by Uzi Eilam
“And what are you doing about it?”
“Dan’s team has been reinforced by American cyber experts as well as by Yonatan, the expert hacker from the Military Intelligence Directorate who’s helped us before. They’ve been assigned two top-priority tasks. We want to pinpoint the exact location of the bomb. This would allow us to take the required safety measures in the extreme eventuality that Nimer activates it. The second task, equally sensitive and important, is figuring out the bomb’s activation code, and mainly its deactivation code. Nimer was boasting that we won’t be able to uncover his deactivation code, and I’m sure he’s whipped up something sophisticated that will make it very difficult for us.”
“We’ve heard plenty of assessments about terrorist organizations’ intentions of using a dirty bomb,” Nahari noted. “We’ve explored various scenarios of that threat being realized. Is this the first time we’re dealing with a genuine threat?”
“Radioactive contamination in the heart of Tel Aviv might harm a lot of people,” Binyamin assessed. “We have to notify IDF’s Home Front Command and also involve the Israel Atomic Energy Commission’s Nuclear Safety Department.”
“That’s true, Binyamin, but we can’t incite panic. That’s exactly what the terrorist organizations are trying to achieve. I’m sure Nimer was aware of that possibility,” Gideon noted. “Even if we fail at locating and neutralizing the bomb, there will be enough time to assess the extent of the contamination and the level of radiation. It is true that people might be exposed to radiation, but the danger is only in the area where high levels of radiation are measured. In that area, we’ll have to evacuate all soldiers and civilians for the interval required to decontaminate the area from radioactive dust.”
“You’re right. I accept your assessments, Gideon,” Nahari declared. “We have to prepare for the worst, but we are not there yet. Binyamin will update the heads of the Home Front Command and the Atomic Energy Commission, emphasizing that they should take care not to cause panic. I definitely agree with the direction Dan’s expanded team is taking. Gideon, I’d also inform the director of the Shin Bet, and ask them for information that will help locate the site where the bomb was concealed.”
Dan’s “war room” was packed with people, yet was quiet, with only the clicking of fingers on keyboards filling the air. Occasionally, brief syllables were tossed out to confirm a move or a search direction. Gideon suggested to Dan that he relocate the work on cracking the codes to Gideon’s office at the bureau, thus allowing them to work at their leisure and enabling Gideon to join in as well.
“Dan, what do we know about the location of the bomb?” Gideon asked when Dan and Noam had settled down in his office. “Are there any results after three hours of work?”
“We have narrowed down the potential area, and are now focusing on a group of houses left behind from the period preceding World War Two, when the Germans were settled in Sarona,” Yonatan, MID’s cyber-whiz, replied. “You’re not going to believe it, Gideon, but Nimer and the people helping him got in touch with the second generation of Germans who had lived in Sarona. We uncovered that connection in a special Big Data scan that revealed a conversation conducted by Nimer in German with someone from Berlin. We assume the German heirs provided Nimer with engineering details regarding the houses where members of the German Templer21 colony were living. These heirs haven’t forgotten that their parents were arrested and deported from Palestine in the beginning of World War Two. Therefore, we’ve narrowed the search down to the houses where the Templers once lived.”
“That’s encouraging progress,” Dan added.
“It is encouraging progress, Dan, and at this point I should note that there’s some fear that Nimer also booby-trapped the bomb device and the explosives attached to it. We have to assume he installed some sort of sophisticated snare there. That requires extra caution during the search. But what’s happening with the codes? Do you have a lead?”
“No, Gideon. Unfortunately, every direction we’ve tried in our Big Data searches has led to a dead end. We’ve focused on searching for the four-letter code that’s required in order to prevent use of the device by strangers. We have to take care not to try too many codes that seem promising. There’s a risk of system lockdown when you input a wrong code. Another danger is activation of the bomb if, perish the thought, you input too many wrong codes.”
