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.”
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.”
Chapter 74
1:00 PM EST Day two of 1260 Camp David, Maryland - Conference Room
The meetings at Camp David were becoming heated. Many of the members of the government were not really in accord with the President declaring martial law as of Monday when the first hurricane was to hit Houston. He was getting very tired of hearing things like “Mr. President this cannot be done. The people will not stand for it,” “Mr. President, this has never been done before,” or “Mr. President, we are a democracy.”
He only replied, “The founding fathers wrote the Constitution and put it into law. Then after 911, the Congress and the Justice Department affirmed the Presidential power to implement it. And I, the President of the United States, feel I have to impose it.”
They were interrupted by a knock at the door. Instead of the latecomer they expected, such as Secretary of State, it turned out to be one of the sentries posted at the door. He had a piece of paper in his hand, which looked like a note. He spoke with the Sergeant of Arms at the door and pointed over to the President.
“Excuse me, sir,” said the Sergeant, “But we have an emergency message for you.”
“That’s fine, please bring it over.” He brought the folded sheet of paper over. Richard saw that it was actually a fax. He read the information. He then stood and said, “I need to address this quickly. Once I have dealt with this issue, I will be back to continue our discussions.”
The President walked out the door and motioned for Jamal to go with him. They went directly to his private office in the Camp.
Chapter 75
1:35 PM EST Day two of 1260 Camp David, Maryland - President Richard Stevenson’s Office
“Jamal,” Richard said as they sat down, “We have a major problem. It seems that our Attorney General has been tracking Mr. South and found out that he went to Israel: and that in doing so, did not process himself through Customs. His plane was escorted back from across the Mediterranean to an airbase in Northern Israel, called Ramat David. If I am correct in remembering, that is where we send prisoners when we do not want to get our hand caught in the cookie jar. What I mean is, that is where they send someone who is uncooperative. Am I correct?”
“Yes, Mr. President. That would be the place. How did we hear about this?”
“Jack’s Attorney, Mark Anderson, somehow got a communication from the Attorney General about issuing a warrant for Jack’s arrest as well as a call from Jack from his jet saying that the Israelis were forcing their jet down. He also knew that Jack had gone to Israel. We know that Mark has some connections there. He probably made a few calls and connected the dots. We are under very strict instructions not to harass Jack. And as you know, you do not play with Aafre, even a little.”
The President punched a button on the desk and his secretary, Rolinda answered, “Yes, Mr. President?”
“Go into the meeting room and have the Attorney General, Ken Giles, join us in my office. Would you please?”
“Yes, Mr. President. I will do it now.”
“What a mess we have Jamal. This pompous jerk I got shoved down my throat for Attorney General has now royally screwed us up. When Aafre finds out, he will be more than angry. Giles has been a pain in my behind since day one. I think his goal is to run against me in the next election and so he will do anything to destroy or discredit me. If the press gets a hold of this there will be riots everywhere, especially in Kansas City.”
“What is it you want to do about this, Mr. President?”
“Crucify the Attorney General, that’s what.”
Chapter 76
8:35 PM CEST Day two of 1260 Ramat David Air Force Base, Level I Interrogation Room
“Veronica,” Moshe’s interrogation continued, “you realize that your friend is downstairs in one of our very special rooms. He is with Captain Weismann, whom you will remember from when you were here. Captain Weismann is quite capable of getting where he needs to go in order to gather what we want.”
Veronica, for the first time, knew that she betrayed some emotion, but said, “You have no idea what you are doing. If I were you, I would stop this now. Refuel our plane and let us all go and forget about all of this.”
“Well, maybe we can,” as he opened a folder in front of him. “Maybe you can tell me what this is. He held up a sheet of paper with markings going from the center of the page in circles to the end of the page. What is this that we found on the plane?”
She did not really know what it was, but knew that it belonged to Jack. “Jack said he was to read it because it contained instructions from God regarding the sermons he is to give, starting in Kansas City.” She knew from Gabriel that he had given Jack the folder and it contained several sheets of paper, but she had never actually seen them.
Moshe looked at Veronica and wondered if she really believed all this bullshit. He then said, “Veronica, I need to know what these symbols mean. I faxed them to one of our professors at the University in Tel Aviv and he says he has never seen anything like it before. So what does it say?”
“I really don’t know Moshe. Torture me if you wish, but I cannot translate it for you. Moshe, I am begging you, let this go and let us go. You will not like what happens if you do not.”
“Is that a threat, Veronica? It sure sounds like one.”
Chapter 77
1:45 PM EST Day two of 1260 Camp David, Maryland - President Richard Stevenson’s Office
Ken Giles walked into the President’s office and Stevenson barked out, “Sit down Ken, in the chair closest to my desk. I want to be able to see you real well, I want to hear you real well, and as a matter of fact, I want to remember you just as you are, for when I get through with you, there will probably be little left for the buzzards to digest.”
Ken was used to the President’s tirades and waved his hand to dismiss what Stevenson had said, then asked, “What has gotten you so angry?”
“Jack South, that’s what. What the hell have you done?”
“Hey, I am just fulfilling the oath of my office. He snuck out of the country and into an ally’s country and he was caught. So what? Maybe they can figure out what he is doing. You sure as hell will not. So, when I found out what he had done, I called our contacts in Israel and told them to do as they wished. In addition, I assumed that since you will not try to find out what makes this guy tick, I would. And when I do, it will put an end to this hocus pocus he is spreading across this country, and the world, for that matter.”
<
br /> The President looked at him and shook his head, “Ken, you have no idea what you may have done.” He pushed a call button on his desk and when Rolinda answered he said, “Get the Israeli Prime Minister for me immediately please. Tell him it is urgent.”
Chapter 78
1:45 PM EST Day two of 1260 Somewhere over the Atlantic, AM4000 Jet
Aafre was speaking with one of his staff members while they worked on some statistics when he saw the flight attendant come into the lounge. She walked up to him, “Mr. Aafre, I need to speak with you.” She leaned down towards him and whispered in his ear.
Aafre immediately stood up and said, “Excuse me gentlemen, but I need to attend to some important business that has come up.”
He left the lounge cabin and went to the area right behind the cockpit. There was a secure communications link that he could use to make and receive secure calls. He closed the door and immediately called the White House’s special number. He was connected through their switchboard to Camp David, where President Stevenson currently was.
Aafre waited for the call to go through. When he finally got the President on the line, he listened to what he had to say and simply said, “Get him out of there now. Moreover, as for this Attorney General, I will take care of him myself. As I told you Stevenson, and I meant it, until I say, no one touches this person. Now, if he is not released within an hour, I will take matters into my own hands and use our own resources. So make sure the Prime Minister knows what needs to be done.”
Chapter 79
1:55 PM EST Day two of 1260 Camp David, Maryland - President Richard Stevenson’s Office
The President put the phone down after the call from Aafre and looked over at Ken. “I want your resignation on my desk in one hour or I will invoke my Presidential powers, and use the FBI and CIA, to place you under arrest for violation of our government’s human rights laws on giving over an American Citizen to a foreign country. One hour, that is all you have. You can claim that you are resigning for any number of reasons. However, if you do not, I will release to the press the information of an incident of another who was incarcerated. I have tapes of you giving the order from your office to the CIA on the other subject we’d sent there. So what’s it going to be, Ken?”