Motherland

by L. Todd Wood

  “I’m not really sure. I’m sure the welcoming party will arrive shortly. As I told you, I’ve been here once but didn’t get out of the plane. It was just a drop off. Let’s see what happens.”

  They didn’t have to wait long. As they neared the center of the strip, two military-looking vehicles sped in from the north along a small dirt road. They quickly encircled the two men and about a dozen armed men jumped out of the trucks. They were in civilian clothes but had some type of armband with a Nazi symbol emblazoned on their upper arms.

  “Halt!” one of the men, obviously the leader, commanded in German. The men did as they were told.

  Fabian replied back in the same language. “We are here as a guest of the mayor. I have pre-arranged the meeting through specific channels in the government. Please take us to him.”

  “Get in the truck,” the man responded.

  The vehicles made their way up the mountainside on the narrow, dirt road for approximately thirty minutes. Connor and Fabian were in the back of one of the trucks, guards watching them with automatic weapons. Connor studied the men. They were young and strong and all had blonde hair, very Aryan. Connor looked closer at the band around their upper arms. It seemed to be related to the Nazi regime but different in some ways, a variant but distinctly fascist. Nice, he thought. Good thing I’m not a Jew, or a gypsy or anything like that. Soon they began to slow and Connor strained to see their surroundings in the dimming light of day. It seemed they had been brought to some type of village or town, except the structures were hewn into the mountainside. They were of a certain German design on the outside, stone and wooden classic German architecture. However, as he looked closer, he noticed they were designed to not be seen from above. They’re camouflaged! Brilliantly as a matter of fact! Fabian was noticing the same thing Connor could tell. They made eye contact.

  The vehicles entered some type of underground storage area which would never be picked up by satellite. They parked and were ordered out of the truck. As Connor and Fabian complied, an older man approached from a door that led to an area dug out of the mountain. “Hello, my friends. Welcome! My name is Herman Fischer. I am the mayor of this town. My surname comes from the outskirts of Berlin. My ancestors were fisherman, hence the name Fischer. We do not do much fishing here but sometimes we make it to the mountain lakes where there is some fantastic trout. Please follow me. I will show you where to make yourselves comfortable. And as I initially said, welcome! We mean that. Follow me please.”

  General Kursk shook the Iranian minister’s hand once again as they sat in the conference room of the Kremlin. The Moscow weather had started to turn and the Iranian was dressed more warmly than before with a sweater under his sportcoat. “I am enjoying the Russian autumn General Kursk. Such a lovely time of year in your city. I hope you will accept my compliment and I hope we can move forward with our weapons purchases now that our little episode has been dealt with. I had a chance to see the little film your intelligence services made. It was very convincing I might add.”

  “Thank you, Minister Javadi, it was meant to be. However, we have one more little item to discuss before we move forward with selling you the fighter jets and other weapons you desire. The Russian government has one small request.”

  “Anything you ask for General, we will do our best to comply with the request of a friend.”

  “We would like you to cease your attacks on the state of Israel.”

  The blood drained out of the Iranians face. “But General, what does our response to the Jewish pig’s aggression have to do with Russia? I beg to ask.”

  “We know full well you are considering a full-fledged, multi-pronged attack on Israel soon which may also include the use of nuclear weapons. I am here to tell you that action is no longer possible for Iran to take. Israel is a friend of Russia from now on. If you plan to use the weapons we sell you against her, we will destroy them. And certainly, we will no longer sell them to you. There are a lot of Russians in Israel. We mean to protect them as we do Russians around the world. Do I make myself clear?”

  “I do not understand why the stance of your country has changed with regard to the Jews. You have not shown any qualms about us moving against them before. Let’s just be honest with each other General.”

  “That may be true but some things have changed. We will sell you weapons for defense only. However, Israel is not to be touched.”

  The Iranian diplomat slammed his fists down on the table. “I will report to my superiors and give you my answer in due time, General. Good day!”

