Kill Them Wherever You Find Them (16 page)

She wanted to give the medical team time and
space to work on Jeff. After he had time to rest and begin
recovery, there were questions she needed to ask him.

Table of Contents

11. Betrayal of Love

" [...] that Schrödinger's cat is in a quantum
state, where it is half alive and half dead. He feels that can't
correspond to reality. [...] Quantum theory does this very
successfully. It predicts that the result of an observation is
either that the cat is alive or that it is dead. It is like you
can't be slightly pregnant: you either are or you aren't. "
-The Nature of Space and Time (1996) by Stephen Hawking and Roger
Penrose, p. 121

Jerusalem, State of Israel - six
years ago

Avi Ben-Levi had been
out to celebrate. He
was the youngest person to be promoted to work on Lt. General Dan
Ashkelon's staff. Not only was he the youngest, he outranked most
of the other staff members. He wasn't a vain man but he was
realistic and ambitious. He already earned a good salary and loved
his work in the Tzahal.

After his required time in the military
serving as a paratrooper Avi reenlisted and applied for officer's
training. Approved for service with a special unit, a bad landing
from a helicopter jump due to a sudden wind gust just shy of
landfall forced a career change.

Ever since he thanked his lucky stars for
that broken ankle and three cracks in the femur of the other leg.
Not only did it alter his career path, he found himself briefly in
the same rehabilitation center with Shoshanna, daughter of a
high-ranking officer on Lt. General Dan Ashkelon's staff.

Private Shoshanna Aharonson was recovering
from her own injury sustained during an incursion in the Gaza Strip
after more than three thousand rockets were fired into Israeli
territory. Avi was visiting her in a room she shared with three
other female soldiers when her mother walked in for a visit.

Thrilled to see her, and eager for her mom to
meet her new friend, Avi was introduced to Captain Isabella
Aharonson.

Captain Aharonson had a commanding presence
when she entered a room. While not beautiful in the standard sense
imposed by Hollywood on the television-addicted, she had a look
about her – almost an aura – that captured the visual attentions of
nearly every male from ten years of age upward to elderly men
knocking at death's door.

Her daughter, Isabella, on the other hand,
wasn't so fortunate in any sense of physical beauty. What she
lacked in allure was compensated by her vivacious personality.

Avi was surprised when Shoshannah or
'Shoshi,' the diminutive form of her name, hobbled up to him and
started talking. She was in a leg cast with crutches, having spent
nearly a week laid-up in bed.

She recognized him as a player on a soccer
team from years ago, a team that her own team from a neighboring
high school roundly trounced and sent home with a shameful 20-0
loss. He remembered that game too. He was the goalie when a gangly
girl with braces and legs the length of a giraffe that made the
final goal before time ran out. Small world. It seemed to him an
irony that two star players of their respective teams should bump
into each other in a physical rehabilitation center, each on
crutches.

Avi and Shoshi became fast friends. A few
days later, when her mom visited, it was natural for her – seeing
their friendship – to give her daughter a knowing eye coupled with
a nearly invisible grin. Shoshi slightly shook her head "no," it
wasn't like that. Well, a mother can hope. Given his background and
evident intelligence, he clearly had a future in any career of his
choosing.

She told the "kids" when they both had healed
sufficiently, Shoshannah - formal name for her daughter, he took
note - should bring him by the office for a visit and she'd
introduce him to some friends there.

In less than two weeks' time on the first
workday morning, Sunday, Avi found himself in the office of Captain
Isabella Aharonson. The building and tight security were indeed
impressive; all the more so was the handsomely decorated office of
Capt. Aharonson. The walls were mahogany inlaid around the ceiling,
floorboards and doors with geometric, beautifully detailed patterns
fashioned from native Israeli olive wood. The furnishings were
ornate without being grandiose. Two chairs in front of her desk
were a rich dark wood frame with a comfortable red leather seat and
back. The carpet was a coffee-and-cream color that, surprisingly,
seemed to work well with the rest of the office. Her desk, also
mahogany, displayed an organized chaos that included a single
framed picture of Shoshi. He thought it possible that she was
divorced or widowed, not a topic of idle chat. He made sure to
steer clear of family inquiries on that first visit.

