Hatchet

by Israel Levy

  “I’ll ride with you so that they’ll let you enter with your car,” he said. Behind him she saw Ziv, already inside the minibus and the other familiar faces from Yaron’s team. They passed by the salt ponds. Yaron showed the guard at the gate his ID and they entered the base that was tucked away, concealed behind the sandstone hills. The low buildings reminded her of their previous training base.

  The building stood steps away from the beautiful bay and through the open doors of the boathouse, she saw several boats, not of a type she recognized. Divers in wetsuits and scuba gear emerged from the water every now and then, equipped with oxygen tanks, flippers and masks.

  A few soldiers were working out on the basketball court and in an adjacent court two groups were playing volleyball (“A real summer camp, this is”). She parked her car, then she and Yaron joined his team as they emerged from the minibus.

  A soldier in civilian dress, wearing sweats and combat boots stood outside one of the buildings. He was tanned and his hair looked like it had been bleached white, apparently by too much sun.

  “Hey, Yaron,” a hand shake and a pat on the back.

  “Hello gentlemen, and lady, (“Did I notice a little smirk there?”), my name is Gilad, I’m a team commander of the navy Seals’ combat troop and I’ll be working with you for the next couple of weeks. Leave your gear on the floor and come with me to the briefing room.”

  Inside were three other soldiers, wearing a mix of civilian and military dress, and plaid slippers with a zipper the kibbutzniks like so much. They looked to be at least twenty five years old (“Career soldiers”) and sat silently on plastic chairs which were arranged in six rows facing a small table and screen.

  Naomi, Ziv, Yaron and the soldiers sat down next to the Seals men.

  “So, like I said, I’m Gilad. With me are Adam, Peter, and Udi,” each soldier nodded at the mention of his name (“Seems kind of cocky”). “The purpose of this training component is to prepare you for an aquatic mission. Our sessions will include fitness, diving, swimming, marine rescue, access to a land bridgehead from a marine vessel and more. I know some of Yaron’s original team has trained here previously in preparing for the “Sea of Galilee” operation which was aborted, but we’re going to start again from the beginning. Before we jump in, I’d like everyone to introduce themselves.”

  Naomi and Ziv shook hands with the navy men and introduced themselves with their first names only. The soldiers barked their names loudly as if in a drill.

  “Is there anyone here who doesn’t know how to swim?” asked Gilad and the room erupted in laughter. This was the last time Naomi could remember laughing for the following two weeks.

  “These are your barracks,” Gilad led them to an old building. Inside were cots, arranged in two rows on either side of the hall, with metal closets next to each cot.

  “Naomi, you’ll sleep here with everyone else. Dinner is at seven. Tonight you will attend the first lecture about diving, sea conditions, prepping for a dive, physiology and other basic material. Lectures will take place every evening. We will let you know the exact time according to the activity schedule. Good luck.”

  Something made her wake up. She checked her watched and couldn’t believe her eyes. It was four thirty in the morning. The room was dark. She did not feel like she’d had enough sleep at all, especially with that lecture dragging on and on until half past eleven. She could make out a silhouette in the doorway and then the dim figure switched on the blinding lights.

  “Up and at’em, gentlemen and lady. No slacking around. Everyone needs to be outside in ten minutes, ready for exercise and a morning swim, wearing sneakers and the wetsuits you provided in your closets.”

  A few minutes later she was standing outside in one row with the rest of the team, squeezed inside a rubber suit that pressed every part of her body. Her breasts were sore (“I need a bigger size, what am I, twelve?”).

  “Come on, follow me.” Adam was waiting for them. He too was wearing sneakers and a wetsuit. Most people looked like they were still asleep. Adam turned north and began jogging along the beach. They passed the fence and left the camp borders, heading north along the shore. To their left were the fortress ruins and farther along Naomi could see a large object on the beach. As they approached and the sun rose, she saw that it was a large fishermen’s boat half buried in the sand. They stopped at this point for calisthenics, following Adam’s lead, getting their blood flowing in the brisk morning air. She did not expect what came next. Adam turned towards the waves and ran straight into the water, diving head first. The whole team followed. Naomi found the cold so shocking she could hardly breathe. Swimming helped her warm up a bit. Only after half an hour’s swim did Adam pause, look at his trainees who were panting heavily, and smile.

