by Rose Fox
“Hey Sawish, what’s your name?”
“Mahmoud, Mahmoud Talal!” he shouted in response and the officer waved goodbye to him.
“Hey, and what’s your name?” Sharif called back to him.
“Bassam, Bassam Khudira!” the officer shouted back.
Sharif waved goodbye and continued walking letting out a sigh of relief that threatened to burst his chest as he began thinking aloud.
“Get it into your head”, he said out loud to himself, “there’s Captain Jamal, an officer who doesn’t tell his men to take care of themselves yet, it seemed, takes care of them very well and then there’s Lieutenant Marzukh, who isn’t seriously concerned about his soldiers and doesn’t bother to take care of them but loves himself too much to walk a great deal or deprive himself of life’s comforts. At any rate, he is very slim.” Sharif tapped his finger on his forehead.
“And then there’s Lieutenant Bassam Khudira, whom I’ve already met and will also remember and, of course, he is the commander of the ‘Kadi’ unit that always travels in vehicles.”
He committed the details to memory and went on walking, kicking up the sand with his high boots, now feeling completely comfortable and accustomed to them.
After walking for another half hour he saw a barbed wire fence that surrounded a huge plot that had nothing on it other than sparse overgrowth. In the distance he saw soldiers at fixed distances from one another and they appeared to be guarding something. He stared at their weapons, which were carbine rifles and he noticed that they all wore camouflaged uniforms like his. Sharif stood at the fence that stretched in every direction and wondered what to do next.
In the distance he saw a gray car approaching that did not look like a military vehicle but the driver, who could be seen through the windshield, was in uniform. The car sped towards him and stopped about a meter away from him.
Sharif raised his arm and yelled at the driver, “why did you stop? You could have just passed me and carried on!”
The driver opened the car door but spoke to the soldier sitting beside him. Then he got out of the car and in the most natural way possible, approached Sharif and saluted him. Sharif noted that three yellow V shaped strips were affixed to his shirt sleeve, showing that the soldier had the rank equivalent to sergeant in the British Army and, perhaps, here too.
Sharif responded with a salute and spoke to him casually. “I’ve been waiting here for a long time. What delayed you, sergeant?”
“Ah, what did you say? You waited for me? I wasn’t told anything and I didn’t know that another person was joining us. They arrived only yesterday. Are they already sending back-up? Nice, very nice!”
“How’s it going?” Sharif inquired. He heard the Sergeant’s answer and at that moment he was convinced that Allah’s presence really was everywhere.
“Listen, a few problems arose that were not simple. We lost Corporal Rachma. He was killed and from what?!” He raised his voice. “From shots fired by Mussawi. He wanted to shoot the two stupid hostages, who tried to escape and in the end he killed our Rachma.”
“You don’t mean to say! Tell me, I didn’t understand, why was Mussawi shooting at all?” His heart almost jumped up to his throat.
“What do you mean by why? The hostages freed themselves from the ropes on the flat bed and almost escaped!” The soldier was flushed and red in the face and seemed to be reliving the experience.
“But, don’t worry; he took care of them.” He said with obvious delight and Sharif immediately asked.
“How did he take care of them?” and then regretted asking.
“I’ll tell you. Jawish got up on the truck and you know how strong he is. He almost killed them with the plank.”
It took enormous effort for Sharif to swallow and he couldn’t stop coughing. It was difficult to hear these things. He tried to catch his breath while he was coughing and spluttered,
“Imagine what would have happened if they had managed to escape.”
“Oh, wow!” The sergeant waved his arm and laughed, “They would executed the whole lot of us and believe me, there are a lot of us. Tell me! Wouldn’t that have been a pity?”
“You’re right. How many of you were on that truck operation?”
“Do you mean the whole transfer project? Just a moment, let’s check it out. At the outset we were close to twenty people because there was a lot to do. Those missiles are really heavy, it’s no joke. Don‘t forget there were also some very heavy crates, Each wooden crate of grenades weighs forty kilos but it was as if they had filled them with stones.”
“Well, fine, but there were a lot of you.”
“Right, but they left only eight on the truck because we came with the tractor.”
“Make up your mind; was it a truck or a tractor?” Sharif asked and the sergeant looked at him and inquired:
“What’s the question?”
“Nothing, y’allah, come on, let’s get to work.” After a moment’s thought he said, “I’m counting on you to guide me. I want to see good work here. And I’ll tell you another important thing. I really don’t know how to deal with matters here.”
“That’s not a problem. But I don’t understand; why don’t you know? Where did you come from?”
“From there, you know, from the previous place.”
“Ah, they have to get the same treatment. Continue just as you did with one difference. There they lay on the sand and you saw what happened after the earthquake, right? We were lucky not to have been buried there together with them.”
“Right. Does that mean it couldn’t happen here?” Sharif inquired.
“Certainly not! I see you really don’t know anything about this place. So come with me. I’ll take you on a short tour,” he offered, “I hadn’t planned to talk so much. There’s a lot of work to be done. But I have a little more time for you, shaweesh, y’allah, come on!!”