Gideon was called in for a meeting with Nahari, who had convened the heads of the Home Front Command, as well as the scientists of the Atomic Energy Commission. Nahari asked for updates regarding preparations for the potential activation of the dirty bomb. The commander of the Front Home Command recommended against notifying the public or bringing up the topic of gas masks. However, he raised the alert level among the full-time staff of the Front Home Command. The head of the Nuclear Safety Division reported declaring a state of alert among the radiation monitoring crews working from the Soreq Nuclear Research Center. In response to Nahari’s request, Gideon summarized the progress, still quite minor, in the activity of Dan’s teams. Nahari concluded the meeting by expressing his hope that the cyber and Big Data teams headed by Dan would succeed in uncovering the information that would prevent Nimer from setting off the bomb.
It was already early in the morning when Gideon returned to his office and found Dan, Yonatan and Noam immersed in ongoing analysis of the information produced by the Big Data system. Coffee cups and the remains of sandwiches testified to their continuous efforts to crack the elusive code.
“I understand that we still can’t produce any ‘white smoke’ to signal the discovery of the code?” Gideon half-asked, half-stated.
“Indeed, and that was after many hours of scanning the possibilities with the new algorithm, the smartest we’ve developed yet. The sleepless night has yet to bear any news…” Dan sighed.
“The conversation with Nimer and his sister and son will take place in three hours,” Gideon reminded them. “It would be great if we could hold the key to both mysteries, the location and the code, by then. I’ll leave you alone, and try to nap for a bit.”
“Hold on, Dad, stop!” Noam called out. “Before you leave, I would like to try another direction, and you’re the only one who can lead us there.”
“I’m willing to try, Noam. What are you thinking?” Gideon replied, noticing that Dan and Yonatan had straightened in their seats, looking at Noam in expectation.
“The code we’re looking for has to be related to something with personal significance to Nimer,” Noam explained. “It has to be an event or a place etched in Nimer’s memory. Maybe something from his childhood. You were there,” she emphasized. “Why don’t you direct us to that private memory?”
Gideon was silent for quite a while, furrowing his brow as he thought back to his childhood days that he shared with Nimer.
“What comes to mind…” Gideon hesitated, “is a cave that was revealed to us only after we uncovered its opening, which was blocked with a pile of stones. There were skeletons of two young people inside it, and we called it ‘the Lovers’ Cave.’ Nimer’s father was angry at him when he brought up the subject, and wasn’t willing to say a thing about it.”
“And you think the memory of that mystery has stayed with Nimer as well?”
“No doubt about it. ‘The lovers’ cave in the hill’ is still alive in both of our memories. Beyond that,” Gideon added, “the cave was the place from which we observed the trap set for the fox that knew how to outsmart Nimer time after time, and was never caught. See what you can find, whether the name is in Hebrew or Arabic. It was ‘Kahf al-Ahibba fi al-rabwah’ in Arabic, as far as I can remember.”
Gideon exited the room, leaving the three with their jaws dropped, but also with new momentum for a focused investigation concerning the childhood memory he shared with Nimer.
* * *
21The Temple Society, whose members refer to themselves as Templ
ers, is a German Protestant sect aspiring to realize the apocalyptic visions of the prophets of Israel in the Holy Land. The Templers established several colonies in Palestine in the nineteenth century, in the cities of Haifa and Jaffa as well as in Sarona, currently a neighborhood of Tel Aviv.
Chapter 50
The sky was reddening in the east when Gideon awoke from a two-hour sleep. Such a beautiful sunrise should herald the beginning of a wonderful day, it seemed to Gideon. That feeling accompanied him as he made his way to Dan and the young people’s “war room.”
I hope this day turns out to be as good as it looks, Gideon thought. I really hope that turns out to be the case.
With some hesitation, Gideon opened the door, briefly wondering what he would see after a hectic night of activity. “Good morning to you all!” he called out, standing in the doorway and still holding back from asking about the outcome of the nocturnal effort. He saw tired faces, yet they were all lit up by radiant smiles. “What’s going on, Dan? What did you haul up for us at the end of this white night?”
“We found the bomb deactivation code, and managed to employ it. According to all our tests, the bomb is now inoperative. We also found the attic of the Templar house where Nimer concealed the bomb, but no one has accessed it yet. The booby-traps Nimer installed there require professional handling by experts from the Bomb Disposal Unit.”
Loud applause, surprising Gideon with its intensity, accompanied Dan’s statement. The weary heroes showered him with compliments.
“And the deactivation code really was related to the cave I talked about?”
“It was, Dad,” Noam replied. “It was the first four letters, in Latin script, of the main words in Arabic: KAFR. With the help of the Big Data algorithm, ‘the lovers’ cave on the hill’ brought us to our destination. The path to Nimer’s conference call with his sister and son seems a lot safer now,” she added.
“Thank you all. That’s a marvelous achievement. Now go get some sleep and recharge,” Gideon praised them. “I’ll go update Nahari. Dan and Noam, you should come with me.”
Nahari was generous with his compliments as Dan relayed the chain of events ultimately leading to the unusual result, as Nahari termed it. He instructed Binyamin to get the exact details of the house where the bomb was located from Dan, and to ask the Home Front Command to send over their bomb disposal crew to handle the bobby-traps Nimer had installed there with the requisite caution. Nuclear safety representatives would be joining them as well. Binyamin would also contact the Tel Aviv District police force, having them close off the area while the bomb was being dismantled. Gideon reported that he and Noam were on their way to the Intelligence Corps military base where Jamila and Hassan were being held. The conference call Nimer had been promised would take place there, Gideon said, receiving Nahari’s authorization.
***
Jamila and Hassan had woken up a short time before Gideon and Noam entered the room where they were being held. They knew Noam due to her daily meetings with them, but Gideon noticed Jamila’s hesitation until Nimer’s image appeared on the screen.
“Good morning to you, Nimer,” Noam greeted him in Arabic. “Your sister and son are here, and are ready to talk to you, like Gideon promised you yesterday. He’s here with us too.”
Nimer talked for quite a while, first with his son Hassan and then with his sister Jamila. He wanted to know whether they were being treated well and how they were feeling. Nimer repeated several times that he was hoping to see them soon.
“I hope you saw that we are treating your sister and son with concern and attention,” Noam addressed Nimer in Arabic. “You have no reason to worry, as I am sure you’ve realized. We sincerely join your hope that you will be able to meet them again soon. Gideon is here next to me,” she continued. “He wants to exchange a few words with you.”
“Peace be with you, Gideon,” Nimer began in Arabic.
“And with you as well,” Gideon replied in Hebrew, slipping into their familiar mix of Hebrew and Arabic. “I hope that your mind has been set at ease in regard to the welfare of your family members. They’re in good hands with my daughter Noam.”
“Yes, Gideon, I’m now convinced that this is the case, and that you’re not forgetting what happens if they get hurt…”
“I remember, Nimer, don’t worry,” Gideon replied, taking care not to reveal the successful neutralization of the “dirty bomb” system, carried out during the previous night.
“So what now?” Nimer prodded. “How do we move forward?”
“We need to talk, just you and me, no escorts or security people. I was thinking of Cyprus as an appropriate place for a meeting. I can come to the Greek part of the capital of Nicosia, and I assume you won’t have any problems getting settled in the Turkish part of Nicosia.”
“Sure, I have no problems coming to Cyprus. But what about Jamila and Hassan?”
“Can you fly to the Turkish part of Nicosia tomorrow? If you can, we will talk on the line that you have used before, and set up a meeting place. Then we can also talk about how you will meet your family members.”
“That’s fine, Gideon, but like you said, it will just be the two of us at the meeting.”
“Yes, that’s what we agreed on,” Gideon concluded, assessing Noam’s concerned expression as she disconnected the line of communication used during the video conference.
“Do you know where you’re going with this?” Noam asked when they were already driving toward Nahari’s office.
