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

by Charles Z David

  ***

  The interrogation of Zorik and Inbal was quite short and carried out in separate rooms. Their captors didn't really care who they were or what they did in Israel. They only wanted to know if they had relatives in Israel who would be able to raise a public outcry for their release from captivity. Fortunately Inbal and Zorik managed to hide the fact that Zorik was a fighter pilot in the Israeli air force, and more importantly that Inbal's grandfather was the Prime Minister of Israel. They assumed that the Iranians were treating them humanely because they had some strategic objective and could not be bothered with personal details.

  Finally, they were allowed to meet in Zorik's cell after their separation that lasted just a few days but seemed to them like eternity. Although they knew that they were being watched by their captors and were sure that they were recorded on video their relief at seeing each other alive was so great that they couldn't refrain from hugging each other. Zorik whispered in her ear that they were probably on camera and Inbal quickly understood that she should not say anything that may raise the suspicion of their captors that they were anything but a young couple who were kidnapped at random while on vacation. After 10 minutes the door to the cell opened and the fat jailor prodded them to follow him. Inbal had a nickname for the sadistic fat jailor and whispered to Zorik that she called him "Shamenchic" which could be translated as Fatso. Zorik barely managed not to chuckle as he knew that it would just enrage Fatso and lead to further abuse.

  ***

  They were led through a long corridor and passed several metal doors that were locked with a heavy metal bar that was placed across the steel door and secured on both sides. Almost all of the cells were occupied by people that were crying for God's mercy in Farsi and every now and then they could clearly hear the intimidating voice of an interrogator and occasionally the unmistaken whistle of a whip that was immediately followed by loud weeping. Zorik tried to whisper in Inbal's ears that some of the sounds were just recordings but the fat jailor shoved him away before he could get the message across. Inbal was obviously affected by the sounds and a look of apprehension crossed her face. They continued down the corridor until they reached a large cell that did not have a solid door but was surrounded by thick metal bars. Two armed guards were seated at a small table outside the cell and were drinking tea and chatting. Zorik noticed a leather whip studded with metal balls that lay beside the table. He could instantly tell that those inside the cell were obviously Israelis. None appeared to have open wounds or broken limbs and Zorik assumed that were also held as bargaining chips. Inbal looked at them and at the bars and remembered the time as a child when her parents took her to the zoo and how she pitied the poor animals in their cages. Now, she realized, she would be one of those inside the cage and had to exhibit self-control to avoid weeping. Fatso shouted something in Farsi and all the inmates cringed and turned to face the wall. When he was satisfied that no one was looking at him he drew a large key from his pocket and unlocked the cell door while the two guards stood up and took positions on both sides of the door.

  Fatso shoved Inbal and Zorik and they stumbled into the cell. Zorik held out his hand to stop Inbal from falling and said aloud, in Hebrew, that they were also Israelis. As soon as the cell door clicked closed the inmates that were facing the wall turned around, and inspected the newcomers for a long moment. The oldest prisoner who looked as if he was in his sixties said "Welcome aboard to the gates of hell."

  Zorik smiled and replied "Thanks for the welcome, but we prefer not to enter through these gates. I am Zorik Shemesh and this is my fiancée Inbal Sabatani".

  The old man said "I am Morris Aladgem" and pointing at a woman his age added "this is my wife, Vicki and we are from Bat-Yam". He then motioned to a couple that appeared to be in their late forties and said "These are Shulamit and Nate Levy and they are from Haifa. Those two young men are Ari and Avi who thought they would have a great time in Thailand after their three years army service and got this trip to Tehran as a bonus".

  All the inmates nodded in acknowledgement. Zorik asked them how long they had been in prison and how they there and each couple told their story.

