Awakening, page 26
“Come sit, I’ll get you something to eat,” Eldad offered, leading her to the kitchen. Eli saw them and left the terrace.
Kei too stopped what he was doing and followed them to the kitchen. “Hello Ifat, do you remember me? We met while Flora and Mila Ferro were living here in Israel.”
“Yes, of course, I remember you. You are Mila’s father,” Ifat replied, lowering her protective walls. “What has happened to Mila?”
“Yes. I am.” Kei smiled, his heart warmed by that truth of that phrase. “Mila must share her story with you when she comes to herself, but I must warn you, she might not remember you,” he said without shying from Ifat’s firm gaze. “She’s gone through a lot, like you, since she and her mother left Israel. Flora passed away a few months after their arrival in Peru.”
Ifat clutched the glass of water she held.
“But Mila was able to get back on her feet after some grieving months,” Kei continued.
“Now I understand. That’s when we got disconnected,” said Ifat, turning to Eli. “You must be the tutor.” She offered him a knowing smile.
“Yes.” He cleared his throat. “I’m Eli Roth.”
“Mrs. Ferro hired you so that Mila wouldn’t waste time,” Ifat said as a thin smile materialized on her lips. “Mila spoke about you often… We were as close as sisters and talked on the phone all the time—until one day there was nothing but silence.”
Both Ifat and Eli looked away, an avalanche of memories flooded their hearts.
Kei brough Ifat back to the present and shared with her the facts strangers she encountered that days and about the auction of the uncovered Sachapuyo archeological piece, Pharma-NorTech, the confrontation with Shinji, and the kidnapping.
“I understand; most likely, she won’t know who I am…” Ifat murmured as to herself, looking from one person to the other. The one person in her life left alive wouldn’t know who she was or what she went through.
“Before she fainted, she didn’t remember any of us in this room,” Kei confirmed, diverting his gaze out of the kitchen.
“Not even me,” Eli added, pained, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Gadiel, the healer, advised us to let her wake up on her own,” Kei added.
“Being optimistic isn’t my strong suit these days, but let’s just say if she doesn’t recover soon, what will the course of action be? Because we cannot wait until Masae and her bioweapons and viruses wipe the planet out, starting with this land we are standing on,” said Ifat as the sirens blasting outside alerted the people of another attack. “As you witness,” she nodded to the streets, “we know what it’s like to have no more than fifteen seconds to take cover underground before a missile blows up your home. But fifteen seconds won’t be enough if invisible gas or dust is released where and when we least expect it…And we wouldn’t even know it!”
“You are right, Ifat. This is bigger than getting my daughter back. We must stop the production and supply of these kinds of weapons ipso facto, and the only one in this group who knows where Masae’s clandestine laboratories are, is Mila.”
“Well, you don’t have to wait too long,” said Mila, standing outside the kitchen. “Don’t worry about updating me. I’ve heard most of it.”
Ifat approached Mila, for the first time worried about her haggard appearance and burns. She didn’t want her younger sister to see her like this, a weak shadow of the vivacious woman she used to be. She tried to smooth her clothes and her short raven hair. She pulled her straight hair to the side to cover the melted flesh on her neck and part of her cheek.
Mila stopped Ifat’s hands and held them between her own, turning her gaze to the burns, her heart tightening in her chest. “Please, forgive me. I don’t remember my life in Israel before coming to college. I understand that we were very close and have a burden in common.” Mila thanked Eldad, accepting the glass of water he offered her. “I have persistent nightmares about a fight with a group of men. I’ve been trying to locate the place where that happened, but I haven’t been able to find it.” Mila gazed at the others, her friends who had been looking for her for so long as well. “Ifat and I need some fresh air. I know you understand.” Mila held Ifat’s hand and led her to the door.
“But you fainted and you just woke up… Are you sure you are well enough to leave?” protested Eli, approaching her and glancing at Kei to do or say something.
