The Third Cell

by Anthony D'Egidio

  They made love three times. Hearing the car on the driveway they dashed back to their rooms laughing.

  A few months later, Jonah walked into the library where Luis was looking over a blueprint. “I’d like to discuss something important with you if you don’t mind,” said Jonah.

  “Come in, come in. I always have time for you.”

  “You know that Maria and I are very much in love. I am here to ask your permission to marry her.”

  A broad smile came across Luis’s face. “What took you so long? Of course I welcome you as my future son-in-law. I couldn’t be happier.”

  Jonah on the following Sunday, September 17, 1989, asked Maria to be his wife. She cried for fifteen minutes before composing herself. They were to be married October 1990.

  CHAPTER 18

  THE GULF WAR, 1990 - 1991

  Jonah Meyerson

  Jonah completed his postgraduate courses and received his masters as a Landscape Architect, and Luis immediately hired him on as a full-time employee. Jonah was on the site of a new condo complex in Deerfield Beach, Florida where Ceballo Landscaping had just planted many trees and ornamental plants.

  “Ronaldo,” yelled Jonah. “I’ve called the irrigation company six times and they keep telling me that they’re on the way. If we don’t have water by tonight, have one of the Mexicans stay behind and water the plantings.”

  “The damn bastards, they’ve done this on the last three jobs,” said Ronaldo.

  “That’s probably because your father pulled out the pistol from his glove compartment and shot out the tires of their truck.”

  Ronaldo couldn’t stop laughing. “Yeah, but the look on the foreman’s face was worth it.”

  That night after dinner the three men met in Luis’s library. Luis was sitting back, puffing on one of his favorite cigars, a Padrón 1964 Anniversary Series Imperial. After taking time to savor the swirling tobacco smoke, Luis spoke. “Maybe I should have shot the irrigation foreman along with the tires.”

  “Dad, calm down,” said Ronaldo. “Bad enough we had to pay for the tires. We don’t need you deported —or worse, in jail.”

  “Why don’t I solve our problem by starting my own irrigation company?” said Jonah.

  Luis, swirling the end of the cigar on his lips, stopped to remove a piece of the tobacco that had lodged between his front teeth. “We thought about it, but we’re spread too thin to consider it. Besides, where do you find a decent foreman in South Florida that isn’t going to rip you off?”

  “Well, I could give it a try,” said Jonah. “I have some ideas on how to motivate the foreman.”

  “What,” said Ronaldo laughing, “are you going to have some hooker spend the night with him if he meets the schedule?”

  “Better than that, I’m going to give him a three-month bonus if he completes a major project before the deadline.”

  “That’s unheard of,” said Ronaldo.

  “Precisely; and when I advertise for the position and make the bonus package known, the finest irrigation foremen in South Florida will be tripping over one another to get the job.”

  “Brilliant,” said Luis. “Do you have the money to make it happen?”

  “I’ve got enough and I have Ceballo Landscaping as my number one customer.”

  All three men laughed.

  Later, in the privacy of his room, Jonah would congratulate himself. I’ve just set in motion the first phase of the mission. By establishing a legitimate irrigation company, no one will know the true intent.

  Luis Ceballo had invited several friends over on the fourth of July.

  “I have an announcement to make,” said Luis, who tended to be a little melodramatic. “As most of you know, Jonah will be marrying my daughter Maria in October. Just to make sure he won’t leave her waiting on the church steps, I’m officially making Jonah a one-third partner in the company on Monday.”

  The announcement caught Jonah completely by surprise. Allah has blessed me.

  “Congratulations,” said Ronaldo shaking Jonah’s hand. “You’ve just made my life easier.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Ronaldo smiled. “Now I can go back and live in Colombia instead of flying back and forth to manage the cut flower business.”

  “You’re going to move back to Colombia? Why?”

  “I miss my friends, the people I grew up with. I’m just more comfortable there. I can play golf five days a week at the Club el Rincon instead of working twelve hours a day. You’re the workaholic and a perfect fit for the business with my dad.”

