The Masada Faktor

by Naomi Litvin

  I couldn’t help myself from letting out a tirade. “Don’t you realize that a perfidious Jew is the worse type of traitor? What about Israel? What was the plan? Was it really the tunnels or was it something more, like a nuclear bomb?”

  I had to know and I had to make her tell me. At that point she jumped up and grabbed me by the arm again. I was scared but resolved to make the last few moments of my life count.

  “Please don’t hurt other people.” Because we were walking back into an area where there were people, I couldn’t let her blow herself up and kill innocents.

  When we got near the parking structure a white van pulled up and the side door slid open. She pushed me in. My mind was working furiously and I was trying to figure out how I could signal Arthur. I should have phoned him before I left and coordinated something.

  She jumped in after me and tore off her wig and the trench coat. There was no suicide belt. She had tricked me. The driver, who I had never seen before, took off fast and we both lost our footing and fell backward in the rear of the van.

  “You idiot,” Millie bellowed to the driver, “Slow down so we don’t attract attention.”

  I didn’t know if she had a weapon, but she hadn’t shown any at that point. And the guy was busy driving. I was thinking, trying to formulate a plan. The first thing I did was look for the handle to get the sliding door open. But then Millie told me to lay face down on the floor of the van.

  “Make me,” I said to her with all the false courage I could muster. And then I saw that she had a syringe in her hand. She didn’t have the chance to stick me because I punched her right in the nose with my fist as hard as I could. She started howling and the blood was spurting from her nose, and we became locked in a wrestling match.

  The syringe had fallen out of her hand and the driver was driving erratically. He pulled over and jumped back and began to help Millie, so I lost my hold on her. They tied me up and blindfolded me. And then I felt the sting of the syringe in my neck.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  I was dreaming about the Nili Spy Ring that had been so brave in World War I, trying to stop the deportation of the Jews in Israel by the Turks. I had been to the First Aliyah Museum in Zichron Yaakov and was mesmerized by the story. In the dream I was part of the spy ring.

  But then I woke up in the van which was now parked. I was still tied up, but alone. My mouth was like cotton and my head was pounding. My clothes were drenched in sweat and I had Millie’s blood splattered all over me.

  I was able to loosen the blindfold by doing head rolls. But I couldn’t see outside. My hands were tied up tightly behind my back. They didn’t do such a good job tying my ankles and I was able to get out of that rope and up on my knees and then looked out through the space between the two front seats through the windshield.

  They were outside the van arguing in German. I didn’t understand German but I did understand Yiddish and there were many similarities between the two languages.

  Millie was talking about leaving Israel and the guy was telling her she couldn’t. “Ermorden die Frau,” he was shouting that over and over at her. He was telling her to murder me! I heard a blast, from the gun going off.

  I had opted to play dead, something I remembered from watching Westerns when I was a kid and had gotten back down a second before the side door slid open. I snuck a peek, it was Millie. She had a lot of blood on her. Some from her nose, and the rest mixed in from splatter from the driver who was lying dead or wounded, I wasn’t sure.

  Then Millie kicked me hard in the ribs and got in behind the steering wheel, not seeing that my blindfold was off since I was face down. We were off again. I couldn’t react to the kick and play dead at the same time. She thought I was still unconscious. Somehow I had to untie my wrists, because I knew I was next. Dammit, I should have brought the Glock 19.

  The van stopped. I wasn’t sure how long we had driven but I sensed that we were driving up a hill. “Millie,” I spoke her name in sort of a hushed tone, trying to make my voice friendly, “Listen, let’s talk. We can figure this out together. Are you still working with anyone? Who is in charge?”

  She did not respond but the van stopped. She got out and opened the side door and just stared at me.

  I had an idea. “Let me help you clean that blood off of you. I have some wet wipes in my backpack. I am so sorry I hit you in the nose. I just lost control. Millie, please untie my hands.”

  She grabbed my backpack and dumped everything out and found the wipes and began to clean her face and hands. I kept talking, urging her to think about the situation. “I can tell the police that you shot that guy in self-defense, they will understand.”

  “Shut up! I have to think,” she said. “Everything has changed. Saul is gone.”

  While she was busy cleaning herself I thought about my phone and wallet, and remembered that I had put them into my pockets. That wasn’t much but it gave me some hope.

  “You have a good job as a flight attendant. You can do that and forget about all of this,” I was racking my brains trying to think of some way to untie myself but came up blank.

  She had put her gun down on the van floor while she was wiping the blood off her face and I was able to scoot out. I kicked the gun at the same time which sent it flying into the bushes on the side of the road. My hands were still tied but I was now standing outside the van. “Where are we?”

  I didn’t expect an answer but she said, “Zichron Yaakov.” She pushed me hard and I rolled into a dried prickly bush which scratched me quite severely on my legs and arms.