“Thank you for caring. I had a very restful sleep, just what I needed before this next step.” Mila smiled at him reassuringly. “We’ll be all right.”
“Ifat, you’ll need this,” Eldad handed her a helmet at the door. He anticipated Mila would be riding her motorcycle.
The women walked to where Mila had left her other faithful friend, the Red Ducati.
“Ifat, I know that what I will ask you is selfish because it will be very painful for you,” Mila said, climbing on her bike.
“I know what you want to ask. I’ll guide you. Head to Hebron,” answered Ifat, climbing on the bike.
It was already late and dark when they got closer to the moshav where they used to live. But the sound of gunfire from across the road alerted them of their arrival to the heart of a fight. Mila stopped the bike behind a lengthy line of stuck vehicles. She looked around, all those people were potential casualties in the crossfire.
“Welcome home, Mila,” Ifat muttered under her breath. “You see? Not much has changed.” Ifat sighed. “Do we engage?” She asked, studying the woman she used to know. It had been almost three years since Mila insisted on facing the looters in their community. The memory was stored fresh in her mind.
“Do we have any other choice?” Mila glanced back and forth at the line. The night was lit by the street lights. Ahead of them, some bullets crashed on hard surfaces igniting lethal sparks. “But this time, we won’t do it by ourselves.” Mila turned her bike around and rode to a restaurant off the road where she saw the vehicles that had been trailing her team parked.
“So much for not following us…” Mila said, approaching the Cherut agents and the four Sachapuyo.
“We lost you once,” Kei answered, gripping her shoulder softly. “We won’t let it happen again.”
“Shall we get involved?” Mila tested, glancing back and nodding to the confrontation.
“That’s what we do,” Svend answered. “Eldad and Ifat, what do we need to know? Do you have any intel?”
“It’s urban guerrilla tactics,” Eldad answered, glancing at the information coming through in his government phone. “The terrorists are attacking from behind civilians in the streets and their homes. This makes it very hard for the army to go in full force against the terror. So, as you see, they are dropping these leaflets,” He picked up one of the many that had rained down earlier that day. “Aside from this, they are going door to door to warn the people of an answer fire provocation, but it’s a suicide mission for the soldiers knocking at people’s doors. The terrorists know this and use it to strike as many Israelis they can.” Eldad checked a private message vibrating on his phone through the untraceable line.
“They know your forces are commissioned to avoid harming civilians at all cost.” Added Svend who, as a Ukrainian mercenary and arm dealer in a covert operation, had helped rescue some Israeli soldiers held hostage in a desert land not far from there.
Eldad showed them the incoming images. “These are tunnels in H1 sector, through which the Iranians are delivering weapons to the terrorist group at the other side. These other images are,” he enlarged them to see in more detail, “of a hospital. You see the roof?”
“What is sector H1?” Yana asked on behalf of the team.
“Hebron is divided in 2: H1, which is the largest part of the city and 100% under Arab control and no Jew is allowed to enter.” Eldad traced with his index finger the fringe on the map. “And this narrow side is H2, the Israeli controlled part where everyone is allowed to enter, although a street is closed at the moment due to the constant violence.” Eldad signaled the route they had to take.
“They are using the hospital’s roof as their new launching pad!” Mila and Eli exclaimed at the same time.
“First a school and now the hospital!” Svend shook his head, glancing at the team. “So tell us how the team can help.”
“We must be the ghosts in the night we were called to be,” Eldad answered.
CHAPTER 41
Hebron – Israel September 13th, 2007
Some blocks down from Ein Sarah St. – 9:30 PM - IDT
“Great! They are here!” Eldad announced, walking to a van pulling into the back parking lot. “Some friends sent us resources for tonight’s incursion,”
Each Cherut agent put on black uniforms, a bulletproof vest, and grabbed a .22 LR before running into the dark, followed by the four Warriors. They crossed the road and reached the first layer of attackers. A few pawns fired their guns at civilians and soldiers from behind cars.