  The two men gave each other a congratulatory hug and then joined the rest of the family.

  August 2, 1990: Hearing a knock on the door, Jonah called out, “Come in,” as he rolled out of bed throwing on a robe. Jonah never slept with any clothing on. The Ceballo house was split into three separate wings. The bedroom suites were isolated from one another allowing for complete privacy.

  Maria walked in wearing only a negligee. “There’s been an invasion of Kuwait by Iraq.”

  Jonah was fixated on her breasts and didn’t hear her statement. A couple of seconds passed before he came out of his trance. “Did you say Iraq has invaded Kuwait?”

  “Yes and it doesn’t look good for Saudi Arabia according to the news.”

  Jonah quickly turned on the television. I don’t want to appear overly interested, but since the Ceballos are heavily invested in oil stocks, anything that happens in the Middle East is of financial interest.

  Jonah and Maria watched the newscast intently for half an hour. Jonah was nonchalantly playing with the lace on Maria’s negligee. He then moved his hand to the upper part of Maria’s inner thigh.

  “Jonah, it’s eight o’clock in the morning.” Maria had a very low threshold of resistance for Jonah touching her body. “You’re setting me on fire.”

  Jonah just continued moving his hand upward.

  Maria turned to him and kissed his bare chest. Her tongue lapped his stomach muscles as she grabbed his penis with such force he let out a small whimper.

  “Sorry,” she giggled and continued with her pursuit.

  Once Maria left the exhausted Jonah, he turned his attention back to the events in Kuwait. Though Saddam Hussein said he championed the cause of the Palestinians and verbally supported many militant Palestinian groups, he in fact never provided any substantial money or military arms for their struggle. He was viewed by many of the Islamic Clergy as a ruthless dictator only interested in perpetuating his own wealth and power in the Middle East, pitting the Sunnis against the Shiites.

  Jonah despised Hussein. His move on tiny Kuwait is typical of him. He has always bullied his own people and now he is turning on his neighbors. Will Hussein attack Saudi Arabia and be in control of the majority of Middle East Oil? I doubt the Western Powers will ever let that happen.

  The immediate concern for Jonah was if Iraq were to invade Saudi Arabia, how would this affect him? Jonah would watch the events closely over the next few weeks, concerned that the mission was in jeopardy.

  In Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden also was watching the events unfold, especially in Saudi Arabia. He was incensed that the Saudi royal family would allow the infidels to soil the sacred ground of the Islamic religion. He called together his most trusted followers to plan their revenge.

  Maria had more important things on her agenda. Without a mother or female relatives to help, she was left with the task of planning the event.

  “Jonah, I need your help with the wedding. You could provide some support,” complained Maria. “You can manage several projects at the business, but you can’t make a decision on what food should be served at the reception?”

  Jonah gave a helpless look, “This is women’s work. If you need help, hire a wedding planner. Besides, now that your brother has moved back to Colombia, I haven’t the time.”

  Maria did as suggested and within two weeks, she had fired the firm. Jonah and Luis were listening to her ranting at dinner once a
gain. “All they wanted me to do was to hire their inept subcontractors and ruin everything I’ve planned.”

  The two men just looked at each other.

  Finally Luis said, “We already have the banquet hall at the Boca Raton Palms reserved. Have the hotel do everything. I’m paying for it. What the hell do I care? I just want to have dinner in peace.”

  Jonah’s only preoccupation with the wedding was the thought of facing the priest. Father Patrick O’Rourke is from Ireland and has old school views of Catholicism. He’s going to make me miserable.

  It was a very warm August evening when Maria and Jonah sat down in discussion of the wedding with Father O’Rourke.

  Father O’Rourke always spoke what he thought. “May I remind you of the perils in a mixed marriage? I have never approved of a Catholic marrying outside of the church. Maria, you have chosen a man of the Jewish faith. I am concerned about the longevity of the marriage and how the children will be brought up.” He continued to eye Jonah with contempt.