  Sitting in the back of the limousine on the way to the Iranian embassy in Moscow, Minister Javadi was fuming. The Israeli dogs got to the Russians somehow. These barbarians have made the Islamic Republic look foolish for cooperating with them. How do I tell this to my superiors? There will be Hell to pay. It was my idea to give them Ahmed in return for assurances the weapons sales would go through. My time on this earth may now be limited. It is in Allah’s hands now.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  The Delta Force operators closed in silently on the facility. The Ranger perimeter was set and no other threats would be allowed to enter until the precious cargo (PC) was secured. This would be the scientist and any data, materials that could be secured on the weapons program. Once in place, the soldiers waited until the order was given, then upon receipt of the command they stormed each of the buildings in the entire facility at once. No shots were fired.

  Short bursts of communication came over the secure, headset, radio net. “Building one secure.”

  “Two secure.”

  “Three secure.”

  “Four secure.”

  In fact, they all came out empty-handed. There was nothing. No one was inside. There was no laboratory. There was some evidence people had been residing there recently but no evidence of any kind of research going on. The on-scene commander relayed this information up the chain of command and waited on instructions.

  “Rodeo 56, this is Snake 32. We have negative PC over. Target is empty.”

  Upon receiving the order to withdraw, the entire force made their way back down the mountain to the extraction site. Soon they were airlifted back to the U.S. Navy ships waiting offshore. As it happens many times during special operations attempts with faulty intelligence, they had hit a dry hole.

  The Sultan was enraged, to say the least. “Those damn Persian animals! They betrayed me! That will be the last time!” He tried to calm himself, but to no avail. “They will pay for this! Obviously, they have given me the wrong location of the lab facility. No doubt on purpose. They have made me look like a fool!”

  The Sultan angrily buzzed his aide from the Oval Office. “Get me the Iranian leader on the phone immediately!” ordered the president.

  How did this happen? Who are they in bed with? What am I not seeing? Something is going on which is out of my control. I am not used to this. The Sultan again tried to force himself to calm down. It is in Allah’s hands now. He knelt to pray.

  Connor and Fabian were led through the door into the large room that had been carved into the mountain over time. They were aghast at what they saw. There were Nazi emblems everywhere along the walls and a giant Nazi swastika and eagle hanging from the ceiling opposite the entrance. The room was some kind of auditorium but had been rearranged to leave a large round table in the center of the space. There were several men sitting around the table facing their new guests. Some of them were quite elderly. None of them looked like someone you would want to meet in a dark alley.

  Their ‘hosts’ seem to notice the uneasiness with which their guests took in the symbology. The mayor spoke. “Yes, gentlemen. The Reich lives. We like to think of it as the beginning of the 4th Reich. But do not worry. No harm will come to you. Your visit has been prearranged by some people you will meet shortly. However, first, let me introduce you to someone Mr. Murray for whom you have been looking for quite some time. Mr. Murray, I give you Anatoly Ivanov, our lead scientist.”

/>   Connor looked towards the table where the mayor was pointing and an elderly man, with a wisp of snow white hair remaining, stood from the table. He was very frail and looked to be a hundred years old, which he probably was or close to. However, he was in remarkably good health, for being one hundred that is. “Mr. Murray, he said in heavily accented English. It is good to meet you. I am here to answer any questions you wish to ask of me. I have nothing to hide.”

  Connor was taken aback. “I don’t understand. What is all this? Someone please enlighten us as to what is going on here.”

  There was a noise on the other side of the room and another door opened to the area. The mayor looked in that direction and nodded. “Perhaps she can explain.”

  Reshma Nadir walked in the room. Connor was stunned. “What the Hell? Reshma, what are you doing here?” Connor looked at Fabian in disbelief. “She’s an Israeli agent, one I trust and have worked with quite often over the last year. She saved my life once.” He turned back to Reshma. “Reshma, you’d better tell me what is going on right now. Are you betraying your country?”

