Terrorist: Three Book Boxed Set

by Phillip Strang

  ‘It’s not difficult if you know the right people, pay enough money, and no one ever checks on what you present.’

  ‘I realise that.’ She had just applied at the German university, and they had still wanted to see her qualifications even though the head of the university knew that it was a cover. The administrative people were not aware of her true identity, but they had seen her qualifications on some certificates with fancy writing and accepted them at face value. She could have easily submitted a good-quality forgery.

  ‘Are you shocked?’ he asked.

  ‘No, it seems entrepreneurial to me.’

  ‘Good, I’m pleased to hear. Once I was in, I worked like crazy to justify my deception. I was invariably the top student of the year. For the last two years, I was given a scholarship.’

  He paused. ‘There’s one other thing. I’ve never told anyone this before. I shouldn’t be telling you this now, but I feel I must.’

  ‘What is it?’ she asked casually.

  ‘I changed my name. I was not Samir Habash in America. I called myself Sam Haberman.’

  ‘That’s not unusual. A lot of people anglicise their names.’

  ‘I thought it would help if they thought I was an Israeli Jew, not a Muslim. I never stated once that I was Jewish. It was just that people tended to assume that I was.’

  ‘So you didn’t do anything wrong, except twist the law to your advantage?’

  ‘The end may well justify the means. I become pre-eminent in the field of genetics. I won many awards for my research and worked in some of the most prestigious companies in the country. But what I did was, still is, highly illegal.’

  She looked at him but did not speak.

  ‘So, tell me about Yanny Schmidt,’ he said.

  ‘My life is less complicated. I was born in Senegal. My mother belonged to one of the royal families. She broke with tradition and married my father, a German from Hamburg, who had been working as an engineer upgrading the docks in Dakar, the capital.’

  ‘You said you grew up in Germany.’

  ‘I did. We relocated to Germany when I was young. I enjoyed school, always obtained top marks, especially in languages.’

  ‘Why so good at languages?’

  ‘I can only put it down to my childhood. Everyone in Africa tends to speak several tribal languages, and then either English, French or German, depending on who had been the colonial power. As a child, I would have spoken at least four languages – German with my father, French in polite conversation, and then at least two local languages even before I could write. Then, at school, there was English to learn, as well as Italian. I just absorbed them like a sponge. I picked up Arabic through my mother being Muslim, although she was not devout. I find if there is a new language to learn, my language skills quickly adjust to take them on board. I’m sure that, given three months at the University, I will be sufficiently fluent in Hebrew to hold a reasonable conversation.’

  ‘What did you do after school?’ he asked.

  ‘I took up translating legal documents and acting as an interpreter for German businessmen and politicians.’ Yanny knew the truth of her career could not be told. He would not have appreciated her fighting in Afghanistan, her military training. She had lied, whereas he had not.

  ‘You are a moderate man, a moderate Muslim. Yet you profess a hatred of Israel.’

  ‘It was not always so. My father took us – my mother, a brother and a sister and myself – to a wedding of a cousin in the Gaza Strip. We had permission to cross at Erez to the north of Gaza. We were Israeli citizens, so this presented no problems. While we were in Gaza, a Palestinian suicide bomber martyred himself in a synagogue in Jerusalem, killing eight worshippers.’

  ‘So the Israelis commenced a retaliatory strike against the supposed perpetrators in the Gaza,’ she said.

  ‘In the past, I would have been inclined to admit that the Jews had a right to exist and a right to protect their people. However, one of their bombs landed right in the middle of the wedding feast. The Israelis claimed it was an accident. It may well have been for them, but for me, my immediate family was dead, as well as the bride and the groom and fifty other people.’

  ‘Would you remove the Jews from Israel if you could?’

  ‘If it was possible, but I am an intelligent man, a pragmatist. They cannot be removed entirely, but they must be compelled to act as responsible citizens in the region, not as dictators. What they commit against the Palestinians is no better than what the Nazis did to them.’

  ‘I can understand your point of view, but I could never condone violence,’ Yanny said.

