Finally they got round to the matter at hand. Ollie told Sheik Khalil he needed his assistance in getting to Tulkarm and transporting a container to a safe place in which he could prepare the device lying in it for operation. When Khalil asked about the nature of the device Ollie told him that it was a device that will disperse deadly radiation among the Jews. He knew that if he told Sheik Khalil about its true intended target in Jerusalem and that the objective included total destruction the mosques on Temple Mount then the sheik would perhaps refuse to help. He also told Sheik Khalil that he would need a pick-up truck capable of travelling through narrow streets and of carrying a weight of several hundred kilograms. The sheik said that the second part was not a problem as trucks of this sort were available from Arab supporters. However, when Ollie said that the truck would probably be destroyed by the bomb the sheik said that they could easily steal a truck from a Jewish settlement. Sheik Khalil invited Ollie to stay at his house for the night while he made the necessary arrangements to fulfill Ollie's requests.
The ISA agents that had been following Ollie had no trouble locating the taxi driver as soon as he left Umm al-Fahm and bringing him to one of their safe houses for questioning. It didn't take long for the driver to admit that he had dropped Ollie off at the central mosque. The agents already knew this as the homing device led them there but as they were reluctant to wonder around the hostile village they did not approach the mosque itself. They asked the driver what Ollie had said about the purpose of his trip and what they talked about and the driver truthfully said that they had not talked at all and when they departed Ollie gave him a nice tip. The chief interrogator did not believe him but after deploying some more pressure and persuasive measures with no results he was finally convinced that the driver knew no more than he had already admitted.
June 16th, Several European cities
The increasing number of terrorist attacks in major Europeans cities had become the focal point of all intelligence agencies and police forces. Although the violent acts did not seem to be coordinated by a central command they did have one thing in common: they were all carried out by Muslims. A closer scrutiny showed that the perpetrators were almost always young men or women who had returned to their home countries after fighting for ISIS in Syria and Iraq. Some of them came from Muslim families and were second or third generation residents in Europe while others were fresh converts to Islam. The attacks included planting bombs in crowded areas, especially in public transportation stations, buses and trains, suicide bombings by single or multiple young men and women, shooting of policemen, soldiers, innocent civilians and school kids and random acts of gang violence. They specially targeted newspapers that published derogatory cartoons, photos or articles about the prophet Mohammad or Islam in general. In addition, several acts were aimed at Jewish schools, stores, people and synagogues. These were the acts of a small minority of Muslims but reflected on the whole community. One of the cynical politicians said "Not all Muslims are terrorists but almost all terrorists are Muslims" and this was a good enough excuse for the nationalist movements in these countries to increase their harassment of Muslims and all other immigrants. Street riots broke out between the two groups, and as usual, the victims were mainly the innocent bystanders who were unfortunate enough to be in the area.
The authorities were helplessly trying to break up the riots, separating the gangs of violent European racists from the no-less violent Muslim youths. The police in the democratic countries had their hands tied by the courts and the frustrated law enforcement personnel often had an itchy trigger finger that resulted in the shooting of rioters from both sides. Very few police officers were ever prosecuted, even fewer were convicted, because witnesses seemed to disappear and the number of people who saw nothing, heard nothing and remembered nothing increased dramatically when they were summoned to testify. Such chaos in the streets was helping the racist parties, or using the euphemistic term "nationalist movements", thrive and prosper. Everyone knew that the next election in any country that had a sizable Muslim minority, such as France, Sweden, the UK, Germany, Holland or Belgium, would see a rise in the power of these extremists. There was a very real fear that all this could be the beginning of the end of democracy in Europe. The barrel of dynamite was ready, the fuse was inserted inside the dynamite and the match needed to ignite the fuse was already out of the box and ready to strike it. On this very day Ollie held the ultimate match in his hand and was within inches of striking it against a rough surface to ignite it.
Chapter 14
June 16th, Umm al-Fahm, Israel and Tulkarm, the Palestinian Authority
Sheik Khalil made the necessary arrangements to smuggle Ollie across the line that separated Israel from the territories controlled by the Palestinian Authority. Although Israel had constructed a wall that was 8 meters high along a large part of that separation line with several official and closely monitored checkpoints, there were many places where the line could be crossed with a minimal risk of being discovered. The sheik and his people knew all of these and Ollie's escorts headed towards a dirt road that led from the Gilboa Ridge that was inside Israel to the Jenin area in the PA. Ollie was dressed as one of the local peasants and he had a cover story in case they were stopped by an Israeli roadblock or patrol. He was instructed to say that he was returning to his village near Tubas after seeking employment, illegally, in the town of Afula in Israel. He left his bag, European clothes and his fake passport in the sheik's house in Umm al-Fahm. The sheik had promised him that he would deliver the bag to Ollie when he returned with the device, "the birthday parcel" as they had agreed to call it, to Israeli territory. Three of the sheik's men escorted Ollie in a 4x4 jeep and two of them were to guide him across the border on foot where he was to be met by another local supporter of ISIS who would take him to the agricultural school in Tulkarm.