  The harder I tried to get up the more scratches I got. Then I saw her looking for the gun and I got my footing and began to run down the hill through more of those awful bushes. It was hard to run with my hands tied behind me.

  She didn’t look for the gun too long, as I soon heard the engine start and could hear her driving away and the crunch on the gravel. I was so surprised that she let me go, but she probably didn’t want to run into those bushes after me.

  Finally I got my wrists free by rubbing against a sharp rock. I don’t know how long it took but I thanked God that I had my cell phone and wallet in my pockets. I called Arthur. I felt pretty beat up and didn’t know what drug had been injected in me, although I was quite clear headed by then.

  Arthur was not able to come for me but I wasn’t far from Hadera according to Google maps on my phone. I called a taxi service and by chance an English speaker answered. I explained my location according to the GPS and she said the taxi would be there as soon as possible.

  I had a lot of Millie’s blood on me and my scratches were bloody. My dress was ripped and my hair was wild. The driver was alarmed by my appearance and offered me a bottle of water. He wanted to call the police but I said, “No. Take me to Hadera!”

  Lior was home and she started shrieking when she saw me. I had to explain why I was such a mess. “I am fine, Lior. Please calm down.” I then told her the whole story of The Masada Faktor.

  Lior was sympathetic but she became very frightened. “I love you Natasha, but I think you need to move out as soon as possible.” Lior was losing her cool and I was angry that I had to take care of her fears even though I was the one suffering. I understood that she didn’t want to get hurt but still, I was stunned that she would kick me out. Was Lior really going to throw me to the sharks?

  “Lior, please don’t make me go. It’s only Millie left out there and she will be arrested soon. I really don’t have anywhere else to go, and all my things are here,” I was panicking that she wanted me to leave but had to look at her view. We agreed to talk about it again later.

  I got in the shower without bothering to turn on the dood, glad the water was still warm from the hot day. I washed my hair, cleaned my abrasions with soap and water. My ribs were killing me and I was itching badly. I put Aloe Vera gel and then lotion all over my body, borrowed a pain killer from Lior and went to bed. I was depressed and angry.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

>   Expecting the police to come to the door and question me about the guy that Millie shot, had me on pins and needles, but no one came. I had spoken to Arthur on the phone at length and again he extended an invitation for me to come stay with them in Jerusalem. I thanked him and told him that at this point I would consider it. Arthur was going to make sure that the police put out a bulletin with a warrant for Millie’s arrest.

  Arthur told me about a secret command unit of Hamas that was found out. “They are called Nukhba, ‘the selected ones’ and they were taught to fight in the tunnels in special ways, on foot and traveling on small motorcycles. This entire tunnel scheme was Hamas’ top secret and that is the reason, if The Masada Faktor was related, why you were in so much danger. You were a risk to the secrecy of their plan. They didn’t know how much you knew.”

  I burst out saying, “Does that mean I am not in danger anymore? I mean, you did use the word were.”

  “If you had gone to the Shin Bet earlier and they had gotten wind of what Hamas was up to, they would have put Hamas out of business. Plus all the weapons that had come through the tunnels from Egypt before Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood were voted out of Egypt would have been stopped.” Arthur sounded angry.

  “After Morsi, the new President of Egypt, El-Sisi began to destroy the tunnels that were supplying Hamas with Kalashnikovs, M-16s, rocket propelled grenades, and hand grenades. They had IDF uniforms, night vision equipment, and who knows what the hell else. They may not have gotten this far if you would have come forward sooner.”

  That set me off; I became infuriated, “Well Arthur, I don’t think I knew anything actually in time. Mother had only just passed away and I was clueless until then. And even if I did, do you think the Shin Bet would have let me into their offices? Remember, I didn’t know you at that time. And I am, after all, an Oleh Hadesha, a new immigrant. They would have thought I was crazy.”

  “Yes, you are correct, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to blame you.” I could hear Dalia in the background yelling at Arthur to apologize to me. “And besides, I believe the Shin Bet already knew much more than you knew. Because of their means of interrogation, they learned a lot.”

  “Also,” he went on, “Hamas was having to step up their time-line because of the change in politics in the region. It could be why the seventy year anniversary seemed to be coming early. The Egyptian-Gaza tunnel network was destroyed but the secret tunnels into Israel were intact.”

  “Hang on to the Glock 19,” Arthur advised.

  “Good idea,” I agreed in case Millie or any other villain appeared and this time I would use it to protect myself.

  Trying to conclude the conversation with some levity I said, “Be careful, Arthur, and don’t forget that Dalia will kill you if she finds out you’ve driven through any Arab villages.” I was laughing, but I don’t know why.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  The twenty something IDF soldier, Eli that I had met at the bus station in Hadera, messaged me on Facebook and asked me if I’d like to be introduced to his single uncle.

  “I would love to meet him,” I replied, and gave Eli my phone number. He called a few days after my latest Millie incident. We arranged for him to bring his uncle by my place on an evening when Lior would be working and a night that Eli knew he had off of active duty. The next Wednesday at 9:00 was the date. I hoped that my bruises and scratches would be healed by then.

