by Dov Nardimon
“I wouldn’t leave him here. The Saudis may want him to stay for an interrogation about the circumstances of his injury, and who knows where that may lead.”
“He’s in American territory. But let’s just wait and see how things turn out. We can ask Foster, too. He’ll be here soon and can make that decision.”
“Make what decision?” They heard someone speak and turned to the door to see a man of average height with an energetic stride and content smile walk toward them. “Kudos on a job well done.” He shook Jack’s hand, then turned to Eddie and shook hands with him. “Congratulations on being released.”
“Thank you and thank you to everyone who had any part in this incredible operation both in Israel and the States.”
“You owe a big thank you to the man without whom I’m not sure we could have pulled this off so smoothly, your friend Amit.”
“So the blueprints are really from his father-in-law’s company?”
“I have a bigger surprise for you. Amit’s here in Saudi Arabia and will be joining you on the flight back to Israel.”
“I can’t believe it!” a shout burst from Eddie. “Where is he now?”
“He’ll be here in a couple of hours. You’ll have plenty of time to hear everything. Eddie, I want to use the time we’re waiting to get as much information from you as possible. I’m not going to ask you to stay in Saudi Arabia of course, so it’s important I get all the information before I go and interrogate Isabella and Alfonso. Jack, they set up a quiet room here for me by the entrance. Let us know when there’s news from the operating room.”
Eddie and Foster went to the room. Foster took out a recorder, turned it on, and started questioning Eddie. “With your permission I’d like you to give me some background about your research and development, and then we’ll go over what happened since you were kidnapped. The rest of the technical background we can fill in later in correspondence, or I can have one of my colleagues in Israel meet with you.”
Over the next half hour, Eddie described to Foster the chain of events until a knock on the door interrupted the session. It was Nir who happily said in English, “The operation’s over. A few small butterfly stitches stopped the bleeding so they didn’t really have to cut him open. Reuben is still sedated, but he’s breathing on his own. Looks like he’s in the clear.”
“That means we can take him home with us,” said Eddie in Hebrew, nodding at Foster. “Talk to him about it; he needs to clear it.”
Nir did and Foster was convinced it was for the best. “We’d have to persuade the doctor. Ultimately, Reuben is under his responsibility now. I need about thirty more minutes with Eddie, if you don’t mind.”
“No problem at all. I’ll be with Reuben in the ICU.”
Reuben’s doctor was surprised at Foster’s request to have the patient ready for flight. “It would be irresponsible. The procedure requires at least twenty-four hours of recovery in the ICU.”
“I’m sorry, but this is an emergency. I understand he’s out of the woods, and twenty-four hours are just a precaution. The danger of keeping an Israeli here, assuming the Saudis won’t take too long to learn what took place here tonight, is a lot greater. We can’t keep an Israeli citizen here without informing the Saudis, and we can’t have him transferred to a civilian Saudi hospital, which I’m sure is what they’ll demand. The only solution is to send him home on the flight that’s leaving in two hours. He’ll be in a hospital in Israel within five hours. Those are the orders,” said Foster, putting an end to the discussion.
“I see. Then we’ll have Reuben ready. I’ll need you to take some things with you on the plane including some oxygen tanks, and I understand one of the team members is a medic?”
“That’s correct,” said Jack.
“I’d like to speak with him and give him some instructions.”
“No problem; we’ll have him come to you.”
“I’ll prepare a short medical record. Whom should I address it to?”
“Dr. Ronit Nevo.” Nir stepped in with a smile.
“Isn’t that Reuben’s last name?” asked the doctor.
“She’s his wife,” said Nir with that same reassuring smile of his.
“Well, in that case I feel much better about the care he’ll be given in Israel.” The doctor smiled, too, for the first time. Hearing Ronit’s name suddenly made Eddie very aware of the extent of the problem he was going to have to face when he got home.
