Chapter 73
7:45 PM CEST Day two of 1260 Ramat David Air Force Base, Level III Interrogation Room
I was in a sterile room. My clothes had been completely stripped off me and my hands were bound behind my back. I was sitting on a steel chair, which was bolted to the floor. My ankles were also shackled to the front legs of the chair and I could barely move at all. It was cold and damp and there was no light whatsoever. It was pitch dark. Even with my eyes wide open, I could not see anything. It was as if I was totally blind.
I was also very cold. It did not take long for me to realize that there must be an air conditioner turned down low, for I could hear the sound of the compressor. I began thinking about my dilemma at the moment. It dawned on me that I went from flying in a luxury jet to sitting in a cold cell about to be tortured by the Israelis who were notoriously known to ignore certain laws when it came to their nation’s security. This was one extreme to another.
My mind was wandering, as I thought about the tortures I had always read about; how they got people to confess to what they had or had not done, under duress. I had always been afraid of drowning anyway, so if they decided to do the water board torture, then I was in for a difficult time. On the other hand, maybe they would shock me, or do other inhumane things to me. I had no idea. However, I did know that in this position, my international rights had already been violated. However, I doubted if they cared one way or the other if they violated some more. I only hoped Mark had gotten the message I left for him.
My thoughts were interrupted when the room became ablaze in bright light. It hit my eyes so fast that it actually felt like someone had put a hot poker into them. I heard the door open, and as I blinked repeatedly trying to adjust to the light, I heard footsteps coming towards me. I knew that it was at least more than one person. Then I heard the scraping of a chair. I opened my eyes again, adjusting to the light, and a person sitting in front of me started to come into focus.
He said, “Good evening Mr. South and welcome to Israel. We hope you are comfortable.”
I looked at the soldier in front of me and I was not sure of his rank, but he was dressed in military fatigues and had some silver on him, so I assumed that he was an officer. I also thought it was time to get my movie dialogue going. I did not know what else to say, so I said, “I do not know who you are, but I am an American citizen and I demand that I be able to speak with the Ambassador of the United States. I am sure he would like to be here with us right now. And… I believe that having me here like this is in violation of my human rights, according to international law.”
The officer looked at me and smiled. “I assume, Mr. South, that you think that we should give you a telephone so your Ambassador can send over an attorney to secure your rights during questioning. Is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“Well as you can see, Mr. South, we are probably not going to do that. If I were you, I would assume that right now, you are as comfortable as you are going to get. So let us dispense of the silliness of expecting an attorney. Oh by the way, your associate is upstairs as we speak. Did you know she used to work for us?”
“No I did not.”
“Well she did. And…she was very capable of doing what I am doing right now. She was probably a lot better at it than I am. So with that in mind, realize that whatever you tell me better match what she says. If not, then we will resort to other measures.”
“So Jack, we have a really nice airport in Tel Aviv for visitors to come into our country. Going through Customs is not difficult. I have your passport. You had it with you, so why go to the Jordanian border. Are you planning on calling on God to do some harm to our country like you have with the States?”
“I want to talk to the Ambassador,” I said. “So get on with the torture and whatever else you are going to do. I will not tell you anything until I consult with an attorney. If I am to be charged with a crime against your country, then charge me.”
“Okay, I guess you do not get it do you? So let me outline it to you. Where you are at does not really exist. You no longer exist. Your friend no longer exists. Down here with me is another world that does exist. Most that come here do not leave here the way they came in. However, in your case, we might be somewhat lenient. You may well be the first to say, I survived, for you never know. It is up to you Jack. So, let us start with something easy. What is this binder I have in my hand?”
I looked at it and recognized it as the binder Gabriel had given me that I was to memorize. I had not even opened it yet to see the contents. “It contains instructions from God on what I am to say during a sermon I am giving on Thursday in Kansas City, Missouri.”
“Really? Then what do these symbols mean?” as he opened the binder, looking at the pages.
“What symbols? I have never looked at the file, so I do not know what you mean.”
“Symbols, Jack,” he repeated, as he held up one of the sheets so that I could see the markings. It was strange; I had never seen anything like it. It was a series of symbols, which went from a circle out to the end. Not in lines like words. The best I way I could describe it was that it was like a Mayan Calendar with many symbols on it.
“I do not know what they mean.”
He shoved it closer to my face and said, “You must know what it means or you would not have it.”
I looked at it again, and closed my eyes. Then, as in the interview, it came to me how to interpret the symbols. As I opened my eyes and looked at it again, I then realized it was the Ten Commandments written by God himself in his own writing, I said to him, “The Ten Commandments, from your God and mine.”