  ***

  Chapter 4

  One month earlier, Morris and Vicki Aladgem in Antalia

  Morris and Vicki were enjoying their vacation in the touristic village of Kemer in Antalia, Turkey. They had purchased one of the luxury "all-inclusive" deals that offered a full week's vacation for the price of two nights with breakfast, if you were lucky, in a hotel in Paris, Rome or London. There were mostly German and Scandinavian tourists at the resort, but as almost everyone spoke a little English and this was the common language used by the staff and guests. Some of the staff had lived in Germany as guest-workers and spoke fluent German much to the delight of some of the German tourists whose English was very basic. There were few other Israelis at the resort so the Aladgem couple kept pretty much to themselves. At meal time, which was almost at every hour of the day and night, "all-inclusive" meant that you could eat and eat until you couldn't eat anymore, the couple sat a small table close to the large window that afforded a lovely view of the Mediterranean coast. In the late afternoon they would take a leisurely stroll along the beach, watch the sun set in the sea and then head back to the hotel for another sumptuous dinner. Soft drinks were included in the price but for alcohol there was an extra charge. Nevertheless, Morris and Vicki were utterly enjoying the vacation and every evening ordered a bottle of wine that helped maintain their good mood. However, after three or four days of overeating they became a little restless and went over to the front desk and asked if there were any special recreational activities offered by the hotel. The woman in charge of guest relations opened a brochure that offered a myriad of activities from organized tours of the old town and the famous necropolis nearby, to yacht trips, jeep tours in the mountains and bus tours along the shoreline. As Morris was looking at the brochure a colorful pamphlet displaying a hot air balloon caught his eye. He pointed to it and told Vicki that for years he had wanted to take a hot air balloon flight and frequently dreamt about it at night, and here they could do it for a very reasonable price. Vicki saw how excited he was and after enquiring about the safety of the flight agreed to be a little adventurous. They asked the woman to book them on a balloon flight and after making a phone call and speaking in rapid Turkish she told them that a taxi would pick them up at 6 am the next morning and that they should wear warm clothes. She explained that she was told that the hot air balloon could not fly in strong winds and that just after dawn, or before the sun set, the air was usually very still and conditions were ideal.

  At 6 am the next morning Morris and Vicki were excited and ready for the biggest adventure of their lifetime, although they didn't know how exciting it would actually be. The taxi arrived on time, which was quite unusual for that part of the world, and without a word the driver took them to the open area where a large balloon was spread out on the smooth ground. The balloon was much larger than they had imagined and very colorful – exactly as depicted in the pamphlet - and a young man was busy trying to inflate the balloon with a stream of air generated by a very large gasoline powered fan. As soon as the balloon started to inflate the young man directed the flame from powerful twin burners to heat the air in the balloon. While this was taking place another young man approached the couple, consulted a note in his hand and asked them if they were the Aladgem couple. When they confirmed that, he introduced himself as Azzuri and said he will be their pilot for today's flight. Morris introduced himself and his wife and asked Azzuri about the flight. The pilot explained that the flight usually lasted about 90 minutes, but the exact time depended upon finding a suitable landing spot. He then pointed at a wicker basket that stood upright near the balloon and said that it was suitable for five people, but that in today's flight only the three of them will occupy the basket so that they would be free to move around the basket once they were airborne. Vicki was a bit apprehensive when she saw the basket �
�� until then she only used wicker baskets as ornaments or for storing fruit. Morris was fascinated by the way the hot air filled the balloon and watched it rise slowly and majestically. The pilot told them to get inside the basket and connected the ropes between the basket and the upright balloon. The young man who turned out to be Azzuri's assistant held the basket while the pilot slowly turned on the flame on the twin burners. The assistant let go and the balloon with the two passengers and the pilot detached from the ground and started rising above the tops of the trees that surrounded the open space.

