Triple Identity Read Online Free PDF Page A

and said with a broad smile, “Congratulations! You're in.”
    I was so unprepared that I didn't know whether I should be happy or sorry. Despite the long wait, it all seemed very sudden.
    Michael handed me a stack of documents. “This is an oath of confidentiality,” he said, pulling out two stapled pages. “Read it carefully, because it will remain valid all your life, even when you are no longer in the service.”
    I looked at the statement. “As a member of the Central Intelligence Institute, I understand that I will have access to confidential and top-secret information which concerns Israel's national security. By signing this statement, I am indicating my understanding of my responsibilities to maintain confidentiality and agree to the following.” There followed a list of penalties for breach, of which prison seemed the lightest.
    I signed.
    In those few minutes, though I didn't realize it then, I had just begun the most fascinating time of my life.
    It was only May, but Tel Aviv was already hot and humid. My acceptance came right on time; graduation from university was only twomonths away. I broke the news to my parents at the dinner table that evening.
    “What about your plans to go to law school and then join my firm?” my father asked, looking at me and then my mother.
    “It'll have to wait for a while,” I responded. I don't think they liked the answer but they said nothing to discourage me. I didn't realize then that “a while” meant years.
    On my first day on the job I was assigned to the archive. Thousands upon thousands of files, reeking of mildew, welcomed me. “Don't worry,” consoled Michael when he saw my gloomy face, “this is how everyone starts.” It took me two months to get the picture, reading endless files. I saw how many so-called accidents that had befallen terrorists had their roots in those files, in that stale room.
    I was assigned to field training six months later, the first of its kind at the Mossad.
    I packed a few things and took a bus to the Mossad training camp, twenty miles northeast of Tel Aviv, for what was called an “operations course.” The camp was located in an agricultural area, on an old military base that was surrounded by citrus orchards and small red-roofed houses. It included an airstrip that had been built and used by British forces until 1948, when Jewish resistance made them give up their mandate over Palestine, leading to the establishment of Israel. Several elite forces of the Israeli armed forces had taken over the base. Behind a seven-foot gated metal fence topped by razor wire stood a few one-story buildings. The smell of cow dung hung in the air. There was no sign on the fence.
    I showed the guard in the small concrete booth my invitation letter. He asked me for my government-issued photo ID, compared it with my face, and picked up his telephone and said something. With a nod, he hung up and opened the electric gate, which screeched as it slowly rolled on its rails. I walked inside the camp.
Manhattan, New York City, September 1990
    The office secretary, Lan, knocked on my door, walked in unceremoniously, and handed me a file folder.
    “This just came in,” she said. “It looked like something you'd want to see right away.” I reached across my desk, took the folder, and began to read a cover memo.
    O FFICE of I NTERNATIONAL A SSET R ECOVERY AND M ONEY L AUNDERING
    Memorandum
    To: Dan Gordon, Investigative Attorney
    From: David Stone, Director
    Date: September 15,1990
    Re: U.S. v. Raymond DeLouise
    I'm assigning you this matter.
The subject Raymond DeLouise, born in Bucharest, Romania.
DOB: July 15,1927.
Whereabouts: Last known address: 44-21 Glendale Boulevard, Los
Angeles, CA 90021. Current address: unknown.
    The subject absconded from the United States soon after federal regulators discovered a $90 million shortfall at First Federal Bank of Westwood, California, where he was chairman and chief executive officer as well as principal