Haggai Carmon - Triple Identity

Tom opened the metal gate with his remote and we drove into the courtyard. Two other cars were already parked in the yard near the entrance. Three young men were not in very active guard mode, sitting inside. They looked as if they might be U.S. Marines just out of boot camp, crew cuts and all.

I followed Tom upstairs and to a door at the end of the hall. One of the two guards on duty checked us out quickly and let us in.

A huge room occupied most of the second floor. Two dozen people were sitting or moving around in complete silence. Heavy curtains covered the windows and fluorescent lights focused attention on the desks, the maps, the telephones, and the computers. Large photographs of the bank, taken from different angles, covered the wall next to a huge street map of Munich and its surrounding suburbs. Two smaller maps showed the two target areas. It was a charged atmosphere where words were barely audible. The neighbors couldn't possibly complain that we were disturbing their afternoon naps.

Eric, expressionless as usual, was clad in jeans and a sweatshirt. He was wearing a headset. He noticed me come in and nodded. Two distinguished-looking men in business suits sat next to him, both with headsets as well. Needless to say, I was curious about them. Somehow, they didn't seem to me like technicians. Benny, Shimon, and Avi, the Mossad's logistics men, were very much on the scene. Computer and telephone operators were behind workstations; technicians were completing some wiring. A stocky guy in jeans approached Eric, gave him a note and said, “We've got the codeword: Bonanza.”

Eric looked at the two men next to him, showed them the note, and they nodded in approval.

Eric got up and faced the small crowd. “Folks. We've just received final authorization to go ahead with the mission. From now on, no private talk or security violations. We've done all the rehearsing we have time for. This is the real thing and I'll go over it once more. I'll act as the director of operations for both incursions. This guy on my right is Eugene, the stage manager. He'll report to me and oversee the operational stage to make sure all conditions and contingencies are considered. In particular, he'll take the point of view of the German police, the Iranians, and casual observers, to make sure we're invisible.” Eric paused, looked at us, and continued.

“There will be three operational groups, each headed by an action officer. Team number one, headed by Shimon and assisted by Yuval from the Mossad, will hit Bankhaus Backer amp; Haas. Team number two, headed by our Brian and assisted by Gary, will hit Armajani's residence, and team number three, headed by Tom and assisted by Jeff and Larry, will act as decoys at the Bayerische Hypotheken und Wechsel Bank and handle the power failure. There are three rescue teams waiting in three separate safe apartments near the target areas, in case the walls crash in on us. There are also two backup teams to replace any of the operational teams, and two technical support backup teams. If all goes well, you'll not be seeing any of them. There are almost seventy people involved in this operation.

“Team number one will leave Gernlinden at 4:30 P.M. in the blue Volkswagen. Team number two will leave at 4:45 in the green Fiat. Team number three will leave at 4:35 in the Volkswagen van. Remember, this is Europe; this is Germany. People here obey traffic lights and rules within the city. They go wild only on the expressway. Don't burn up the road. You could blow the entire operation with a stupid moving violation. The license plates are genuine, but the registrations are under phony names. It will survive a police check, but a thorough inspection will raise unnecessary questions. It's getting dark earlier now; use your headlights.

“Make sure there's nothing on you to give away your identity. One last time, will each team member please inspect his partners’ clothing, pockets, laundry labels, everything.”

Each team member checked the others’ pockets, shoes, and shirt collars, anything that could give identity away.

I knew what Eric meant. In these operations, in case of apprehension the first police report and the initial press coverage leave the longest imprint on public opinion. “Two burglars caught in a Munich bank” gets a mention inside the local papers and that's the end of it. On the other hand, “two burglars caught in a bank and in an apartment in Munich, one is a Mossad agent and the other a CIA agent” gets the front page of every newspaper in the world, with continued coverage throughout the investigation and trial. And that's only the news coverage. Then come the columns, the commentaries, the speculations. The bottom line: in addition to the political quagmire, public pressure would make it very difficult to extricate the agents from a prison term. However, if operatives were caught as anonymous foreign citizens, a quiet understanding with the friendly government of Germany would spring them loose fairly quickly.

“Clean,” announced each team member after the inspection.

“Good,” continued Eric. “Under no circumstances are you to use your weapons against any civilians or the German police. Keep your gun loaded but with the safety on. Use it only if you are in imminent danger. Although we don't believe there's anyone in Armajani's apartment, there could be surprises. Armajani, his wife, and their daughter are under surveillance in Milan for the weekend. We've also staked the place out for the past week and know the apartment to be unoccupied. Same goes for the bank – if you're surprised inside, don't use your weapons unless your life is in danger. Simply knock the guy out. Remember your cover stories: if stopped before you enter the bank, then you're tourists from South Africa. The passports you've left behind in your hotel rooms are genuine fakes. Memorize your new names. You entered Germany two days ago through Austria and you're on a trip to Switzerland. If you're caught during the operation, make no excuses and give no explanation whatsoever. You're regarded as burglars and nothing else. If you're rolled up after the operation, stick to the burglary story: you came for cash but found only papers. If there is cash in either location, take it. If the vault was full of cash and you're stopped with only papers, your cover as a burglar would only look ridiculous. Do not even think of asking to see a U.S. or Israeli consul if you're arrested. The police will treat you in their usual manner – not gently. Endure that. The police must not know who you are. After you've dieted on their food for a while, we'll figure out a way to exfiltrate you. Be patient.

“Next, maintain radio contact with your partner only if absolutely necessary and use the codes we rehearsed. I don't want some German ham-radio enthusiast to call the police after hearing suspicious talk. Your radio is on UHF band and therefore it's very difficult to trace. But still, the last thing we want is the German police on the case. If you do hear the code word on the radio alerting that the German police are closing in, just get the hell out of wherever you are. We'll jam their communications in the area for at least twenty minutes. That'll give you plenty of time.”

Eric then went on to review the operational details one last time.

“There we are. Now, just do what you did during the drills and I'll see you later. Team one in safe house number one, team two in safe house number two, and team three in safe house number three. Only the backup unit returns here after all teams report to their safe houses; we'll dismantle all these installations. This place should be empty no later than 8:00 A.M. tomorrow. Any questions?”

No one spoke.

“Good luck.”

Team one picked up their equipment and went out the door. Five minutes later team three was on the way. I stopped Shimon and wished him well.