  The expression on Morris's face was of pure elation while Vicki was as still as a stone and she could only mumble a prayer. Azzuri told her that there was nothing to worry about, the balloon flights were safer than travelling by car and accidents rarely happened to experienced pilots. Morris suddenly realized that they were flying over the hills where there were no roads and asked the pilot how that would get back. Azzuri said that they wouldn't have to return to the point where they took off as his assistant will follow them in the pick-up truck to their landing spot and they would be in radio contact with him at all times. Morris looked down at the rough terrain and still worried but Azzuri assured him that they would land near a road that was accessible to the four-wheel drive truck. The pilot explained that the navigation of the balloon depended on the direction of the wind that varied at different heights. So by altering the height of the balloon they could find an air stream that would take them in the direction they wanted. Vicki overcame her initial fear and enjoyed the view and the feeling of being free like a bird in the silent sky. After all they had been in the air for over 30 minutes and the only sound was from the flame whenever Azzuri turned on the burners. Morris was enjoying the tranquil effortless feeling of floating through the air and looking down at the view of the hills, forests, streams and mountains with the Mediterranean on the horizon. Azzuri was very quiet and let the couple soak in the silence and enjoy the apparent freedom from Earth's gravity.

  After an hour Azzuri started to look at his GPS and kept searching for an air current that would take the balloon to the east. He saw a clearing and started venting the hot air out of the top flap of the balloon causing it to descend slowly. Once they could see the pick-up truck Azzuri increased the descent rate but every once in a while turned on the twin burners to avoid going down too fast. Finally the balloon was low enough and Azzuri threw a rope down and it was caught by his assistant on the ground. Three other men stepped out of the pick-up truck and also pulled down on the rope gently bringing the balloon to touch the ground. As Morris and Vicki got out of the wicker basket two of the men drew pistols and told the Israeli couple that they were their hostages. They exchanged a few words with Azzuri, and Morris recognized that they were not speaking Tuskish but some other language that he thought could be Farsi. One of the men handed Azzuri an envelope and Morris could see that it contained banknotes, probably US dollars by the look of it.

  The three men led their captives to a van with darkened windows that was parked under a bunch of trees. One of the men placed handcuffs on their hands and made them lie on the floor of the van. Vicki started sobbing in panic until the man who was evidently the leader told Morris in English to make her shut-up or else he would do it. Morris spoke softly to her in Hebrew and said that probably all they wanted was ransom money and that he would promise them to pay whatever they wanted for their release. The van headed north-east on a dirt road and soon after started climbing into the mountains on dirt roads until they got close to Konya. The leader introduced himself as Suleiman and said that they had a very long drive ahead of them. When Morris asked how far they had to go the answer was an impatient "very far". Morris said that money was not a problem, that he was a very rich man and that they would pay anything to be free and promised that they would not mention the whole episode to anyone. Suleiman just smiled and said that they were not after money but had bigger things in mind.

  The driver of the van said something in rapid Farsi (by now Morris was sure that was the language they were speaking) and pointed ahead. Morris could not see anything as he was lying prone on the floor of the van but a gag was placed on his mouth and on Vicki's mouth and an old rug was thrown over them. Morris could feel that the van hit a paved road and then came to a stop. He could hear an exchange of words in Turkish and guessed that they had reached a roadblock. A moment later the van was on the way once again and Suleiman sighed and said something in Farsi to his two buddies. Morris recognized the word "dollar" and surmised that they had to pay some dollars to the Turks manning the roadblock. Once they were a few kilometers from the roadblock, Suleiman bent down, removed the old rug and the gags. He said that if they behaved themselves they would be allowed out of the van to relieve themselves. As they approached the village of Aksaray the van stopped in a cluster of trees and one of the captors got out and surveyed the area and then signaled that all was clear. After the door opened and their handcuffs were removed Morris and Vicki slowly managed to get out of the van. Suleiman indicated that Vicki could step to the side of the van while all the men looked the other way. Morris appreciated the gesture of respect that they paid to the woman and said so. Suleiman was more relaxed now and promised again that no harm would come their way if they cooperated. Morris asked for some water and Suleiman pulled a bottle out of a cardboard box and offered it to the captives. Once again he said that they had a long drive ahead of them and this time he said that it would take them two or three days to reach their destination. Morris did a quick mental calculation and figured out that the distance from Antalia in western Turkey to Iran was over 2000 kilometers and considering the state of the roads and the busy traffic would take three days. At a suitable moment he whispered to Vicki that they were probably being taken to Iran. The bad news, he said, was that they probably would be held as hostages for negotiations and the good news was that their value depended on their being alive so they need not worry that the kidnappers would kill them.

  In the evening, when it got dark, they took a side road that led to a small village and stopped again to stretch their feet, eat some dry bread and cheese and drink water. Morris had chatted a little with Suleiman who appeared to be quite a nice guy whose country had sent him on a mission to kidnap Israeli citizens. Suleiman did not know why the Islamic Republic of Iran wanted Israelis, and like Morris, he assumed that they were to be held as hostages for bargaining of one sort or another. He said that they were quite close to Gaziantep, but Morris said that the only two places in Turkey that he recognized were Antalia and Istanbul. Suleiman said that would take a short nap and then continue towards Iran as travelling at night was faster on the narrow roads.

  They continued driving through most of the night, stopped for breakfast that pretty much depleted their meager food reserves and continued on their way east. They reached the outskirts of Saliurfa, a town that had a large Kurdish population that they wanted to avoid so they headed north-east towards Diyarbakir making sure to evade the large military base and airfield. By now Suleiman felt that Morris and Vicki wouldn't cause any trouble and allowed them to sit on the back seat rather than lie on the floor of the van. Morris asked where they were heading, saying that he knew that Iran was their final destination. Suleiman looked at him and nodded and then said that they wanted to avoid getting close to the Syrian and Iraqi borders and were therefore going on a slightly longer route that would take them a safe distance away from the conflict areas. He added that he was a bit concerned that Russian aircraft would mistakenly cross into Turkish airspace, as had already happened, and fighting could break out unexpectedly. He then mumbled something about the Kurds whose loyalty could change overnight from side to side and therefore they should get away from population centers.

  Vicki said that she needed her medication that kept her blood-pressure under control because she was feeling a little lethargic and Suleiman said that he would try to get something suitable at a pharmacy in the next town. Morris said that there was no need to han
dcuff and gag them and promised not to do anything that may risk their captors. Suleiman looked at the two of them and said something in Farsi to his two colleagues. The driver took the van through the main street of the small town and when they spotted a pharmacy stopped for a moment to let Suleiman out and then continued to the outskirts of the town. A few minutes later the driver's cell phone rang and he immediately turned the van back and picked up Suleiman near the place that he had dropped him off. Suleiman was holding a couple of plastic bags with groceries, bread and bottled water. As he entered the van he took a small box of tablets out of his pocket and handed it to Vicki who acknowledged it with a smile of gratitude.

  From Diyarbakir they continued north-east to Tatvan and stopped for the night on the shore of lake Van. The next morning they continued along the shore of the lake and turned to the south-east before the town of Van and travelled on secondary roads to Baskale and Yuksekova and to the border crossing at Esendere. Suleiman told Vicki and Morris to lie down on the floor of the van and once again threw the rug over them. The van passed over a couple of bumps and came to a stop. Morris heard a rapid exchange in Turkish and the unmistaken sound of money changing hands. Had Morris been able to look out of the window he would have seen the sign that said "Turkiye cumhuriyeti, Esendese Sinir Kapisi, Gule Gule – Goodbye". The van continued for a very short distance, stopped again and now Morris heard an exchange of some words in Farsi. The sign in English announced "Welcome to the Islamic Republic of Iran" and probably said the same in Farsi and Turkish.

  Suleiman and his people relaxed noticeably and they all started singing and clapping. He said that they had just entered Iran near the town of Urmia and from there they would pass through Tabriz. He estimated that it would take about 7 hours on the highway through Zanjan and Karaj to Tehran. Morris asked him what would happen once they reached Tehran and Suleiman said that they would be held in captivity but no harm would come to them.