  “Okay, you couch potatoes, let’s head back.”

  They were standing back on the beach, their faces blue from the frigid morning water.

  “You call this cold?” said Adam. “You should consider yourself lucky we’re doing this now and not in winter. Then you wouldn’t find your balls with a telescope” (“If I didn’t have this suit on, my nipples would rip through my shirt and the guys would get a real kick”).

  Naomi noticed that, when they’d entered the water, three boats arrived on shore, carrying men who looked like they were returning from a night’s action.

  After the morning swim they sprinted back to camp, freezing, dried themselves off and sprinted to the dining hall as a group. Before going in, they ‘bought’ the right to breakfast with pull ups and sit ups. Half an hour after breakfast they were busy familiarizing themselves with the diving gear and with the feel of being underwater, three meters deep, carrying all the equipment they would need for an action. After lunch they worked with a rubber skiff, lugging the craft on the shoulders along the sandy beach all the way to the shipwrecked boat north of the base, where they had trained that morning, launching there and rowing back to base. The evening’s lecture about physiology, oxygen and breathing Naomi could only remember partially. Her body ached. Her hands were covered in blisters. She didn’t go to dinner and instead went to the quartermaster to exchange her wetsuit, then showered, and went straight to bed, so exhausted she didn’t remember falling asleep.

  “Up, up!” she jumped out of bed at the sound of shouting, bumping into a still sleeping Ziv. “Sorry”, he blurted out in his sleep. (“I didn’t even realize I’d fallen asleep. What time is it?”) She checked her watch. It was three in the morning. Adam was standing outside (“What is up with these guys? Don’t they ever sleep?”). “Get going, I want you outside in five minutes.”

  Once again she found herself standing in a row outside with the others, still zipping her wetsuit. In front of them was a rubber dinghy with its engine folded upwards - called a Moreno, and often used by the Seals in their operations.

  “Come on, boat on shoulders and to the water.”

  She couldn’t believe her ears. Water, the dead of night, the only lights around coming from the guard towers, a couple of divers with battle vests and oxygen gear, and into the water they ran.

  They lifted the heavy boat (“But why with the engine on, why?”), running and stumbling under its weight into the water. Naomi was shorter than most of the others but still felt the boat’s weight on her shoulders. She trembled at the touch of the cold water but did not have time to adjust. They reached a point so deep the water slapped at the bottom of the boat.

  “Get in and start rowing.”

  Adam pushed them in, some slipping back in the water. They helped each other scramble in. It was difficult gripping the oars with their hands wet and covered in blisters but they found their rhythm, dip and pull, dip and pull. As she rowed she no longer felt the pain in her palms. The only sound was that of deep breathing and of the oars pulling through the water.

  She was so tired she couldn’t tell how much time had passed. Adam turned t
he boat around and the sparkling lights visible from the camp made it clear how far they were from shore.

  “That’s enough. Now everyone jump in and swim to shore.”

  Within seconds every last team member was in the water, swimming towards the shore. Naomi noticed the Seals men keeping a steady pace so as not to lose sight of the group. She joined them (“These guys are alright”) and after about an hour’s swim in the freezing cold water they made it to shore, throwing themselves on the wet sand, trying to catch their breath.

  “Good, now that you’re properly awake, let’s go for a morning run.”

  Day two ended with a jog on the beach and an early night. A few days later her muscles were no longer cramping as her body acclimated to the extreme effort. Throughout the week they sailed in the motorized dinghies, lurching into the waves violently, causing most of the team to lose the contents of their stomachs and retching nothing but air. A crash course in shallow waters diving, no deeper than twenty meters (“At least I’ll get a two star diving certificate after all this and can start going down to Eilat and do some scuba diving. I wonder if Moshe’s into diving…”). She realized it was the first time she’d thought about Moshe (“As if it even matters…”).

