AGENT OF
VENGEANCE
By Scott M. Neuman
Copyright ©2019 by Scott M. Neuman. All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.
1
The ominous night sky almost seemed to reach down and touch the Wailing Wall as the Jews of the City of David trembled in silence. The State of Israel was on a level five security alert, meaning imminent war, and Jerusalem had become a ghost town. Many of its residents had already been called up for reserve duty in the Israel Defense Forces, and the remainder were huddling in bomb shelters, awaiting the unknown. Mishmar Hagavul, Israel’s Border Police, was vigilant in keeping the hostiles among the Arab population inside under a strict curfew. Not one soul could be seen among the ancient streets and corridors of the Old City.
A feeling of doom had swept over the city. The midnight deadline was drawing closer. In a land famous for its prophets, no one could predict what would happen after the clock struck twelve. The following twenty-four hours had been given a name in the spirit of the Bible: Armageddon Day.
Nervous mothers, young children, and elderly grandparents whispered to each other in the darkness. Their statements of comfort echoed the old phrases that had often been used on the eve of countless tragic events in Jewish history. “Everything will be just fine.” “Surely God will protect us.” “Do not fear, the Messiah is about to arrive.” “We Jews have always outlived our enemies.”
Strangely, there was no mention of disaster. However, in their hearts they knew that there was only one logical outcome: the complete annihilation of their beloved country. Every citizen of Israel, save one, was sure that the day would end in a terrible holocaust which would end the dream of the modern State of Israel.
The one citizen that knew better was the Prime Minister. The leader of the nation of the Jews that night was making a very different prediction: “Israel will not only survive, but will be victorious against all odds.”
This Prime Minister knew that God’s chosen people would not suffer. The leader of the Jewish nation was holding a key that would open up the gates of Hell. This key was to be used only when it was determined that there was no other option to protect the People of Israel. Now, Israel’s enemies were gathered at the border and waiting to attack without mercy. The Prime Minister understood that Israel had no choice but to do to these invaders what they were planning to do to the Jewish people.
A single low-watt bulb suspended by a twisted black electric cord was the only source of light in Shelter R-4. The bulb cast long shadows as it slowly swayed above an aging olive-green metal utility desk with a lone black rotary phone and 1950s era swivel chair. The shelter was located over one hundred feet below Israel’s parliament building, the Knesset. With its Brutalist rectangular shape, concrete and stone construction, and narrow slits for windows, the Knesset resembled a giant military pillbox. It had been designed to be the most secure building in the world. Its security system was so elaborate that experts had deemed it better protected than the U.S. gold reserves at Fort Knox.
Shelter R-4 was small, just twelve by fourteen feet, and only minimally furnished. There was only one entrance, on the east wall, a four-inch-thick door made of solid steel. It was opened by way of a unique cylindrical key that was passed directly from each outgoing Prime Minister to the incoming Prime Minister. There was no other copy of this key. Every Prime Minister was required to wear the key around his or her neck twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year.
Located along the north wall was a metal cot with a thin blue foam mattress. There was no sheet. A striped pillow without a case was laying on the bed along with a gray wool army-issue blanket. Along the south wall rested two steel boxes of different sizes. From the larger box one could barely hear the low humming of a machine. An electrical cord connected the machine within the box to a special generator which was designed to provide a practically indefinite source of electricity. The Prime Minister felt chills looking at this box, which emanated a foreboding aura. It contained, in a concrete sense, the essence of evil.
This was the first time the Prime Minister had entered R-4. In fact, none of Israel’s Prime Ministers had ever entered the room. The leader of the Jewish nation, who had been a combat soldier and fought courageously in more than one war, had been overcome by a feeling of dread upon entering. It was time to make a decision that would affect millions of lives and alter the course of history, and the clock was ticking.
The Prime Minister reflected on the course of events that had led to the need to open Shelter R-4. Less than a year ago, the Supreme Leader of Iran, the Grand Ayatollah, stunned the world by announcing that his county had completed a multi-billion-dollar project to replace the United Nations. He called the complex the “New United Nations.” This action, the result of a pact to undermine U.S. dominance in world affairs, was secretly backed by Russia and China. In less than a week, nearly every country in the world withdrew from the U.N. The only countries that remained were the United States, England, France, Australia, Brazil, Chad, Fiji, Canada and Israel.
One hundred and eighty-five countries gathered in Teheran a month later for the inauguration of the New United Nations. After a lavish opening-day ceremony, the first meeting was held. At the top of the legislative agenda was “Liberation Resolution One: A Permanent Solution to the Palestinian Problem.” A working committee formed earlier in the month, made up of delegates from Libya, Syria, Iran, South Yemen, and chaired by a Palestinian Arab who was referred to as the Ambassador from Canaan, had created the proposal. The resolution stated that Israel would be ordered to dismantle its government and military forces and surrender its sovereignty to the New United Nations. This body would then install a new government made up solely of Palestinians and a new country called Canaan would take its place among the nations of the world.
