JET V - Legacy (12 page)

“Sir, I think you may want to speak with them. This doesn’t seem like any sort of routine visit. They’re quite adamant that it’s a matter of the highest priority.”

Jacob paused, a small tickle of anxiety quivering in his stomach. “Fine. Show them to conference room B. I’ll be in shortly. And see if you can find David,” he snapped, and stabbed the intercom off.

He was a powerful man, accustomed to having his will obeyed, and he didn’t take the intrusion well. Whatever this pair wanted, he’d make them rue the day that they had shown up and tried to bully their way into his offices. He’d come too far to be afraid of any bureaucrats, but he’d also learned that it was better to play nice sometimes than to come in with guns blazing.

With a final glance at the document he had been poring over he stood, then straightened his tie and donned his hand-tailored navy blue suit jacket, appreciating the perfect fit as he always did when he wore it. Jacob traveled to Hong Kong once a year to get ten new suits made by his favorite tailor – a modest luxury for one of the wealthiest men in Israel, but one that never failed to give him a blush of satisfaction.

He stalked from his suite to the conference rooms. B was decorated in dark wooden panels and adorned with centuries-old oil paintings, creating an imposing aura steeped in tradition and big money; a room that spoke of mega-wealth and importance. When he swung the door open, he was greeted by two hard-looking unsmiling men wearing drab gray suits, seated at the opulent oval table. Both regarded him like he’d stolen their wallets, and the pulse of unease in his gut became a snare drum roll.

“Gentlemen. I’m Jacob Weinstein. You want to speak to me?”

“Mr. Weinstein. Sit down.” The words of the older one were an order, not a suggestion.

“Just one minute here. Who are you, and how dare you barge into my offices and speak to me in that insolent tone? Let’s see some identifica–”

“Sit down, Weinstein. I’m not going to tell you again.”

Jacob was so surprised by the outrageous behavior that he was rendered momentarily speechless. He reached to his side and pulled one of the expensive chairs toward him, then eased his bulk onto the butter-soft wine-colored leather with a grunt.

“Here’s how this is going to work. I’m going to talk and you’re going to listen. If I ask questions, you’re going to answer them. You will not ask me any. As to who we are, I’ll give you this much. We’re with the Mossad, and this isn’t a social call. It’s a matter of national security, which means that I’m deadly serious and am not going to waste any time.”

“The Mossad! What the hell does the Mossad want to talk with me for?” Jacob blurted.

“To warn you.”

“Warn me…,” Jacob echoed, puzzled.

“A little over two days ago, a nuclear explosion occurred off the coast of Africa. Somalia. You no doubt know all about it – it’s on every news program. But what isn’t common knowledge is that one of your ships was hijacked several months ago. By Somali pirates.”

“How do you know–”

“We looked over satellite footage of the area where the detonation occurred, and guess what had been floating in the cove that was ground zero? A ship. Camouflaged, to be sure, but still, a ship that looked suspiciously like your missing cargo ship,
Salome
.”

“You found her!” Jacob said, affecting relief.

“Cut the crap. The explosion vaporized the boat, and anything that was left sank.”

Jacob’s eyes pretended confusion. “I…I don’t understand. If she sank, then why is the Mossad in my offices?”

“Because we believe you’re involved with the explosion.”

“What! That’s outrageous! Involved in what way? Have you people lost your minds?”

“Mr. Weinstein, I’m not going to warn you again. I’m here to give you an opportunity to change the course you’re on. Because it’s a bad one, and it will end in disaster. You’re a rich and powerful man – a man of accomplishment who’s admired and respected. But that isn’t going to matter when I come back and take you in, charged with treason. You know what we can do. You can disappear.” The man rose. “This is a national security matter. We believe you’re involved in something that poses a threat to Israel, and if we’re correct, there will be no mercy. So this is your chance. I want to know everything you know about the blast. No lies. No denials. The truth.”

Jacob dry swallowed, and then his eyes took on a flinty hardness.