  “No she is not, Connor.” From behind Reshma entered another figure, a slender, very attractive woman.

  “Natasha!” Connor ran to her and embraced his wife.

  Prime Minister Dahan entered the briefing room. The stress of the last few months was taking its toll. He was tired. It seemed as though he could not catch up with his rest. I am always tired it seems. Maybe I should see a doctor. He took his usual place in the briefing hall and signaled to the young enlisted man to start giving the presentation.

  “Good morning, Prime Minister. I have some good news today. We have confirmation that the Iranian forces in the Golan have pulled back further into Syria, taking their ballistic missiles with them. Hezbollah has also removed heavy weapons from near the front in Lebanon. We are also seeing their air defense network shrink back towards their border with Iraq. Prime Minister, something in the calculation with the Iranians has changed. We just don’t really know what it is yet. We are working on that.”

  “Thank you for the information Sergeant. Please let me know when you have an update.” The prime minister got up from his chair and walked from the room. I know what has changed in their calculation. Yes, I know very well.

  “Natasha, what are you doing here? I don’t understand what is going on! Reshma, help me! What the fuck is going on?” Connor continued to hold on to Natasha, as if she might disappear at any minute.

  “There are some more people here, who can explain things to you, Connor. I am sorry information was withheld from you.”

  At that moment, another woman emerged from the door. It was Fabian’s wife. She ran to him in tears. Surprised as well, he embraced her and stroked her hair. “It’s going to be okay, my love. Calm down, I am here.” He too looked around, “Yes, somebody around here better start fucking talking right now!”

  “I will start talking if you calm down, Mr. Ramos,” said a man who emerged from the doorway with another gentlemen, dressed in the uniform of a Russian officer. “My name is Levi. I am the number three man in the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service. Bear with me and I will tell you what is going on.”

  Connor and Fabian nodded they were both anxious to let him continue. Fabian’s wife was still weeping. Natasha clung to Connor and he held her tight.

  “First, Fabian’s wife was abducted by an Iranian rogue agent. The agent was killed. Our Russian friend here saved her and brought her to us. The Iranian agent was going to rob Fabian of his wealth and also use his wife to find Anatoly via Connor. Once that was done, he was going to kill both of them. Ahmed will not bother anyone anymore. You can be assured of that Fabian.”

  “I can confirm that,” the Russian officer added.

  Levi continued. “Second of all, I believe you now know the Sultan, or the American president, was conspiring with the Iranians to destroy the state of Israel. We have interrupted that plot. This was going to be done by amassing troops into Syria and Lebanon and threatening the use of nuclear weapons by Iran. To prevent this outcome, and in light of efforts by the American administration to assist in destroying the Jewish State, Prime Minister Dahan flew to Moscow to negotiate with the Russian president. A deal was made and the Iranians have been told to back off, for the time being anyway. We have breathed a collective sigh of relieve in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.”

  “What did Israel trade to Russia for this security protection?” asked Fabian.

  “I will get to that shortly,” said Levi. “Next, this facility. Israel has known for decades of this facility, the culture, the society, and the laboratories. The first two we could ignore, the laboratories filled with Nazi scientists we obviously could not. So, years ago, we made a deal. As you know, the Jewish Special Forces have killed many a Nazi across the planet since the end of the war. We offered these people a deal, the scientific research, for their lives. It was an offer they could not refuse. They did weapons research for us, in turn, we left them alone.”

  “Then why is Anatoly here?” asked Connor.

  “He is here because he was needed. His expertise is second to none. He was needed to complete the bio weapon development. So we kidnapped him from Siberia about five years ago and brought him here.”

  “You, are developing the bio weapon? But, why?” asked Connor again incredulously.

  “Yes, it is us.”

  “But I thought it was for the Motherland, for Russia?” said Connor.

