by Adam Palmer
‘How I know what you look like?’
‘I’m very tall. And I have some bandages on me. I was injured in a fire.’
‘Okay. I see you in half hour. I bring the phone.’
‘Wait a minute! What’s your name?’
‘Na’if.’
The boy rang off before he could reply.
Na’if… it sounded like naïve. How appropriate.
Chapter 65
A trail of bullets from the Israeli patrol boat raked the water in front of them. Daniel realized that by this stage even turning back would be regarded by the Israelis as aggression, or at least non-compliance. So he cut the engine and let the boat carry on coasting forward. To further indicate his surrender, he raised his hand and stood up slowly.
Gabrielle did likewise, but then looked back, prompting Daniel to follow suit. What he saw was the Egyptian navy boat approaching at speed. At the same time, the Israeli boat had also stopped. Daniel realized what this meant. They had not yet entered Israeli territorial waters and were possibly still inside Egyptian waters. That meant that they could be taken back to Egypt.
No, the Israelis would not have fired into Egyptian waters… but might have fired on a vessel in international waters if it was deemed to pose a threat. They might have thought that the boat was packed with explosives and that he was a suicide bomber. Under those circumstances, they would have fired rather than attempt to board.
In fact he was no more than a fugitive from Egypt for trying to leave evading border control, but the Israelis didn’t know that. It occurred to him that maybe the Israelis knew who he was. They might have heard those absurd stories about the infectious disease and believed that he and Gabrielle were walking biological weapons.
‘What’s happening?’ asked Gabrielle.
‘I think we’re still in international waters.’
‘So neither of them can take us against our will.’
Daniel was irritated by her legal naivety. ‘Actually, they both can.’
‘Well, let’s hope it’s the Israelis.’
Looking at the approaching Egyptian boat and the stationary Israeli one, Daniel realized that her hope was in vain. ‘I don’t think it’s going to be.’
Gabrielle put on her snorkel. ‘Do you know what free diving is?’ she asked.
‘Free diving?’
‘It means swimming underwater, holding your breath for as long as you can.’
‘You mean we trade in getting shot for drowning?’
Her face hardened. ‘This is it, Daniel – our Butch and Sundance moment.’
And with that she dived headlong into the water, disappearing beneath the surface. Taken by surprise, both the Egyptians behind them and the Israelis ahead looked concerned. But when she surfaced again, for less than a second, she was already fifteen yards ahead and clearly swimming towards Israeli waters. The sudden realization that this was an escape attempt prompted the Egyptian coastguard officers to train their guns on Daniel.
He realized what that meant. They were ready to shoot him if he tried the same thing. Drawing deep on his reserves of courage – or desperation, rather – he drew in his breath, dived into the water, and after sinking to a depth of a few feet, began swimming with all his might. He was using the arm movements of the breaststroke, but the leg movements of freestyle and this eclectic mixture of swimming styles seemed to carry him forward faster than he could ever remember swimming.
He wasn’t sure how long he could keep it up and as panic and shortness of breath set in, he heard the sharp staccato sound of gunfire above the surface, matched by streaks along the water ahead of him. This time the firing was coming from the Egyptian side.
Painfully aware that one of these bullets could hit him, he came quickly to the surface, alerting both sides to his whereabouts as he took a deep breath and then dived under again. But now, instead of swimming towards the Israeli line, he traversed to his left, putting more emphasis on moving sideways than forwards. Only when he heard more gunfire and saw the bullet trails well to his right, did he change direction and start moving forward towards the Israeli patrol boat. By the time he surfaced, he was well away from the Egyptian gunboat and quite far towards what he thought to be the Israeli territorial line.
Again the Egyptians fired and again he dived and traversed, this time to the right. He realized now that all the firing was coming from behind him. Whether the Israelis had been given new orders or had simply realized that a man wearing nothing but swimming trunks could hardly be a suicide bomber, it was clear that the danger now came from the Egyptian side.
But when he came to the surface, the firing stopped. Daniel realized that he must be in Israeli waters. Ahead of him he could see Gabrielle climbing the ladder on to the patrol boat, being helped by several of the crew, who seemed to be enjoying themselves.
Judging that he was safe from being fired upon, Daniel stayed on the surface and shifted to freestyle as he swam the last few yards to the Israeli vessel. He too climbed the ladder, but found the Israeli navy men somewhat less helpful when it came to helping him clamber aboard. However they were kind enough to give him a towel, before returning their attention to Gabrielle. She seemed flattered by this and even flashed a mocking smile at Daniel, as if noting his jealousy at the male interest she was getting.
They were shown to some quarters, given clothes and told that Captain Ben-Dor wanted to see them in ten minutes. The accommodation seemed quite comfortable and Daniel suspected that this was actually the captain’s quarters. They took turns in the shower and when Daniel emerged with a towel around his waist, he was amused to see Gabrielle looking incredibly sexy in a man’s white summer uniform that looked a couple of sizes too small for her. His own uniform was a perfect fit.