Sheik Khalil had given Ollie a cellphone with a new SIM card with an Israeli number and told Ollie to use it only in case of an emergency as he was aware that all cellular communications were probably monitored by Israeli intelligence agencies. They had agreed on a simple codeword that was to be repeated twice in case Ollie was being followed or three times if there was imminent danger. The codeword they chose was an apparently innocent phrase "the coffee is ready".
As the jeep passed the Megido Junction connecting the highway leading north to the Haifa area and south to Jenin with the roads that led east to Afula and the Sea of Galilee or west to the Mediterranean coastal towns of Hadera and Netanya, Ollie's escort pointed to the mound that rose above the junction and said that it was Tel Megido, known to the Kafers as Armageddon. Ollie smiled to himself as he heard this and thought that Doomsday was much closer than any of them imagined.
The ISA agents with their receiver tuned to the radio signal emitted from the chip planted in Ollie's passport, did not take notice of their mark, only one of many Arab garbed passengers in one of the many cars that left Umm al-Fahm every morning towards Megido Junction. They did wonder what Ollie was doing for such a long time in the sheik's house but no alarm bells had gone off. They called their headquarters every two hours, as instructed, just to give a status report that nothing had changed yet. By noon the controller at ISA headquarters called Mossad and said he was worried that something had gone amiss. The Mossad duty officer called Shimony and informed him that Ollie himself had not been seen all day and that the beacon in his passport was still signaling from the sheik's house. Shimony asked to be connected directly with the ISA agents on duty and instructed them to pay a cordial visit to Sheik Khalil and sniff around. He told them to have a police backup nearby in case things got nasty and to report to him personally about their findings.
As soon as they saw a Border Patrol jeep with four police officers outside the village central mosque, the two ISA agents knocked on the door of the sheik's house. It was opened by one of his attendants who told the agents that the sheik was at the mosque and would be able to see them after prayers. They said they were
in a hurry and the attendant replied that he advised them not to interrupt the prayers but if they did so and a riot broke out then it would be their responsibility. The agents wanted to avoid a riot and said they would wait for the sheik so the attendant suggested that they have coffee at the café on the corner and he would ask the sheik to come as soon as possible to the café. The agents did not like the way things were developing but did not want to cause a disturbance with such a small police force at their disposal so they updated the police officer and suggested that he call in for reinforcements just in case they had to make some arrests.
After they had drunk three cups of strong bitter coffee Sheik Khalil entered the café with an entourage of six young men. No one smiled when the two agents stood up and asked the sheik if they could have a word in private. The sheik looked around and saw that by now there were three vehicles loaded with fully equipped Border Patrol riot police and invited them to his house saying they would have more privacy there than in the cafe. They sat down in the modest living room and the agents followed the Arab custom and asked about life in general, the sheik's family, the economy and other irrelevant matters before getting to the point and asking him if he had any guests staying with him. The sheik said that he had had a surprise visitor the previous day but the guest left in the morning without saying where he was heading. They pretended to believe his story and showed him a photo of Ollie and Lena taken a couple of days earlier in the Old City of Jerusalem. Sheik Khalil took a long look at the photo and pronounced that this was his guest but that he did not know the girl. When asked how come this guest had taken a taxi from Jerusalem specifically to meet him, Sheik Khalil said he had no idea and that he thought the Swedish man was slightly "majnoon", meaning a bit crazy in Arabic. The agents realized that the sheik was playing them for fools but although they wanted to take him to one of their cellars for a more thorough interrogation they needed authorization for that. So they thanked him politely and said that they may be back quite soon. Naturally, they were well aware of the fact that Ollie's passport was in the sheik's house and assumed that he would be back to pick it up or that it will be sent to him. They couldn't confront the sheik with this information as that would give away the fact that they had Ollie under surveillance, beyond the visual shadowing.
As soon as they left, the sheik summoned his attendant and told him to use a one-time phone and call Ollie repeating twice the phrase "the coffee is ready". He knew that the call would probably be picked up but thought that the message was important enough to alert Ollie. He also understood that Ollie's intentions were taken seriously by the ISA and wondered whether he would be able to pull this off.
Ollie was riding in a small pick-up truck with the local guide who came from Jenin when he received the short phone call warning him that he had been followed. One of the Israeli Arabs from Umm al-Fahm left them after he saw that Ollie was handed over safely to the Palestinian guide and returned across the border the same way he had infiltrated it a couple of hours earlier. The other Israeli Arab, a young intelligent follower of the Islamic movement called Nasser, stayed with Ollie as ordered by Sheik Khalil. Ollie reckoned that the ISA would not be able to follow him inside the territories of the Palestinian Authority so his top priority remained the same: find the container and check the device. After confirming that everything was in order he would plan how to transport it to Jerusalem and arm it while allowing himself enough time to get away. So he told his Palestinian guide to continue to Tulkarm.
