The Peace Killers

by Ty Patterson

  Voices started speaking at once. Maybe they already had been, but the sounds registered on him only then.

  Beth helped him up and held a hand around his shoulder as he swayed.

  ‘Is anyone—’

  ‘Not a single one. But for you.’

  Levin came across to them, his face like thunder. He looked down at Eliel with distaste. ‘I—’

  Someone yelled incoherently at the door.

  Navon stood there, alive somehow, his body shredded, his face torn away, just one eye blinking at them.

  He brought his M16 up slowly.

  Zeb shoved Beth out of the way. He drew his Glock up but he knew he was slow.

  A sharp report sounded and the kidon collapsed.

  He looked around dumbly. Avichai Levin was holstering his weapon calmly.

  He caught Zeb’s eye.

  ‘I am Mossad’s ramsad. I haven’t forgotten how to shoot.’

  Chapter Sixty-Four

  Jerusalem

  Eleven days after Assassinations

  The day of the Announcement

  * * *

  Beit Aghion, Morning

  * * *

  Prime Minister Yago Cantor’s official residence was buzzing with activity. A small army of television vans and journalists from all over the world had gathered outside, pointing their long-range lenses at the house. They badgered the prime minister’s spokesman every now and then. They wanted more details on the announcement. They wished to know who was attending.

  The woman in question, an old hand at the game, tapped her watch. ‘Five pm. It’s not long now. Surely, you can wait till then.’

  They didn’t want to, but neither was she budging from her position.

  Inside the residence, a high-powered meeting was taking place. The prime minister was with several of his cabinet ministers and a few other select attendees. To his right was Alice Monash; Spiro, Levitsky, Shoshon and Levin were to his left.

  Their positioning wasn’t lost on anyone, especially those representing the dissident coalition parties.

  Cantor ran through several items of business rapidly. The announcement, which he and Baruti would be making jointly. ‘I have the speech ready. You have copies in the folders in front of you.’

  Papers shuffled. Heads bowed and read the speech. Zeev looked up, as did Haber.

  ‘Nothing will be changed,’ the prime minister told them grimly.

  ‘This won’t go down well with our parties,’ Haber huffed.

  ‘I know.’

  ‘There will be riots—’

  ‘Are you threatening me, Jaedon?’

  ‘No, Yago. I am reminding you of what the country thinks. It is not too late to change your mind. You and Baruti can still go up there and make bland announcements. You won’t lose face. In fact, the majority of the people, the world, expects to hear just that.’

  ‘Thank you for your advice.’ Cantor didn’t bother to hide his sarcasm. ‘I know what some parts of the country think. I know what the other parts think as well, and also what everyone else in the world feels. I didn’t come to this initiative just like that. I spoke to people up and down the country. Even in Palestine. I listened to world leaders—’

  ‘You and Baruti. You are just after personal glory. Like the Nobel Peace Prize.’

  He startled when Cantor did his palm-slamming trick.

  ‘Enough,’ the prime minister thundered. ‘Say no more. I have listened to your concerns, to Zeev’s and the other parties who share your belief. This is the course Israel will take. Nothing will stop it, even though enough people have tried, already.’

  He cast a meaningful glance at the people sitting at the back, in a line of chairs against the wall. Zeb, Beth, Meghan, Shoshon, Spiro and Levitsky’s aides.

  ‘Now, about the foreign leaders.’ Cantor bent back to his papers. ‘President Baruti is already in the city. Security arrangements?’

  ‘All in place, Yago. A fly can’t enter Jerusalem without us knowing about it,’ Levitsky said confidently.

  And this time, Cantor knew, it was the truth.

  He went through his agenda rapidly. He had a full day ahead and wished to get the small details out of the way.

  ‘Stay back, please,’ he told Levin an hour later, after wrapping up. ‘You too, Alice, your aides and Brown.’

  ‘How are you, Zeb?’ he eyed the American keenly, noting the cuts on his face. Levin had briefed him fully the previous day, as had Moshe Abhyan. Cantor knew what had gone down and how.