  She called Shuli to make sure everything was okay there.

  “Yair is adorable. Things are really getting serious between us.”

  The palms of her hands were becoming rough and calloused. Rowing was easier now and the team became incredibly synchronized. On one occasion, approximately one kilometer from shore Udi let them bring up the oars and the skipper started the engine. The skiff skidded along the waves, sending shoots of water that hit Naomi’s face like bullets. After fifteen minutes or so she spotted a distant missile boat and saw that they were headed right for it. The dinghy pulled up right alongside the larger boat.

  “Today we will practice descending from the missile boat to the inflatable using rope ladders.”

  Udi shimmied up the rope ladder like a monkey and as the team tried to follow his lead, Ziv and a couple of the soldiers fell in the water, were pulled out and tried again.

  Climbing up from the unstable rubber boat was no easy task as it bounced in the water nonstop. After two hours of practice the ship’s soldiers treated them to a cup of coffee and a slice of bread with jam. They descended to their boat and sailed, engine on, to the base, holding on to the carrying rings so as not to fall in the water.

  Their next few days were devoted to practicing ‘lassoing’ divers onto the rubber boat while on the move. They sailed parallel to the beach, landing quietly onto a bridgehead near the coast of Ashkelon that had been previously captured by a squad of Seals who had arrived underwater. The team stepped on shore wearing battle vests and full fighting gear. From the bridgehead they followed individual tracking routes, were picked up at the finishing points, and taken back to camp in a truck.

  Naomi learned she had the ability to fall asleep anywhere and in any position.

  The team of guides, who at first didn’t know how to treat Naomi, now understood what Yaron had casually told Gilad: “Forget everything you think you know about women. This is a warrior I would be willing to take on any action.”

  Naomi received a great deal of appreciation from the navy Seals and her level of performance earned her high marks at the end of the two weeks.

  “Team, our two weeks have come to an end,” said Gilad. “Although there’s still a lot to learn, you are definitely more than well-trained for the action we are planning. Next time I see you we will be on deck.”

  Naomi understood that to mean that Gilad, Adam, Peter and Udi would accompany them at some stage of the action.

  Returning home, her apartment felt so welcoming (“I really, really love it here.”). She threw down her bag and turned on the computer. It blinked on with twenty five unread messages. She scanned them, deleting all the silly viral ones Shuli had sent. Several messages were from Moshe. She clicked on them – Naomi, my love, I’m struggling without you, I know you are to, I hope we’ll be together again – Naomi, my love, I’m sending you a bouquet of flowers (attached was a photo of a colorful painting he’d made) – Memories are killing me, Naomi (attached to this mail were images from their Tuscany trip). She deleted every message (“I don’t understand him. Enough. If we’re not together than we’re not together”).

  “Wow, Noomik, look at that!” Shuli welcomed Naomi, who went to see her sister after a shower and quick nap.

  “Shuli, you want to go out? I really need to spend time with some normal people for a change. And yes, that actually means I now consider you to be normal.”

  The Victoria was packed and she could hardly see through the cigarette smoke that burned her eyes. The music was so loud it was like it was waging war against any conversation. “Guinness,” Naomi shouted at the bartender (“I don’t know her, she must be new”).

  “Make that two,” said Shuli with a smile, “I’ve gotten used to the taste”. The bartender slid two half pints their way and the sisters touched glasses and downed almost their entire drinks in one go.

  “Oh, here comes Yair, my doctor.”

  Shuli threw herself at him with a hug and kiss, almost suffocating him. He blushed and reached out his hand to Naomi.

  “Hi, I’m Yair. You must be Naomi, the mischievous sister.”

  She sent a quick glance at Shuli just to make sure she hadn’t told Yair anything.

