Disappearance (20 page)

The German went on.   "I figured the person was someone they had sent to learn about the girl's plans but I kept wondering why the call did not come from my regular contacts.”

Mikki remained silent, thinking of how totally ignorant they had been of the threat.

"I finally learned that the call was not placed from Israel and that no one had been sent to watch the girl," Kollsmeyer continued indifferently, then flashed a thin cruel smile, as he prepared for his dramatic finale. 

Mikki waited with a sense of dread.

"It was an American who called me that night, most likely from the States," the German proclaimed.  "This person was the only one who could have known of her plans on such short notice and the only one who could both
conspire such a scheme and be so concerned with the victim's safety.”

Kollsmeyer paused again.

"Get to the point," Mikki hissed.

"The American who initiated the kidnapping had to be a close relative of the girl, so close, I would dare a guess he was her own father!"

Mikki felt as if someone had pumped the air out of his lungs and left him in a vacuum.  His mouth went dry.  He rose off the bench and took a few steps in the direction of the lake. Eitan remained in his stance, stone- faced, gun leveled firmly.

Mikki felt a great urge to get as far away as he could from the cold and calculating German mercenary, and take time to deal with the shocking reality that had just revealed itself in its ugliest form.   He was also instantly aware that the most frightening part of this outrageous accusation was that his own intuition confirmed that it could pass as reasonable.

It took him a few minutes to gather his wits and formulate his next line of questioning.   He strode back to the bench and went on the offensive.

"That is one preposterous theory, Kollsmeyer," he proclaimed, looking at Eitan for support.

"Then give me a better one," the German challenged.

"I can think of an infinite number that would make more sense.”

"Give me just one.”

"Your PLO troops kidnapped an American girl in Israel to weaken Israeli ties with the US," Mikki tried, bothered by his feeble argument and his temptation to accept the outrageous theory.

"Then why use me?   They have found much more creative ways of achieving those goals without my services.”

"You're the money man.”

"They've got money coming out of their ears.”

"I'd be crazy to accept your theory, Kollsmeyer.  I'd be the laughing stock of my entire country.”

"I warned you, kinder.  You may not like it, but it's the best I can do.”

"You expect to be let go for this?"

"Look, it may sound crazy but I've crossed  checked  this theory with other sources.   I never grasped the complete picture, but if you intend to investigate further, focus on the father, he's key.  The girl was not sent to Israel for fun and games.  She may have been an instrument used by some pretty powerful forces.”

Karen's words suddenly flashed into Mikki's consciousness.

"Nothing is ever what it seems…"  Her words echoed in his head.

The two stood
over  their  prisoner,  uncertain  of  how  to proceed.  The German gave it one last shot. 

"Just think of what I've told you, and it'll begin to make sense.  The phone call, the instructions, the concern for her safety…"  He gulped as Mikki signaled for Eitan to move a step closer.

"If you doubt me, think of how it was possible for anyone to know she was in that car, at that time, in that particular gas station.  They had her followed the entire day before they moved in.  Trust me, I know.  I was the one who sent them after her.”

Mikki was fighting his instincts.   He was the only one who could confirm the German's theory and he knew it had merit.

"Why'd you bother looking into this?"  Mikki insisted, stubbornly trying to discredit the man.

"I check out anyone who's supposed to pay me," Kollsmeyer retorted.

Mikki motioned Eitan to the side and spoke in soft Hebrew. "Did you get all that?"  he asked, knowing Eitan's rather poor English.

Eitan nodded, keeping the gun pointed at the German. 

"What do you think then, is he messing with us?"

"Truthfully Mikki, his story is so off the wall I'm inclined to buy it.”

"I have to admit it sits pretty well with some of the things Karen had said on a few occasions, back when we were together.”

"Oh," Eitan muttered, surprised,
taking  his  eyes  off  the German for a split second.

"I did not pay much attention at the time but with this new information some of the things she said begin to make sense.”

"Such as...?"  Eitan inquired, keeping his eyes focused on the German.

"It happened a few times, especially when we'd get real personal. She would sort of get drawn back into her own little world and begin to recount how miserable she really was and how her life was only a facade to a terrible world.  She may have even hinted that her parents abused her in some way.”

"Did she ever refer to a specific plot or was it just general disturbed feelings?"

"I kept thinking she was actually trying to tell me something but I couldn't put my finger on it.  I certainly never suspected she was in
such danger.”