  He had made an executive decision, using some of his powers. The showdown in the IDF base would never be made public. Only Levitsky, Spiro and Shoshon were to know. They had agreed with his decision. As far as the Israeli populace and the wider world was concerned, the EQB was behind the first two attacks, and that’s how the story would continue to be reported.

  Even the Iranian involvement was known to just a handful of people and wouldn’t be disclosed to the rest of the cabinet.

  ‘I am fine, sir.’

  ‘You don’t look it.’

  ‘Shortage of sleep, sir. Nothing more.’

  ‘Any other findings?’ he asked Levin.

  ‘We have filled many of the gaps, Prime Minister. Eliel and Navon were acting alone. They had an apartment in Ein Kerem. We are still going through it, but I am confident we found our traitors.’

  ‘Tousi?’

  ‘There’s conclusive proof that he was the mastermind. We don’t know how long the kidon were working with him. We are still investigating, sir—’

  ‘Yes, I know. Time. Besides, almost every government resource is mobilized for today.’

  ‘Yes, sir.’

  ‘We will deal with the Iranians later.’ He went to his file and brought out three ribbons, something shiny dangling at the end of each.

  ‘Zeb—’

  ‘Sir, I can’t accept that.’

  Prime Minister Yago Cantor stiffened. ‘Zeb Carter, I am the elected leader of Israel. This is an honor that I am privileged to bestow on you and Beth and Meghan Petersen.’

  ‘There is no honor, sir.’ Zeb’s face was wooden, his hands straight at his sides as if he was on a parade ground. ‘I failed. I was taken in by Eliel and Navon. There were many opportunities for me to identify them. I was blind to all. A simple matter, like checking in Haifa—.’

  ‘I checked that,’ Levin interrupted him. ‘The police checked that. Eliel was smart. His foster mother is ill, but not as critical as he made out to be. We all failed to follow up on her prognosis. You can’t blame yourself.’

  ‘I still can’t accept that,’ Zeb replied stubbornly.

  Cantor was lost for words. A flat-out refusal to accept an award wasn’t something he had experienced.

  ‘Sir, there are three people I know who deserve those,’ Zeb made a face-saving offer. ‘Two of them are Avichai’s kidon. Carmel and Dalia. They pointed me in the right direction in the first place. They helped me when they didn’t need to. The third is Colonel Moshe Abhyan. But for his planning, the body count would have been much higher at the Galaxy and the base.’

  ‘Avichai—’ the prime minister accepted Zeb’s suggestion.

  ‘I will make arrangements, sir. I will bring them to you once we are done with today.’

  Cantor put the medals back in his file and returned to his visitors.

  ‘You won’t accept that, but you will take this,’ and with that, he grabbed Zeb, embraced him and thumped him on his back.

  He did the same for the sisters, who looked dazed and couldn’t stop smiling.

  ‘You are friends of Israel. Anytime you need anything, any help the country can provide, give me a call. Even when I am no longer prime minister.’

  He glanced at his watch. ‘You are coming to the announcement?’

  ‘They are, sir,’ Levin answered. ‘Front row. There’s something, sir …’ He reached into his jacket pocket and handed over a letter to the prime minister.

  He stood stiffly while Cantor read it.
The leader broke off, glanced at his impassive face and went back to reading.

  ‘You have a way with words, Avichai,’ he folded it and tapped it against his thigh. ‘It’s his resignation,’ he explained to the others.

  The sisters gasped and looked at the ramsad in shock.

  ‘Zeb didn’t fail, sir. I did,’ Levin said woodenly. ‘I had traitors in Mossad. I don’t know how much damage they have done to my organization. Every mission, every kidon, might be compromised.’

  ‘I know.’ The prime minister tore the letter to shreds and dropped them in a trash bin. ‘You have a lot of work to do. Go, do it.’

  ‘Sir—’

  ‘Avichai, there’s not a single intelligence agency in the world that hasn’t had traitors at some point. I know how you feel. But you aren’t going anywhere. You are the best director the Mossad has had in a long while. I am not letting you go.’

  ‘But—’

  ‘Enough, Avichai. There will be no more discussion on this.’

