Chapter 84
9:25 PM CEST Day two of 1260 Over Ramat David Air Force Base, Israel Airspace
I sat in my seat on the jet, strapped in, as it took off from the airbase. I looked out the window even though it was becoming dark. With the lights, I could still see the sprawling desert that surrounded the base and the buildings that made up the area. I was trying to decipher which one I had been in, but could not.
Veronica was also looking out the windows until she turned to me and said, “It was the building to the right of the very large hangar,” and she pointed it out. I looked at it and noticed it was just like all the others, but I still could not shake off being held prisoner there, although it had not been for very long. I kept staring at it from the window.
After they had questioned me about the file, they had left me there, again in the blackness. It had seemed forever before they came back. This time I kept my eyes closed until they adjusted to the light again. There was only one guard and he had a bundle in his hands. It was my clothes and personal items. The soldier reached behind me and removed the handcuffs from my wrists and then bent down and released the shackles from my ankles. He simply said, “Get dressed,” before he turned and walked out the door. This time they left the lights on.
A few minutes later, they put a blindfold on me and took me back to our jet. When I got out of the car, they took the blindfold off and stood there while I walked up the steps. They had not said a word. Veronica was already in the cabin.
“Strap yourself in. We are leaving.”
She pulled up the hatch and sat down. I could hear the jet’s engines start up. We began taxiing out to the runway then the jet turned and started down the runway. Soon, it lifted off the ground. I realized that I had been holding my breath the entire time.
I looked over at Veronica who was just staring out the window and I asked her, “Have you been here before?”
“Yes,” she said. “I used to work here. And the people that you met were my co-workers.”
“Couldn’t you have just put in a good word for me so I wouldn’t have had to go through all of that?”
“I tried, Jack. I really tried; but it appears someone in the U.S. Government wanted you taken in, and so they did.”
“Any idea who?”
“No, I’m not sure. It had to be the President, the Attorney General, or the Director of the CIA. Otherwise, they never would have forced our plane down; especially here. So it had to be one of them.”
“I guess you aren’t an angel then.” I laughed at some more of my dry mid western humor.
“No Jack, I’m not. Now you are playing with me. This is serious, not a joke. I am your protector and helper, as I said before, but I could not foresee this happening. I had no inkling that someone would have done this. Fortunately, nothing bad happened and I can assure you, I will not let this happen again.”
“Where are we headed now, since you are my personal tour guide?”
“New York, to refuel, then fly to Kansas City. We should be in Kansas City by Wednesday afternoon. Your sermon is at 7:30 p.m., Thursday. Gabriel will tell you what is next after that.”
“Thanks,” I said trying to take all this in. The past two days had been like a jumble of words, country jumping and an incredible race that seemed to never stop. “Mind if I smoke?”
“No, go ahead. I will get you a Coors Light. Can I ask a favor?”
“Sure, what is it?”
“I want a cigarette too, and a shot of whiskey.”
“Help yourself.”
“Oh by the way, Jack.”
“What Veronica?”
“Don’t talk about any plans or anything, other than small talk please.”
“Why?”
“Because, if I was still working there, this plane would have so many bugs in it, you could call it an infestation. When we get to New York I will have some associates meet us there and have the jet swept.”
“Can you hear me Moshe?” she asked as she laughed out loud.