Deadly Ties

by Aaron Ben-Shahar

  Upon waking, he got to take a decent shower and was given fresh clothes they had brought over from his hotel suite. Here were Zelig and Amitay, sitting across from him in silence. Depression and sadness dominated the room. Not a word was uttered, not a single question asked. His two interrogators had seen their fair share and heard many a good story, and yet, here they were, affected by his story. Zelig asked Bonnie to sign his confession, which was made into a transcript that captured its spontaneity. Bonnie did not even bother to go over the saga of his life. He signed it and made a parting gesture with his head as they left the room. Then, he was taken back to his small chamber, where he slept, or, more like a groundhog, hibernated for another twelve hours.

  The following day, or perhaps the very same day – Bonnie had already lost all track of time – he was called back to the adjacent room, where he was given another piece of paper.

  This time round, it was the following document:

  Penal Code 1977

  Article 113 – Disclosing a state secret without proper authorization with the intention of undermining the national security is punishable by lifelong incarceration.

  A ‘State Secret’ – an item in reference to which the national security requires strict confidentiality.

  Article 114 – Whosoever engages with a foreign agent without a plausible explanation is subject to incarceration for fifteen years.

  A foreign agent – one who is reasonably suspected of having been sent by a foreign country or on its behalf or at the behest of a terrorist organization or foreign country to collect intelligence or perpetrate any action that might undermine the security of the State of Israel.

  Amitay walked into the room after a short while. He was alone this time. “We have a court order granting us leeway to prevent you from seeing your attorney for fifteen days. But seeing as you have given us a full confession, we have no objection to you meeting with an attorney.”

  Initially indifferent to the proposal, Bonnie thought about it a little and decided to seek council with an attorney he had met many years prior. This man had assisted him in registering the land rights and entitlements according to the deed for his parents’ estate. This attorney, who was highly embarrassed to even come to the meeting, heard the amazing story of his one-time client.

  Once the attorney regained his composure, he turned to Bonnie with enthusiasm, “Listen, it’s all going to be fine.” He proceeded in this tone, which lawyers adopt all too often when they wish to impress their clients and convince them. “We shall prevail upon the court and persuade your panel of judges that you broke no law. At the very worst, this is an infraction, a misdemeanor that does not justify your being held in custody.”

  Bonnie, who had regained his senses and calm, as well, asked him, amused, “And how are you going to accomplish that?”

  “What do you mean, ‘how?’ I’ll simply prove in court that you had no intention of undermining the country’s security and that you have a reasonable explanation for meeting the commander of the Revolutionary Guard. I do not know a single judge who would not accept the merit of my arguments...”

  ‘Your arguments, but they aren’t mine,’ Bonnie thought to himself, bid his attorney farewell and promised to give him his reply soon.

  ***

  The day after his meeting with his attorney, Bonnie asked for an audience with his interrogators. They were surprised to see him sitting upright, serene and full of confidence and focus.

  He spoke to them for two hours, and the more he said, their eyes opened wider and wider still. Once he was done, they were so stunned, they could barely speak. Zelig was the first to overcome his shock.

  “We will have to clear this with the chief,” he said quietly as he and Amitay left the room.

  Epilogue

  Bonnie had arranged with Mehdi they would meet by the frog pond at the Bois de Boulogne, one of Paris’s famous parks. He turned up early.

  A singer nearby, surrounded by a group of young adults, was holding a guitar.

  “The falling leaves drift by the window/” the singer played and sang Les Feuilles Mortes.

  Bonnie saw his father approaching. They went over to a large poplar tree, a few yards off the pond. They shared a warm embrace, but before a single word was uttered, Bonnie pulled out a 9mm Beretta gun with a silencer and shot his father.

  Even before the father’s body reached the ground, Bonnie put the muzzle into his own mouth and pulled the trigger. Both men fell onto the ground that was covered with leaves.

  But the singer didn’t notice any of this. He played on, echoing Yves Montand’s famous rendition, in French:

  “Les pas des amants désunis” – “the footsteps of disunited lovers” “when autumn leaves start to fall.”

  The End