  ‘Sir, you said I was the best director.’

  ‘In some time, yes.’

  ‘About my salary, sir—’

  ‘Go, Avichai. I want to spend a few minutes with the ambassador.’

  Avichai went, taking Zeb and the sisters with him.

  The prime minister and Alice Monash shared a laugh when they were alone, and then the leader took her by the elbow. ‘Come. There’s someone you should meet.’

  He led her to the next room, where a single person was waiting.

  President Ziyan Baruti.

  Chapter Sixty-Five

  Jerusalem

  Eleven days after Assassinations

  The day of the Announcement

  * * *

  Beit Aghion, Morning

  * * *

  ‘President Baruti, what a surprise!’ Alice Monash hugged him. ‘Yago is playing his cards very close to his chest. He didn’t say you were here.’

  ‘Ziyan,’ Cantor looked the Palestinian up and down. ‘You are looking good.’

  ‘If I can’t look good today, when will I?’

  The prime minister took out their speeches and handed one to Baruti. ‘Here’s yours. All changes incorporated, as we agreed.’

  He waited for the Palestinian to finish reading, then handed over another sheet. ‘And that’s mine.’

  ‘This won’t be easy, Yago. I can see a lot of troubles for both of us ahead.’

  ‘I know, my friend. But this is the right step. It is the seed.’

  ‘You two,’ Alice Monash beamed at them. ‘You should be proud of yourselves. I never thought I would see this happen, not in my lifetime.’

  ‘Which is our cue,’ Cantor winked at Baruti. ‘Madam Ambassador,’ he addressed her formally and drew out a medal. ‘It gives me the greatest pleasure to make you an honorary citizen of the State of Israel. And, unlike Zeb, you can’t say no,’ he chortled as he placed it around her neck.

  ‘Madam Ambassador,’ Baruti quickly followed, and draped another medal around her neck. ‘You are now an honorary citizen of the State of Palestine.’

  Alice Monash was dumbstruck. ‘I ...’ she wiped tears from her eyes. ‘I can’t thank you enough.’

  ‘No, it’s we who should thank you,’ Cantor rumbled. ‘It was your tireless effort. You bullied us into pursuing this idea when we both almost gave up. But for your efforts, today wouldn’t have happened.’

  He looked up when there was a knock on the door and an aide poked his head in.

  ‘Sir—’

  ‘Go,’ Alice Monash pushed him. ‘I will be here with President Baruti.’

  * * *

  Teddy Stadium, Jerusalem

  Evening

  * * *

  Avichai Levin picked up Zeb, Beth and Meghan from the American embassy. He was insistent on it.

  ‘You’ll come with me,’ he said. ‘No one else. Not even your embassy vehicle.’

  Zeb knew where the stadium, the venue for the announcement, was located. It was near Malha train station and was home to four soccer teams in the city. It had a capacity of just over thirty thousand and, judging by the traffic on the roads, was going to be packed.

  There was a strong military presence on every street. Choppers and drones flew overhead. Bomb squads and sniffer dogs routinely stopped cars and inspected bags and personal belongings.

  ‘Wow,’ Beth breathed, ‘I have never seen security like this.’

  ‘The prime minister of Britain, the president of France, the chancellor of Germany, they are all here,’ Levin said proudly. ‘Leaders of most of the G20 are here.’

  ‘President Morgan as well?’ Meghan asked in surprise.

  ‘No,’ Levin met Zeb’s eyes in the mirror. ‘Not him.’

  ‘Avichai,’ Zeb leaned forward. ‘This isn’t the way to the stadium.’

  ‘We are going to my office first.’

  ‘Your office is in—’

  ‘That isn’t the only office I have,’ the ramsad frowned. ‘You Americans think you know everything about Mossad. You don’t!’

  ‘What are we doing there, anyway? Won’t we be late?’ Meghan glanced at her watch.

  ‘We won’t,’ Levin said comfortably, and refused to answer any more questions.

  * * *

  ‘Eyes down,’ he joked when they strode down a corridor, past work stations and cubicles. A few women and men greeted him, and he responded.