  Jonah sensed the priest’s hostility. “Father, I’m not a practicing Jew. I don’t attend synagogue and I fully respect Maria’s wish if we have any children that they be brought up Catholic.”

  Inside Jonah was dying. My children will never know the Qur’an, the teachings of Mohammed and the Islamic religion.

  Father O’Rourke was relieved after hearing Jonah’s reply. “Would you consider converting to Catholicism?”

  If you only knew my true religious convictions, I’d doubt you would be even asking such a question. Breaking from his thoughts Jonah replied, “In the future it may be a possibility. I’ll give it serious consideration.”

  Both Father O’Rourke and Maria were pleased with the answer. Secretly Maria had hoped that Jonah would see Jesus Christ as the Son of God and convert to Catholicism. She had put aside her religious convictions for love, but having Jonah become a Catholic would make the union perfect.

  Jonah did attend church with Maria, but it never was consistent, and he seemed to be in another world, as the service would progress. He would dodge the Sunday ritual by claiming that it was his only day off and he needed time to relax and follow his other passion, fishing.

  Jonah didn’t start out with a passion to fish; it was a way to have a boat on the ocean for implementing the mission. Fishing was a front, but soon he liked the sport so much he would even go freshwater bass fishing with the irrigation supervisor, Hank Petrel. This also gave him an excuse for a Saturday to himself at least once a month to pick up the mail at his post office box.

  Jonah slipped Hank a fifty-dollar bill. “If anyone asks, I was fishing with you. I just need some time for myself without having to drag Maria along.”

  Hank nodded knowingly. “Don’t worry, boss, I know the problem. My wife watches me like a hawk.”

  Jonah had heard about Hank’s infidelity. “Your wife watches you like a hawk because you have a bad habit of jumping into bed with other women. I believe a few of them have even called her.”

  Hank just smirked, “Yeah, I’ve gotten my ass kicked a couple of times.”

  Jonah, on the fishing Saturday, would leave Delray Beach, taking the Atlantic Avenue entrance to the Florida Turnpike. On the turnpike he would head south to Broward County, exiting at Commercial Boulevard. It would be another two and a half miles to the Oakland Park Post Office, where he had established a post office box under a bogus name and driver’s license.

  Jonah opened the post office box door. Good, I see the package has arrived and that the turmoil in the Gulf is not affecting the financial wellbeing of the mission.

  Jonah left the Post Office and headed for a bank in Lauderhill, Florida, where he would place the money in a safe deposit box. Counting this month’s package, he had accumulated over a million and a half dollars in the past two years.

  Jonah was in a dilemma. I have three safe deposit boxes in three different banks. I’m on the waiting list for other banks, but it’s just going to be too complicated. Keeping track of all the keys will be a nightmare. I need to install a safe at the office.

  Jonah left the bank and killed off the remaining time going to yacht dealers in the Fort Lauderdale and Miami area, looking for the perfect watercraft.

  October 20, 1990: On their wedding day, the problems of the Gulf were not on anyone’s mind, including Jonah’s. He had awakened very early that morning and couldn’t comprehend why he was nervous about the upcoming events. This is what was planned over eight years ago and today as its happening, I find myself apprehensive.

  What Jonah didn’t want to confess was that he had fallen in love with Maria. This was not supposed to happen and he was upset that it had. She was a wonderful person, even-tempered, intelligent, and hardworking. He also had to admit, beautiful. When they walked in a restaurant or some other public place, heads would turn.

  One night when Jonah, Maria and Ronaldo were out for dinner, they ran into a group of people who knew Ronaldo from high school. He introduced Jonah and then Maria to the group. Ronaldo would later laugh about the incident. “I now know what is meant by ‘their mouths dropped open.’ Two of the woman literally held their mouths wide open in disbelief.”

  The wedding day was a blur to Jonah and Maria. The following day they left for a four-week honeymoon in Colombia.

  The first and second weeks were spent in Bogotá and Jonah was not happy. It rained every day and the temperatures rarely got over seventy.

