Stan Mason - Stopping World War Three

I stood for a long time in the same spot thinking about her. I had the feeling that we would never meet again. The responsibility of her father’s promise was greater than the love any many could offer her. If she failed to honour that promise, she would be filled with guilt for the rest of her life not only for reneging on her father but also of the religion. It was an invisible barrier to happiness that could not be overcome. Mankind had built many of them to mock civilisation itself. And at the end of it all, I had no right to think about her. I was not only married but I had a mistress as well. So I walked all the way back to Arlosoroff Road trying to expunge the image of Davina from my mind once and for all.

Penny met me with an inquisitive expression in her eyes when I returned. I could hardly blame her. ‘We have to get back to England,’ I informed her bluntly. ‘I have the address where they’ve taken Jan.’

‘Who gave you this information.’ she demanded suspiciously.

I passed the sheet of paper to her. ‘Menel’s daughter. She was the one who telephoned. She insisted I met her alone and told no one about it. I respected her wishes.’

‘She could have told you this over the telephone!’

‘You’ll have to ask her the answer to that one,’ I retorted.

‘I’d like to,’ she snapped in annoyance, ‘seeing you were gone for the best part of nearly three hours.’ She waved the sheet of paper in her hand. ‘Was this the whole message?’

‘Yes… it was.’

‘And it took nearly three hours to deliver it. What’s going on?’ She moved towards me jealously until her face was only a few inches away from mine. ‘What do you take me for, Jason?’

I put my arms around her waist and pulled her close to me. ‘What do I take you for? I take you for everything. My love, my heart, my life.’ Then I kissed her firmly on the lips.

Her body went limp for a few moments and then she broke away. ‘Jason Scott… you’re the biggest rogue I’ve ever known!’

‘That makes two of us, Miss Smith,’ I countered. ‘I thought of you as an innocent secretary only a few days ago, but you’ve told me nothing of the truth. And you’ve killed people in cold blood.’

My attitude mollified at the sight of her dismay and I moved towards her to hold her in my arms again. ‘There’s one thing I haven’t thank you for though. That’s for saving my life when Duran was about to kill me. For that I’m very grateful.’

She kissed me on the forehead tenderly. ‘One day, you may have to return the favour. I hope you won’t forget.’

I thought about her comment for some time wondering what she meant. No doubt, in the light of the things that were happening, the future would reveal the truth!

It was late in the evening when we arrived at Ben Gurion Airport. Penny decided to circulate while I bought the airline tickets. It was a busy night and I had to stand in a queue of people with the same purpose in mind. When it was my turn, I had to provide details which the computer operator started to commit to the computer. However, as soon as I mentioned my full name, she pressed a button on her desk and raised her left arm in the air. Within seconds, two security officers rushed to the scene. Before I knew what was happening, they took me by my arms and whisked me away down a corridor.

‘What’s going on?’ I demanded angrily as they ushered me firmly towards an office.

‘You’d do well to keep a still tongue until we’re alone,’ advised one of the security men. ‘Don’t be concerned. You won’t be harmed.’

They guided me to a small room which smelled strongly of stale cigar smoke and one of them motioned me towards a chair.

‘Please sit down,’ invited the younger of the two officers pleasantly. ‘I’m sorry we have to go through the charade out there but it was advisable to remove you quickly from the main area. But firstly, tell me the name of the Commander whom you saw recently.’

‘Do you mean Commander Yasood?’ I asked somewhat bewildered.

‘And where did he meet you?’ He lit a cigarette with an elegant lighter and puffed smoke towards the ceiling.

‘In the Gaza Strip,’ I related become angry. ‘Look… what’s this all about? Why did you have to pull me out of the main area?’

‘We knew unofficially of your mission,’ explained the older man taking off his jacket so that I could witness the gun in its holster around his waist. ‘It’s essential that you recognised its importance as well.’

‘What does that mean?’

He adjusted the holster slightly to make it more comfortable. ‘Our information tells us you’re a reluctant bride unwilling to go to the altar. Is that how you see it too?’

‘If you’d been through what I’ve been through over the last few days you’d also have second thoughts of any further development,’ I replied. ‘The whole thing’s been handled very badly. I’ve almost been killed four times as well as spending a night in a lousy jail in Crete. If that’s how you recruit people to your organisation, forget it!’

The younger security officer blew smoke towards the ceiling once more. ‘Organisation?’ he muttered. ‘We don’t have an organisation. We know of your mission, that’s all. However we’re always interested in adding a new weapon to our armoury… especially if it’s a superior one.’

‘Where’s my secretary… Penny Smith?’

‘She’s fine,’ replied the elder officer. ‘You don’t need to worry about her.’

‘Tell me,’ I went on regardless, ‘am I being arrested?’

The younger man laughed and drew on his cigarette again. ‘Arrested! What for? You’re a VIP, didn’t you know that? In fact we’ve even paid your fare back to England for you. Let’s just say it’s a payment on account.’ He reached into his inside pocket and produced an envelope which he handed to me.

‘On account that you’re going to get the plans of a certain weapon,’ the elder man commented. ‘Look you’ve met a few people here and learned a little about the future of the world. We’d like to make sure you keep everything confidential. There’s a lot at stake. We don’t want some fink shouting his head off to the newspapers. If someone did that he’d have to be silenced. You understand?’ He ran the index finger of his right hand across his throat in a menacing fashion to indicate what might happen if I stepped out of line. ‘On the other hand, we know how to treat our friends.’

‘Well I’m glad I’m not one of your enemies,’ I told him, opening the envelope. It contained a single airline ticket on an El Al flight to London. ‘Hey… there’s only one ticket here!’

‘That’s right,’ declared the elder officer. ‘You’re only one person, aren’t you? Okay… we’ll take you back to the plane but don’t forget what you have to do. Get those plans for us. We will certainly be grateful.’

He motioned me to get to my feet and led me down the corridor to the exit lounge and out onto the tarmac. It was the first time I had ever been escorted to an aeroplane. It made me feel as though I was being deported. Within a few minutes, I found myself aboard the aircraft sitting in the seat next to Penny.

‘I was worried about you.’ I told her breathing a sigh of relief. ‘They gave me only one ticket’

‘They gave me only one ticket too,’ she related with a very lovely smile.

‘I also received a warning to keep my mouth shut about all that’s happened. I presume they said the same thing to you. They’re also after the plans of the new laser gun. The first thing I’m going to do is to find Jan and try to rescue her. But what are our plans after that?’

‘Over the past four years I’ve collected quite a lot of material about the weaponry division of Dandy Advanced Electronics. It’s all stored in a cupboard in my apartment. I suggest we go there and take a good look at it before deciding the next step.’