  From the corner of her eye, she spotted Reuben. He was sitting there with two typical looking Tel Aviv yuppies. Their eyes met and she looked away but could tell by the look on Reuben’s face he had been drinking heavily. She kept chatting to her sister and Yair when all of a sudden she felt someone breathing down her back and soon after caught the stench of alcohol emanating from Reuben.

  “Naomi, baby, haven’t seen you in a while. Aren’t you in Belgium?”

  He tried to put his arms around her waist, swaying from side to side, clearly drunk. She pushed him off and continued her conversation. His friends burst out laughing and they two joined Reuben, reeking of booze, surrounding her.

  “Hey, excuse me, either you stop harassing her or you’re out,” warned the bartender. But Reuben dismissed her and wouldn’t back off. He placed his hands on Naomi’s shoulders, laying all his drunken weight on top of her.

  “Naomi, girl, why are you being like this? Don’t you love me anymore?” he laughed out loud, his friends echoing his words. Again Naomi pushed him back into the arms of his friends who threw him back at her.

  “Shuli, let’s leave.”

  Reuben wouldn’t stop. This time he came up behind her and grabbed her breasts. Instinctively, Naomi grabbed both his hands and turned around in a swift motion, causing him to get all tangled up with his arms and legs. She lifted one leg and sent a quick kick straight to his chest, throwing him back onto the nearest table. His friends clumsily tried to grab her hands and she swiveled in place, sending a kick to one man’s head and a punch to the center of the other’s chest.

  The whole thing took no more than ten seconds and left the three men sprawled on the floor and the bartender gaping in awe. Shuli and Yair held each other and Naomi, panting, looked ready for more.

  The pub fell completely silent for five full seconds, then erupted in roars of laughter, the patrons clapping and cheering for Naomi.

  “Good job!”

  “Finally, someone taught those guys a lesson.”

  “Drinks are on the house,” said the bartender, smiling from ear to ear, and poured all three of them fresh beers.

  Naomi heard the sound of approaching police sirens.

  “Shuli, I’m out of here. You don’t know anything.” Yair was clearly at a loss as to what was going on. Shuli nodded at her and Naomi vanished through the back exit.

  She got into her car, still buzzing with adrenaline. She raced to the beach, the wind in her hair, le
ft her engine running when she got there and just ran, clothes and all, into the water. She stood there in the darkness, facing the city lights, breathing heavily, shouting at the top of her lungs, before finally calming down.

  Her Saturday started at two p.m. with a call from Shuli.

  “I tell you Sis, what you did last night!”

  “Forget about it Shuli, I don’t feel like talking about it. It’s not something I’m proud of. Reuben just went too far.”

  “No, you don’t understand. I’ve been trying to get Yair into bed for a few weeks now and seeing you kick the shit out of those guys really turned him on! He couldn’t keep his hands off me all the way home,” Shuli burst out laughing. “Would you mind going out with us and punching someone again?”

  “Oh, shut up! Let’s have lunch?”

  “Come over here, it’s just me and the kids.”

  “Sure.”

  Chapter 9

  “Attention everyone, we’re entering the next stage of our training - navigating and capturing a lookout point,” Yaron greeted the team back after a three day break following their marine training.

  They loaded onto a truck and began driving to the training field. As night descended they arrived at a hilly, desert area and set up camp.

  It was three a.m. by the time they finished and Naomi fell asleep without even changing her clothes. Two hours later, when one of the soldiers shook her awake, she reached into her duffle bag for army issued clothing which looked like rags. The pants were so large that she had to tie a rope around her waist to keep them from falling off. She also had been provided with a vest and an M16 carbine. She adjusted the vest and loaded her magazines with bullets from the ammunition crate next to her tent, picked out two frag grenades and installed her telescopic sights.

  She looked around and saw that they had set camp in a valley between two exposed hills.

  “Heads up everyone. You each get a map with the coordinates of the spot where we’re having our first drill. You have an hour and a half to get to the spot, each one of you with a different route. Go!”