good moment."

The waiter, seeing the initial facial
reactions and uneasy body language, understood that their guests
wouldn't be getting engaged this evening after all. With impeccable
professionalism and discretion he told the dining room staff to
give them their space.

For the next half hour, what seemed like
several hours to him, she told him that she wasn't really in Israel
with her parents. It was true that her parents in Iran were
outspoken critics of the regime, pro-Democracy and Zionists. The
reality was that they were languishing in a jail reserved for
political dissidents. Most likely they were being fed only a
minimal amount needed to sustain life and, from what she knew of
these prisons - one for men, one for women - frequent beatings at
the hands of the guards and other prisoners were a way of life.

She went on to explain that she had been sent
to Israel with fake identification papers and an Israeli passport
to gain intelligence that she passed to her handlers, the people
posing as her parents in Israel. They were, in reality, low-level
Iranian government workers. Mona's only hope of getting her parents
out of prison with their lives was to obtain information that the
Iranian government required. Avi was, in fact, her main objective
and their meeting in the bar that first night had been meticulously
orchestrated.

Through tears and barely controlled sobs, she
went on to tell him that, though her initial thoughts were only of
her parents, she had grown to truly love him with all her heart and
that she understood if he could not forgive her this deception,
never to see her again, perhaps even report her to the
authorities.

Avi, for his part, sat completely silent and
still as a statue throughout the entire disclosure, remained as
such for some time after she finished speaking. He simply was too
stunned to say anything. Gathering his thoughts, along with his
shattered feelings, was just not something he was able to instantly
do. Eventually, though, he knew deep down that no matter what he
loved Mona enough that they would get through this, and told her
so.

They kissed, smiled, and held hands across
the little round table. Their waiter, relieved to see the kiss from
across the restaurant smiled, thinking that a wedding chuppa would
be decorated soon enough. He approached the table, asking them if
they would like more wine. Avi thanked him, complimenting both the
food and service as excellent and asked for the bill.

Outside the restaurant they kissed again,
then she told him that she needed to go home and rest. He
understood and hailed a taxi for her. Returning to his home he
downed a strong drink and retired to bed. For the first time, he
felt grateful that he could not tell his parents about her. This
latest turn of events, the loss of any prospect of marrying Mona
and having their grandchildren, would have devastated them almost
as much as it had him. To know such would never be theirs, at least
as things looked now, would crush their spirits.

Things went precisely as she had expected.
She played him like a fiddle. Knowing that he would soon propose,
she anticipated the events of the evening and planned accordingly.
Every word, every tear, she had predetermined with precision and
pulled off her performance brilliantly. Reeling that promising
scientist, No'am, had been her primary target. After her country
learned of Avi's promotion to the military General Staff she was
instructed to carefully build a relationship with him. Her handlers
could not have been happier.

Both he and No'am were requiring an
increasing amount of her time and attention. What was worse were
the nights she had to spend with them to maintain the pretense.
Such nights with Avi, unlike No'am, were not entirely revolting.
While this meant that she had to work more at juggling time to
accommodate these two sources, she had to admit to herself that she
enjoyed a few aspects of her life undercover.

At times she had to acknowledge to herself
that she grew rather fond of both of these men, much like she had
been fond of a dog her family kept as a pet when she was a child.
Like dogs, she had No'am and Avi eating out of her hand, eager to
show their love and loyalty to her, grateful for the slightest of
rewards she gave them.

Mona messaged her people working out of the
Sinai Peninsula that she was on schedule with Avi. This last year
had proved the psychological profile they had on him to be dead-on.
He was completely sympathetic to her desperate situation and she
would soon begin to tap him for information vital to the cause
espoused by her group.

No'am, likewise, was exactly where she wanted
him and was already divulging eye-popping details of his work to
her. He was so eager to impress he couldn't help himself, as was
expected. With Avi it was love and sympathy. With No'am it was love
and eagerness to prove and impress as a way to bolster his
underdeveloped sense of self. No'am was already taking the first
steps toward total betrayal of his country. He soon would. Second
only to the blind devotion of dogs were human men! No'am and Avi
didn't realize it but she already had them collared and on a short
leash.

In a month, maybe two, she would make her way
back to Tehran via a complex route through Europe and then Turkey
using various forged passports and papers. Mona spoke fluent
French, Spanish, and passable Turkish. She could barely wait to see
the only man she loved and actually respected, Ghasem
Suleimani.

