The head of the IDF intelligence department promised to coordinate with the Air Force and send up special patrols of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, to fly along the border and also cover the sectors in the Palestinian Authority close to the border. Shimony pointed out that they would obviously receive hundreds, if not thousands, of false alarms as there were so many trucks and buses that crossed the border every day. He informed them that though he had considered the possibility of completely closing the border, but this required the Prime Minister's approval and since there was no information on a delivery date this situation could be extended indefinitely with irrevocable implications on the economy and on Israel's position with the world. He emphasized that the top priority of the ISA should now be to use every one of their informers and collaborators to obtain information on the location of the device and Ollie. "The Fish" said that Sheik Khalil would be arrested and interrogated as soon as a court order, signed by a judge, could be obtained. He added that he expected the arrest would be done around 3 am, a time favored by police and intelligence agencies all over the world as the mental capacity and physical resistance of the suspects was at its lowest at this hour.
David sat quietly throughout the whole meeting and thought that a completely different approach was needed. He tried to put himself in Ollie's shoes and considered the options. If Ollie and the device were already in Israel then the only practical mode of operation was to try and deduce the potential targets and to position the extra security measures around them. The targets that came to mind were the major government facilities, mainly in Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv, with particular attention to the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem and the headquarters of the IDF in the Kirya complex in the heart of Tel-Aviv. Other attractive targets would be at the holy places to Judaism and Christianity in Jerusalem, but he thought that the proximity of the Wailing Wall to the Dome of the Rock mosque would make this less likely. He considered a few other prime targets like the center of Tel-Aviv or perhaps the Haifa harbor, or even Israel's main international airport (Ben-Gurion airport near Tel Aviv) or a large army or air force base, but thought these would be only fallback positions. He then gave some consideration to the logistics of transporting the device into one of those target areas, arming and detonating it while allowing Ollie enough time to get away safely. He knew it was impossible to disrupt life in Jerusalem or Tel-Aviv by searching every vehicle large enough for carrying the device and concluded that it had to be stopped before getting close to the prime target areas. He raised his hand and asked for permission to speak and when that was granted he presented his thoughts and concluded by saying that the key could be Ollie's departure from the tour group when he and Lena wandered around Jerusalem on their own. He asked "The Fish" to summon the ISA agents that had followed him in Jerusalem and once again go over the detailed report they had submitted. Meanwhile the meeting was adjourned and David and "The Fish" had another cup of coffee while waiting for the agents that had followed Ollie in Jerusalem.
The two agents arrived half an hour later and were asked to retrace Ollie's movements in Jerusalem step by step. The two agents took a moment to refresh their memories and sketched out Ollie and Lena's route through the Old City. There appeared to be nothing unusual in their visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Wailing Wall and the Dome of the Rock mosque. One of the agents mentioned that while Lena appeared to be moved emotionally by being at these holy sites Ollie looked less interested in the details inside the church, for example, and was more concerned with the surrounding area and seemed to be studying the security arrangements at the sites and around them. For example, he only glanced at the Wailing Wall itself but looked all around at the police and soldiers in charge of the protection and security. The same attitude was observed when they entered the large open space on Temple Mount and saw the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa mosques. The agent also noted that Ollie appeared to inspect the narrow streets leading to these places as if he was making an estimation of the size of vehicles that could travel through them. The other agent concurred, but said that he didn't think this was unusual as many tourists were kind of disappointed by the historic sites and more interested in the current life in the Old City. However, in David's mind alarm bells were ringing loudly. According to the reports from the ISA agents that had followed him, this was the only time that Ollie had left the group and wandered around on his own. David thanked the two agents and asked "The Fish" to remain for a few more moments.
When they were left alone David told "The Fish" that his gut feeling was that the real target had to be in the Old City of Jerusalem and not, as he had assumed earlier, in Tel-Aviv or at the Prime Minister's office. "The Fish" agreed that Ollie's irregular and uncharacteristic behavior was indeed suspicious and that security should be increased. Fortunately, he said, there was relatively little traffic of large vehicles inside the Old City and even those could enter the heart of the old city only through seven quite narrow gates. The most direct routes to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and Temple Mount were through the Lions Gate or Damascus Gate and to the Wailing Wall through the Dung Gate or Zion Gate. "The Fish" said that he would make sure that security at these bottlenecks would be doubled starting the next afternoon. David called Shimony who had already returned home and gone to bed and updated him.