  ‘It wouldn’t surprise me if you two,’ he mock-glared at the sisters, ‘recorded everything as you entered my office.’

  He led them inside a glass-walled office, kept them standing while he went around his desk.

  He pulled open a drawer and pulled out something that shined.

  He came back toward them, three ribboned medals in his hand.

  ‘You are honorary kidon, now,’ he told them simply, as Beth gasped.

  He draped the awards around the sisters’ necks and, when he came to Zeb, he drew out his Glock.

  ‘It’s that,’ he pointed at the medal, ‘or a bullet. That’s the Mossad way.’

  * * *

  The stadium was bursting at its seams when they arrived. They were stopped several times, their vehicle inspected—and the twins’ bags—despite Levin’s security clearances.

  The ramsad had promised front-row seats, and he delivered.

  On each side of them were rows of foreign dignitaries. Zeb scanned the crowd behind them. As many foreign attendees as Israelis.

  He counted four choppers in the sky and spotted several more drones.

  ‘The city is closed to private air traffic,’ Levin murmured. ‘There’s a shoot-first policy in the air, and on the ground as well. Snipers everywhere. Stadium’s been inspected maybe hundreds of times. Nothing untoward will happen tonight.’

  Nothing did.

  A joint Israeli and Palestinian cultural performance began at five pm.

  Meghan nudged Zeb. ‘Is this going where I think it is?’

  ‘I have no idea what you mean,’ he lied smoothly.

  She looked at him suspiciously and then turned to the stage, caught up in the excitement.

  At six pm, the lights dimmed. A solitary spotlight illuminated the stage.

  Prime Minister Yago Cantor stepped out from behind a curtain, to wild applause. He greeted the crowd and waited for the audience to quiet down.

  ‘Ten days back, President Ziyan Baruti,’ the curtain parted and the Palestinian leader joined him, ‘promised you something special. An announcement.’

  ‘You will be aware,’ Baruti took over, ‘that teams from both our countries have been working on something. A peace treaty.’

  The crowd cheered wildly.

  ‘Such treaties take a long time. Months. What we have today is a very basic outline. The basis for further talks.’

  ‘I promise you,’ Ambassador Alice Monash appeared on the stage and took the mic, to thunderous clapping, ‘that what the two countries have agreed will …’

  Motion down the line of seated
attendees caught Zeb’s attention. He tuned out from the proceedings on stage and looked to his left.

  Major General Zarab Tousi, in dress uniform, was taking his seat. He sensed Zeb’s stare and looked their way.

  Zeb didn’t know what came over him. He didn’t know if the Iranian knew him; it didn’t matter, in any case. He winked slowly, deliberately, and smiled unpleasantly when Tousi stiffened.

  Levin caught the byplay. ‘He’s mine,’ he growled softly. ‘Stay away from him.’

  ‘Only if you promise to act soon.’

  ‘I will.’

  ‘What have I missed?’ Zeb turned to the stage.

  ‘Nothing much. The ambassador set the scene for someone else.’

  There was an expectant hush from the crowd as Alice Monash rearranged herself to stand to Cantor’s right. The curtain rippled. It parted to reveal a figure.

  Thirty-one thousand people roared when President William Morgan strode toward the dais.

  ‘You said—’ Meghan looked accusingly at Levin.

  ‘He’s Mossad,’ Zeb deadpanned. ‘They are the world’s best liars.’

  The president greeted the crowd in Hebrew and then in Arabic and held a hand up to quiet the rapturous ovation.

  He took Cantor’s left hand and raised it to the sky. ‘The United States has always stood by Israel. It always will.’

  The audience couldn’t contain itself. Thousands got to their feet and cheered.

  The president then took Baruti’s right hand and raised it, too.

  ‘From this day onwards, the United States will always stand by Palestine.’

  The sound that erupted was deafening. Zeb looked about him. Several people had tears in their eyes. The leaders of the G20 had risen and were clapping continually.

  Prime Minister Yago Cantor took the mic. He waited for the crowd to quiet. ‘On this day and from now on, the State of Israel recognizes the State of Palestine and the rights of the Palestinian people to have their country.’