Exactly ten minutes later, they were taken to the bridge to meet the captain, a slightly paunchy man of the same height as Daniel, with a short grey beard. Anxious to explain as quickly as possible, and lacking any sense of military propriety or protocol, Daniel launched into a mentally rehearsed speech, not waiting to be spoken to.
‘I’d like to thank you for rescuing us. My name is Daniel Klein and we—’
‘I know who you are,’ said Captain Ben-Dor. ‘You’ve caused a lot of trouble.’
Chapter 66
It took Goliath somewhat longer to get to the Sphinx than he had expected. Although free to go, discharging himself from hospital had proved to be unusually bureaucratic and at one point he had come close to panic, thinking that the police were going to re-arrest him on some technicality.
He had almost been poised to use force, but he realized that this would merely draw further attention to himself. They had not matched him up to the suspect in the case of the killing of the nurse at the other hospital, but he knew that at any time they might, and he doubted if the senator’s influence could get him off a rap like that.
So he kept his head and stayed cool, paid a little baksheesh and then took the taxi out to Giza.
Now, as he approached the Sphinx, he found himself looking out for the boy. He didn’t really know what to expect other than a young local and there were plenty of those about, offering to sell anything from postcards and tourist trinkets to condoms and private tours.
But there was one, aged about fourteen, who appeared to be doing nothing other than looking around, shielding his eyes from the sun with his hand. In his other hand he was holding a plastic bag which had something small in it. Goliath walked towards him. A look of understanding appeared on the boy’s face.
‘You must be Na’if,’ said Goliath.
‘Yes.’
The boy was looking at him with a mixture of curiosity and trepidation. Goliath sensed that this had less to do with his size than with the bandages.
‘You said your father brought Daniel Klein and the woman to Cairo, is that right?’
‘Yes.’
‘On a…’
‘Felucca.’
‘That’s a boat, yes?’
‘Yes.�
��
‘Did they say where they were going in Cairo?’
‘My English not very good. But my father see them again.’
‘Again?’
‘Yes, and they say they want to go to Taba.’
‘To Taba?’
‘Yes.’
‘Did they say why?’
‘I don’t know. But my father help them.’
‘Okay, well, I’ll tell you what, I don’t really need their phone.’
‘But what about baksheesh?’ He sounded quite anxious.
‘Yes, don’t worry. I’ll give you the money. But not here. There are too many people. Is there somewhere private we can go?’
‘The restaurant.’
Goliath was dubious about the restaurant being away from prying eyes, but he nodded anyway. When they arrived, Na’if led Goliath round the back, near the bins. Goliath made a great play of taking out the money – two one-hundred-dollar bills – which he handed over to Na’if.
Na’if accepted the money with watering eyes, put it in his pocket, and then looked at Goliath uncertainly, as if unsure about whether he meant it when he said he didn’t need the phone. At that point, Goliath clamped a large hand over Na’if’s mouth and a headlock on the boy in preparation to either choke him or snap his neck. He opted for the latter, as it would be quicker, and adjusted the position of his forearm accordingly.
Chapter 67
Captain Ben-Dor had told them very little. Little as in nothing. The only thing he would say was that they were to be taken to Herzliya, just north of Tel Aviv.
The captain smiled when he saw the confused look on their faces. Obviously the boat wasn’t going to sail there, as that would mean a somewhat circuitous trip. He pointed to the helicopter hovering above them.
‘You’ll be winched up there and taken directly.’
Gabrielle smiled at this. It appealed to her sense of adventure. But Daniel had had enough adventure for a whole lifetime and felt somewhat nauseous just thinking about it. However, he was not one to show weakness, especially in the presence of military men, so he gritted his teeth and nodded. When the winch of the AS565 Panther lowered the harness to the boat’s deck, he even volunteered to go first, but the captain decided that Gabrielle should have that honour.
The helicopter journey was a sombre affair. In any case, conversation would have been difficult above the noise of the rotor blades, but the cold stares from the crew gave Daniel the distinct impression that he and Gabrielle were regarded as enemies, or at least as troublemakers. Nevertheless, they were offered cold drinks at one point, both settling on diet Coke. For the most part they contented themselves with admiring the view as the helicopter sped towards Herzliya.
When the helicopter landed, eighty-five minutes later, it was on the roof of a rather old nondescript building. They were led out and taken to a waiting room. From there, Daniel was called in first.
He found himself sitting in an office in front of a teak desk, opposite a dark-haired Israeli, not unlike himself and about the same age.
‘My name is Dov Shamir and I am going to ask you a few questions. I would be much obliged if you didn’t try to bullshit me, but just gave me some straight answers.’
Chapter 68
Na’if was struggling frantically for breath. He felt the bandaged man’s arm adjust its position and he sensed that something bad was about to happen, but tugging at the man’s hand did nothing; the grip was just too tight.
Desperate to escape, Na’if put both his hands on the giant’s forearm, intending to use his entire body weight to pull on the arm and break the attacker’s grip. But as soon as he put his left hand higher up on the man’s forearm, the big man let out a scream and released Na’if.