Chapter 61
At the first light of day, the entire team that took part in the action was ready to board the Navy One. The embassy vehicle that collected Amit called in to say they were approaching the airport and would be there in fifteen minutes. An ambulance carrying Reuben, Nir, and Eddie made its way to the plane. The stretcher had already been boarded and placed on the airplane floor between the two rows of seats placed on either side. Reuben was awake, but groggy from the sedative the doctor had given him before takeoff. He had an IV in his arm. Nir explained to him what was going to happen, and Reuben gave a big happy smile, showing he understood the nightmare was about to be over and that he was going home. The medic, one of Jack’s soldiers, kept a resuscitation kit next to him just in case.
By the time the setup was done, the embassy vehicle arrived at the plane and dropped Amit off. He boarded, smiling from ear to ear, and gave Eddie a strong embrace. They patted each other on the back as the soldiers around them cheered and clapped, so much so that an unknowing passerby could have mistaken the location for the stands of a football stadium.
The pilots received confirmation to take off, and the plane started its course on the runway, facing east above the Persian Gulf. Once they built up height, they turned northwest and started heading toward Tel Aviv over Saudi Arabia and then over Jordan.
The men on board the plane spent the following two hours mostly silent. The Seals were sound asleep, and Eddie was too exhausted to share any of his experiences with Amit who was quite drained as well by the strain of the previous two days. As the plane neared Israel, Reuben woke up. He was strapped to the stretcher and was shaking his head from side to side, trying to make sense of where he was.
“How are you feeling?” Nir asked him.
“Functional,” said Reuben, attempting a smile.
“We’ll be in Ben Gurion in twenty minutes; hang in there.”
“I’ve managed to hang on so far, so I might as well keep it up.”
Nir went in to the pilot’s cabin and asked them to radio in and make sure Ronit was waiting for them at the airport. He thought it would be best if a helicopter stood by and took Reuben straight to the hospital. When Nir filled Eddie in on the conversation and mentioned Ronit’s name, Eddie felt a shiver go through his body. He was now starting to realize just how much the experience that helped rescue him from the jaws of his illness and the fantasy he was drawn to in his captivity was now going to turn into a complicated reality.
The sun was already shining bright over the Edom Mountains which still shaded the southern Israeli city of Eilat and the plains of the Aravah, the southern part of the Negev. A little while later, the plane soared over Jerusalem, tilting its wings left and descending toward Ben Gurion Airport. Eddie felt his heart widening in his chest as he looked out the window and saw the golden dome of the Temple Mount glistening in the sun. His eyes followed the small houses with white walls and red roofs that seemed to greet the new day and dotted all across the Judean Mountains, down the slopes and to the west. There was a mist across the coastline that veiled the sea at the end of the horizon, but Eddie still thought to himself he could breathe in its ever so familiar salty air.
Upon landing the plane was directed to a side runway where a helicopter and full medical team were standing by. Two Sixth Fleet men took Reuben’s stretcher down carefully. Nir was right behind them holding the oxygen tank. It looked like Reuben had fallen asleep or perhaps blacked out. The team hurried in a hunched walk to the helicopter that had its propellers already running and transferr
ed the stretcher to the medical staff, who emerged from the helicopter.
Eddie took a minute going down the steps out of the plane and took a deep, deep breath of Israeli air. He smelled the homely smells of spring blossom and felt an enormous weight being lifted from his shoulders. If it weren’t for the people around him, he would have roared, “I’m home! I’m free!”
Then he walked quickly to the helicopter that already had Reuben’s stretcher placed in it. It took him several long seconds before he realized the doctor in the white coat hunched over the stretcher was Ronit. He moved closer and stood two steps away from the helicopter door and from her. Ronit looked up and their eyes locked. For a moment she looked at him with tears of joy in her eyes; then she stepped out, and suddenly he was in her arms. They embraced in silence for a long while, and Ronit kissed him on both cheeks.
“We’re taking off,” said the military doctor, rushing Ronit from inside the helicopter. Ronit jumped back in, and Eddie and Nir watched it take off. Then they stepped inside the car of the prime minister’s anti-terror advisor who was also waiting at the airport and rushed to the hospital.