"I still say there has to be one heck of a motive for a father to pull such a stunt on his own daughter, unless..." Eitan stopped in mid-sentence and focused on the German again.

"Unless what?"  Mikki beckoned.

"I don't know Mikki, it's too crazy… forget it.”

"No Eitan, I want you to say what you think because I may be thinking the same thing.”

"Then you say it!" Eitan whispered harshly.

Mikki was taken aback but was too emotional to drop the issue. "Did you want to say she may have played along?"

Eitan nodded but did not look at Mikki.

"I've considered that for a long time without reaching any conclusions, but I must say that if it's true, then motive or not, we may as well pack up and go home because this here is none of our business.”

"Was it ever?" Eitan contested.

"Maybe not for you but certainly for me, after all she was my girlfriend and was  kidnapped  from  my  car.    The entire country was overturned to find her, governments became involved, and a police captain lost his life.  I certainly wanted to know what happened and I was also in love with her.”

"Sorry Mikki," Eitan muttered, "but I think it's time we make a decision. We can't stay here forever.”

Mikki nodded in agreement.  "If we want to pursue this further, I think we must take his theory at face value and assume Karen was an innocent victim.”

"What do we do with Herr Kollsmeyer?" Eitan asked.

"We let him go; what else can we do?"

"He may warn his people.”

"It's a risk we'll have to take.  We can't go on eliminating anyone who crosses our path.  I haven't fully recovered from our first endeavor.”

Eitan had no qualms about killing the terrorist, albeit it was done rather recklessly.  The terrorist had had to be eliminated and he felt the German should be handed the same fate if only the circumstances allowed it; but they were on foreign soil and not ready to test the authorities.

They set Kollsmeyer free after confiscating his passport, two additional passports and a small black address book found in his briefcase.   The passport they argued would be used to prove his "death" to the Raul clan.  The address book they felt may come in handy.   They politely advised him to mind his own business, threatening  to  use  his  false  passports  to discredit him.  He protested over the loss of his belongings but hurried away as soon as they cleared him a path.

The syringe containing tinted water and the 22 caliber pistol were thrown in the lake and the two rode the bicycle back to the hotel, making a sizable detour around the slumbering town, ensuring they were not being observed.

At seven the following morning they checked out of the hotel, returned the bicycle at the central railway station, and flagged down a taxi to the airport.

CHAPTER 20

Lieutenant Nadav handed his officer's credentials and ID card to a
polite  and  a rather attractive young lady who began fidgeting with the computer keys affixed at her post.  He briefly surveyed the sequestered area.   The attendants sat behind an elevated wooden counter that stretched across the room from the entrance to the gray steel doors that divided the sacred facility from the rest of the world.

No one ever called the Mossad headquarters by its factual name.

The room had several portholes situated up high, almost touching the ceiling, mainly for air circulation.  Several guest couches with matching coffee tables, stood bare by one corner with portraits of the current and former prime ministers and presidents hung ceremoniously above on the white painted walls.   Two heavily armed soldiers were situated at the entrances at both ends of the room; the registering guests lined up in a single file next to the counter, confined by a chain affixed to knee high silver steel poles.

The attendant motioned to him, catching his attention.  The tag attached to her shirt identified her as Sharon.   She suspiciously looked up at him a few times comparing his catalog photos with the original, making him quickly shift his gaze.

In less than five minutes he was handed a visitor's badge and was escorted, through the steel gates and sliding glass doors, to the main control building.  His escort left him in the lobby where he rode the steel rimmed elevator two floors down to the basement where he stepped out and slid his badge through a magnetic apparatus attached to more steel doors.   A brief sharp buzz was heard and the doors opened mechanically, letting him through.  As he made his way down the neon-lit corridor, he  was  well  aware  of  the  surveillance  cameras attached to the ceiling, recording his every move.

The  corridor  led  him  to  an  air-cooled,  dust  filtered  hall, known to be the heart and soul of the Mossad's data control center, the central computer complex.  He was buzzed in once again through sliding glass doors, and slowly made his way among a bank of monitors and electronic equipment. The ever-present, low,
continuous hum of computer equipment was extremely familiar, resembling Northern Comman
d’
s intelligence computer center. He had been at the complex twice before on special assignments, tasked by his superiors.

The current visit was
his own initiative.

Despite his top secret security clearance authorizing him to research classified files, computer research appointments at Mossad headquarters were by no means routine.  Above and beyond the numerous basic requirements, two major obstacles had  to  be  overcome:    an  official  request  had  to  be  filed through  his  commanding  officer  and  an  invitation  by  a Mossad operative was essential at the gate.