  ‘Violence will not provide a solution,’ he replied. ‘Besides, the Jews are a much more disciplined group of people than we Muslims will ever be. If there were another way, I would gladly assist.’

  ‘What do you mean by another way?’ asked Yanny lightly.

  ‘I am not sure, but they must be made to grant the Palestinians a fair and equitable deal. They must somehow be brought to heel, and that can only be achieved by applying pressure that even they will be forced to accept.’ Samir looked at Yanny and smiled. ‘Let’s not talk about this anymore. I am revelling in your company. I do not wish to talk about politics, of unpleasant subjects. Let’s enjoy ourselves and savour the moment.’

  It was that night that Yanny shared her bed at the hotel with Samir. Not because it was strategic in her plan to find out where the virus was, or what the plan was, but because she wanted to. She was starting to fall in love, as was he.

  Chapter 8

  It had been one person who had been responsible for the transformation of Samir Habash, Israeli Arab to Sam Haberman, Israeli Jew. He had ensured his entry into the United States of America and supported him both financially and mentally since the death of his entire family. It was he who expressed concern that Samir Habash’s focus was being redirected by the allure of a beautiful woman. It was for him to comment.

  ‘I took you under my wing, mentored you, counselled you with one aim. Our plan is reaching fulfilment, yet you become involved with another woman.’ the Sheik said.

  ‘Sheik, I will not allow it to interfere with the deliverance of my people,’ Samir replied.

  ‘Was it not I that ensured your sanity after the death of your family? Was it not I who recognised your intellectual abilities and directed you onto a path of benefit? Unfortunately, acting American, and Jewish, has given you an appreciation of their decadence. You have openly embraced their love of alcohol, their promiscuous nature.’

  ‘I cannot deny what you have said, but in all the years spent in America, no one suspected my true identity. It was necessary to act like them to maintain my cover.’

  ‘It seems to me that you did not only sustain the pretence,’ replied the Sheik, ‘you excelled. Your success in taking women to bed appears to have been almost legendary.’

  ‘I will endeavour to follow more closely the ideals that you have engendered in me.’

  ‘What about this woman?’

  ‘I hope she can be part of my life.’

  ‘Hopefully, Allah will grant you your wish.’

  ‘Thank you, so do I.’

  ‘Let us discuss more pressing matters,’ The Sheik returned to the reason for his communication with Samir. ‘What of the deliverance of the Palestinian people?’

  ‘The production of sufficient quantity is a slow and delicate process, but it progresses well. We should soon be able to release our first batch.’

  ‘Can we not threaten the release? To cause unnecessary death is not part of Allah’s desire.’

  ‘If we do not prove our capability, Israel will not respond, and America will ignore us. You know that I am right in this. We will aim the first controlled infections at the heart of Israel, at one of the illegal Jewish settlements. Once the disease has taken hold and the second generation is infected, we will announce our ultimatum. If they do not heed, then we will infect other Jewish settlements in Israel and selected cities in Am
erica. There is no other way.’

  The Sheik had encouraged Samir Habash to develop the deliverance. Now was not the time to express remorse or sorrow.

  ‘The first batch will be ready in three weeks. It is then up to Ismail Hafeez to deliver it to the nominated destinations in Israel. Also, he has friends, Palestinian friends in America who will ensure it is delivered to the various locations there.’

  ‘When will the first release be?’ asked the Sheik.

  ‘In twenty-eight days.’

  ‘Have we decided on how we issue the ultimatum?’

  ‘Yes, we have discussed this several times. We will wait fourteen days after the initial release and then inform the media outlets in Israel. At that time, the first generation of infected persons will be showing sores on their bodies and will be highly contagious. The first illegal Jewish settlement will have at least four to five hundred persons infected. They will all die, but further deaths will be prevented if they close down that community.’

  ‘And if they do not act immediately?’

  ’If they delay by more than a week the death count will rise into the thousands.’

  ‘Are we correct in assuming that their government will take our demands seriously?’