June 17th, Both sides of the border between Israel and the Palestinian Authority
The improvised nuclear device had been transferred from the pick-up truck to the black Savana van that was "borrowed" from the Israeli settlement of Barkan, just a few kilometers from the Balata refugee camp in Nablus. The experienced car thieves had no trouble breaking quietly into the owner's house and stealing the original car keys that were hanging from a hook just inside the door. They did use a spray containing a strong tranquilizer to make sure that the owner and his family would not wake up and confront them – a messy situation that they were anxious to avoid. The people in the house would wake up in mid-morning with a strong headache and it would take them a while to figure out what had happened and report the theft. The van was designed to hold 15 passengers but Ollie and his host removed most of the seats, leaving only the front seat. Ollie made sure the device was covered with the tarpaulin and the space in front and behind the device was filled to the van's roof with cheap merchandize that was supposedly being transported to the market in Netanya – a popular beach resort in Israel.
The van was driven by Nasser, Ollie's guide from Umm al-Fahm who had an Israeli identification card and driver's license. Ollie had discarded his Arab garments and was dressed in the uniform of an Israeli reservist soldier supplied by his hosts in Nablus. They planned to cross the border early in the morning before the van was reported as stolen. The plan was that Ollie would pretend to be asleep if they were stopped – quite a common sight for reservists who were often on duty most of the night. This would help hide Ollie's inability to speak Hebrew. The fallback plan, in case the police or soldiers manning the border checkpoint wanted to speak to him, was that he would say in bad Hebrew that he was a new immigrant who had just been enlisted for Miluim (reservist army duty). As they approached the roadblock Nasser drove straight to the lane reserved for Israelis who lived in the Samaria settlements and not to the lane that served the local Palestinians who wanted to cross into Israel for work, medical treatment, school or for any other reason. Misha, the Border Patrol police sergeant manning the post took one look at the black Savana van and saw the license plates and the sleeping reservist soldier and waved them through without even asking for the driver's papers.
Nasser nudged Ollie smiling broadly and asked him where he wanted to go. Ollie asked to be taken to Jerusalem, with a stop somewhere quiet and out of the way so he could check the device once again. Nasser explained that he had relatives in Tira, a large Arab township in Israel in which the police did not enter frequently. Ollie asked him to call Sheik Khalil and have his bag and passport sent to the family in Tira but did not tell Nasser that this was
in preparation for leaving the country after planting the device in Jerusalem.
After a short drive they arrived at the house belonging to Nasser's relatives. The house did not have a closed garage, but like many houses in Arab towns it was surrounded by a corrugated iron fence that was two meters high. Several families all related to one another and to Nasser, lived in the large house that was more like a complex than a single residential building. Nasser quietly told Ollie that some of them were also supporters of Hamas or ISIS but most of the family members were neutral or even loyal Israeli citizens that enjoyed the benefits of social security and excellent medical insurance plans. He assured Ollie that none of them would unveil Ollie's presence as long as he kept to himself. Nasser suggested that they wait until the evening before working on the device and meanwhile he would get a new set of license plates in case the stolen van had been reported as stolen. Ollie agreed since he preferred to take the van to Jerusalem after dark. On second thought Ollie asked Nasser to park the black Savana close to the corrugated iron fence and cover it with a sheet of textile that was stacked in the back of the van.