  “It will be,” added the Russian officer. “You may count on that. In a very short period of time. The Rodina will be secure.

  “Connor,” said Levi. “There is another Motherland. The Motherland of the Jews.”

  “So you traded Anatoly and the bio weapon technology with Russia for the security of Israel,” Connor commented bluntly.

  “Yes, our Motherland will be secure also. The Motherland that has lasted five thousand years. The Motherland of my people.”

  “But you will allow Russia to have the upper hand in its new Cold War with the West.”

  “That is not my problem, Connor. Your country is the one who has destroyed our relationship, an alliance that has lasted since the end of the Great War. We are the only democracy in the Middle East. Arabs are more free in Israel than in any other country in the region. But your president chose to arm the Iranians. He chose to send them hundreds of billions of dollars to buy weapons. He chose to allow them to acquire an atomic bomb. Not us, Connor, not us. We are simply trying to survive. Your president is right now trying to force Israel to return to the 1967 borders which he knows are completely indefensible. Israel will promptly be destroyed if this happens. We can no longer count on America. In fact, she is against us. We needed a protector and we may have found it in Russia. We will see over time. But for now, Israel is secure.”

  “That is a lot to comprehend at the moment. A lot to digest” added Connor.

  “Yes, I am sure it is. But remember this. There has never been a Palestine nor Palestinians. Ever. The Ottomans controlled the area for centuries, until 1919 when they lost WWI. They were Muslims but they thought the Arabs inferior. Jerusalem was an backwater city, with no significance to the Ottomans or Muslims. There was a Jewish plurality despite the Roman destruction of the city and exile of Jews. Only after Jews began to resettle a largely barren land did Arabs immigrants come from Egypt, Syria, Iraq and other Arab states in search of work, created in large part by the Jewish immigrants. After WWI, the UN created the Palestine Mandate that included what now is Jordan. Britain had promised the entire land for Jews via the Balfour Declaration. After the war they changed their minds and carved 2/3 to give to their Arab ally King Abdullah. As more Jews and Arabs moved to the land, the Arabs began to resist. In 1929 they massacred 67 in Hebron. Eventually, the UN decided to partition the remaining land between Jews and Arabs. The mandate ended on 15 May 1948 and Britain left. On that day Israel declared independence on their portion of the land. The Arabs responded by attacking. The five
attacking Arab armies outnumbered Israel yet Israel won. Remember at this points the Jews were known as Palestinians. The Palestinians refused saying they were Arabs instead. They lost the war and many fled to become refugees. Israel told most to stay but the Arab armies attacking Israel told them to leave because they would get in the way. They said they would run out all the Jews and they could come back and take their possessions. Jordan occupied the West Bank giving no rights to Palestinian Arabs. Only when Jordan, Egypt, Syria and Iraq attacked in 1967 did Israel take all of the West Bank and Jerusalem. The Arab refugees now calling themselves Palestinians to this day refuse to recognize the right of Jews to live in Israel. If they had their way they would push the Jews into the sea. Israel offered them a region to call Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza. They have chosen terrorism instead. There never was an Arab or Muslim Palestine EVER in history. There never was a Palestinian people. EVER. Jews have lived there literally for thousands of years continuously even after the Babylon exile and after the Roman exile. There was always a Jewish plurality in the city. The bottom line is that Jerusalem is absolutely the center of Judaism. Christianity sees it as important but not critical. Muslims could not have given a crap because the dome of the rock was not important until threatened by Jewish reclamation of the land. That is the simple truth my friend.”

  The Russian officer spoke. “Anatoly will come back to Russia with us today. We have the bio weapon technology as well. He will never leave Russia again. If Israel lives up to its part of our agreement, we will live up to ours and Israel will be secure.”

  Irving and Anatoly sat on the veranda of the castle overlooking Lake Annecy. The Russians had been kind enough to let Anatoly see his friend one last time before going back to Russia for good. The both smoked a thick cigar.