In the evening, Reuben’s fever spiked to 102° F, and he started vomiting and coughing up blood. The doctors couldn’t make sense of what was happening, or find any connection to the abdominal injury, since it didn’t look infected or bleeding. Ronit stayed with Reuben the whole time and persuaded his doctor to repeat the blood work they took when Reuben arrived at the hospital. The results showed a serious decrease of lymphocytes and early signs of glycoprotein—one of seven proteins produced in the body by the Ebola virus and the most dangerous of the seven. Ronit’s initial concern was now confirmed. She took the covers off of Reuben, who by now was only partially conscious, and scoured his body until she spotted a small puncture wound on his right thigh surrounded by signs of redness and inflammation. A tissue sample was immediately taken. Ronit, herself an expert in infectious diseases, accompanied the sample to the lab and watched with growing anxiety as the culture grew.
A long, stressful hour passed as all the common reasons for the infection were ruled out. The more time passed, the more Ronit came to the realization that the worst was actually turning out to be true—Reuben had been infected with Ebola.
Eddie and Nir were taken to the offices of the anti-terror advisor and spent the day giving a detailed report of everything that happened. Eddie was given some time at lunch to see his parents, but he was asked to stay in Tel Aviv for the rest of the evening and night for a more detailed interrogation by Mossad and Shabak men regarding the time he was held hostage. Eddie told his parents the gist of the past two weeks. It was difficult for his parents who were naturally extremely emotional to accept that they were going to have to wait another night before being able to take their son home. Nir also explained to them that this was protocol and that it was necessary to complete the questioning right after the event, so the parents regretfully accepted. They gave Eddie a change of clothes and arranged to come the next day to finally take him home.
At a certain break during questioning, Nir asked for some time off to take Eddie to see Ronit and Reuben at the hospital. They arrived at Tel HaShomer Hospital late in the evening and saw Ronit wearing a hazmat suit and sitting outside Reuben’s room, taking a short break before going back in again.
“Why the suit?” asked Eddie, and Ronit told him about the growing concern.
“We’ll have definite results by morning, but I’m pretty sure this is it.”
“I don’t understand,” said Eddie, in shock. “How and when could he have been infected?”
“I was going to call and ask you the same question. There’s what looks like a puncture wound on his thigh and an infection around it that has spread to the rest of his body.”
“This is so strange. I can’t understand when anyone could have injected Reuben with anything. If anything, I was the bad boy. Reuben had an agreeable relationship with Alfonso and Isabella, and I can’t see why they would want to hurt him.”
“Perhaps since he was cooperative they got everything they needed from him and didn’t think he was useful anymore, whereas they hoped to get more information from you,” suggested Nir.
“Reuben was still critical to the rest of the research, and most importantly, there was no dramatic occasion that would warrant them doing this. We were together all day long and were taken to our separate rooms at the end of the day. I can’t imagine they came to his room to do this. What if this isn’t an injection mark? What if he got a scratch from one of the broken jars that smashed during the monkeys’ breakout? Something that had an Ebola culture in it.”
“To tell you the truth,” said Ronit, sighing, “at this point it doesn’t really matter. The question is how we get Reuben out of this.”
“I’ll stay here with you tonight. Eddie needs to go back for more questioning,” said Nir.
“There’s no need, Nir. Go home. You have a wife and kids who haven’t seen you in days.”
After a few more hours of questioning, Eddie was sent to a small hotel in the city and was asked to be ready for further questioning the next morning and not to call anyone but his parents. After a relatively calm conversation with his mom and dad, he tried to go to sleep, but couldn’t. Too tired and too wound up by the events of the previous twenty-four hours and worried about what was to happen next, he tossed and turned in his bed. Finally he made up his mind to call Ronit’s cell phone. He hoped he wouldn’t wake her up, and sure enough, Ronit was wide awake and attentive and picked up straight away.
“How’s Reuben doing?”
