Avraham Azrieli - The Masada Complex

“I don’t hear Israeli voices protesting the smear campaign against me.”

“What did you expect? They have to discredit you by showing that you have a score to settle.”

“You condone their tactics?” The light went green, and Masada threw the clutch, spinning the wheels until they caught traction, and the car bolted with a roar of its engine.

He tugged on the seatbelt, which hurt his shoulder. “The Fair Aid Act would cause suspension of military aid and a full-scale Senate investigation. One committee might spawn seven subcommittees, and so on. To discredit your accusations, the Israelis must discredit you. I’m sad to see them lie-”

“Who said they’re lying?”

The rabbi was stunned. “Did you really go to prison? ”

She hit the brakes, stopping with a screech at the side of the road. “You have a problem with that?”

The hurt in her eyes shocked him more than the revelation of her past imprisonment. “I’m sorry that you suffered.”

She touched his face. “You’re too good.”

Facing her so closely, he saw specks of gold in the dark green of her eyes. He leaned closer, craving to taste her moist lips.

Masada retreated a bit, and in that sliver of time he glimpsed Linda’s face between them and turned away, coughing to hide a groan.

Elizabeth McPherson sat at the prosecution table. The arguments had been intense, but her meticulous preparations had paid off again. Judge Tolstoy Rashinski pounded his gavel. “This court hereby accepts Miss McPherson’s position that the Immigration Service proved that this couple’s marriage was a scheme to obtain a green card for the husband.”

Defense counsel stood up. “Your Honor, the evidence points that way, but now they are in love. Really!” He motioned at the dyed-blonde, skeletal woman and her Mexican husband. “It would be a crime to separate them just because of a technicality.”

“The law,” Elizabeth stood, “is not a technicality, and this case is not a romance novel. Immigration fraud requires deportation.”

The young woman suddenly spoke up. “But I’m pregnant.”

“The child’s welfare,” defense counsel declared, “takes precedent!”

“I object!” Elizabeth could not believe her ears. This pitiful flat-chested woman was pregnant ?

But the judge had no choice. He sent the two lawyers, the court reporter, and the young woman to the ladies’ room, where she proved her condition by urinating on a store-bought pregnancy test.

Back in the courtroom, the judge glanced at the proof without touching it and brokered a compromise, which Elizabeth had to accept. Instead of deportation, which would make the Mexican ineligible forever, he would leave the United States voluntarily and apply again.

Judge Rashinski ordered him handed to the Border Patrol to be escorted across the border. While Elizabeth was packing up her papers, she saw the Mexican kneel before his purported wife and bury his face in her tummy.

Professor Levy Silver crossed Encanto Park in a measured stroll, the beret pulled down to his brow. He stopped to let an open train with squealing kids rumble across the path. Passing the pedal-boat rental dock, he approached the service shed by the shore of the lake. The combination of extreme heat and standing water made it hard to breathe, but he knew there was no risk of running into any acquaintances from Temple Zion.

The service shed sat on a concrete pad that jutted into the brown water. Silver stood at the edge, hands behind his back. He wondered whether fish survived in the thick broth that licked his shoes.

“Professor!”

Silver waved at the approaching pedal boat.

Rajid helped him into the boat and pedaled away from shore. His tanned legs moved smoothly, his muscles bulging under the white shorts. As always, the handler from Ramallah wore enough cologne to ward off the stench of the lake.

“Let me help you.” Silver’s shoes rested on the rubber pedals and joined the turning motion. He adjusted his beret and wiped the sweat off his forehead.

“A fantastic day,” Rajid declared, “isn’t it?”

The handler was always cheerful, but the years had taught Silver to be wary of his temper. They met regularly on the first Tuesday of each month, though it was unclear how he was able to travel so freely. “Did you have a good flight?”

“As the Prophet said, Allah’s angels would fly from one end of the earth to the other, singing their Master’s praise. ”

“On the River Jordan,” Silver sighed, “angels sing. In Arizona, they dehydrate.”

Rajid laughed as he pedaled the boat to the middle of the lake, where he slowed down. His perennial smile contrasted with the mirror shades on his eyes. He handed Silver a backpack. “Some dried figs and the best hashish. And cash for wrapping up the operation.”

Wrapping up? Silver shook his head. “This was the first phase. My work must continue.”

“You have done well. Humiliating the Zionists is a victory for Palestine.”

“ Allah hu Akbar ,” Silver said humbly.

“But we worry that the Jews might figure a way to turn the situation to their advantage.”

“Fear not. We shall soon celebrate their final doom.” Professor Silver took his feet off the pedals and rested his legs. “In time, we shall bring a truly final solution to what the Germans had accomplished in Europe.”

Rajid turned to him, the black shades reflecting Silver’s face. “But if the truth comes out, the Zionists would emerge stronger. The Americans hate dirty tricks-except their own.”

“I’m in control of the situation.” Silver removed his glasses. “However, I have a problem with my eye. I must go to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. They invented a new treatment-”

“ Jerusalem?” Rajid laughed. “You’re in America. Go to the doctor here.”

“Here one needs papers, Social Security, health insurance, mailing address. I don’t have any of those. I exist on a cash basis.”

Rajid found this even funnier. “ Cash and carry! ”

Silver didn’t see the humor. “The experimental treatment at Hadassah can save my vision. And, like any Jew, I can become an Israeli citizen overnight, entitled to free medical care.”

“Too risky.” Rajid pedaled a few rounds. “What about the photo montage we made for you? Mahfizie’s daughter can arrange American papers.”

“To enable me to travel, yes. But she can’t cure my eye!” Silver paused. “I’ll stay in Jerusalem only a few days.”

“Out of the question.” Rajid shifted in the seat, and the boat rocked, sending little ripples toward a grassy island. “You must remain here to tie up the loose ends.”

Silver wiped the back of his neck. “Listen, young man. I have done the impossible for Palestine. Soon the Israelis will be pulled off the American tit!”

“All the more reason,” Rajid said, smoothing his jelled hair, “not to jeopardize our achievement.”

The professor could not believe this was happening. “I have sacrificed one eye for Palestine. Without this treatment, I will lose the other. I must go to Jerusalem!”

“After you have tied up-”

“What do you want me to tie? Shoelaces? This was an intricate operation, which I devised, orchestrated, and executed. I deserve some gratitude!”

Rajid’s smile was gone.

The boat rose and sank with a slight swell.

Silver sensed that this man in shorts and running shoes was capable of violence. He regretted leaving the hunting knife in the car. He glanced at the shore and wondered if anyone would notice if Rajid held his head under the filthy water until he drowned. Silver sighed. “Pardon my frustration. Blindness is a terrifying prospect.”