Meanwhile along the border between Israel and the Palestinian Authority the orders from the ISA and police to reinforce the checkpoints were implemented. The soldiers and police officers manning these posts were instructed to search all vehicles that were larger than private cars, regardless of the identity of their drivers. This was expected to cause some vociferous protests from the Jewish settlers who were used to driving through these checkpoints as if they were above the law that in their opinion applied only to Arabs. In addition, a list of all sizable vehicles that were stolen in the Israeli sectors close to the border was distributed throughout all the checkpoints. The list included several pick-up trucks that were very popular in those areas, a couple of full size trucks and a handful of other vehicles like passenger minivans and cargo transporters. Misha, the soldier that had been manning the checkpoint through which Nasser and Ollie had entered Israel a few hours earlier, saw that a black Savana was mentioned as one of the vehicles that had been stolen the previous night. He recalled that it had Israeli license plates and that it used the lane reserved for settlers and for that reason was not inspected closely. Misha also remembered that besides the driver a man dressed in IDF army uniform was asleep in the passenger's seat and since Misha did not want to wake him up he had decided not to delay the vehicle. This information was passed on to "The Fish" at ISA headquarters and he alerted David that this could be the vehicle they had been looking for.
"The Fish" and David arrived just before noon at the checkpoint and asked to interview Misha. Misha, who had immigrated to Israel from Kazan in Russia when he was 10 years old, still had not quite gotten over his inbred fear and distrust of the authorities, and cooperated hesitantly. David and "The Fish" used the "good cop" "bad cop" approach. David promised Misha that no harm would come his way if he fully cooperated with them while "The Fish" threatened him with a long prison sentence for treason if he did not disclose every little detail of the Savana. David gently asked Misha to describe the driver and passenger while "The Fish" huffed and puffed right behind Misha's back. With David's gentle guidance and leading questions Misha recalled that the driver looked like an Oriental Jew, or perhaps an Arab, and the reservist was wearing a military issue uniform but his head was not completely covered so he could see that he had short blond hair. Before allowing Misha to leave "The Fish" asked him if he remembered anything about the vehicle. Misha thought for a moment and then said that it appeared to be carrying a heavy load in the back as it was slightly tilted backwards but he could not quite see what it was carrying because of the tinted dark windows. Upon hearing this David and "The Fish" exchanged a look of comprehension and concern. They called the control center of the police and alerted all patrols to stop every black Savana van and search it, but to approach it carefully as the people inside were dangerous and possibly armed. They also issued a warning that the passenger may be posing as an IDF reservist and he was not to be trusted. Within 30 minutes traffic blocks were positioned on all highways in the area close to the crossing point and on the main highways leading to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. In addition, unmanned drones and police helicopters were dispatched to survey the whole vicinity in search of a black Savana. Traffic delays were caused all over the center of Israel and the public was informed that this was due to a surprise exercise intended to test the readiness of the police forces and simulate an incident in which a terrorist element penetrated Israeli security at the border.
Nasser's cousin who was sent to steal license plates saw the commotion and called Nasser informing him that some unusual police activity was taking place in their vicinity. Nasser switched on the radio and heard the announcement about the surprise exercise and skeptically murmured to Ollie that this was a typical ploy of Israeli security and their vehicle was probably compromised. Ollie said that they shouldn't take any unnecessary risks and asked Nasser if they could transfer the device to another vehicle and not rely solely on the switch of license plates. Nasser proposed to call a friend of his who had a garage in which pick-up trucks were serviced and repaired and ask him if he could borrow one of the trucks. Ollie liked the idea and Nasser made a few phone calls until he located a suitable pick-up truck. Ollie didn't inform Nasser that the truck would be destroyed as he feared that this would discourage him. They agreed to bring the truck to the house in Tira in the evening and arrange a small derrick for transferring the device from the Savana to the pick-up truck. When they stepped out into the yard to survey the van they could hear a noisy police helicopter circling over and around Tira. This increased their conviction that the Savana's crossing into Israel had been reported and that word of its deadly cargo had been spread. Nasser knew that this flurry of activity could not be due to a simple theft of a van and started to suspect that the device he had helped transport was more than a simple bomb, or even a "dirty bomb", but he did not broach the subject with Ollie whom he began to regard as an extremely dangerous person. Ollie's bag and papers, including his forged passport, arrived from Umm al-Fahm with a short note from Sheik Khalil wishing him luck with his endeavor and warning him that the ISA was trying to locate him. Little did he know that the very act of delivering Ollie's belongings gave the ISA the key to find him.