His commanding officer approved most of Nadav's requests without a hitch, and though he had questioned him more in depth about the nature of this particular request, he approved the urgent research assignment in pursuit of code names for IDF collaborators in Southern Lebanon.

Over his two years’ service in intelligence, he had made quite a name  for  himself as  a  bright  and  reliable  officer, qualities which did not go unnoticed in the tight, secluded intelligence community.  Both the Mossad and Shabac had offered him positions once his military obligations were fulfilled.  He had met with quite a few Mossad operatives for recruiting purposes and for exchanging information.  He now decided it was the appropriate time to use his contacts.

Shaul Dekel was a high ranking Mossad operative responsible for gathering intelligence data from Southern Lebanon; he knew Nadav well from numerous operation briefings and debriefings. They had become good friends so it did not seem too out of the ordinary when Dekel received a call from his friend and IDF counterpart requesting an invitation for a computer survey.

"I'll have them run it through," Dekel had assured Nadav after taking down his personal details.   "Just make sure to come up for coffee when you're done," he finished cheerfully.

The computer center was a hub of silent activity, with men and women  sitting  glued  to  their  computer  screens.    He located an empty monitor and sat down trying to appear calm, feeling cold sweat break across his body, almost shivering with tense anticipation.

An orderly came by, turned on the computer, punched in a temporary password and logged into the main server.  Nadav took it from there.  Without wasting a second, as the orderly moved away, he swiftly entered the personnel directories from the main menu in pursuit of a Dan Hasson file.  It took the computer forever to
retrieve the directory from where he could access the operative's file.

When he finally reached the desired file, access was denied.

All that appeared was a single screen but it was enough.  It displayed the operative's name and some very general data including the operative's ID and passport number, birthday and physical description.  The file was marked deleted due to termination of employment dated August 3rd, 1983.  The last database field, at the very bottom of the screen, gave a certain numeral code to the name 'PhotonTek' affixed at the end.

The orderly was making his rounds, approaching Nadav's position once again.    The lieutenant hastily exited the personnel directories and began searching for code names of IDF collaborators in Southern Lebanon, not expecting to retrieve anything he did not already know.

-------

The four met at Sarah's apartment on the evening of Eitan and Mikki's return from Copenhagen.

"Why'd you guys never call?"  Sarah asked accusingly, passing around the small flowery decorated china tea cups filled with lemon scented tea.

"We didn’t want to call from the hotel and we couldn’t figure out the public phone system there," Mikki said cheerfully, making
himself comfortable on her bed.

"Poor excuse, Mikki," Nadav muttered in the same cheerful mood.  "We had you for dead.”

"Hey, give us a little credit," Eitan put in, standing over by the window watching the city.

The mood became serious once Mikki began recounting their findings in detail.  He described how they had located the apartment and its German occupant and how they had ambushed him on the street and interrogated him in the park, slowly leading to the German's reasoning and subsequent shocking conclusions.

"… He seems to be totally convinced the entire affair was initiated by Karen's father," Mikki concluded.

"You know, fellas," Nadav reflected, trying to put things in perspective and ease the tense atmosphere.  "In intelligence courses they teach you never to dismiss anything. Expect the worst, the strangest; the most bizarre.   I've dealt with cases that required faith and a lot of imagination, but this one has to top all.”

Sarah addressed Mikki.

"Have you grasped the fact that she may be alive?"

"If I can accept this crazy theory, then I guess yeah, she could be alive.”

"Can you?" Sarah pressed.

Mikki considered her question a while before answering.

"First of all we were as shocked as anyone would be and we obviously didn't buy his story.  But the German kept making sense.  He kept saying things that reminded me of some of the stuff Karen said to me and many of the things that actually occurred.  We could not dismiss his arguments, though God knows we tried.”

"It most certainly is an outrageous theory," Eitan added, "but it's the only one we've got and it gives us a clear path to pursue.”

"But what if it's false and we wrongly accuse a father of kidnapping his own daughter?" Sarah put in.

"It could mean disaster but I must admit it's surprisingly plausible," Nadav said.

The three looked at him in surprise. "Why do you say that?" Sarah inquired.

Nadav smiled and cleared his throat.  "I checked the name you gave me of the Volvo owner. Turns out he had been let go by the Mossad four years ago.   His file has most likely been archived so  it  was  impossible  to  retrieve, but  a certain  name  came  up  which  might  give  validity  to  this theory.”