Liberation Resolution One was unanimously approved by both the General Assembly and the Security Council. To implement the resolution, the Security Council ordered the formation of a multinational force so overwhelming that the Jewish State would have no alternative but to submit to its will. In the event that the State of Israel refused to disband its government and open its borders to the army, it would be subject to invasion in which every one of its citizens, regardless of age or gender, would be declared a hostile combatant and eligible for summary execution under the rules of the New Geneva Convention. The Grand Ayatollah called this strategy “the Ultimatum.”
Over the past few weeks, the largest army in the history of the world, comprising over forty million soldiers representing most of the nations on Earth, were deployed along Israel’s 624 miles of borders adjoining Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt. In the Mediterranean and the Red Sea a massive naval force which included over a thousand warships were waiting to unleash a barrage of cannon and missile fire on the tiny county. In airfields located in the Sinai Peninsula, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Jordan, a combined air force consisting of well over 40,000 jet fighters and bombers readied for the coming air strikes. At 22.00 Greenwich Mean Time, midnight Israel time, the multinational military force flying under the flag of the New United Nations would invade the State of Israel.
Earlier in the day, the President of the United States had called the Prime Minister of Israel to apologize that all diplomatic efforts including threats of sanctions had failed. The President sincerely expressed his dismay and confusion on how to respond in a world where insanity seemed to reign supreme as the forces of darkness had taken over much of the planet.
The President surprisingly offered the services of the United States Ra
pid Deployment Force to stand in solidarity with Israel. The force consisted of two airborne divisions that could be fully deployed in Israel in less than eight hours. CIA analysts predicted that the invasion would last less than two days. Therefore, these two divisions were the only support that the United States could offer in such a time frame. Moreover, the President’s power was limited without Congress voting to declare war on practically the entire world.
The Prime Minister thanked the President for this true offer of friendship, but told him in no uncertain terms that modern-day Israel has never asked another county to defend it, and even now, in the face of insurmountable odds, Israel preferred to handle the situation alone. “Besides,” the Prime Minister added, “two divisions, more or less, would not change the course of events.”
What the Prime Minister did not discuss with the President was the dramatic recommendation made by the Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces earlier in the day. After delivering a lengthy report regarding Israel’s ability to defend itself against a massive multinational force, he had concluded: “That there is no possibility that our military, neither alone, nor combined with others sympathetic to our plight, can repel an attack of the magnitude that will be delivered by the so-called New United Nations Freedom Expeditionary Force. Therefore, with no other options or alternatives, it is recommended that the Prime Minister implement the “Fletcher Option.”
Surprisingly, the Chief of Staff had no idea what the Fletcher Option was or what it entailed. He knew that it was connected to the legendary American hero, Ronald Fletcher, who was affectionately referred to in Israel as the “Gentile Giant.” Fletcher had been awarded Israel’s most distinguished medal for bravery. This military option was referred to only in a single directive called “Ain Brierah,” meaning “no choice.”
The directive dated back several years. It listed the conditions necessary for the Chief of Staff to recommend implementation of the Fletcher Option. It was clear from the directive that its use could open a Pandora’s box that might result in a worldwide apocalypse. But now Israel was truly facing the Armageddon.
After speaking with President, the Prime Minister descended to Shelter R-4, opened the special lock, and approached the smaller of the two boxes. Pulling open the box’s front panel revealed a keypad. Every Prime Minister since the institution of the Fletcher Option had been required upon taking office to memorize the 48 numbers needed to open the smaller box. Strangely, the larger box had no keyhole, no panel, and no keypad. It was as if the contents had been sealed forever.
Inside the smaller box was a thick file, which the Prime Minister placed on the green utility desk and began to read. The file began with a brief chapter called “Introduction to the Fletcher Option.” This chapter explained how the Fletcher Option came into existence and Ronald Fletcher’s role in its creation. Reading the introduction brought back old memories of the Prime Minister’s own personal relationship with Ronald Fletcher, and the role the leader of the nation of Israel personally played in the development of the protocol about to be implemented.
Following the introduction was the bulk of the file, which detailed over two hundred possible scenarios Israel might face and ways the Fletcher Option might be utilized. The Prime Minister scrutinized every option to determine which one contained the best solution to Israel’s crisis. Finally, the Prime Minister selected Protocol XXVII, which described a scenario eerily similar to that which that Israel was facing and a strategic response that could be implemented.
Now that the decision was made, the Prime Minister opened the heavy steel door of Shelter R-4 and walked slowly down the long hall to a room labeled “Tactical Operations.” Inside was a brightly lit command center containing all the equipment necessary to execute any of the protocols detailed in the Fletcher Option. The Prime Minister handed the selected protocol to the lone soldier in the room, who immediately set about carrying out its detailed instructions.
The Prime Minister then returned to Shelter R-4 and sat down on the cot. With eyes closed, the Prime Minister thought about the significance of handing such a file to an ordinary soldier and the catastrophic consequences that would soon be unleashed. Then the Prime Minister smiled, remembering Ronald Fletcher and the events that took place years ago, and warm memories slowly replaced the cold reality of Israel’s current crisis and the burdens of leadership and responsibility.