He didn’t know about the burns that Goliath had sustained, all he knew was that the man was in pain and that he had released him. That gave Na’if all the chance he needed. Dropping the bag in the hope that it was what the big man was really interested in, he lurched away, rolled on the ground to get clear and then sprinted as fast as his legs could carry him.
He heard a grunt and looked round to see the big man running after him. He wanted to scream so as to draw the attention of others to what was happening, but that was not a way for a man to act, so he decided against it. Instead he just ran and kept running, making sure to stay in the open as much as possible. He made his way on to a bus leaving the area, constantly looking out the window for any sign of the man who had attacked him. As long as the man didn’t get on to the bus, he was safe.
Chapter 69
Daniel wondered if he should ask for a lawyer, but he decided not to push his luck. It wasn’t clear if this Dov Shamir was a policeman, an immigration official or something else entirely. He suspected that ‘something else entirely’ was probably the most accurate guess. So instead he nodded meekly, giving Shamir the go ahead to start the interrogation.
‘We know that you were called in to assist Akil Mansoor of the Egyptian Antiquities Authority translate some stone fragments which he believes may be the original tablets of stone from the Bible that Moses smashed.’
Daniel considered correcting Shamir as to the name of the organization that Mansoor headed. However, it would be too pedantic and would not endear him to his interrogator.
‘I can confirm that.’
‘We also know that you were called in on the recommendation of Gabrielle Gusack, a student of Mansoor’s and whose uncle was your professor when you did your PhD at the School of Oriental and African Studies.
‘Yes,’ said Daniel. ‘Or the School of Anti-Semitism as we sometimes call it.’
‘I know. I studied there too. But I presume you’re referring to certain sections of the student body, not the school itself.’
‘Absolutely.’
‘And after examining the stone fragments, you went on a tour with Mansoor, visiting various ancient sites in Egypt.’
‘Yes.’
‘Could you tell me which sites you visited?’
Daniel went through the sites, from memory, stumbling a couple of times.
‘Now tell me about the incident at the Tomb of Ay – the one in the western Valley of the Kings. And don’t just tell me about the incident itself, I want to know what happened after that – right up to you getting picked up by the patrol boat.’
Daniel recounted the story as best he could: from being locked in, the attempts to call for help, the escape, the shooting incident with the police, the message on Mansoor’s phone, the journeys to Cairo and Taba and the dramatic escape from Egypt by powerboat. The only thing he left out was what they had found in Mansoor’s office and his intention to visit the Samaritans.
Dov Shamir sat there in silence, looking at him. Daniel wasn’t sure what to make of this and wondered whether Shamir didn’t believe him. Perhaps he’s just trying to give me time to remember more details.
Eventually, Shamir spoke. ‘Who do you think locked you in?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘I never said you knew. I asked you who you think locked you in.’
‘I can’t think… I mean, I can’t imagine who would want to.’
‘You’re not in the least bit curious? Someone tries to kill you and you’re not curious as to who that might be… or why?’
‘I haven’t really had time to think about it, to be honest.’
‘No? It took you six days on the felucca to get to Cairo and four days to get from Cairo to Taba by camel. That’s ten days since you were locked in the tomb. And you mean to say that in all that time you haven’t thought about who locked you there?’
Daniel was unsure whether to reveal his speculations about the plague or Harrison’s cryptic statement that might support those suspicions. At this stage, he didn’t know whether to trust Shamir or not. So he took a more cautious line.
‘The only thing I could come up with was that someone wanted to stop me from translating the various documents in Proto-Sinaitic script that Mansoor and the Egyptians have accum
ulated.’
‘But you have no idea who that might be?’
‘Well, quite frankly, I think even that theory is too silly for words. I mean, who would want to suppress such knowledge? A rival academic who’s working on it but hasn’t got enough to publish yet? Some religious nutter who thinks that we shouldn’t tamper with the past, but simply accept the scriptures?’
‘I notice that you haven’t asked about what happened to Akil Mansoor.’
‘We heard on the radio that he was recovering in hospital. Has there been any development since then?’
‘Yes. He has since made a full recovery.’
Daniel breathed a sigh of relief. ‘And what about that hysteria about me and Gabrielle carrying some disease? I notice that you haven’t put us in quarantine.’
Shamir smiled. ‘We’ve established that this health scare was a bit of a misunderstanding.’
Daniel was dubious about this. Mansoor had said there was an outbreak of disease at the dig site. Could it have been food poisoning after all? Was the quarantine just a panic response? An unnecessary precaution? If so, what about the curator at the British Museum?
‘It was a misunderstanding that very nearly got me and Gaby killed.’
‘I know. But then again your somewhat unconventional solution to the problem also very nearly got you and Professor Gusack killed.’
‘So do we know what our legal status in Egypt is?’
Shamir pursed his lips and thought for a moment.
‘You’re still technically in breach of Egyptian law because of the manner of your departure. But then again you’re not the first Jew to flee from Egypt with the army in hot pursuit.’