All eyes were on him as he paused to sip his tea.

"There was only one screen in the Mossad's computerized personnel files indicating some general information of former employee, Dan Hasson.  A certain code number was displayed and it had the name PhotonTek attached to it.  I guess it may have been his last assignment.”

Sarah jumped from her seat.

"That's his company!"  she exclaimed.

Nadav nodded knowingly. Mikki looked astonished.

"This is the connection, perhaps even a motive," Sarah continued, out of breath, her words spewing out.  "If this is true, then the Mossad had some reason to be concerned with this company.  If what the German said is true, then Glass planned his daughter's kidnapping using a car that belonged to a Mossad operative that was investigating his company…?"

"If this is true," Nadav interjected, "then Glass probably used the kidnapping to try and get them off his back.”

"Which could explain why the authorities here covered up the investigation," Sarah concluded.

The four stared at one another, astonished at their own revelations.

"Poor Captain Gadot," Mikki reflected, "he never had a chance.”

"Let me get this straight," Eitan said
, trying to comprehend the flow of information just offloaded into the electrified room. "The general consensus here is that the German's theory holds and Karen is alive somewhere?"

They all looked at one another.

"Yes, and it also means that if this ever gets out, the careers of some pretty important figures could be seriously damaged," Nadav said.

"It also means that Captain Gadot's killers could be traced," Sarah added.

"Are we up to this?"  Mikki asked, suddenly feeling the weight of it all.

He got up and walked over to the side door by the window, opened it and stepped out to the tiny balcony overlooking the sparkling city.   He stood silent for a while, gazing at the commotion below.  The sun had long disappeared beyond the Mediterranean and the streetlights had come on, illuminating a traffic jam at the Betzalel Market exit.  Storekeepers were closing shop, and workers were milling around bus stations waiting for transport home.

He knew exactly what had to be done yet he suddenly felt reluctant to go on.

It was not the uncovering of possibly the cruellest of plots or the danger of meddling with corrupt officials that had made him suddenly hesitant.   He had spent the entire flight back from  Denmark  and  the  better  part  of  his  first  day  back, mulling over his swirling anxieties.

None of it was going to conclude the way he had envisioned, he deduced regretfully.   Fantasies of fairytale endings comforted him only when he was certain the bad guys were who they were supposed to be and the odds of finding Karen had seemed less than remote.  Now that the bad guys had turned up on the both sides of the fence and there was substantial evidence that Karen was indeed alive, he began to doubt his own convictions.   The realization of just how frightened he was of actually finding her was burning a gaping hole in the pit of his stomach.

He still loved the Karen he had met.  The one he had preserved in his mind for so long.   The brown-eyed, fragile beauty, who briefly descended upon him so long
ago throwing him into a whirlwind of bewilderment and anguish.  He realized that time would have taken its toll and the relationship could not be picked up where it was cut off.  He was certain that if they were to meet again, she would not be the girl he had met over three years ago and he dreaded the thought of never being able to bridge the gap.

He shuddered every time he tried to envisage what it was like to
be held captive for so long.   Glass's thundering accusations kept echoing in his mind as he recalled their confrontation at the Geffen Inn. The convincing show of concern for his abducted daughter in the conference room and in front of the cameras seemed ridiculously pathetic, now that the truth had unfolded. It seemed inconceivable, even monstrous.

The workers down below were scrambling on to their cumbersome bus, hanging on for dear life, standing room only.

Mikki kept trying to appraise the kind of person who can so brutally betray his own flesh and blood.  He wondered how such a terrible secret can be kept hidden for so many years and how can a human being look his wife in the eye, seeing her mourn the loss of a daughter.

The thoughts and questions kept gushing by turning to trepidation, as he desperately tried to rationalize it.   It was so bizarre that speculation about family involvement returned, creeping in uninvited. Was it too farfetched to speculate that they all may have played a part in the abduction, covering for some horrible dark secret hidden deep within a tarnished past?

Over three years had passed and no one in the family seemed concerned.  Lisa had kept him appraised for a while but that had ended over two years ago.

He felt nauseous as suddenly it seemed as if their mission was of no importance to anyone.

He walked back in and took his position in the room.  Sarah was making another round of tea.  Nadav and Eitan were sprawled on her bed talking softly.  They looked up as he entered and assumed a sitting position.