“I believe I can convince Nimer to come to Israel in order to reunite with his family members. He’ll be more open to cooperation when he knows that we have dealt with his bomb and realizes that he has no whip to threaten us with.”
“Why Cyprus? Why not Europe?”
“Because it’s close, and there’s an advantage to the existence of two Cyprian states, since it will be convenient for both of us to come to the meeting on the border between them. We’re going straight to a meeting with Nahari. I hope he’ll agree to the action plan I suggested, and I’m sure he’ll have some of his own wisdom to contribute.”
“Okay, Dad, but we have to plan this carefully and smartly. I wouldn’t count on Nimer’s willingness to come to the meeting with you on his own. Hezbollah or the Iranian Revolutionary Guard won’t allow him to take that risk. In fact, we’ll also have to station a security force, concealed and yet effective, with the ability to intervene immediately when necessary.”
Gideon hurried to meet Nahari and update him regarding the conversation with Nimer. Dan and Noam took part in the conference as well, providing their assessments for the chances of the tactic’s success. Binyamin, Nahari’s assistant, told them about a small café located on Ledra Street, previously the main street of the capital city of Nicosia. It was right in the demilitarized zone between Greek and Turkish Nicosia, he said. Nahari instructed Binyamin to station a small force of fighters at the ready in Nicosia, to serve as a rescue force in case complications arose, along with a Navy missile boat with a Naval Commando unit on board. Gideon did not manage to change Nahari’s mind regarding these instructions even after explaining that he had agreed with Nimer that no one else would be present at or around the meeting.
“I can get settled in the Greek area, about three minutes away from the meeting point,” Dan suggested. “My entire team will be with me, and we can activate the full surveillance array, as well as the swarm of micro-drones. Better to be safe than sorry.”
“I approve the plan, as long as all secret security arrangements are fully carried out,” Nahari concluded after a deliberation that seemed to Gideon to last forever. “Your goal is to bring Nimer in to meet his sister and son, just like you promised him. But the main thing that has to happen is that we get the chance to interrogate him here in Israel. We’re counting on you to know how to convince him to cooperate.”
Chapter 51
Café Ledera has known better days, Gideon thought, and yet it can still imbue our meeting with a special ambiance. Gideon entered the restaurant fifteen minutes earlier than the time he had agreed upon with Nimer. The coordination had taken place in a phone conversation that morning, when they were both already in Nicosia.
How should I begin? Gideon had been debating this point ever since first getting settled in the hotel in Nicosia. It’s almost certain that Nimer will first of all want to see Hassan and Jamila on the screen again, the thought. Noam has been ready for the video chat since this morning. Gideon glanced at his watch, wondering why time seemed to have come to a stop. Only a few seconds later, the door of the café opened with a push. A brief glance made it clear to Gideon that Nimer was the one who had entered.
“Hello there…” the two of them said together as they shook hands.
“It’s good to see you, Nimer,” said Gideon, who had not let go of his childhood friend’s hand. “Do you want to see Hassan and Jamila again? Now?”
“Sure, that’s what you promised me when we decided to meet here in Nicosia,” Nimer quickly replied. “So, tell me, have we stopped chasing each other?” he caught Gideon by surprise.
“…I hope so, Nimer, I hope so…” Gideon replied, busying himself with opening his laptop. “Maybe thanks to your son, things will change.” Noam was soon visible on the screen, and Nimer could not hide his emotions.
Gideon waited patiently until Nimer’s conversation with his son had calmed both of them. After Nimer had repeatedly promised Hassan that they would see each other soon, the laptop’s screen was darkened.
“First of all, Nimer, I want to express my deep sorrow over the murder of your wife and two children at your home in Shatila camp. I heard about it a long time ago, and I thought about you a lot. Everyone knows that horrible massacre was carried out by the Christian Phalanges and not IDF soldiers. I fought in the Lebanon War, but I was far away, in the eastern front, opposite the Syrians.”