Avraham Azrieli - The Masada Complex

“Here?” Masada waved at the Tel Aviv metropolis that filled their view. “You call this safe? In exile, we were dispersed among the nations, able to sustain attacks, even a Holocaust. We were like seeds, spread by the wind, growing wherever we landed. But Zionism put all the Jewish eggs in one basket. A single devastating blow-nuclear, biological, chemical, or an earthquake-”

“Or a tsunami,” Tara added.

“Or a shower of conventional rockets,” Masada said. “thousands of them, which are already aimed and primed around the borders of this tight-waist country. The Jewish state is the biggest danger to Jewish survival. We make it easy for our enemies. Where would Islamic terrorism be without Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank?”

Ness adjusted the headphones so his lips came closer to the microphone. “Where do you get your ideas about the Holocaust? Your friend’s book?”

“Lenin,” Tara said. “Are you talking about Lenin?”

“What’s Lenin got to do with this?” Ness jerked his head impatiently. “I’m talking about her friend, the professor. Is he your inspiration?”

The derisiveness in his voice stabbed Masada. “Levy is a better man than you.”

“You’re blind!” Ness flicked a switch on the instrument panel, and the headphones died. He found a major highway and flew over it through the Valley of Ayalon toward Jerusalem.

Professor Silver’s panic subsided only when he saw the Sea Level billboard pass by. He turned, catching a last glance of the blue oval of the Dead Sea through the rear window. He thought of the tall teenager who had wrestled with Faddah on Mount Masada, of himself ramming the boy, sending him over the edge.

Masada’s brother!

The possibility had never occurred to him. Why should it? Masada had only spoken once or twice about her parents and little brother- little! — causing Silver to assume the boy had died with their parents. But now he knew. Would he be able to face Masada as if nothing had happened? If she sensed his wariness, her tenacity could turn to investigating him. And if she discovered he was her brother’s killer, she would connect all the dots and expose the whole plan. She must be dealt with as soon as possible, her death staged to appear like a suicide. But how?

Silver picked up the pale blue flyer. Under a drawing of a burning candle, the kibbutz secretary announced a predawn memorial service at 4:30 a.m. on the 19 thof August at Herod’s Fort on Mount Masada. “Cable car leaving at 4:15 a.m. Bring sweaters!”

The solution came to him like a puff of fresh air. Silver threw his head back and laughed, drawing a glance from Ezekiel. But he could not help it. His laughter grew as he dropped the flyer and clutched his hands together. Allah’s sense of humor!

Rabbi Josh saw Professor Silver get out of a taxicab in front of the Ramban Hostel. “Levy!”

Silver turned slowly.

“You won’t believe what I discovered!”

“Yes?” He folded a bluish paper and put it in his pocket.

Rabbi Josh took his arm, and they strolled down the street. He described breaking into Masada’s room and finding the bar napkin. “If she suspects me, it means she can’t be guilty!”

They passed by a large poster showing a yellow Star of David, from which emerged a black fist with the middle finger sticking up at Uncle Sam.

“Let’s rest.” Silver pointed to a bench under a carob tree. “It’s very confusing.”

“There must be another explanation to what you heard.” Rabbi Josh was too hyped to sit, and he paced across the sidewalk and back. “Perhaps she was mocking Al.”

“I can tell the difference between mocking and-”

“But the note shows she suspects me of being an Israeli agent, of controlling Al, of sending him to bribe Mahoney!”

“A contradiction in facts often has a simple explanation.” Professor Silver sat back, removed his black-rimmed glasses, and patiently rubbed the lenses on his shirt. “I heard them copulating, for God’s sake!”

Rabbi Josh cringed at the image. He still could not believe it.

“We know,” Silver continued, “that Al gave the money to the senator. We know what she did to Al later that night, after Raul was gone.”

The mention of his son pulled Rabbi Josh toward a cliff of despair, but he pulled back. “There’s another explanation.”

“She’s guilty. That’s the only explanation.”

“But Al loved Israel. Why would he help her hurt Israel?”

“But Masada’s so clever! She could have convinced Al that later on she would follow up with another article showing that the bribe actually came from haters of Jews who conspired to hurt Israel’s relations with America, which would make Israel the underdog and help it much more than a single law about mutual defense. You think Al wasn’t stupid enough to believe it?”

Rabbi Josh was confused. “That doesn’t explain the note I found in her room.”

“Al was in love. He would believe her if she said the earth was square. And you, my dear Joshua, suffer from a similar infatuation.”

“Is it that obvious?”

“I don’t blame you. If I were a younger man.” Silver smiled.

“But still, if she’s investigating me, how could she be the culprit?”

“A simple contradiction calls for a simple explanation.”

They reached the front steps of the hostel.

“Our Masada is in the center of an international crisis, and she’s very clever, isn’t she?”

The rabbi nodded.

“What would you do to confuse those who might break into your room?” Silver took the steps up to the entrance.

The rabbi caught up with him. “But the note was on the floor, like it had dropped out of a pocket or discarded!”

“ Appeared to be discarded.”

They collected their keys from the front desk and climbed the stairs.

“You underestimate Masada,” Silver chided Rabbi Josh. “She knows that the best defense is offense, she expects someone to break into her room at one point, either the Israelis or the media, so she leaves a fabricated note that conveniently incriminates you.”

The rabbi felt deflated. Silver’s theory was logical, but it didn’t reconcile with the Masada he knew.

Silver patted him on the shoulder. “Allow yourself to grieve in peace, my dear friend. Don’t worry about Masada and her crimes. The time will come for that, I promise you.”

Masada expected a punishing bump, but Colonel Ness managed a feathery touchdown. He had not said a word since ending their argument. After shutting off the engine, he turned to Tara. “Are you free for dinner tonight?”

“Well.” Tara tilted her head in feigned hesitation. “My schedule is quite tight.”

“I’ll pick you up at seven forty-five.”

“Make it eight.”

Ness pulled himself out of the helicopter into his wheelchair. They followed him to the parking lot. He rolled his chair onto the van. Masada noticed several antennas on the roof.

Back in Tara’s car, they followed the van as it merged into light traffic heading into the city.

Masada flexed her knee. The colonel had toyed with them, pretending he didn’t know Rabbi Josh. Was he toying with them now? She hoped he wasn’t. They needed a break.

Tara glanced at her. “You were a real bitch up there.”

“He deserved it.”

“Ex-lovers always deserve hell.”

“This whole place is hell.”

“Nonsense!” Tara laughed. “I love it here! What an incredible little country!”