“Careful! Some look like they are weaponized teenagers!” Adriel, in his invisible form, alerted the others through the communication device each was wearing.
“Yes, I think they are some older teenagers here,” Bastian answered, unarming three young men. “Carefully relieve them from their firearms and send them home,” he said, turning to keep going and getting a few stones on his back in retaliation for the removal of their guns.
“They are shooting like this is some kind of video game,” Yana said, disarming a young man after another on her way up the street.
The agents kept moving, breaking through the layers of fighters growing in age and weapon sophistication. Although the team was shielded by the precarious light and their speed, their presence was beginning to be noticed and bullets began to rain down from rooftops and inside buildings. Cherut fired back without getting sidetracked, their mission wasn’t to stop there.
“The hospital is four blocks up. The radius will be heavily guarded,” Eldad alerted the team. “Mila, Ifat, and Sachapuyo, get to the hospital! We’ll join you shortly.”
“Got it!” Mila answered, running from building to building with Ifat in tow and the ancient Warriors shielding the women. They dodged bullets and fought with some terrorists who had been hiding in apartments and houses.
“I have a visual of the back entrance. Heavily patrolled area,” Mila whispered, eyeing Ifat and nodding in direction to some terrorists in their black tactical uniforms, holding their machine guns ready to shoot.
“These guys will shoot to kill,” Ifat whispered back, gripping her gun.
“And the others didn’t?” Mila whispered. She squeezed herself into the narrow streets out of sight, followed by the others moving nimbly like ghosts. Once safe, she glanced at everyone. It was amazing how the Sachapuyo could be inconspicuous despite their height and bulk. They seemed to operate under supernatural rules. She checked on Ifat who stood a few steps back. She held her weapon at the ready. “A Sig-Sauer?” Mila said.
“Yeah. Gift from a British soldier. It’s the same one I had the night of the confrontation three years ago.” Ifat sighed, appraising her gun. “Ready when you are!”
“Eldad, the hospital is on sight. It’s surrounded by gunmen, but they don’t seem to have been alerted of our presence yet. We could parkour our way up the walls and get inside that way.”
“Tov! Surprise is always the best tactic.” Eldad’s voice was heard in their earpiece. “However, be careful! There must be hundreds of civilians inside. We don’t know what their Plan B is, but what we know is that they won’t hesitate to use the people for whatever they need!”
There was an infant crying from the door from one of the homes where they were standing.
“We must not give them the opportunity!” Leo settled, nodding from his post to Mila. “The four of us will do the climbing of the walls and meet you inside.”
“Sounds good. We’ll enter through the main,” Mila said, knocking at the door.
The female voices inside seemed agitated and hesitant; they tried to hush the child. Mila knocked again. “Please, we need help. We are not here to hurt you,” Mila said in Arabic as softly as she could.
The door opened to reveal only a fraction of a face and head covered by a scarf. “We don’t have anything or have anyone in hiding here,” the woman answered, trying to close the door as the child behind her began to cry again and a girl tried to quiet him.
“Where is your husband?” Ifat asked and the woman stopped and looked at her.
“What happened to him?” Mila asked, understanding the lady’s hesitation and fear.
“You are Israelis?” asked the woman, her voice trembling.
“She is, I am not…” Mila answered, nodding in Ifat’s direction. “We are not here to hurt you or hurt anyone. We want to get to the hospital. People inside are in great danger. We want to stop those using the schools and hospitals as weapon storage before more people get hurt. Please, help us!”
“I only have my daughter and baby here. What could I possibly do to help you?” The young lady opened her door and let the women in. “By letting you in, whoever you are, my life is in danger.”
“We know and we don’t want to put you in harm’s way,” Ifat said, glancing around the modest home. The baby quieted, looking around with curiosity in his teenage sister’s arms.
“Maybe it wasn’t my best idea…” Mila whispered to Ifat, trying to catch another idea. “Where is your husband?”