The sergeant approached, looked and checked the coils of the fence with his foot on the sand. Suddenly, something popped up revealing a narrow, dark opening like the descent into a sewer.
At that moment Sharif felt something burst inside himself. Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined that he would find himself standing at the opening to a tunnel, especially in a place where hostages were being guarded.
Finally the reality of it penetrated and he realized where he was. He shuddered at the idea that he was going to see them. His stomach ached; he was dizzy and found it difficult to stand in one spot. He stepped aside and vomited on the sand.
The soldier waited for him to come over, stared at him but did not say a word. He raised the cover, put his hand inside and tightened something inside the tunnel. The noise of cables was heard and the clacking of gears and a metal platform appeared.
“After you,” Sharif suggested.
“No, you first.” The sergeant responded.
“Fine, just tell me how I’m supposed to know what to do here? Who’s the expert, you or me?”
“Okay, when you’re right, you’re right.”
The sergeant entered cautiously, pressed a button Sharif didn’t manage to see from outside and disappeared from sight. After a short while, the empty elevator platform reappeared and Sharif mounted it and noticed a small metal lever. He pulled and withdrew it but nothing happened and when he pressed it inwards the elevator began its descent. That took about ten seconds and Sharif estimated that the depth of the excavation was about twenty five meters or even more.
A long corridor that was illuminated by tiny lights appeared before him. Sharif looked for the sergeant who had disappeared. Some of the walls were concrete and some were wooden. He slid his hand over them when suddenly another soldier appeared from one of the rooms. He was also a sergeant.
Sharif was very tense, almost fainting with fright and he raised his hand to his chest. He panted and spluttered, “you gave me a fright, sergeant, where did you come from?”
“Really?! What’s your name, Shaweesh, (lieutenant)? I’m
Marzukh,” the sergeant announced.
“Marzukh? Nice, then you have a bright future ahead of you.” Sharif laughed and patted him on the shoulder.
“Why?” the soldier asked, not understanding.
“Marzukh, well, what about Lieutenant Marzukh, do you know him?”
“Ah, very nice, you’re referring to that Lieutenant Marzukh but I will never be able to compare to him because he is a sportsman. You have to be born like that.”
“Yes, I know. And he’s so thin but that’s no wonder. He walks a lot and he also expects others to do the same.”
“So I’ve heard.”
“I’m Mahmoud, Mahmoud Talal,” he introduced himself and joined him on his walk down the corridor.
“By the way, are we waiting for a group from the ‘Kadi’?
“Yes, why do you ask?”
“Because I saw them beside the truck, a few kilometers from here. They were offloading crates and I spoke to their commander, Lieutenant Bassam, Bassam Khudira.”
“You mean they were loading, not offloading. Then yes, they should have been here already. Where did you see them?”
“Let’s say they’re about a half hour from the circle of palm trees. I saw them on my way.”
“Wow, wow, you did a lot of walking! What are you talking about? You’re the one who’s like Lieutenant Marzukh.”
“Well, let’s not exaggerate. Less talk and more work. Let’s get to the important stuff," Sharif suggested.
Sergeant Marzukh led him to one of the cells, pointed to the crates that had to be organized and remained silent. Sharif looked around and then asked casually:
“When do we get out of here?”
“You asked for the important stuff, so here it is. Until we finish this we won’t be able to take the crates from the ‘Kadi’ unit so we have to make haste.”
Marzukh rolled up his sleeves and set about arranging the crates as he said:
“We have around ten roomfuls like this and I don’t see how we can take care of all this alone. Wait here while I go and call Walid and Ahmad. I’ll be right back.”
An hour later, Sharif stood sweating with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows after he had almost finished arranging the midsection of the first room when he heard Marzukh call out to him:
“Mahmoud, my brother, don’t bother with it,” He said as he walked up to him quickly and placed a hand on his arm.
“You don’t have to arrange anything.” He said as he looked around. “Good job. You managed a lot but it’s a pity.”
“Why is it a pity?”
“Apparently, in two days, though it’s not yet official and remember, you didn’t hear this from me, everything, including the hostages, will be moved to a completely different location. I heard that they are arranging trucks.”
He laughed with glee when he saw how Sharif stared at him and listened with heightened interest, perhaps, with too much interest.
“You don’t say!”
“Now, listen. They’re doing it gradually so that the transfer plan won’t attract attention. Don’t forget they have to keep it secret from those who shouldn’t know. That’s why they’re planning it in several stages. It won’t be done in large convoys or in a barrage of fire but in single shots,” and he laughed at the metaphor from the world of ammunition.
“I get it. Each time, just one or two trucks, no more.”
“Yeah,” he responded. “And the two of them will be sent in a single car, without an escort.”
“Seriously?!”
“That’s what I heard.”
Sharif stood scratching his head. He looked around him and pretended to regret all the effort he had put in.
“Wow, I put a lot of sweat into that. It’s a pity you didn’t tell me at the start.”
“But, I didn’t know. I’ve only just been told.”
“So what do we do now?”