During the visit General Ashkelon knocked on
the open door and let himself in for a few words with the Captain.
Concluding, he smiled at Shoshi and warmly told her how glad he was
to see her up and around. Shoshi and Avi both immediately stood up
and saluted as he entered, remaining standing at attention. Before
leaving he gave Shoshi a warm hug as he left the office without so
much as acknowledging Avi, save it be for a brief nod in his
direction. At his departure they sat in the plush leather chairs
again and continued the visit.

A few months later, during his officer's
training, Shoshi would visit regularly. Once her mother sent him
homemade cookies. The latter came as a surprise, he did not peg her
as someone who would be comfortable in the kitchen. Tasting the
cookies, he was glad to be wrong.

Years came and passed. While their
relationship never blossomed into anything resembling a romance,
their friendship remained solid. A confirmed bachelor, he liked to
"play the field" where women were concerned. Though he didn't have
the looks that made most women to do a double-take, he did maintain
enough of an exercise regimen that he could have found a job
modeling for fitness magazines. Women seemed to go out of their way
to appreciate this quality in him. Avi was never in want of lady
friends.

Shoshi, on the other hand, preferred
stability in her life and accepted the third proposal of marriage
that came her way much to her mother's relief. Her mom let it be
known several times that it was about time she had grandchildren of
her own. The first couple years of marriage it appeared that Shoshi
might not be able to conceive. A few trips by her mom to pray at
Rachel's
Well
and expensive, in-vitro procedures
brought about the desired results and then some – triplets!

Avi was regarded by both peers and superiors
as someone who would make his way to the "top" in the military
bureaucracy. Smart, ambitious, able to utilize an incredible memory
regarding everything he saw and heard, he was a man on a mission.
His goal was to retire young enough to enjoy a lifestyle that he
wanted to eventually be his.

He thought often of his parents, finally able
to retire but with advancing years catching up, they found
themselves unable to travel as they had hoped upon retirement.
Becoming a member of the senior staff had been one of his
short-term steps to achieve this ultimate goal. He loved his
parents and respected their lives of sacrifice and hard work, he
just didn't want to end-up like them.

Perhaps he'd make a name for himself in the
military hierarchy and then go into politics. An affable,
easy-going style and strong communication skills were
qualifications going in his favor. Not only that but when he talked
with you he spoke with
you
, as if you were the only person
in the world. One never felt like he was thinking about anything or
anybody else while conversing with him. During conversation, his
dark brown, nearly black eyes held your own as if he were peering
deeply into your soul, assessing your character. Yet he did this
without causing any discomfort or crossing personal boundaries. One
almost felt this psychic drilling into your very being was an
integral and important part of the conversation and that, without,
it there could be no true two-way conversation.

After five years of officer and command
experience he again came to the attention of Lt. General Ashkelon.
When asked about a replacement for a staff member about to serve in
a foreign embassy, Shoshi's mother didn't hesitate for a second to
recommend Avi.

By the end of the day his dossier was on
Ashkelon's desk. Given his impressive résumé, excellent reviews by
all of his commanders, recommendations by several people – not
least of whom was Captain Isabella Aharonson - he was the obvious
choice. Ashkelon valued Isabella's opinion above all others in
professional matters. Once Avi's background check came back nearly
flawless (he had some fighting problems back in high school but
never a problem since) Ashkelon felt no hesitation inviting him to
serve on the General Staff of the Tzahal.

Two days later, in the General's office, he
accepted the formal invitation. Avi didn't seem at all surprised by
the offer. The General wondered if Shoshanna had given him advanced
notice or if he was simply that sure of himself. Either way it was
clear he would make a valuable contribution as a member of the
General's Senior Staff.