Strong, self-assured and handsome, Ghasem
remained the only man she knew that she couldn't manipulate. This
latter attribute was the most important in Mona's mind.
Regrettably, he was absolutely faithful to his wife. Ghasem
must
be aware of her feelings for him almost from the day he
recruited her. She thought that he felt similarly. Even if he did
she knew he would never say anything, nor would she. Above all they
were both professionals. It really was a pity that there is a wife
in the picture. The best traits of Avi and No'am
combined
could never even come close to Ghasem.

Mona would only have a few days to be briefed
on her evolving assignment, debriefed on what she had thus far,
then take a week or so to rest and clear her mind before returning
to the dark underbelly of the Zionist entity.

She thought again about the evening and her
brilliantly executed performance. Poor little hurt puppy Avi. He
will be loyal and faithful to the very end. She almost felt sorry
for him, almost. The Zionist swine would, in the end, get what he
deserved along with the rest of his countrymen. Mona wouldn't be
there to see his face when he finally realized what was happening.
She wished she could to add salt to the wound by telling him of her
own betrayal as he lay dying. She'd be well away when the weapons
were unleashed. She'd have to be content with whatever television
coverage there would be before the media inside Israel completely
collapsed.

Finishing her brief, coded message she poured
herself a glass of water and took an
Ambien
to relax and
sleep. A faithful Muslim woman, the only time she consumed alcohol
was in service to her people, her country, and her holy religion.
The thought of touching alcohol, or even these filthy Jews, sent
shivers up her spine.

As she went to sleep her last thoughts were
of Israel being wiped from the map, the Jewish people being reduced
to a population of just tens of thousands, not millions, scattered
throughout the world. They would have no hope of coalescence as a
nation ever again. The Americans, who had been such strong
supporters of the Zionist regime, would be reduced from a world
financial and military power to paupers living off of the mercy of
other countries, especially hers.

That would be the case if a large world power
such as China or Russia had neither the financial nor military
capabilities, or were stupid enough to not see an opportunity and
swoop in to take what plunder they could from the Americans. It
made sense. The United States had borrowed extensively from China
to prop up their own self-serving, hedonistic failures. With the
coming collapse of the American government and economy, China would
want to recoup whatever losses they could. There were few targets
to be hit in China, leaving that country largely unscathed.

Shanghai had a Jewish presence of note that
needed to be eradicated. The action would bring part of the city to
its knees due to the secondary infections and deaths. A significant
financial city and political power in China, it would be a kick in
the gut to the country. They would recover fairly quickly. Fast
enough to move in for the kill where a decimated United States and
Europe were concerned. They would hesitate, but they would become
the de-facto leading world power – with an economy, swelling
population, and infrastructure that would remain heavily dependent
on the Middle East for oil and ready cash that had any real value
in the new economy.

Mona scanned an online news site for any
articles of importance to the region before her sleeping pill took
full effect. During the scan, she caught a headline that reported
the Israeli Prime Minister yet again warned the international
community about the near approximation of Iran to nuclear weapons
capability, with the need to draw a "red line" that Tehran would
understand. He continued to use the graphic of a round bomb with
the fuse lit and burning. It looked like a cartoon, a joke even –
not menacing at all.

It was decided that she would end her charade
with No'am soon but not right away. While Avi could be counted on
to keep his composure, it was a near certainty that No'am was too
transparent and weak to hide his emotions. They would have to
carefully maneuver him in a way that he was still providing
scientific data while maintaining a solid cover that would not
arouse suspicions. Shortly she would drop a bomb on No'am very
similar to her conversation with Avi this evening. This last happy
thought lulled her into a peaceful sleep.

Table of Contents

12. Betrayal of Country

"The strongest of
all warriors are these two -- Time and Patience."
- Leo
Tolstoy, War and Peace

Near Rishon L'Tzion, State of
Israel

Avi's relationship with Mona
continued. He
was happy, despite the fact that they could not be married. If
anything, their connection seemed to intensify now that he was
fully aware of the burden she must carry. Since the failed proposal
he saw her cry, learning of her nightmares regarding the situation
of her parents. Twice she was sent photos of them, bruised and
swollen lips, with eyes swollen completely shut. The prison
authorities sympathized with her situation but their hands were
tied and they had to submit to the demands of the Iranian
intelligence agents who frequently interrogated her parents,
employing brutal means.

At first he only had to pass innocuous
information to Mona to help keep her parents alive. She was
promised that they would receive better food, even medical care if
she continued to provide information.