  ‘They will have no option,’ replied Samir. ‘What would happen if we released a can of the virus on an intercontinental flight? No one would be able to control the outcome.’

  ‘Samir, you are not contemplating such an action? I thought we were aiming to resolve the subjugation of the Palestinian people?’

  ‘Such action, never. We are not fundamentalists bent on global destruction.’

  ‘And what of us?’ asked the Sheik. ‘What will happen to us?’

  ‘With Allah’s help, we may survive.’ Samir knew that his peaceful future, a long life ideally with his newfound love, was unlikely. The hatred he had felt for Israel for so many years had reduced in its intensity as a result of meeting Yanny, but there was no turning back now.

  ‘I hope that Allah, peace be upon him, grants your wish,’ said the Sheik.

  ***

  Three weeks and the intensity of Yanny and Samir’s relationship continued unabated. She maintained her professionalism and continued to update Uri and Steve. Phil was still in the country, endeavouring to find the laboratory: what were the planned distribution routes and which communities were to be targeted, but he had come up with blanks.

  Yanny’s phone call gave the team cause for concern. ‘Samir has left for a few weeks. He told me this morning that he was going.’ She was close to tears as she told her colleagues in the daily phone conference. ‘I am sure he is going to do something for which there is no turning back.’

  ‘Have you fallen for this guy?’ Steve asked.

  ‘I will still continue to do my duty. He cannot be allowed to succeed.’

  Phil entered into the conversation. He had dialled in with updated information. ‘He’s crossed over into the West Bank. I need accreditation to be able to follow.’

  ‘I’ll give you that in the next ten minutes,’ Uri replied. ‘When do you want to go in?’

  ‘Today, I don’t want the trail going cold. Can you have someone tail him?’

  ‘One of our operatives picked him up as he crossed the border. He will be watched at all times. You will be briefed on your arrival.’

  The first Allenby Bridge had been built by the British and named after a British General. It had been destroyed in the six-day war by the Israelis in the late sixties. A temporary structure replaced it for thirty years until the Japanese built a new concrete bridge as part of an aid package. It was through this route that Phil entered, no more than five hours after Samir Habash. Following on advice from Uri, he had crossed the border with his own name as a tourist and checked in at the Royal Court Hotel on Jaffa Street in downtown Ramallah.

  He had just sat down with a coffee in the foyer of the hotel when he was approached. ‘Samir Habash is not far from here,’ a keen, skinny individual in blue jeans and a T-shirt with Coca-Cola emblazoned on the front of it said. ‘My name is Jamal Aburish.’

  ‘Phil Marshall. Pleased to meet you.’

  ‘Yes, I know who you are. I received a description from Uri.’

  ‘I am surprised that Uri has friends and contacts here.’

  ‘Why should you be?’ the young man said. ‘We are not all extremists. Some, if not most, realise that ultimately there must be some accord with Israel and the Jews. In fact, my mother was born Jewish.’

  ‘A Jewish mother and a Muslim father?’ Phil expressed surprise.

  ‘It’s unusual. It was during a rare enlightened period in our history that they met at University, fell in love, married and came to the West Bank. Now it is not possible for my mother to visit her family in Israel, except for once a year; it upsets her greatly.’

  ‘Have you been tracking Habash?’ Phil asked.

  ‘Yes, I know where he is, although he has not acted in a suspicious manner. He visited a transport depot of Ismail Hafeez, but then he is a friend.’

  ‘It is a transportation network that is needed. Ismail Hafeez could provide that service.’

  ‘It is possible, but he has so many trucks moving between here and Jordan that it would not be possible to follow them all.’

  ‘What about trucks heading to Israel?’

  ‘He does have vehicles moving in that direction. There are at least three to five trucks a day crossing the border.’

  ‘You seem remarkably well-informed on Ismael Hafeez.’

  ‘We have always suspected that he is involved in a little smuggling. Nothing major, just goods that he forgets to declare to avoid customs duty, taxes.’

  ‘You turn a blind eye?’