“Gentlemen. I’m not sure what you believe you know, but you’ve obviously been led astray. We lost a boat, as you know. We were in negotiations to get her back. Negotiations that were nearing a conclusion – a successful conclusion. Now, I don’t know how you think the shipping world works, but we don’t go around bombing adversaries. Especially not when it’s over a few lousy million dollars. Not to mention that I have nothing to do with any nuclear program, nor do I have a pile of nukes in my basement, which you should be well aware of if you’ve done any research at all.” He softened his tone. “Look, the ship is insured. Any ransom would be a cost of doing business – and not even a big cost. So you’re way off base.”

“Off base. Then why did a nuke go off right next to your boat?”

“Are you a hundred percent sure it was even one of our ships?” Jacob saw a flicker of hesitation in the agent’s glare, and drilled home his advantage. “How would I know why a nuke went off? Maybe these same scum were involved in some kind of arms dealing? All I can do is guess. You know as well as I do that area of the world is out of control. There’s no law. Anything goes. Maybe they were trying to build, or arm, a device, and they screwed up? Poof. The point is that I have no idea what this is about, and there are infinite explanations I can think of off the top of my head that don’t involve me, my company, and nuclear weapons.”

“I don’t believe you,” the agent stated flatly, his tone openly hostile.

“It doesn’t matter what you believe. I’m telling the truth. You’re on a fishing expedition, and somehow you got pointed in the wrong direction. Who put you up to this? One of my competitors? It had to be. One of my enemies. And you fell for it.” Jacob leaned forward, matching the agent’s malevolence. “Here’s my suggestion. Go bark up another tree. Because there’s nothing to see here. I’ve never been involved in the arms business, or anything even remotely connected to weapons of any kind. That’s easy to verify. So I’d suggest that you look elsewhere, because this is a dead end. And frankly, if you pull another stunt like this and bully your way in, you’ll be sitting across from my attorneys. This discussion is over, and if you don’t leave quietly, I’ll start making calls to my connections in the government, and I promise you whatever you think you have won’t get you out of that hot water.” Jacob held up a hand. “I know you have a difficult job to do. I can sympathize. But I’m a patriot, and an upstanding member of the community, and the notion that I’m involved in anything related to the explosion is preposterous.”

The two agents stared stonily at him.

Jacob stood, more sure of himself. “I’ve given you all the time this warrants. This is a big mistake. Don’t make it a bigger one. I’m willing to forget you were here, but only this once. If you barge in again making wild claims, there’ll be hell to pay.”

The younger agent put his pen down on the desk, carefully, and looked Jacob square in the eyes.

“The only mistake is the one you’re making. When we come back, and we
will
come back, you’ll be crying like a baby as we drag you off. That’s what’s going to happen. Probably soon. Very soon.”

The older agent nodded, facing off with Jacob, his shoulders square. “You must think we’re stupid. In a way, that will make what we have to do even more enjoyable. Mr. Weinstein, last chance. What is your involvement with the explosion?”

“I’m not going to say anything more. Shall I get my lawyer and call the prime minister?”

The two agents exchanged a glance, and then the older one shook his head and signaled to the other.

“Weinstein, you should definitely speak with your attorney. Because next time we come, it will be to cuff you and take you in for questioning. And that won’t be due process questioning. At that point it will be too late, and all the king’s horses won’t be able to save your ass,” he spat, and then pushed past Jacob to the door.

The younger one eyed Jacob like he was lunch, sneering at him as he followed his partner out.

“Have a nice day. Thanks for your valuable time,” he said with a malevolent chuckle, chilling Jacob’s blood, although he fought not to show it.

And then they were gone.

Jacob sat, shaken, for a full minute before heaving himself heavily to his feet, his hands trembling from the adrenaline rush. And from something else.

For all his bravado, for the first time in a long while, Jacob was genuinely afraid.

Chapter 15

“Just get ahold of yourself. If they could prove anything, they wouldn’t have come in and tried to rattle you. That’s not how these guys work,” David said, trying for confidence, his voice betraying him.

“Oh, really? And how, exactly, do you know how they operate? I mean, other than that you believe it to be true? As far as I can tell, my ass is now on the firing line because of a series of bad decisions you drove me to. ‘The bomb could solve many of our problems.’ Really? Did that work like you thought? Because last time I checked, having the Mossad breathing down my neck is a pretty big problem,” Jacob worried, pacing in front of David’s desk, his last words still ringing stridently.

