Prologue
The freezing, howling wind was deafening. At first, it was like freefalling into an abyss. A few seconds later, he felt the exhilarating sensation of floating spread-eagled, cushioned by air. But it was a fleeting pleasure. After one minute, the alert in Daniel’s helmet rang near his ear. He pulled the ripcord handle and the noise stopped. There was no trace of the C-130 Hercules aircraft above, flying without the identifying Star of David, and clusters of orange lights flickered on the ground far below. His eyes didn’t have to adjust to the darkness – it had been dark inside the aircraft, too.
Suspended between the earth and sky, Daniel enjoyed these final moments. It was his first operation in enemy territory. If only Grandpa could see me now, Daniel thought, but maybe he can, from somewhere up above. Only Daniel’s immediate family was still alive, his sister, father, and mother. He had spoken with his mother the night before and felt a twinge of sadness thinking of her. He hadn’t seen her in almost a year. Although video calls bridged the distance, they were no substitute for a hug, a kiss, or her loving, gentle touch. The conversations with his father had always been impersonal and emotionless, but recently something had changed between them. Maybe it was the hundreds of miles that separated them and perhaps the path Daniel had taken – although, officially, his family wasn’t supposed to know about it.
He looked up; the canopy blended into the darkness and was barely visible. This wasn’t his first time. When he served in Duvdevan, the IDF elite unit that operates undercover among the Palestinian population, he trained with the paratroopers and jumped several times with his fellow soldiers. When he returned to his unit after completing the officer training course, he also jumped with the team he commanded. But this time was different. Combat freefall into enemy territory alone was part of the Mossad training. As he fell, he suddenly recalled reading about the legendary Zionist and paratrooper Hannah Senesh and her friends and felt a surge of pride. Like them, he was doing his part; a European-born Jewish intelligence field agent jumping from a plane into enemy territory. Daniel always searched for meaning and found it in unexpected places. His Israeli-born friends often teased him about it. “Israel is a given for you,” he would rant, “You only heard secondhand accounts from your grandparents about what it feels like to be cursed at and called a dirty Jew.” But he never said anything beyond that.
Daniel pulled the parachute steering lines to land. The ground was rapidly getting closer. Seconds later, he landed in the arid desert. Quickly releasing the bag strapped to his legs, he gathered the canopy and rolled it into a tight bundle. He stuffed the rest of the gear into a small cloth bag and placed it on the rolled parachute, peeled off the black jumpsuit that added bulk to his lean body, and added it to the pile. Underneath, he wore khaki cargo pants and a gray plaid shirt. His helmet hid an unruly mass of black hair, which would normally be tamed with gel.
Kneeling on the ground, Daniel tuned in to his surroundings. Howls of jackals in the distance broke the peaceful silence. He retrieved a small, old-school video camera from his backpack, powered it up and set it to night vision. The hidden infrared light helped the sensor to capture and display his surroundings better. He surveyed the area. Not a soul in sight. He put the camera back, pulled out a large multi-tool from a side zipper in his backpack, unfolded a narrow spade, and searched for a suitable cluster of rocks. When he found the right spot, he cleared the ground, dug a hole, then buried the parachute, bag, and jumpsuit. He covered them with dirt and put the rocks back as they were. The camouflage wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough. The desert wind would cover the area in sand within minutes.
Daniel put the multi-tool back, took out a cellular device tethered with a thin, black paracord, and turned it on. The display, set on low brightness, was covered with a filter coating to block the glare so it wouldn’t project into the barren desert. He opened an app that looked like a simple game but was programmed to turn into a GPS navigator by pressing a sequence of buttons. The app showed his navigation route on maps uploaded by the tech team. Daniel identified his position on the map and put the cellular device in a zippered pocket. Every time he entered his exact location, an automatic notification would be sent to command post confirming his progress. Finally, he adjusted his backpack on his shoulders and started quickly walking a route he’d repeatedly reviewed and memorized while preparing for the operation.