They arrived at the school in the early afternoon and Ollie immediately saw the container in the school's backyard. When they reached the gate the guard called Dr. Anwar El-Alami as he had been instructed after the container was unloaded from the truck that brought it from the Haifa port a few days earlier. Dr. El-Alami was curious about the contents of the container but took the warning he had received seriously and did not even try to tamper with the seal. Ollie thanked him for his cooperation and said that he would open it to check the merchandize after the school was closed for the day and requested that no students or school personnel will be present, except Nasser, his Palestinian guide and El-Alami himself. He also asked El-Alami to prepare a strong flashlight and a new metal band to replace the seal. El-Alami invited Ollie and the guide to his office and offered them coffee. Ollie called his guide aside asking him to procure a small crane to lift the device onto his pick-up truck and a large tarpaulin to cover it and the guide drove to the nearby town of Tubas to find the items requested.
Ollie had enjoyed the coffee and pastries that El-Alami served and during their little chat learned that El-Alami had received his doctorate in education from the Birzeit University that was located north of Ramallah, but had also studied modern agricultural techniques at the Israeli Faculty of Agriculture in Rehovot and spoke fluent Arabic, English and Hebrew. El-Alami tried to understand what was concealed in the container and Ollie told him the cover story about a "dirty bomb" saying that it was only to be used to threaten and terrorize the people in Tel-Aviv and that it was not to be detonated. However, El-Alami who was no fool was not quite convinced that this was the whole story, but he kept his misgivings to himself.
By the time the guide returned, the school day had ended and following Ollie's instructions everyone else left the school's property, expect the guard that opened the gate to let the pick-up truck into the school's backyard. Ollie asked El-Alami to send the guard away for a couple of hours and wait at the gate to make sure no unexpected visitors arrived. He then took the flashlight and went to the container and broke the seal on its door. He opened the double doors carefully not knowing whether the precious cargo was intact and was relieved to see that every item was exactly in the same position it had been when loaded in Italy. The improvised nuclear device looked like a strange type of bomb, which indeed it was, and any intelligent person who took a look at it would realize that instantly. It certainly looked nothing like any known type of agricultural machinery. On the other hand, the metallic box containing the triggering device, detonators and timer looked just like any other metal suitcase, and would not arouse too much suspicion unless it was opened.
With the help of Nasser and the Palestinian guide along with the portable derrick that he had brought, the three of them managed to maneuver the device out of the container and load it on the pick-up truck's platform. They used the tarpaulin to cover the device and tied down its corners to the hooks in the platform. However, Ollie was not pleased with the way it looked with the tarpaulin cover – it reminded him of a giant egg or a not so small bomb. So he searched the school's backyard for some wooden poles that he inserted under the tarpaulin to break the egg-like contours of the odd bundle. It now had an unrecognizable shape – still bizarre but at least not obviously like a bomb. The metal case was carefully placed in the cabin of the pick-up truck. There was no room for the portable crane and Ollie summoned El-Alami and told him to return it to the garage in Tubas from which it was borrowed. By the time they had finished these arrangements the guard had returned to the school's gate and Dr. El-Alami wandered back to the container that was now empty and sealed with the metal band. Ollie ordered him to forget everything that had ensued that afternoon under the penalty of death to his entire family and say no word to anyone no matter what happened. El-Alami's distrust grew stronger but there was nothing he could do.
Ollie and the two escorts drove away and headed towards the Balata refugee camp in Nablus where there were many devoted backers of ISIS. They parked the truck in a closed garage and at Ollie's request two guards were posted outside the garage door with strict instructions not to enter the garage. Ollie and Nasser were offered a hot meal of skewered lamb and rice and given two beds to sleep in. Before turning in for the night Ollie asked his host if they could get him a minivan with dark windows and Israeli license plates. The host asked him if he had any preference for the model or color. When Ollie said his only concern was that it would be able to travel 150 km without breaking down his host smiled and sa
id that there were plenty suitable vans, waiting in Israel to be recruited for the Palestinian cause and one would be ready for him in the garage in the morning.
June 16th, Tel-Aviv
In the evening, after Ollie had slipped the surveillance of the ISA agents and had not been seen since the previous day, the Mossad Deputy Director, Shimony, called an emergency meeting. The ISA director of operations, known as "the Fish", summarized the day's events. In an untypical apologetic tone he admitted that his agents had made a huge blunder by allowing Ollie to evade their surveillance. Shimony also felt that he had made an error of judgment by not ordering Ollie's arrest when he had been in their grasp, and called the participants' attention to the fact that they now did not have any idea where Ollie or the device were hiding. His greatest fear, he added, was that Ollie had the device in his possession and would be able to detonate it anywhere in Israel. The Israeli authorities had no way of knowing whether the device was already inside Israel or was, as they believed, still in the territory of the Palestinian Authority.
Unprecedented measures were to be implemented all along the border, with special attention given to any vehicle that was capable of carrying an object the size of the device. The forces manning all the border checkpoints were to be doubled and every truck, pick-up truck, bus or minivan that could carry a load of several hundred kilograms was to be thoroughly searched. Trucks carrying agricultural produce were to be particularly inspected as the container was marked as "agricultural machinery". The Chief of the Israel Police who was also present at the meeting assured the participants that the Border Patrol units would be briefed and the number of patrols would be doubled. He expected that by noon the following day all the extra personnel would be in position at all checkpoints.
The Dreadful Alchemist: A Thrilling Espionage Novel (Techno thriller, Mystery & Suspense Book 1) Page 19
