The Dreadful Patriot: A Thrilling Conspiracy Novel (Techno thriller, Mystery & Suspense Book 3)

by Charles Z David

  The small motorboat headed southwest towards a secluded point on the shore. The short trip ended when the boat gently docked at a wooden pier. The Israelis were ordered to stand up, with the help of the gunmen, and were guided onto the shore. They were transferred to a waiting van and were instructed to sit on the floor and keep quiet. The van drove to a mosque on the outskirts of Batmaloo and the Israelis were taken out of the vehicle and led to the basement of a building that was right next to the mosque. The basement smelled like carpet mold, an odor so strong that it permeated through the sack that covered their head. When the sack was removed they could actually see the blue and green mold on the walls of the basement. The gunman took out his knife and cut the restraining cable ties and told them that if they didn't keep silent he would use the knife to cut out their tongues. Zorik rubbed his sore wrists and said that they were thirsty and hungry. The gunman growled and made a threatening move towards Zorik but his mate barked something in Urdu and then said in English that they would get some food and drink shortly. He added that the basement had no windows and a steel door and that an armed guard would be posted outside the door. He warned them that although they were still in India the area was completely Muslim and even if they got out of the building they would probably be lynched by the mobs outside. Zorik spoke up and said that their families would pay a handsome ransom for their release but the gunman repeated that they were not after money and both gunmen left the basement slamming the steel door behind them and locking it. Zorik went over to Inbal and held her tight while she sobbed quietly and asked him what was happening to them. Zorik said that they should avoid provoking their captors, especially the knife wielding depraved creature and wait until an opportunity to escape presented itself. He suggested they call this gunman Creepy and that the other gunman, who was obviously in charge, should be called Albert as his curly hair reminded him of a friend with that name. Inbal smiled for the first time since they were kidnapped and agreed that she also thought that he resembled their friend.

  Twenty minutes later Creepy entered the basement with a tray on which a bottle of water and a dish with some chickpeas and rice. They had to use their hands to eat as no utensils were present. Albert entered the basement a moment later with two blankets and a bucket that he said would be their toilet until the next move. He suggested that they try and get some sleep as they would be facing a long journey.

  September 12th, Uri, Srinagar, India

  Inbal and Zorik spent a restless night in the basement. Zorik admired the self-control of Inbal and her coolheaded acceptance of their plight. Both had gone over every square inch of the basement looking for weak spots through which they could possibly escape or for anything that could serve as a weapon in case an opportunity to overpower their captors would present itself. However, despite the filthy floor and walls there was nothing useful to be found. They managed to get a little sleep cuddled together on the two thin blankets they were given.

  At the crack of dawn Creepy came pounding down the stairs and banged on the steel door to wake them up. Another armed guard carried a small kettle and a couple of cups, which he filled and handed them while Creepy just watched with his gun in his hands. He told them to use the bucket in the corner as they had a long journey and observed with a leer as Inbal relieved herself in the corner, while ignoring Zorik's spiteful glare. They were given a cup of some murky fluid that was supposed to be tea and they gulped it down trying to ignore its foul taste but as they were still thirsty they even asked for more. Zorik told Inbal that it was safer than water as it was at least boiled, hopefully killing most of the bacteria or at least most of the pathogenic ones. Creepy told Zorik to turn his back and quickly slipped a nylon cable tie and bound his wrists and placed the stinking dark hood over his head and then did the same to Inbal. Once again he took advantage of the fact that Albert wasn't there and Zorik was blindfolded and allowed his dirty hands to fondle her. She tried to kick him with a strong backward swing but he anticipated that and easily evaded her foot. He then opened the steel door and marched them up the stairs into the waiting van.

