had killed her before the pan she’d been holding hit the ground, and since then, he’d seen no reason to waste money on frivolities like new furniture or any decorations more recent than 1980s era. In a way, his Spartan life gave him a greater sense of control.
It wouldn’t be long now. Another year and he’d retire, and then lie on the beach somewhere while scantily clad young things brought him cocktails. Far from Israel. Maybe the Black Sea. He’d heard good things about the Black Sea. Varna. Odessa. It was a big world, where even an old man could indulge his appetites if he had the right kind of money.
It was dark by the time he made it through the dense evening traffic and neared his neighborhood. As he turned onto his street, a tire popped and the misshapen rubber began thumping against the wheel arch.
“Damn it,” he muttered to himself as he pulled the shimmying car to a halt by the curb.
Eli stubbed out the cigarette and put the transmission in park, then opened his door to inspect the damage. He had a spare, but wasn’t looking forward to having to change it at night in his business suit. If he didn’t ruin his clothes, he would probably hurt his back or cut his hand, knowing his luck.
Even in the dim light, he could see that the tire was history, flat as a board, its sidewalls mangled.
He would call the towing company. He had their number in his briefcase. There was no reason for him to get into roadside maintenance at this late stage of the game. Eli had never been good with mechanical things. That wasn’t going to turn around now.
A car rolled up behind him as he was surveying the damage. Turning to face it, he shielded his eyes against the bright glare as it eased to a stop.
The door opened, and he heard a female.
“Are you okay? Do you need some help?”
“No…I got a flat. Probably all the construction around here. The damned workers drop nails and screws everywhere off the backs of their trucks, and then people like me pay the price.”
“A flat? Do you need me to help you with it?” the beautiful young woman asked as she approached. The night wasn’t looking so bad after all, he thought as he studied the way her jeans formed to her hips. He realized he was staring and lowered his eyes, trying not to be too obvious.
“I could never-”
A blow he never saw coming struck his spine, sending a jolt of pain through his lower back with a shock. He gasped, fighting to stay upright. An arm wrapped around his neck, and a stinking rag clamped tightly over his nose and mouth.
Eli tried to struggle, but within a few seconds, everything got blurry, his knees buckled, and he was out.
When Eli regained consciousness, he was sitting on a hard wooden chair in a dark, empty room with his hands bound behind his back. He coughed and slowly opened his eyes all the way. Something in the corner moved, and he turned his head towards it.
“Eli Cohen. My, what a bad boy you’ve been.”
The voice was female, evenly-modulated, calm. The woman by the car.
“Who are you? What do you want?”
“I’m one of the members of the team you sold down the river. One of the people who was condemned to death by your treachery.”
“I don’t understand. I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he protested, coughing again.
“Let’s not waste each other’s time, Eli. I know who you are, I know what you do with the Mossad, and I know that you’ve sold information to a Russian by the name of Mikhail Grigenko.”
“Mossad? What, are you crazy? I’m not with the Mossad. Where did you get that idea? Is this a robbery or something? I don’t have a lot of money, but-”
She stepped forward and slapped his face.
“Don’t lie to me. I know what you did — your betrayal of those who put their lives on the line for you. There’s no point in denying it. Denial will just piss me off, Eli, and believe me when I tell you that you don’t want to piss me off.”
He studied her face, and then his eyes widened.
“Ahh. So you recognize me. Which means you know what I am capable of. Are you afraid yet, Eli? You should be. Very afraid,” Jet warned.
“I told you I don’t know what-”
She slapped him again.
“You don’t get it, do you? You’re not going to make it out of this room unless you tell me what I need to know.”
David stepped out of the shadows. “Hello, Eli.”
The blood drained from Eli’s face. “You.”
“That’s right. So let’s not play any longer. I have some questions, and I need answers. You will answer the questions. If you aren’t cooperative, I’ll torture you until you’ll wish you had died ten times over. You know I’ll do it, so let’s make this simple. I know you betrayed the team. I know you had a hand in them being killed. I know Grigenko is behind it. My first question is, why?”
“Why what?”
“Why did you betray them?”
Eli spat on the floor. “I didn’t know what was going to happen. I swear I didn’t know he was going to sanction them…”
“Really? What did you think he would do? Send them flowers?”
Eli had nothing to say.
“My question stands. Why?”
Eli raised his head. “I’m not saying anything. You can’t do this, and you know it. You’re one of us. One of the good guys. This isn’t how we behave.”
David moved back behind Eli and picked something up, then turned back to Eli.
“You know what this is? Of course you do. This is a soldering iron. I just plugged it in. Within thirty seconds, it will get hot enough to light a cigarette. I’m going to start with your head and work my way down your torso. I’m not bluffing, and you’ll be very sorry if you decide to test me. Once I’m done with the iron, I’ll switch to using electricity, then acid. You know what I’m trained to do. Now I’m going to ask you one more time. Why did you betray the team? Why did you betray me?”
Eli gritted his teeth, refusing to speak.
David turned to Jet.
“Go watch out front and make sure that nobody is around. I don’t want to be interrupted.”
She nodded, and then paused, looking at Eli. “I guess next time I see you, you won’t have much of a face left. I wish I could say it was nice meeting you, Eli, but it wasn’t.”
She turned and walked to a door behind Eli. He heard it open and then slam shut. It echoed. They were in a large space — some kind of abandoned warehouse or industrial building.
“Don’t do this. There’s no coming back once you do this,” Eli pleaded in a quiet voice.
“That’s right. Just like there was no coming back from the hit squad that attacked me at one of the safe houses. Just like none of the team will come back from the dead.”
David moved closer to Eli.
“Last chance. Why?”
Jet returned to the room fifteen minutes later. The stink of burned flesh hung like a pall in the air, and David was leaning against the wall, sweating and breathing heavily. Eli’s head was resting on his chest, what remained of his mouth burbling incoherently.
“We should leave, David. It’s just a matter of time till they shut the town down and start searching every vehicle. You know there had to be a protocol for him to check in once he was settling in for the night. They’re sure to send someone around, and when they find his car…”
David looked up at her. “Okay. I’m finished with him, anyway. He told me everything I need to know.” He spat on Eli.
“What about him?”