  Jonah constantly griped to Maria. “Ronaldo was right about the weather. I would have never thought this close to the equator it could be so cold. It reminds me of England with the dreary winters and constant rain.”

  Maria just ignored his complaining. She was happy to be home.

  The third and fourth weeks, they were to be on San Andrés Island, Colombia. A location Jonah had never heard of. Luis had a penthouse apartment on San Andrés, which he used as an escape from Bogotá.

  Flying over San Andrés, Jonah watched the waves breaking over one of the largest barrier reefs in the Caribbean. The sea was an array of colors ranging from dark blue to shades of turquoise. I’ve never seen the ocean this beautiful.

  They had just finished unpacking when Maria suggested, “Let’s go to the beach. It’s only a short walk, or would you rather take a taxi?”

  Jonah picked up the beach bag. “I’d rather walk. My legs need to stretch after the plane ride.”

  Jonah and Maria had only covered a short distance when they turned a corner. Jonah stopped for he couldn’t believe his eyes. In front of him was a Mosque, with its two white and green spiral peaks and dome, sitting on an island in the middle of the Caribbean.

  Trying not to be obvious he said, “I wouldn’t have expected Muslims on this island.”

  “As long as I can remember there has been a large population of Lebanese, with many owning the retail shops.”

  Jonah was curious. “How did they end up on such a small island in the Caribbean?”

  “I’ve no idea. The Mosque has been here since I was a little girl.”

  Jonah considered his good fortune. Here is a Muslim community with connections back to Lebanon and probably unknown to surveillance agencies. It’s a gift from Allāh.

  The next day while Maria was sleeping late Jonah went shopping, not for merchandise, but for information. He walked into a shop where the woman had on a jilbab. He spoke to her and her husband in Spanish. He dare not use his native Arabic. “Good Morning. I am curious for this is my first visit to San Andrés. How did such a large Muslim community end up on a small island in the Caribbean?”

  The male proprietor spoke as he placed items from a box on the shelf. “The story I heard was a gentleman by the name of Nasim Said Assad visited the island in the mid-fifties on advice of a business acquaintance in Bogotá. He fell in love with the beauty and climate. He went home to Lebanon, sold his business, and relocated to the island.”

  “Just like that,” said Jonah as he inspected some of the porcelain for sale.

&nbs
p; “Yes, this is what I understand. You know the island is hypnotic. Once you’re here, you never want to leave.” The owner paused to move the box. “Soon news spread amongst his friends and family about San Andrés, who would come for a vacation. Many looking for an escape from the turmoil in Lebanon relocated to the island.”

  Jonah bought a demitasse coffee set for Maria. “Thank you for the history lesson.”

  On the way back to the apartment, Jonah was jubilant. What good fortune has been bestowed upon me? We can set up a contact point back to the Muslims For Justice and the Amir from this island and avoid detection by the intelligent agencies.

  When Jonah arrived back in the United States, he wrote a letter to Peterson Books and Records in Detroit, Michigan, the company fronting for the Muslims For Justice in the United States, giving the island’s location and that it had a Muslim population.

  Dear Mr. Peterson,

  Arrived on San Andrés Island, Colombia and found it was the perfect place for the export of our merchandise. The island is located east of Nicaragua and enjoys wonderful weather year-round. There’s a substantial Muslim community that would readily purchase Middle Eastern products. I believe an operations manager should visit the island and assess the opportunity.

  Lee Ruby Sr.

  The letter, when received at Peterson Books and Records, created a major stir. No one ever heard of San Andrés and it took three different maps before they could locate the island. When Muslims For Justice received the information they couldn’t believe their good fortune.

  They immediately dispatched a high-level operative to Damascus. Three days later the Amir embraced the news as a breakthrough in the communications gap. Abu Abbas Ismail was assigned to establish a retail outlet on San Andrés Island.

  Howard Lieberman

  Howard and Michelle were having dinner at her parents’ house. They had been married six weeks.

  Ralph pulled Howard aside. “If you’re still interested, there’s a security firm that has several large government contracts that could be coming up for sale.”