  They were ordered to lie on the floor and a thin carpet was thrown over their bodies. The ancient engine came to life and they could feel that they were now travelling on a paved road with many potholes as they could feel every single one of the bumps. The van travelled from Batmaloo to Hussan Abad and then headed west through Kunzer towards Gulmarg, thus avoiding the busier highway to Pattan. Before reaching Gulmarg the van veered from the main road and took a dirt trail until it reached a clump of trees in Masjid Park. The door opened and the young couple was allowed out of the van. While Albert secured their feet with a new cable tie Creepy drew out his knife sliced the cable ties on their wrists. Albert removed the blindfolds and told them that they would take a short break. He offered them some more tea and a piece of the local bread and told them they could relieve themselves. They hobbled with their tied feet to a spot behind a tree and did so. Zorik told Inbal that he thought they were heading west towards the Pakistani border and that they should try to escape before crossing the border because in India they could hope for assistance from the authorities but there would be no such hope in Pakistan. However, Albert ordered them to shut up and Creepy came over to make sure they stopped talking.

  Their captors unceremoniously threw them on the van's floor without bothering to free their feet and bind their wrists again and covered them with the rug. As the van started moving it headed back to the paved highway but after a few moments they felt that the road had changed from a relatively straight highway to winding sharp curves. They passed through the small village of Babareshi and headed almost straight north to Baramulla. The last part of the road was steep, narrow and with hairpin bends that they could feel lying prone on the van's floor. They turned west once more and Inbal could sense that the road quality had once again improved and they were picking up speed as they travelled through the valley in which a river ran. Had they been able to see the view they would have enjoyed it, but lying on the van's floor, not knowing what lay ahead was a different experience. They reached the relatively large village of Uri that's claim to fame was that it contained a Government Degree College that was actually a large modern building with pink walls and a green tiled roof. The dam on the river created a lake upriver while a hydroelectric plant generated electricity as the water fell with a roar and flowed downstream towards Pakistan. The van continued west and by nightfall reached Salambad where they took another break, waiting until things grew quiet and resting a little before attempting to cross into Pakistan.

  After midnight a small convoy of three cars that consisted of the van in which the two young Israelis were held, a decrepit old Toyota pick-up truck and a small Tata, an inexpensive car made in India, left the sleepy village of Salambad. The van brought up in the rear and the Tata led the way. They all headed on the main road towards the border. Before setting off, all the men took a couple of moments to pray to Allah asking for the success of their mission that was to transport the two captives into Pakistan. As they approached the border they switched off their headlights. The drivers took an extra precaution and removed the light bulbs from the sockets in the back of the cars in order not to have them light up when the breaks pedal was depressed. This was an easy task as most of those bulbs did not function anyway. They were expected on the Pakistani side of the border so all they had to do was to evade a scrutiny by the soldiers on the Indian side. This was made even easier as a couple of bottles of cheap whiskey were "forgotten" at the Indian border post by a collaborator who crossed over an hour earlier. By the time the silent and dark convoy reached the border the guards on the Indian side were in an extremely good mood, and when they were offered another whiskey bottle by the driver of the Tata they turned a blind eye.

  The guards on the Indian side were not really concerned about people leaving India as their main responsibility was to prevent an attack from the Pakistani side. The big sign on the side of the road, between bot
h border posts read "Welcome, Chakothi-Uri Xing Point". As the small convoy crossed into Pakistan with no hassle, the driver of the Tata held a small envelope in his hand and let it fall at the feet of the Pakistani sergeant major in charge. The driver was impressed by the sergeant major's huge mustache with its waxed ends in the best British army tradition but wisely refrained from commenting on it. The convoy continued to Chakothi where they intended to spend the rest of the night.

  Inbal and Zorik were ordered out of the van and were led into a small building that served as the local police station. It was a multipurpose three room building: one room served as a detention cell, another as the office and the third as the bedroom for the two policemen that manned the station. Zorik had hoped that he would be able to convince the policemen that they were forcibly kidnapped and ask for help, but when he saw the warm welcome his captors received from the policeman on duty he realized that he too was involved in the plot. He didn't know if this was just some local enterprise or if it was condoned by the Pakistani government or intelligence services. Compared to their conditions the previous night the holding cell in the police station was like a five star hotel. Albert came over to tell them that they had completed the most dangerous part of their journey and from now on they would be in the good hands of the Pakistani intelligence services. Inbal was relieved to see that Creepy would no longer harass her.