  ‘Yes, we are only concerned if it becomes something more sinister – terrorists, drugs, that sort of thing.’

  ‘He’s not been guilty of that?’

  ‘No, we just see him as a sharp businessman out to make money, nothing more.’

  ‘We need to follow up on where the trucks that have crossed into Israel have gone. What is their distribution route? Where are the goods being dispatched to? Batch numbers, is that possible?’

  ‘It’s possible,’ said Jamal, ‘but it will involve a lot of work. Transit records at the border crossing should be able to give some details. Let me work on it.’

  Soon after Jamal Aburish had left, Phil contacted Uri and Steve. ‘Do you have Montgomery there with you?’

  ‘Yes, he is here,’ said Steve. ‘What do you have?’

  ‘Ismael Hafeez, Habash’s friend, has a contract delivering aerosol sprays from an Israeli company manufacturing here in the West Bank. Paul Montgomery mentioned that they may be a suitable transmission medium.’

  ‘Give me details?’ Montgomery was quick to enter the conversation.

  ‘We know that Habash visited one of Hafeez’s depots here today on his arrival in Ramallah. We also know that Hafeez has at least one truck a day entering Israel full of aerosol sprays, air fresheners, insect sprays and similar products.’

  ‘Phil is correct, they are the ideal medium for transportation and release,’ Montgomery said.

  ‘So where is the laboratory?’ Steve asked.

  ‘It could be anywhere. Even at Hafeez’s depot, but it is not the most important issue right now.’

  ‘Why is it not important now?’ Steve asked.

  ‘We still have to find it, close it down with all due care, but a truck a day into Israel is our more immediate concern.’

  ‘Then how will Habash know where they are being delivered?’ asked Steve.

  ‘I’ve already asked for batch numbers,’ Phil said.

  ‘That’s a good start. What else do we need?’

  It was an issue that Uri, in his attempts to control the smuggling of guns into his country, had faced many times. ‘Batch numbers, consignment details, bills of lading, we need all of these,’ he said. ‘We have people here trained to follow up.’

  ‘Can you stay where y
ou are for now?’ Steve said to Phil. ‘We need to find the laboratory, close it down. Keep a close watch on Habash, but don’t attempt to apprehend or let him know that we are looking for the laboratory.’

  ‘Do nothing, that’s critical,’ Montgomery added. ‘How they intend to release the spray is still unknown. Will it be remote controlled? It could be an automatic dispenser in a public toilet, even a drone flying overhead in a crowded shopping centre. If we frighten them, the consequences could be much worse.’

  ‘Montgomery’s right,’ said Uri. ‘It is kid gloves with Habash and his friend Hafeez at the present moment. Until we have averted the crisis, they are to be treated with great care and respect.’ The phone conference concluded.

  ***

  Rabbi Yaakov Bibas had been fervent in his criticism of the automatic air fresheners installed in his synagogue in Modi’in Illit, but even he had to concede to the Israeli government’s stance on public health.

  Ultra conservative, isolated and disapproved by the majority of the Jews in the country, the Haredi sect, of which the Rabbi was a proud member maintained a necessary detachment from the rest of the country. Only the occasional Palestinian worker would come in, conduct some work and then leave. On the Sabbath, it would be a closed community and the synagogues, the centre of all activity in the city. Close to sixty thousand people called it home.

  Paul Montgomery had been the first to recognise the situation. It had been twelve days since the installation of the air fresheners in Bibas’ synagogue. The information readily available on the internet showed an unusually high incidence of health issues and medical activity close to its locality.

  He arrived at ground zero six hours after he had made his diagnosis, fifteen hours after the hospital in Rehovot had mobilised and sent in a team. He entered wearing a spacesuit, a positive pressure personnel suit to the consternation of the elders in the town, and the humour of the younger members of the society.

  ‘Do not move anyone out of the area,’ he ordered. ‘And do not touch anyone.’ He had pre-empted Habash’s statement of infection of the community after hearing of the severe outbreak of an as yet unknown, suspected chickenpox epidemic.