away from here.”
Leopole resumed his scan of the threat sector. He was focused again. “What about Rafix? He’s got to be told about Kamal.”
A faint smile, condescending in execution if not intent. “Colonel Leopole, he will know very soon, if not already. But we
“What’s the hurry, Fahed?”
Ayash shoved his charge into a Citroen taxi. “Colonel, they were after
15
Yakov Livni already had a report from Fahed Ayash but the IDF colonel wanted a personal account from the American operator. Livni got straight to the point. “Tell me about it.”
Frank Leopole was brief. “I finished my meeting with Kara and was going to meet Ayash at a taxi stand with Kara’s bodyguard.” For reasons he did not fully understand, Leopole was reluctant to speak Kamal Azzam’s name. “I heard gunshots, took cover, and returned fire at two shooters in the street. When I looked around, the bodyguard was dead with some other people.” He shrugged it off. “Ayash showed up and got me to the airport. So here I am.”
Before the Israeli could respond, Leopole interjected, “How’d they know about me, Colonel?”
Livni removed his glasses and rubbed his forehead. “I think that Major Ayash addressed that point.”
Leopole leaned forward. “Yes, he
Despite the edge in Leopole’s voice, Livni grinned in appreciation at the colorful humor. “Yes, Frank, of course I do. And you’re right. Major Ayash does know a little more than he told you, but that’s not his fault. He’s under orders to reveal only what is operationally necessary. Do not blame him.” He thumped his chest. “If you must, blame me.”
“It’s not about blame, Colonel. It’s about trust.”
Livni leaned back, more relaxed than before. “I can tell you that we recognized some Hezbollah operatives in Kara’s area. It wasn’t hard to add up two and two. They were undoubtedly watching his office, maybe even trailing him to see where he went, who he met. We knew that at the time but we judged the threat minimal.” He grinned. “After all, you were armed.”
“Well, I didn’t even have time to test the pistol. I think I hit one of those guys but if the Lebanese soldiers hadn’t shown up—”
Livni interrupted. “Tell me. Did he ply you with women, wine, or both?”
Leopole was startled. “None, Colonel. It was a straight-up business meeting. We confirmed the operating areas and the militias we’ll be training.”
Livni shook his head. “Well, if Rafix Kara didn’t ply you with something, it’s the first time I ever heard of. One of our previous consultants was two days late returning because he was so badly hungover in a bawdy house. When he could speak coherently, he said he only remembered the first night, and it was absolutely the best of his life.”
The American gave an ironic smile. “Maybe I should’ve played hard to get.”
“He never tried to bribe you or coerce you at all?”
“He just gave me the pistol and a Kevlar vest.”
Livni’s face split wide open in a beaming smile. “I knew it! You see, I know how that pirate works. He’s shrewd, Frank. He recognized that he didn’t have to bribe you to get his way because you are one of those straight arrows. So, to cement the bonds, he gave you something you valued more than mere wine or women.” The Israeli leaned close. “But I’ve seen some of his feminine stable, and a few of them would give Gabrielle a good run.” He winked conspiratorially.
“That good, huh?”
The Israeli slowly shook his head. “Oooh, the women I’ve seen…” Abruptly he caught himself. “But to return to business. You are justifiably concerned about what Hezbollah knows or suspects about your upcoming operation. We do not know if they have identified you but we can assume they know you’re American. Since you’re not part of the diplomatic circle, they will deduce that you have a military connection. That’s cause for concern, but it does not link you with your SSI team.”
Leopole mulled over that thought. Finding no flaw in it, he agreed. “All right. Unless they have a lot more info than seems likely, there’s not much chance they’ve connected me with the militia training plan.” A thought belatedly pushed its way forward. “But maybe they do know about the plan.”
Livni bit his lip. The American wondered if it were a giveaway or an unconscious habit. “We don’t have any evidence that they are aware of the operation, Frank. But even if we did, there’s not much we could do other than increase monitoring of, ah, some sensitive sources.”
“Okay then. I’ll brief my guys to proceed as planned, but maintain a heightened awareness.”
“Yes, that’s fine. Now, Major Ayash said you mentioned that Kara was in unusually high spirits when you left him. He’s not usually erratic. You suspect he’s medicated?”
“That’s what… the bodyguard… said. Kara has occasional pain from some wounds or injuries. I figured you’d know about that.”
Livni nodded. “Yes, he’s probably been shot and blown up more than anyone I know. And believe me, that’s saying something. It stands to reason that he would require pain medicine, but I’ve never seen it.” He paused for a moment. “Do you think the morphine, or whatever it is, might affect his judgment?”
“Damned if I know, Colonel. I hardly met the man.”
“Well, if it’s any comfort, he’s acting normally since you left.”
“Oh? How’s that?”
Livni decided to explain. “We learned that Kara discovered a possible security breach in his organization. He waited too long to correct it.”
“So what happened?”
“He corrected it.”
Mohammad Azizi was back, and this time he brought something besides encouragement and platitudes. He invited the imam and Esmaili to a private conference well away from the other Hezbollah fighters.
“I have been in contact with our operatives in Beirut and Damascus,” Azizi began. Esmaili concluded that since he did not allude to the all-powerful Dr. Momen, the statement indicated either rare honesty or secrecy to protect sources. In either case, Esmaili acknowledged that he could only accept the courier’s assessments at face value.
“We have been watching several offices in Beirut, both governmental and private ventures. The one that raised the most interest was the doings of Rafix Kara, a patron of the Druze cause throughout Lebanon. He has been meeting with foreigners including a westerner who almost certainly is American, and a man believed to be an Israeli Druze officer.”
Imam Elham absorbed that information. “Are the two working together?”
Azizi nodded. “It appears so. They were on the street outside one of Kara’s buildings when two of our men saw an opportunity. Unfortunately, the westerner defended himself and some Lebanese police intervened. We learned that one of Kara’s guard dogs was killed, as were some others. But that is of no concern.”
“What of our men?” Elham’s question surprised Esmaili. He did not expect the cleric to worry about lesser mortals.
“One was killed, the other wounded but escaped.”
“Then that man is the source of your information?”
“Yes, Imam.”