After dusk an Isuzu pick-up truck was driven into the yard and parked close to the black Savana and the derrick was set up to enable the transfer of the device. Ollie had planned to arm the device before taking it to Jerusalem but was not enthusiastic about driving from Tira to Jerusalem, probably using back roads and possibly bumpy dirt roads with a few hundred kilograms of armed explosives a meter behind his back. He also wanted as few people as possible to witness his actions so the device was simply moved to the Isuzu and the metal suitcase was placed behind the passenger seat where Ollie's belongings were also positioned. The shock absorbers of the old Isuzu groaned under the full weight of the device, and would have complained bitterly if they could speak. The device was still covered with the same tarpaulin and its unique shape was camouflaged with the wooden poles. Nasser, who had a lot of experience in dodging police road blocks from his career as a car thief, suggested that one of his cousins drive a few kilometers ahead of the Isuzu and warn them about police road blocks, allowing them time to find an alternative route to circumvent the road block. Ollie liked the suggestion and the initiative and patted Nasser on his shoulder.
The ISA agents that had remained at their post near Sheik Khalil's house picked up the change in the signal emitted from Ollie's passport and reported this to the officer in the control room. He ordered them to follow the signal at a safe distance and alerted "The Fish" who in turn called David and informed him that the passport was in motion. The agents reported that they were following a dark green Mazda and were on route 57 from Umm al-Fahm towards Netanya but then the car took a sharp turn south on a secondary road leading to Tira. They were following it but knew that going into Tira would expose them
and suggested that a drone be used to follow the Mazda in case it entered Tira. "The Fish" who had been in direct contact with his agents said that a drone would be overhead within five minutes and they must stick with the Mazda until relieved from duty. Just before the green car entered Tira the agents received a message that the car was now in the sights of the drone and were ordered to remain alert on the outskirts of the village, so they parked on the side of the road leading from Tira to Highway 6.
"The Fish" and David went directly to the ISA control room to be at the "nerve center" at this crucial stage of the operation to seize Ollie and the deadly device. The drone that was following the green Mazda sent live photographs of it entering the walled yard of a large house in the center of the village. However, the drone operator said that he had fuel only for another 15 minutes until it had to return to its base. "The Fish" called for a replacement drone, preferably one equipped with a receiver for the signal sent from the chip in Ollie's passport but was told that the proper equipment was not on hand, and the best alternative was to use a drone equipped with infrared night vision. David was not satisfied with the alternative but had no way of getting anything better.
June 17th, evening, Tira
After dark, the small convoy consisting of an old white Skoda Octavia driven by one of Nasser's cousins, Mahmoud, with his fiancée, Leila, riding shotgun and followed at a distance by the Isuzu pick-up with Nasser and Ollie left the house in Tira. The ISA agents received the signal from the chip implanted in Ollie's passport and knew that the target was on the move. They didn't take notice of the white Octavia that passed right by them, but Mahmoud who was on the lookout for any signs of unusual activity became aware of them and told Leila to call Nasser and warn him. Nasser took evasive action and instead of heading toward Highway 6, the main route to the south and to Jerusalem, he switched off the Isuzu's lights and took a detour through a dirt trail in one of the many orange groves that surrounded the township and headed along a secondary road towards the town of Kfar Saba. The ISA agents saw the change in direction of the beacon but did not manage to get a look at the Isuzu that was now travelling without lights. With great concern the agents saw the signal from the chip fade away as the distance between them grew. They completely lost the trail in the dirt roads that traversed the cultivated fields of Tira and the neighboring Jewish villages. The agents called their control and informed the duty officer that they lost the culprit. The duty officer ordered all police and Border Police patrols in the area to immediately set up road blocks on all the roads leading south from Tira and informed David and "The Fish" who were in the control room of this development. "The Fish" ordered his two agents to return to Tira and question all the people who were in the house pinpointed by the drone. He informed them that police reinforcements were on the way to meet them at the house.
The Dreadful Alchemist: A Thrilling Espionage Novel (Techno thriller, Mystery & Suspense Book 1) Page 20