Trail of Blood

by Uzi Eilam

  “You’re wrong, Gideon. Your army was in control of large areas in Lebanon, and allowed those inhuman beasts from the Christian Phalanges to murder women and children. We know that it was obvious to your army that a massacre was going on in the refugee camps, and none of you tried to stop it.”

  “I admit, and our country has determined—if only in retrospect—that our army and our minister of defense had a global responsibility for everything that happened during the Lebanon War. A governmental tribune of inquiry was established after hundreds of thousands of people protested against the war in Lebanon, primarily in response to the murders in Sabra and Shatila. Minister of Defense Sharon was removed from office, Major General Amos Yaron, Paratrooper Division commander, was barred from command positions, and Chief of General Staff Rafael Eitan was nearing the end of his service, and therefore was not removed from office.”

  “All that was done after the massacre,” Nimer responded bitterly. “And who will return my wife and two children to me? The American and French, who sent military forces to Lebanon, supposedly to ‘calm things down,’ also bear quite a bit of blame.”

  “Is that why you joined Hezbollah and gave up a promising academic career?”

  “Someone had to react and fight the Israeli, American and French war criminals. Thanks to the determination and ingenuity of Hezbollah’s fighters, the offenders paid a heavy price, and I’m proud to say I was part of those attacks.”

  “I certainly understand you, Nimer, and I know you had to find a way to get revenge. But later on, you moved on to the field of mass-destruction systems, helping Iran develop long-range missiles and nuclear weapons. That’s already a whole other scale of activity . . . If you ask me, that’s not really a personal revenge…”

  “That is true, Gideon. My commander, Imad Mughniyeh, convinced me to keep going, claiming I could contribute to the fight against evil in a much more efficient way. He’s the one who convinced me not to continue with the killing of individuals. Mughniyeh, may Allah avenge his blood, was murdered in Damascus, and I continued to act in the direction in which I could be of use. I might have gotten carried away, and didn’t find enough time to spend with the one son I had left…”

  “That’s exactly the main point, Nimer. After all, Hassan is all you have left. I still remember how, back in our childhood days, your late father took care to ensure your schooling and education…”

  “Yes, that’s true, and I thank you for this positive reminiscence of my father. I owe him so much…”

  “He was a great man, and I’ll never forget how he ran your village of Al-Khaled. I remember, Nimer, with immense gratitude, how your father decided not to hand over my soldier, the wounded paratrooper taken prisoner by the security force guarding the refugee camp outside Jenin, to the Jordanian Army. You were on break from your studies in Beirut, and I owe you thanks for your part in saving the soldier.”

  “That’s history, Gideon, and we’re at a distant point from the time all that took place. I want my son!” Nimer insisted once more. “You remember what might happen to you in the HaKirya area of Tel Aviv…”

  “I have to break it to you, Nimer; that cannot happen anymore…”

  “What? What are you talking about?”

  “The bomb in the attic of the Templar house in Sarona has already been deactivated. We took care of it…”

  “That cannot be!” Nimer cried out, his fingers moving swiftly over the keys of his large cell phone. Again and again, one word appeared on the screen: Inoperative. “You found the location?... And the code…? How?” Nimer was fumbling for words.

  “Nimer, do you remember the fox that managed to wriggle out of the traps you set for it, again and again? The trap was close to the Lovers’ Cave, where we hid in order to watch the fox spring the trap without getting caught in it, and then gobble down the meat we used as bait.”

  “I haven’t forgotten that failure even after so many years,” Nimer confessed. “But what does that have to do with the matter at hand?”

  “This time, Nimer, we are the fox that slipped away from you…”

  Nimer was briefly silent, closing his eyes. Gideon did not dare utter a word, allowing him to take in the news that the threat in which he had put all his faith had been neutralized.

  The sound of the emergency ringtone in Gideon’s phone jolted them. Dan was on the line, saying only five words: “To the alternate location, immediately.”

  “Is something wrong?” Gideon’s expression worried Nimer.

  “Not really… Actually, it is,” Gideon replied. “We have to move somewhere else…”

  “Why? What’s wrong with this place?”

  “It’s not far from here, Nimer. Let’s walk to the restaurant down the street, and I’ll explain it to you there. Please trust me. It’ll turn out for the best.”

  “Now can you tell me what the deal was with all this skipping around?” Nimer requested when they were sitting in the small restaurant, which was nearly empty during the morning hours. “What happened?”

  “I was afraid our meeting would be interrupted, Nimer. Apparently, someone from Hezbollah or the Iranian Revolutionary Guard was tracking you. Who knew about your intention to come to our meeting?”

  “Oh… Only my close friend, deputy commander of Hezbollah’s military arm. I didn’t tell him the details, only saying I would try to get Hassan back…”

  “Someone knows about our meeting place, maybe by employing surveillance measures—you know just as well as I do how effective they can be—and I suggest we don’t linger too long here, either.”

  “Gideon, I still don’t get how Hassan will be returned to me. I trust you as a childhood friend, and because of the connection we shared. You can’t let me down!”