Yes, he had reason to celebrate with his
buddies. Careful to not self-inebriate, due to an alcohol-related
brawl that turned ugly in his youth, Avi slowly sipped a beer while
watching his friends continue celebrating for him at a more
accelerated pace. Out of the corner of an eye, garnering his full
attention, he saw the most perfect vision of beauty enter the room.
To say that she took his breath away would be an understatement. It
was obvious from the simultaneous and decidedly unabashed look of
the men's eyes in the bar, his wasn't a singular experience.

Avoiding his glance, which was little less
than an all-out stare, Mona went up to the bar and ordered her
drink. Either she was unaware of the singular attention she was
attracting, or she was so accustomed to it that not acknowledging
them was second nature for her. After about thirty minutes of
deftly avoiding the overtures of two would-be suitors, she put her
near-empty glass down on the bar counter while almost imperceptibly
sighed. He saw a chance and jumped on it.

Motioning the bartender over he gave him an
ample amount of money to cover any drink. He asked the bartender to
pour her another round of whatever she was drinking, keeping the
change as a tip. The very happy bartender, with a sizable tip noted
on his account, brought a second drink over to her. He watched as
the bartender pointed him out, saw her look directly at him - his
heart skipped a beat - and nod a "thank you." Again she turned her
attention to her drink and her own reflection in the long mirror
behind the bar.

The nod seemed genuine, though no doubt many
a man had paid for her drinks in the past. Avi wondered if it got
them anywhere. No matter, he knew he was certainly no ordinary man.
He decided it was time to show her that he was somebody she would
want to get to know better.

He casually got up and sidled closer to her.
As soon as a bar stool next to her became free he beat two other
guys also negotiating the opportunity to get a chance to introduce
themselves. Not one to be deterred, he shot a threatening alpha
male glance in their direction, assuring his seat next to this
raven beauty.

Winning the bar stool next to hers, the first
mission had been neatly accomplished. Next step, win a place in her
heart – if only for the night. This woman was so extraordinarily
beautiful he might consider letting it go as long as a week, maybe
two, before cutting her loose to move on to the next woman who
caught his eye.

Both played their roles well at the small
chit-chat one usually employs at such times and places as this. As
the evening wore on the music and conversations around them grew
louder while the population of patrons continued to grow. The
cacophony finally reached the point where they had to shout at each
other just to be heard. Avi had tested the waters long enough to
know that she was ready and willing.

"Do you want to stay in this crowded dive any
longer?" Avi asked her.

"No, the noise is just too much! I was
thinking of going home, unless you have a better idea." Mona said
this with the feeble smile of a person caught in an awkward
situation, though her eyes made it clear she was serious, wanting
to spend more time with him.

"I live in a small house about ten kilometers
from here. A relic from a moshav that once operated there, it's
where I was raised. I bought it from my parents when they decided
to move to the city. Would you like to see it?"

"Mission accomplished." Mona thought. "Sounds
like a plan to me. I spent some time on a moshav myself. Only
briefly though, my parents had to move around quite a bit. It's a
long story."

"Well why don't you come back to my place for
a nightcap and tell me your long story? We have all night."

In his living room she made herself
comfortable and completely at-home, as if she had always been
there. Her demeanor made him equally comfortable with her. It was
as if she belonged, as if her presence was as familiar to him as
his furnishings. Her easy laugh, the way she casually –
thoughtlessly – brushed her long, flowing hair back as she spoke,
were charms in and of themselves.

She told him about her parents' flight from
Iran when she was a young girl. "Ah," he thought, "this explains
her slight Farsi accent." True Zionist and freedom fighters for her
people and other minorities in Iran, death threats and even a
firebomb thrown into a window of their flat in Tehran forced their
hasty exodus.

They found a home, a safe haven, in Israel.
Then there was the fatwa, a contract on the lives of her and her
parents after their escape. Neither her parents, nor even Mona,
could stay in one place for any appreciable length of time. They
could not put down roots as this would endanger themselves and the
people to whom they grew close. Sighing, she admitted it to be a
lonely life but that she had no lasting regrets.