“Not good at all. His fever’s up; he’s shaking all over, coughing and spitting up blood. All the Ebola symptoms you yourself are familiar with.”
“Did the lab give a definite confirmation?”
“Not yet, but you and I both know—it’s Ebola.”
“How are you?”
“I’m strong enough to handle this. I take comfort in knowing that at least you’re here, safe and sound.”
“You talk as if you’ve already come to terms that it’s all over for Reuben.”
“I know infectious diseases, Eddie, and I know his chances of recovery are extremely slim.”
“I’m sorry I can’t be there with you tonight.”
“Nir is coming any minute. He’ll keep me company.”
“That brother of yours is a real hotshot. Like sister, like brother,” said Eddie, smiling. “Don’t tell him we talked. They told me not to speak to anyone other than my parents.”
“Oh, that’s just hush-hush nonsense. But don’t worry and . . .” She hesitated for a moment. “. . . thank you for calling. It’ll help me face the rest of the night,” she said in a voice full of despair and yearning.
“I’ll try to be with you in my dreams. Good night.”
Chapter 62
Eddie spent the whole following morning answering the questions from a joint Mossad and Shabak team. He went over the blueprints of the underground facility and tried to retrace what was in each room, how many people stayed at the facility, and what other topics Alfonso and Isabella’s teams worked on. The Americans assured the Israelis they would hand over the results of their investigation on Alfonso and Isabella. Eddie was asked to stay available for when the interrogation protocol arrived in Israel.
During the day Nir joined the questioning and filled Eddie in on the information he lacked about all of Mickey Rush’s misdeeds and about Mickey’s and Tzipi’s arrests. Nir said Mickey had been handed over in Brussels to an American team and was already taken to Washington where he was under investigation. The Interpol had seized all his foreign bank accounts. His yacht was taken from the marina in Herzliya to a police dock. Upon searching it, many tapes of people in powerful positions were discovered portraying them in a variety of intimate and compromising situations. The ‘blackmail reserve’ was what the investigators called the saucy collection. They also found a considerable amount of various Class B drugs all over the
boat.
“We’re pretty certain he also has heroine stashed in here somewhere,” said Nir. “They’re taking the walls down nice and gently. It’ll be a shame to ruin such a beautiful boat, which will probably go into forfeiture by the state.”
During the day Eddie called Ronit a few times and each time was told Reuben was getting worse. In the evening the investigation was over. Nir went home and was planning to return to the hospital later, and Eddie rushed straight to the hospital. When he got there, Ronit was in Reuben’s room. Eddie waited in the hallway for a long while. When Ronit came out, she didn’t notice him and burst out into tears. Eddie came over to her, put his hand on the back of her neck, and pulled her closer. Ronit, surprised for a moment, clung to him leaning her head against his chest and sobbing uncontrollably. Eddie let her cry and unload the burden of stress and anxiety, and then sat her down next to him quietly.
“He’s not going to make it,” she finally said.
“Is that what the other doctors are saying as well?”
“They’ve already given up on him this morning. I’m still trying all sorts of things. I’ve been in touch with the World Health Organization in Switzerland. They gave me some ideas and advice, but it looks like a lost battle. The disease is stronger than him. His entire blood system is shutting down. The only thing that’s still working is his heart, but it has nothing to pump anymore.”
“Is he conscious?”
“Not anymore. From time to time there are bursts of pain that jolt him back for a moment. The doctors have made a suggestion to give him enough morphine to help him sleep for good, but I can’t do it. Not yet.”
“I’ll stay here with you tonight. Tell Nir to stay home.” All night long Eddie sat in the waiting hall outside Reuben’s room. Ronit went in and out throughout the night. At dawn Eddie dosed off on a bench when a soft touch on his shoulder woke him up. It was Ronit. She wasn’t crying. He looked at her ashen face and had no need to ask anything. He got up and took her in his arms in a protective embrace. Ronit rested her head on his shoulder, and they stood there for a long while, her tears soaking into his shirt.