Chapter 72
7:45 PM CEST Day two of 1260 Ramat David Air Force Base, Level I Interrogation Room
Veronica knew she was being taken to what was known as an interview room, at least not an interview cell. She had been on the other side of her predicament when she was with the Army and Intelligence agency herself. The car pulled up to a nondescript building and she was escorted up the steps. When the door opened, she was pushed into the room, and then it closed behind her. She heard a very distinct voice she had not heard in years.
“Welcome back to Israel, Veronica; nice to see you in our midst, again.” In the dim light, she followed the voice over to a chair behind a desk. It belonged to Moshe Landers. He had been her superior officer when she was still a part of the Israeli Security Forces several years ago, until she had moved to the States. She looked at the uniform and noticed that he was now a Colonel. He had only been a captain when she knew him before. So obviously, he had moved up in rank.
She remembered him as being very aggressive with Palestinians and other people that the State of Israel thought may be of interest or have knowledge of attempts against the country. On several occasions, he had been brought up on charges for excessive force, or what was more commonly known as torture. However, these were usually dismissed by the government. Somehow, he always managed to escape ever having to account for his practices and generally, was left to his own devices, undeterred. This was not good.
“I am fine Captain. I am sorry; I see your rank has changed, Colonel.”
“Well I am fine too Veronica,” as he turned on the lights in the room. “It has been a long time since we worked together; maybe ten years or more I gather.”
“Yes Colonel. That would be about right.”
“So what have you been doing since then?” although he already knew the answer. You may leave Israel, but if you were in Intelligence, then you never left, and Mossad took this seriously, he thought to himself.
“Colonel, you know exactly what I have been doing. So why do you even bother to ask?”
“Feisty still,” he said, “Very much so. Well I was trying to be pleasant, Veronica. I mean, you are a former member of my team.” He paused and then said, “You may sit down if you would like.” As she was sitting down he asked, “Why did you sneak Jack South into our country and go somewhere where there is nothing but rocks, on the Jordanian Border? As you know, this is serious. Smuggling foreigners into the country is not something I or any Israeli takes lightly.”
She thought about how to answer, than decided to tell him the truth. He would figure it out eventually, anyway. “Colonel, I am sure you are aware of who Jack South is.”
“Yes, I watched with great interest all the broadcasts, not only yesterday, but today too. He seems to have put the United States into a tailspin, both politically and economically, with his predictions and whatever power he has. So yes, I know who he is. That is why I am concerned as to why he is here. If he is here to cause the same confusion as the U.S. is experiencing, then he will do so from a cell in a hole so deep that he will never see daylight again, much less talk to the media, which by the way, is where he is right now. So what is he doing here, Veronica? And don’t play with me or you may well join him.”
“Do as you wish Colonel, but I think that what you are doing now will not bode well with our allies in the states. I understand that he is hands off, no matter where he is. I know he called his attorney, Mr. Anderson, before we landed. So, I’m sure someone here will get a call very soon.”
“Answer the question Veronica. As you well know, we play with the Americans. So far, I am not concerned about what they say or think. You may be right, but until I am told otherwise, I will find out one way or the other what you are doing here with this man.”
“I took him to see Shraya.”
Moshe laughed then said, “Shraya? The nut and loudmouth of a Rabbi who lives in caves in the desert and threatens the State of Israel on a daily basis? If we did not think he was insane and harmless, we would have dealt with him a long time ago. Moreover, why would you be hanging around with that crackpot? Although we’ve questioned his motives before, we all decided he was crazy and harmless. Now you take South to him. That my dear, makes us suspicious that we may have been wrong about Shraya all these years.”
“You may be right Colonel, but if I were you, I’d back off and let Jack return to the United States and ignore Shraya.”
“Now why would I do that Veronica? That tells me that they can hurt my country or I, which only means that I would need to control both of them. The best way to do that is lock them both up in a hole and you with them. So why did you take him to see Shraya? I am tired of your word games. I want an answer now that makes sense or I will go to step two of this interview. And from your past allegiance with our little group, you are well aware of what that means.”