2
Herr Professor Werner Broder was a perfectionist par excellence. He had been working on the same experiment since the end of World War II. Every day, without a moment’s break, he would spend fourteen straight hours in his laboratory. Broder had not taken a vacation in years. He was living up to his pledge not to rest until the program he had created would end in success.
Physically, Broder reminded his colleagues of a small, mole-like creature not accustomed to life above ground. His oval face and completely bald head were accentuated by thick, wire-rimmed glasses. It was often joked that Broder was wearing two of his microscopes. He had no discernible neck to separate between his head and his short, chubby body. He also only had one outfit: an ancient lab coat, long turned gray, which appeared as if it had not been sent to the laundry in decades. Broder’s assistants would whisper that with his disheveled appearance he would eventually be mistaken for one of the Jewish subjects of his laboratory experiments.
Broder had only one project on his agenda. All his efforts were directed toward developing a stable delivery system for a certain deadly biological agent. For years he had slowly and methodically tried to solve the last step holding him back. Overcoming this obstacle was his only goal in life.
Broder carefully noted in lab book 3328 on the “Strain Program” that experiment 738,065 had been a failure. He took it in stride. After all these years, Broder had begun to anticipate failure. However, he still felt that he would eventually find the solution.
“Luck plays no role in scientific research,” he often lectured his assistants, “and only strict adherence to the rules of experimentation can produce positive results.”
During the final stages of World War II, Adolf Hitler spoke passionately of miracle weapons in development that would save Germany. The Allies thought that he was referring to V2 rockets or nuclear weapons. However, after the war, the Allies searched in vain for signs of the revolutionary military technology that they were sure Germany had been pursuing. Instead they found a half-hearted attempt by a poorly staffed and inadequately funded research facility that had barely succeeded in completing the initial steps needed to construct an atomic device.
Broder, however, knew the Fuhrer had been referring to a weapon of an entirely different nature. He understood why so little of Germany’s vast resources were directed to the production of an atomic bomb. The reason was simple: all scientific efforts had been focused exclusively on the Strain Program. Both Adolf Hitler and Werner Broder agreed that the Strain was the most powerful weapon ever conceived.
Werner, a solitary man in his youth, had reacted with uncharacteristic enthusiasm when Hitler became the head of the Nazi Party. In fact, he idolized Hitler. Broder had the distinction of being the first faculty member at the University of Berlin to join the Nazi Party. Universally recognized as a brilliant scientist, he became a full professor of microbiology at the age of thirty. However, no matter how busy he was in his lab, Broder was always among the first in line to hear Hitler speak. He saw in Hitler a strong leader capable of reclaiming the lost glory of Germany.
Werner’s fondest memory was his first private meeting with the Fuhrer. “Speak up, don’t be bashful!” Hitler said, with a warm smile on his face. “I have been told that you have some information you will only tell me.”
Broder was standing in front of Hitler’s large mahogany desk. The year was 1944. Werner was visibly trembling. Last week, in the National Biological Research Center in Munich, Werner came upon a discovery so startling that he insisted on reporting it directly to Adolf Hitler. After much debate among Broder’s super
iors, following Werner’s persistent refusals to discuss his finding with anyone other than the Fuhrer, it was decided to allow Werner to, in their words, to “hang himself.”
Though Martin Bormann, Hitler’s personal secretary, was initially skeptical, he eventually consented to allow the meeting given Broder’s long history with the Nazi Party. He scheduled Broder four minutes to speak with Hitler.
Entering Hitler’s office, Werner was beyond himself. “My Fuhrer, I am a specialist in microbiology. For the past week I have been analyzing soil samples from an open gravesite at the extermination camp Treblinka. About ten days ago, all the Jewish laborers and two camp guards assigned to a marked-off area suddenly died of an unknown cause. Normally, this would be a matter of little consequence at Treblinka. However, two facts caused the camp authorities to call our center for assistance. First, they died suddenly. None showed any signs of any illness prior to their demise. Second, and more importantly, the report stated that after their sudden deaths, their skin and bone tissues broke down within minutes, turning the bodies into dust.
“Of course, when I reviewed the report, I must say that I did not believe it. As far as I know, such a phenomenon has never been described in any scientific journal. So I decided that I must go to the site personally to investigate. When I arrived, I told the Commandant of the camp that I would like to observe what had been reported. He ordered twenty Jewish inmates into the cordoned-off area. Before my eyes they all died almost instantaneously, just as the report described! All that remained was a gray, dust-like material.
“For the past week I have been running tests on the soil samples on site using our field laboratory, with Jewish inmates from the camp as the subjects. This agent is different in structure than any other known to science. It is unable to replicate outside of a host like a virus, but it does not seem to be affected by any substance known to kill viruses. It is also unusually resistant to heat, and continues to be lethal even when heated to extreme temperatures. It is also quite unusual in that it only affects humans and causes no harm to any animal or plant species. This agent is by far the most lethal substance I have ever come across. I call it the ‘Strain.’
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