Free The Jerusalem Inception by Avraham Azrieli Page A

want?”
    “A bit of your time. May I come in?”
    She moved aside.
    He entered a large, tidy room. The closed door to his left probably led to the equipment room where she listened in on UN radio traffic. He sat on the sofa.
    Tanya remained standing. “I need to go back to my work.”
    He pulled out a pack of Lucky Strike.
    “Don’t smoke here.”
    “No problem.” Elie slid the pack back into his pocket. “How was your reunion with Abraham? Lots of hugs and kisses?”
    “You told him I was dead!”
    “I told him the facts. He drew the conclusion.”
    “You tricked him, just like you had tricked me about his death. Bloody sieve! ”
    “It’s a miracle he recovered, and it was a miracle the wolves didn’t eat you.”
    Tanya’s pretty face was red with anger, making her even more attractive. “We needed one more miracle, but you’re still around!”
    “I saw your new friend leave. Good-looking boy, Abraham’s son. Snip off those payos and strip the black clothes, and he’s a carbon copy of the Gerster you once loved.”
    Tanya’s face grew even redder. “You’re a sick man!”
    He was pleased with her reaction, which confirmed his strategy. “I need to know what he told you. Anything about Neturay Karta?”
    “You haven’t changed.”
    “He must have told you something.” Elie wanted her to think this was just about snooping for information on the fundamentalist sect, let her believe he had given up on the fortune her Nazi lover had stashed in Switzerland.
    Tanya walked to the opposite end of the room. “You already have Abraham in position. He’s your agent. Leave his son alone.”
    “Why?”
    “Because he’s an innocent victim.”
    “You read too many novels.”
    “He’s just a boy.”
    “He’s the same age Abraham was in forty-five. You remember the boy he was, yes? The heads he blew? The necks he squeezed? The hearts he stabbed, or broke?”
    Tanya turned away. She released her hair and held it to her cheek like a child seeking comfort in a familiar rag. “You couldn’t make me betray Klaus twenty years ago. You think I’ll betray Abraham now?”
    “Your loyalty to ex-lovers is commendable.”
    “A snake,” she said, “is what you are.”
    “A very powerful snake.” Elie looked around. He knew she would not leave the Nazi’s ledger in plain sight, but he hoped to see something useful, a hint of where she had hidden the key to the dormant fortune. “You’re taking it too personally. This is not about me or you or Abraham. This is about the future of Israel. We won’t survive the Arabs’ attacks while a Talmudic Trojan horse spews religious violence in our midst.”
    “A few hundred fragile scholars are a threat to the state?”
    “Neturay Karta’s fundamentalist ideology is like a spark that could start a brushfire, which will spread to every religious community in Israel.”
    “You’re being paranoid.”
    Elie put a cigarette between his lips. “Orthodox Jews believe that one day the Messiah will ride into Jerusalem on his white donkey and twiddle a magic wand to recreate King David’s empire and bring us back to the Promised Land. Therefore, they perceive modern Zionism as a blasphemous usurpation of God. Remember the zealots who killed the great priest and caused Roman victory over Jerusalem two thousand years ago? Neturay Karta is the reincarnation of those ancient fanatics, the modern-day progenitors of a violent rebellion against the secular Israeli democratic government—”
    “You’re wasting time. I work for Mossad, not for you.”
    “Actually, soon you’ll also be working for my Special Operations Department.” He could see her face tense up. “I won’t interfere with your regular duties, but you’ll have to follow my orders and provide me with all information and items that you possess.”
    Tanya shook her head sharply, her hair flying about her, making her look like a young girl. “General Amit won’t force me.”
    Elie thought for a moment.