  September 13th, Tel-Aviv, Israel

  Anna Sabatani was worried. She had expected the weekly phone call from Inbal two days earlier and when it failed to materialize she tried to contact Inbal on Skype to no avail. So far, in the three months since Zorik and Inbal had gone on their trip to the Far East this had never happened. Inbal knew that her parents were concerned and although they had great faith in Zorik they insisted on hearing from her at least once a week. Anna called her husband who was also troubled by the absence of any recent communication and he suggested speaking with Zorik's parents to find out if they knew what was going on. Anna called Zorik's mother and her response was that she, too, was anxious about not hearing from the young couple. Anna hesitated for a couple of hours but decided to call her father, the Prime Minister, and ask for his advice and assistance.

  Anna called the PM's office and was answered by a secretary that the PM was at a meeting with a visiting head of state. Anna asked her to tell him that it was an urgent personal matter. An hour later the PM called and enquired about the urgent matter. Anna told her father that she was concerned that Inbal had not called and that she wanted his advice. When she told him that Inbal was in Kashmir the PM said that he would ask his Aide de Camp, Dan Oren, who was a Special Forces lieutenant-colonel to look into the matter. He added that he was also concerned about Zorik who was a jet-fighter pilot and told Anna to expect a call from Dan. Anna thanked him and he hung up.

  Later that night Dan Oren called and told Anna that the Indian police at Srinagar had received a report of that a strange incident occurred at one of the houseboats on Dal Lake. Apparently the owner of the houseboat came over to collect the weekly rent and found that the place was a complete mess and the young couple was missing. He searched the bedroom and saw that their clothes and belongings were there but their passports were not to be found anywhere. He then filed an official complaint with the police. A policeman was sent to the houseboat but all he could do was confirm the report of the owner. Colonel Oren said that he would contact the Israeli embassy in New Delhi and ask them to send one of the diplomats from the embassy to Srinagar and would also try to obtain more information from the Indian security services with which Israel had a good rapport. Anna called Zorik's parents and updated them on these developments.

  September 13th, Chakothi, Pakistan

  Zorik and Inbal were allowed to sleep until noon and were woken up by the local policeman whom they had seen earlier. He was accompanied by a gentleman dressed in an expensive looking suit who introduced himself as Colonel Hussain from the Pakistani intelligence services. He said that he was sorry that they had to go through such an ordeal to get to Pakistan but promised that they would not be harmed if they behaved well. Zorik was indignant and demanded their immediate release. Hussain smiled and said that it was beyond his power to do that but once they arrived in Islamabad they would be able to speak to the head of the intelligence service and discuss it. Inbal requested permission to make a phone call to her family because she was sure that they were worried sick about her, but the colonel said that this would be allowed in due course.

  When Zorik tried to find out why they were kidnapped in the first place, the colonel said that high level politics were involved, and everything would be explained later. He added that a helicopter was waiting to fly them to Islamabad and that they should hurry. He showed them the passports that had been delivered to him by Albert and told them that they may be free to go after the "unfortunate event" came to its end.

