scheme, why didn't we obtain the location of SLA headquarters from them."
"We didn't, because the Kamels didn't know the location of the main SLA base," Hawk said, taking the stub of the cigar from his mouth. "They weren't trusted members of the SLA — trusted to the extent that they knew the SLA's main base — until a week ago."
I finished my drink, put down the empty glass and looked at Hawk.
"You're saying that you and Mr. Ben-Zvi now know the location?"
Hawk nodded. "The Kamels managed to get word to us through a Control Officer in Damascus."
I glared at Jacob Ben-Zvi. "Yet you still let me and Miss Weizmann risk our necks in the House of Medals! Thanks a lot!"
Ben-Zvi's face contorted into a puzzled half-smile. "There wasn't any valid reason to call off the strike against the House of Medals," he said, gesticulating with one bony hand. "The place was scheduled to be raided. Your plan was the best, N3."
Hawk reached into the inside pocket of his rumpled coat and took out another cigar. "Actually we didn't get the message from the Kamels until yesterday afternoon. There was a fatherly tone to his voice. "Their report was on a need-to-know basis. You understand that."
I grinned crookedly at Hawk. "And now t
hat I do
know, I suppose the next thing you're going to tell me is that I've got to skip over to Damascus and check out Ahmed and Miriam Kamel?"
"That's only half of your assignment," Hawk said matter-of-factly, removing the wrapper from the cigar. "The second half is more complicated. Ahmed Kamel will lead you to within sight of Karameh's headquarters. You'll get the exact coordinates of the base's location, then get the hell out of Syria and back to Tel Aviv.
"We Israelis will do the rest," Ben-Zvi said passionately. "We'll bomb the base off the face of the earth."
I looked at Hawk. "Sir, I was under the impression that the Kamels had given you and the Hamosad the location of the SLA base! Besides, they're both double agents. How do you know they're telling the truth; unless, of course, their love of money is greater than their revolutionary fervor."
"It is," Hawk said and shoved the cigar into his mouth. "It was they who tipped us off to the House of Medals. Yeah, there's a possibility that the whole thing's a setup, but I don't think so. We'll have to chance it."
"What about SLA headquarters?" I asked.
"Karameh's main base is on the As-Suwayda hills of southeastern Syria," Hawk explained. "You have to go in because the Kamels don't know a thing about cartography. They can't pinpoint the exact location."
Ben-Zvi added, "You won't slip into Syria until after we've questioned the terrorist that you and Leah captured. He might have some information that will have a bearing on your mission."
"Which means I'll leave sometime tomorrow morning," I said.
"Before dawn," Ben-Zvi said flatly.
My eyes jumped to Hawk, then to Ben-Zvi. I didn't like the deal. I never have trusted double agents. And suicide has never appealed to me.
Chapter Four
Leah and I had planned to go out that night and celebrate along Tel Aviv's Dizengoff, a street of crowded sidewalk cafes and juice bars. Hawk and Ben-Zvi's visit changed all that. In the first place, neither Leah nor I were in the mood. In the second place, at midnight the Israelis were going to fly me to Tiberias, an ancient city on the western shores of the Sea of Galilee.
Ben-Zvi had given me a brief rundown on how I would slip into Syria. Two agents, one an Israeli, the other a Syrian, would take me across the Sea of Galilee and the Golan Heights. After that I'd be on my own.
We had dinner sent up to our suite and discussed the situation as we ate. Not one to minimize the danger, Leah quietly pointed out that if I were captured by the Syrian authorities, I would be given a quick trial and hanged as a spy.
I paused in cutting my T-bone and gave Leah a reproving look.
"Tell me something I don't know," I said. "Naturally the Syrians would stretch my neck. They love
"We didn't, because the Kamels didn't know the location of the main SLA base," Hawk said, taking the stub of the cigar from his mouth. "They weren't trusted members of the SLA — trusted to the extent that they knew the SLA's main base — until a week ago."
I finished my drink, put down the empty glass and looked at Hawk.
"You're saying that you and Mr. Ben-Zvi now know the location?"
Hawk nodded. "The Kamels managed to get word to us through a Control Officer in Damascus."
I glared at Jacob Ben-Zvi. "Yet you still let me and Miss Weizmann risk our necks in the House of Medals! Thanks a lot!"
Ben-Zvi's face contorted into a puzzled half-smile. "There wasn't any valid reason to call off the strike against the House of Medals," he said, gesticulating with one bony hand. "The place was scheduled to be raided. Your plan was the best, N3."
Hawk reached into the inside pocket of his rumpled coat and took out another cigar. "Actually we didn't get the message from the Kamels until yesterday afternoon. There was a fatherly tone to his voice. "Their report was on a need-to-know basis. You understand that."
I grinned crookedly at Hawk. "And now t
hat I do
know, I suppose the next thing you're going to tell me is that I've got to skip over to Damascus and check out Ahmed and Miriam Kamel?"
"That's only half of your assignment," Hawk said matter-of-factly, removing the wrapper from the cigar. "The second half is more complicated. Ahmed Kamel will lead you to within sight of Karameh's headquarters. You'll get the exact coordinates of the base's location, then get the hell out of Syria and back to Tel Aviv.
"We Israelis will do the rest," Ben-Zvi said passionately. "We'll bomb the base off the face of the earth."
I looked at Hawk. "Sir, I was under the impression that the Kamels had given you and the Hamosad the location of the SLA base! Besides, they're both double agents. How do you know they're telling the truth; unless, of course, their love of money is greater than their revolutionary fervor."
"It is," Hawk said and shoved the cigar into his mouth. "It was they who tipped us off to the House of Medals. Yeah, there's a possibility that the whole thing's a setup, but I don't think so. We'll have to chance it."
"What about SLA headquarters?" I asked.
"Karameh's main base is on the As-Suwayda hills of southeastern Syria," Hawk explained. "You have to go in because the Kamels don't know a thing about cartography. They can't pinpoint the exact location."
Ben-Zvi added, "You won't slip into Syria until after we've questioned the terrorist that you and Leah captured. He might have some information that will have a bearing on your mission."
"Which means I'll leave sometime tomorrow morning," I said.
"Before dawn," Ben-Zvi said flatly.
My eyes jumped to Hawk, then to Ben-Zvi. I didn't like the deal. I never have trusted double agents. And suicide has never appealed to me.
Chapter Four
Leah and I had planned to go out that night and celebrate along Tel Aviv's Dizengoff, a street of crowded sidewalk cafes and juice bars. Hawk and Ben-Zvi's visit changed all that. In the first place, neither Leah nor I were in the mood. In the second place, at midnight the Israelis were going to fly me to Tiberias, an ancient city on the western shores of the Sea of Galilee.
Ben-Zvi had given me a brief rundown on how I would slip into Syria. Two agents, one an Israeli, the other a Syrian, would take me across the Sea of Galilee and the Golan Heights. After that I'd be on my own.
We had dinner sent up to our suite and discussed the situation as we ate. Not one to minimize the danger, Leah quietly pointed out that if I were captured by the Syrian authorities, I would be given a quick trial and hanged as a spy.
I paused in cutting my T-bone and gave Leah a reproving look.
"Tell me something I don't know," I said. "Naturally the Syrians would stretch my neck. They love
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