“Jacob. Just think about it for a few seconds. What do they know? Nothing. That maybe one of our hundreds of ships was in the area when some Somali warlord blew himself up while trafficking in banned weaponry. Am I missing something here? Did they offer anything other than vague threats, trying to get you to crack?”

“You didn’t have them telling you they were going to haul you away in chains for treason.”

“Jacob. That’s not how things work. You’re way too high profile. Seriously. This was a desperation move on their part. If they actually had anything they could act on, they already would have. As it is, they came, took their best shot, and got nothing for it. You sent them packing. The end,” David said, as if by declaring their hopes out loud he could make them true.

“I disagree. We need to accelerate things. Once the second part of our strategy is in motion, nobody will care about Somalia. They’ll have bigger fish to fry.”

“No, Jacob. You can’t go off half-cocked. Everything is proceeding on schedule. Don’t panic and do anything rash.”

“Rash, my ass. It won’t be you they’re cutting fingers off of in some back room.”

David shook his head. “Again. It’s not going to happen. The best thing you can do is continue on, business as usual. Don’t do anything that will give them a reason to come after you, and you’ll be fine.”

Jacob stared out the window at the cityscape before responding. “I hear what you’re saying, but it’s way easier to be brave when it’s someone else’s head on the chopping block.”

David sighed, obviously exasperated. “Please. Just give it a little time. You’ll see I’m right. As of now, you’ve had a scare. Hell, I’d be scared too. Having the Mossad pay a visit has to be harrowing. But they’ve got nothing. At this point, we could be our own worst enemy. Just play it cool, stick to the plan, and we’ll be fine. Come on. This is the culmination of, what, fifteen years of preparation? We’ve never been closer. Let’s not blow it now.”

“I hear you, David. But I’m not happy, and I’m worried. And if I’m worried, you should be too. These are big stakes we’re playing for. Winner takes all. I don’t buy that they’re just going to go away.”

“I didn’t say they would go away. Reality is that they’ll still nose around, but in a short while none of that will matter. Look, worst case, plan a trip to Zurich or Fiji and watch the whole thing play out on TV. This is now a cause set in motion, and it’s bigger than you or me. Just don’t lose your nerve.”

“Easy for you to say,” Jacob muttered, and then, after a few more minutes of David reassuring him, he left David’s office and returned to his own.

~ ~ ~

The technicians sat at a console monitoring on headphones as Jet and the director stood nearby, listening to catch any nuance over the speaker that was broadcasting the conversation so they could hear it. They heard the distinctive sound of footsteps echo on the playback, and then a door closed.

The director turned to Jet.

“Neat technology, no? We turned his cell phone microphone on without the phone indicating it’s in use. Just that little conversation is enough for us to pull him in, now, and work him over for as long we need to.”

“The problem being,” she said, “that there’s no telling just how much he knows, or how long it would take to get it out of him.”

“True…,” he murmured thoughtfully, and then they heard rustling, and another slamming noise from the tape. “Listen here. This is the call.”

She could hardly make out some tones, and then Jacob hung up as the line began ringing.

The lead technician stopped the recording. “We’re working on filtering out the background noise and enhancing it, sir. I think we can get a number within another half hour.”

“Give it your best shot. Call me the moment you have something. I’ll be in my office,” the director ordered, and then motioned for Jet to follow him.

“He used another cell phone for the aborted call. We think he was trying to reach the operatives, or another member of The Council, and then had a change of heart,” the director said.

“What are the odds are that we can triangulate the phone?” she asked.

“Depends on where it’s located. The most sophisticated equipment in the world belongs to the American NSA, and I have a good relationship with them. I’ll be pulling some backdoor strings once we have the number. If there’s a way to pinpoint it, they’ll be able to,” the director said as he moved back to his office. Jet knew that the high-rise wasn’t the Mossad’s permanent location – just as her former control and lover David had moved his operation around periodically depending upon the mission, she was sure that the director and his support staff didn’t stay in one place for very long.