“Nothing. It will stay packed like this and be loaded gradually on the trucks.”
“That’s all well and good but where is it all to be transferred?” Sharif inquired.
He was agitated and very excited and therefore took care not to look Marzukh in the eye. He turned his gaze from corner to corner as if he was examining things and thinking about them simply from an organizationally interested point of view.
“I really don’t know. If I heard right, I think our activities will transfer to Lebanon.”
Sharif almost had a fit when he heard that and a cry escaped his lips.
“Wait, I’m just making an assumption based on what I’ve heard here and there. I think, in the end it will really be a last minute decision.” He turned to go and added, “and that may also change in another hour.”
When he left the room, Sharif had to make an effort to regulate his breathing and organize his thoughts.
Sharif had not even started looking for Adam or Abigail. He tried to integrate with the guards and the men patrolling the place as he listened to everything they said and absorbed the information. The whole time his brain was concerned with the main reason he was there. He thought about how it would be possible to get them out or if there was any possibility of concealing them in order to bring them home. Now, after talking to Marzukh, he decided to wait patiently for the consignment that would leave within a day or two.
Meanwhile, he explored the long corridor, learning all its dark corners well in case he would have to hide, even if only for a few minutes.
The room on the right was the last cell and the tunnel stopped there, with no continuation. He had no idea that Abigail was there behind a sandy wall, under the surveillance of cameras and laser beams with an alarm to the control room. Sharif took a small step to the right and noticed someone lying on a plank. With a quick glance he saw the rope wound round his legs but when he advanced another step he heard a voice behind him and jumped in fright.
“Where do you think you’re going Shaweesh Mahmoud?”
Sharif stopped on the spot. He understood that he had reached the right place but felt he had made the wrong move at the wrong time.
“You caught me! I’m a very curious person. I wanted to check him out and see him.”
“I get that. Who told you to come in here?”
Sharif turned round and stood facing a very tall soldier. He was Adjutant Sayid and his rank in Israel was the equivalent of a First Sergeant. He had seen him the day before when he arrived with Marzukh and now Sharif had no choice but to try and extricate himself from the difficult situation he had gotten into.
He smiled and greeted him:
“A'halan Sachbi, (hello, my friend), is this the way you frighten people for their curiosity?”
“Mahmoud, commander, this is outside your jurisdiction, go back!”
“Oh come on, I only want to see, let me have a peek at him,” he begged and immediately added: “And where is that woman?”
“What?!” Sayid expressed his amazement, “are you telling me that you didn’t see them when you were on duty there, in the place you were? After all, you told Marzukh you came from there. The place where they were kept before!” He stared at Sharif and an expression of disbelief began spreading over his face.
“To tell you the truth, I didn’t see them then. I’m not proud of it, but there’s nothing to be done about it and it’s the whole truth. All in all, I just wandered around outside and they never let me into their tunnel. But you don’t have to tell anyone.”
“Aha, now I understand,” First Lieutenant Sayid exclaimed and exhaled sharply. “I also understand why only you were sent from there and none of the other guards from the previous cave. To tell you the truth, I was surprised and wanted to clear up how that happened.”
He stared at Sharif and his piercing stare caused him to tremble, but, then, a conciliatory smile appeared on Sayid’s face and he said,
“Y’allah, (come on), go and take a quick look and then we’ll go back. Make it quick! Sorry, Shaweesh Mahmoud, it’s because here, I’m the commander and it is my re
sponsibility.”
He pointed and indicated the walls of the tunnel. Sharif didn’t wait a second longer and immediately glanced into the cell with trepidation.
Adam lay with his eyes open and gazed at the entrance. He heard their voices and, of course, did not understand a word of what they said. The moment he caught on that it was Sharif who was looking at him, he stared back without batting an eyelid. Suddenly the image and the face he was looking at penetrated his consciousness and his eyes opened wide as he began mumbling to himself, convinced that he was hallucinating.
Sharif continued staring at Adam and said to Sayid, who was standing beside him, “Sayid, do you know that I speak Hebrew? I live in Tul-Karem in Palestine.”
“Really?! I don’t believe you! So you’re more suited to be here than me. Are you serious?!”
“And you, Sayid, do you understand Hebrew?” Sharif inquired, praying the answer would be negative.
“Not at all. How would I know that language?”
Sharif began to speak Hebrew loudly and with great intent in Adam’s direction.
“Hi, it’s me, Sharif. I came for both of you. I want you to know that trucks will arrive and move you today or tomorrow. Prepare for action.” He went back to speak Arabic and addressed Sayid,
“I’ll tell you what I said to him. I asked him how I sound in Hebrew and asked him to say something to me in his language.”
Suddenly they heard Adam shouting on top of his voice. “Oh, Great God!! What’s happening to me? If only this wasn’t a dream.”
“Listen how excited he is to hear Hebrew. He cried out to his God,” Sharif exclaimed.
“Yes, I heard, I understand the word ‘God'," Sharif added, at once.
“You promised to let me see her, too. Let me brag to her. She’s a woman, right?!