  “You will be reunited with your son in Israel, Nimer, and I guarantee that no harm will come to you. We will want to ask you some questions, and then you will be free to decide where you want to be. We’ll ensure your security if you stay with your son and sister within the area of the Palestinian Authority, and he could continue his studies at one of the universities there. I’ll do everything I can to accommodate your requests.”

  “You’re asking me to betray everyone who’s helped me to take revenge in the past?”

  “No, Nimer, I’m offering you a chance to change direction and to be able to raise your son Hassan. He deserves it. You also owe it to yourself to resume your academic career, where you can find success. I’m willing to help in that regard as well. The two of you can even teach and study at the same university together.”

  The emergency ringtone on Gideon’s cell echoed within the space of the restaurant, and Dan’s name flickered on the screen. Gideon signaled his apology for the interruption to Nimer and listened to Dan’s brief message: “They’re on their way to you…” Soon, they heard shots fired and explosions next to the restaurant. Two Israeli Naval Commando fighters burst in, pulling Gideon and Nimer, almost against their will, toward the restaurant’s back door.

  “Quick, to the car!” the commando soldiers called out, actually shoving the two men into the car, which took off swiftly on its way to the coast. Another car, whose passengers included Dan and Itzik from the Talpiot team, along with two Naval Commando fighters, soon joined them, and the two cars flew down the road, with the commando warriors in both peering back, their guns at the ready. Suddenly, they saw the beach in front of them, and the cars stopped next to a small pier at which a race boat was docked, its engine running.

  Within minutes, the boat had reached the Navy’s missile ship, and the Naval Commando fighters hurried to help the two clamber up onto the deck. The ship sailed off with no delays, rapidly accelerating. Two wooden easy chairs awaited Gideon and Nimer on the deck, and they began to relax, each in his own way, from the events of the last few hours.

  “I’m coming with you to Israel, Gideon, mostly thanks to you and for
the sake of Hassan and his future,” Nimer whispered. “But don’t expect me to betray my past and the loyal partners who helped me get my revenge.”

  “I can understand, Nimer, that at least at this stage, it might appear as if we abducted you, too. That leaves you with room to maneuver in regard to your associates, if you need that.”

  “I trust you, Gideon, in the name of the childhood we shared, to help me reunite with my son and sister…”

  “I am glad you feel that way and needless to say, I too was recently very worried about my daughter Noam. I’ll do anything to reunite you with your sister and son, and I will stand firm regarding your right to decide where you’re heading next.” Gideon, moved, rose from his seat to hug Nimer.

  “I’m glad we’re meeting again,” Nimer replied, returning Gideon’s hug and doing his best not to think about the new situation in which he found himself.

  For an entire minute, the two continued to embrace before returning to the real world and the thought of how to proceed from here. Nimer had still not resigned himself to disengaging from everything he had done and all that he had become in the past. He was also fully aware of the risk he was taking on in respect to his associates in Lebanon and Iran. Gideon’s conscience was bothering him due to the way he had used Nimer’s son Hassan in order to tear him away from everything that had been most important to him thus far.

  A new chapter was beginning, the two childhood friends thought, and at this stage, it was unclear where it would lead them.

  Acknowledgments

  Trail of Blood presents another chapter in the adventures of Dr. Gideon Ben Ari, but this time, he is joined by another fascinating character, Dr. Nimer Al-Khaldi. The two heroes are on a collision course, but they do not know it initially. Another character in this fictional tale, based on actual facts, is advanced technology. Without the full capacity of cyber, the Internet of Things, dealing with the multitude of Big Data information, and artificial intelligence, this story would not have been written.

  My ongoing connection with Israel’s various security agencies has contributed important information regarding advanced technology and helped me construct the realistic components of this story, and for this, I am grateful. My editor, Asaf Asheri, was by my side as this story was coming into being, and continued to lead me through the paths of the plot. Asaf guided me, quietly and with a smile, in bypassing obstacles and enhancing emphases.

  I want to thank my friend Prof. Ilai Alon for his wise advice regarding Arab culture and the Arabic language.

  Thanks to Dr. Doron Mor, my friend from the Paratrooper Brigade who fought in Jerusalem, as well as a geologist, for geological aspects of North Korea.

  To my friend Efraim Halevi, who opened my eyes to what was going on in the isolated country of North Korea.

  To Yoram Petrushka, my friend, for his quiet support and encouragement to write.

  I’m thankful to my friend Rami Tal, who edited my first two books, for his wise advice and priceless encouragement to keep writing.

  Heartfelt thanks to the publishing house of Kineret-Zmora-Bitan and its CEOs Eran Zmora and Yoram Rose, who took it upon themselves to publish the book, as well as to the publishing team that took care to produce a clean, convincing version.

  Trail of Blood would not have been completed without the warm, loving support of my family.

  The quiet I enjoyed in my writing nook at home during the many hours I spent there, as well as the comments from my wife Naomi and my daughter Osnat, who accompanied the writing of the book, chapter by chapter, and the quiet encouragement from my children Nimrod and Noa—all these provided a steady tailwind urging me forward. I thank you faithfully, my family.