Around a mile ahead on the horizon were the slopes he would shortly cross. Besides reflecting on the surprising similarity to the familiar landscape of Israel, Daniel didn’t allow random thoughts to enter his mind. Half an hour later, he was sitting on the ground just below the top of the hill. Daniel took a few sips from his water bottle, feeling the heat and throbbing pulse in his temples. He hadn’t shaved in a few days, and the stubble was irritating. Checking his position on the navigation app, he set out. Forty-five minutes of strenuous walking, crossing hills and ravines, brought him close to the target area – a twisting dirt road between two stone walls, about fifteen feet high. Although he had never been there before, Daniel felt like he knew every rock, bush, and mound of dirt. The intelligence he’d received, satellite photos, and drills in similar terrain – it was just like any other full dress rehearsal. The feeling surprised him – he had expected to feel more excited.
With sure steps, Daniel navigated to the exact spot where he had to hide the device he carried in his backpack. He took out the large multi-tool and a camera disguised to look like part of the surroundings. “A sensor will turn the camera on every time a convoy of vehicles passes by, and it will send us pictures,” the technical operations officer had explained, “that way, we’ll be able to intercept a convoy we suspect to be smuggling weapons.”
Daniel felt a sense of satisfaction. This had been his dream for so long, to play a critical role in the security of his ancestral homeland. The boy who had felt like an outsider in Paris where he was born flipped an imaginary bird at everything and everyone that had knocked him off balance and caused such insecurity.
After a quick assessment of the camera’s location, Daniel worked on the camouflage. Then he took his cell phone, opened one of the apps, and waited. Seconds later, a confirmation message appeared on the screen. The device was ready. “Superbe,” he whispered, smiling as he got ready to leave.
The night vision camera confirmed that nothing was left in the field. When he bent over to lift his pack, he heard a rock hit the ground as if someone behind him had thrown it. Daniel felt his heart race as he rose slowly, slinging the backpack over his shoulders. He looked around and listened closely, using the camera to carefully survey the area around and above the stone walls, but didn’t hear or see a thing. He tried to think of a logical explanation; maybe it was an animal or a loose stone.
Daniel started to walk away slowly and quickened his pace when he felt confident. It was already three am, two and a half hours until the sun was “six degrees” below the horizon, just before dawn banished the absolute dark of night. He covered the distance in an hour and a half and navigated right to the lone tree just a few hundred feet from the meeting point. For the first time that night, he sat down to rest. Leaning against the rough bark, he devoured two sandwiches, drank some water, and stared into the infinite darkness. He put on a fleece jacket and a beanie to protect against the cold wind but kept his ears exposed and alert to any sounds. There was nothing to do but wait patiently and fight the fatigue following the adrenaline rush.
The last few days had been very intense, with final preparations, orders, briefings, memorizing navigation routes, and cover stories to ensure a flawless operation. The accumulated exhaustion and stress demanded relief. Arik, the course commander and the most significant person in his life over the past year, had drummed into their heads during training that the professional life of an intelligence officer entails endless waiting. “It doesn’t matter what your role is in the information gathering process; ninety percent of the time, you’ll be waiting, whether it’s for a meeting with an informant, for an answer, for the person you’re speaking with to say what you want to hear. Just waiting. You’re in the wrong profession if you don’t have patience.”
Daniel had innate patience. An introvert by nature, he could spend hours quietly observing. He stared into the night, listening to the sounds of the desert and fighting to keep his eyes open when suddenly, twin beams of light flashed through the darkness. It was too early for the rendezvous; maybe it was just a car. Now he could make out headlights and the shadow of a cargo van driving slowly. Another beam on top scanned the road, swinging from side to side deep into the desert. He crawled behind the tree trunk. For the first time that night, he felt fear. The intelligence briefings did not mention patrols on this road. Questions raced through his mind, and he recalled the falling rock. Maybe someone had seen him? If they didn’t notice him now, it really didn’t matter what the van was doing there. Daniel saw the light coming toward him and flattened his body against the cold,...
EPUB (Ohne DRM)