“In the hospital on the Israeli side. He is recovering from surgery,” the woman answered, taking her baby back from her young daughter. “But you are right—they are sending missiles from the hospital’s roof. You must understand that not everyone here is happy about this group patrolling our streets with machine guns and training our children to hate.” She appraised them; they looked like regular women like her. “What could two women do?”
“What couldn’t we women do?” Mila answered with a smile. “Could we borrow some clothes?”
Mila and Ifat wore on top of their own clothing loose, ankle-length garments, with long sleeves that hid their hands and large scarves covering their heads and most of their faces. They approached the hospital emergency entrance, avoiding eye contact and sure of their need for immediate attention. They passed the several gunmen dressed in black, guarding the white, five-story building. It wasn’t the time for women to be out nor was it normal patient’s visiting hours, but it wasn’t a regular hospital, either. The perimeter was run down by misery as the terrorists had taken over the densely populated city and caged the inhabitants in. The citizens weren’t people but pawns to be used as props in a play for the international eye.
Ifat held on to Mila as they entered the emergency ward. The rebels’ eyes inspected them as they walked to the counter. They could be sent home or kept inside—or worse if their covert failed.
“My sister is not feeling well,” Mila said in Arabic. “She’s got a high fever…”
“Sit and wait to be called. It’s a hectic night, as you can see.” the nurse said as a few injured men were rushed in.
The lobby was crowded with people waiting to be treated. The women sat next to the busy hallway, inching their way inside. In a few minutes, when no one was paying attention, they would make their move.
First Mila, then Ifat, scurried along the halls, keeping their heads down and blending with the people coming and going in all directions. They descended to a lower level and peeked around the corner. There were six rebels patrolling and sending people away.
“All right, it’s showtime!” Mila whispered to Ifat, glancing back to the stairs and elevator.
“Rega, rega! Wait! First, what is the plan?” asked Ifat, sensing her gun in its holder on her leg.
“Impro. We make a plan as we go…” Mila glanced and winked at her.
“Nice plan!” Ifat whispered as a thin smile appeared on her lips. The woman she knew was still in there, despite her memory loss.
“Yep. The old fashioned way: trickery, fists and your 9mm Sig-Sauer; we take them down!” Mila murmured. “Echad, shtaim, shalosh!”
They entered the hallway looking like harmless and lost patients.
“There is no attention down here, go back up!” yelled a couple of the men approaching the women and urging them away with their machine guns’ barrels.
Ifat and Mila swiftly grabbed the weapons and pulled the men simultaneously hitting them on the face with the butt of their guns. The men dropped to the ground. The women jumped to the others still puzzled and unarmed them before they could shoot. Ifat’s army training kicked in, delivering elbows and knees to faces until the men dropped unconscious. Mila moved like a tornado taking care of three of the men who had regained their focus, to lose it again. Both women knew how to fight in narrow spaces. As they descended to the basement, they heard quiet gasps and men collapsing. The four ancient Warriors were fighting their way in, knocking unconscious every gunman standing on their way, silently and effectively.
“Perfect timing!” Mila said, delivering a friendly punch to Leo’s arm.
Leo smiled, checking the hallway and around the corner.
“We made it to the storage,” Mila announced, putting her communication device back in her ear and removing the coverings remaining.
“We are also in!” Eldad answered through the earpiece. “We are climbing to the launching pad on the roof. The faster we move, the less time they’ll have to react to our presence and cause more harm to these people!”
“Got it!” the group responded, stepping over the unconscious rebels’ bodies.
The place was suspiciously silent. They pushed open a door and found boxes of ammunition and weapons stocked up to the ceiling.
“They’ve been smuggling these weapons, preparing this attack for a long time,” Ifat whispered under her breath. She read the labels on the crates forming row after row, filling the basement-turned-warehouse. “But, how did they get all these here?”
“This might answer your question,” Leo answered from the back of the room. They all walked to see what he had found.