  September 20th, Evin Prison, Tehran, Iran

  Zorik felt a none-too-gentle hand shaking his shoulder. For a moment he thought that he was still having a nightmare in which he and Inbal were taken hostage in Kashmir by two gunmen and transported to Pakistan. He opened his eyes and saw the bearded face of a very fat man looking down at him with a cruel smile, and saying in English "Zionist dog, wake up. You have arrived at your final destination - Evin Prison in Tehran." This was followed by a backhand slap on Zorik's face and then a forehand spank. Zorik tried to lift his hand to defend himself and realized that both his hands were chained to the metal frame of the bed on which he was lying. His face was still numb from the anesthetics that were given him before boarding the plane in Islamabad which was fortunate because the slapping which would have been painful did not hurt as much as it was intended. Although the face slapping had woke him up Zorik shook his head several times trying to clear it. He remembered that he had been with Inbal when he was kidnapped and stammered "Where is my girlfriend?" but all he got was another cruel smile. He repeated his question and received another couple of slaps and his torturer said "She is having fun with some real men". Enraged and out of his mind, Zorik pulled at the chains that were restraining him and only managed to bruise himself badly, while his captor broke out laughing "I only wanted to see if a Zionist pig had a sense of humor. She is in the next cell, all alone".

  The heavy metal door of the cell opened with a loud bang, and a thin man with a neatly trimmed beard entered. He looked at Zorik and saw that his face bore the clear marks left by the fat man's fingers and said something terse in Farsi and pointed to the door. The fat man cringed and even Zorik who understood no Farsi figured out that he was asking for forgiveness and then slowly exited the cell making sure not to show his back to the boss. The thin man said "Mr. Shemesh, my name is Akbar and I apologize for the barbaric behavior of this man. We are civilized people, with a proud 3000 years history, and will treat you well as long as you cooperate with us". He added "If you promise to behave nicely I'll free your hands from the shackles. Let me remind you that you are in the most secure block in Evin Prison. If you have not heard of this place, let me assure you that no one has ever escaped from here – not in the days of the corrupt Shah and not since the people's Islamic revolution started running this place".

  Zorik tried to enquire "How did we get to Tehran? My last memory is that we were in Islamabad".

  Akbar just mumbled "Well, you were asleep for three days after being sedated. Once again, will you behave nicely?"

  Zorik nodded and Akbar took a key out of pocket and opened the lock on the chains. Zorik stretched his hands and as blood began to circulate the pain in his arms and face intensified. Zorik bit his lips and repeated the question he had asked the fat man, "Where is my girlfriend?"

  Akbar's face did not show any emotion "She is unharmed and is being questioned right now". Zorik said he had to go to the bathroom and Akbar released Zorik's feet that were still chained to the bed and he pointed to a bucket in the corner of the room.

  Zorik relieved himself and then asked the quest
ion that had been on his mind from the moment they were kidnapped "What do you want to do with us?"

  Akbar's response was not informative "We have yet to decide that. Meanwhile you will be interrogated and if we are satisfied with your cooperation you will be allowed to join the other hostages." Zorik did not know whether to be glad that he was not the only captive in Evin Prison or to be worried about that.

  Akbar departed saying "You will get some food and water and we'll come back for you in later" and left the cell. Within minutes the fat man returned with a plastic tray on which lentil soup and pita bread and a bottle of water were laid out.

  ***

  Inbal regained consciousness and found herself on a bed with her feet chained to the bed posts. She looked around and discovered that she was all alone in a cell with bare walls and a massive metal door. A small panel in the door slid open and all Inbal could see was a pair of black eyes looking her over. Then the door opened and in came a tall woman wearing a hijab that covered most of her face and dressed with an abaya that failed to disguise the features of her supple body. Before Inbal could say anything, the woman said "I am Farzaneh and in charge of your wellbeing here in Evin Prison. If you behave and cooperate you will be allowed to join the other hostages, but if not then you will regret the day you were born." Inbal was speechless when Farzaneh added "You are probably wondering what happened to your boyfriend. I can tell you that he has been very cooperative and told us all about you and your relationship. We promised him that he will be allowed to see you". Inbal was no fool and was well aware of the most basic strategy interrogators all over the world used to get their subjects to talk. She said that she needed to use the toilet and promised not to cause any trouble and to cooperate fully. Farzaneh unchained her and lead her to the corner of the cell where a small section was enclosed by a screen.