  Deciding to splurge for the occasion, I bought a bottle of 2013 Gamla Sauvignon Blanc, which purported to have guava, melon, and lime flavor. I had a bag of pita chips and fresh hummus and set them on the coffee table, and had checked my lipstick in the hall mirror when the knock came at the door. It was exactly 9:00. I was a little nervous but determined to throw caution to the wind as I opened the door.

  Eli stood in the doorway, alone. “Hi,” I said. “Where is your uncle?” I was looking around.

  Eli looked at me and put his hands on my shoulders. He moved his face close to mine and said very softly, “I want to be alone with you. Beseder?”

  “Well, okay, Beseder,” I replied, “Come in and sit down.” He sat by me on the leather sofa. I proceeded to open the chilled bottle of wine. Eli was surprised how adeptly I used the corkscrew. I gave him the cork to sniff. “What should we toast to?” I asked.

  Eli responded quickly, “Let’s say Baruch Hashem, Thank God that we were both at the bus station at the same time, allowing us to meet.” We clicked glasses and took a sip of the wine. We didn’t talk as we finished the first glass. Then the vertigo hit and I closed my eyes.

  He took my glass and set his glass and mine down on the table. “Natasha, are you all right?” Eli said in a breathless sort of way, “May I kiss you?”

  I didn’t answer, instead I kissed him, lightly with my mouth closed. He put his strong arms around me and then I knew I was powerless to avoid what would happen. His lips were on mine and he opened my mouth with his tongue.

  I melted into his embrace and his passionate kisses. His skin smelled of fresh soap. He pulled my t-shirt up and off in a split second and undid my bra and began to kiss my breasts. I didn’t resist and then he got off the couch and pulled me up to take my miniskirt down.

  I was standing naked except for my panties. He was fully clothed in black Nike running pants and a black t-shirt. We fell back on the sofa and with both hands he tore my panties off and threw them, now in two pieces across the room.

  I asked if he was going to take his clothing off. He said, “Not yet, not quite yet.” But he took a handgun out of his pants pocket and set it on the end table. We laid down on the sofa and his kisses became more passionate as I returned his lust with what I can only describe as total reciprocation.

  I felt no inhibitions as he slowly slid down the length of my body below my waist and spread my legs wide. His head went down where my private agony existed. I found myself arching up to meet his lips. With gentle fingers, he spread the pink folds of my femininity apart and began to lick me with his big, long tongue. I began to moan, “Eli, Eli.” I closed my eyes and felt as if I were floating up to the sky.

  A sudden electricity went through me as Eli quenched my carnal thirst. A colossal orgasm came from deep within me. Eli quickly had his clothes off while I realized I was looking at him through teary eyes. I looked at his nakedness, his dark brown skin, curly chest hair, and beautiful green eyes.

  Before my orgasm ended he quickly entered me filling me with his manhood. Our bodies moved in unison and his orgasm joined mine as we then drifted together to some mysterious other world for a few more minutes of ecstasy.

  “Do you still want to meet my uncle?” He whispered while still holding me very tightly in his arms.

  “Sure, why not?” We fell asleep and when I roused he was gone.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  I started to pack up my belongings. If I went to stay with the Goldins in Jerusalem I couldn’t take any of my furniture. Lior had agreed to let me stay until the end of August so I had a few weeks to look for another apartment.

  I wanted to ask Lior if her asking me to move had anything to do with her disclosure to me about her relationship with Menashe. “Lior, are you sorry that you told me that Menashe is a controlling, jealous man?”

  “No, I am not sorry that I told you but Menashe doesn’t like you being here. Along with that crazy Millie being after you I decided you should leave.” Lior’s justifications were not convincing to me. I was starting to take it personally.

  So it wasn’t simply the fear of the people that were after me. It was about a man. I was hurt, and did not understand the power that Menashe had over Lior. I hoped that I never became addicted to any man. Okay, yes, I had been there in my past, and had my current strange sexual encounters. But I had been rid of men like Menashe long ago.

  Would I always be moving around in Israel? I felt ungrounded and uneasy but glad that I had the Goldins for a backup plan. Although moving in with them wouldn’t be a long term fix. And then I would be moving
again.

  Arthur told me it was the consensus from the Shin Bet that Millie Stone was pretty much a lone wolf at this point. Her shooting victim had been found lightly wounded and was recovering in a hospital but had refused to testify against her. I was the only witness and at the point when she was apprehended I would be contacted.

  It was odd but my fear of Millie was abating as I concluded that I was the one to be feared. I had changed, I had had enough. If she had any brains in her German head, she would steer clear of me.

  I began to carry the Glock 19 in my backpack, not telling Arthur and Dalia. There was a limit to how much I had to listen to other people, even the Goldins.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX