other-side-of-deception-victor-ostrovsky

Twenty-four hours had passed, and still no word from Ephraim. Hisrestriction, that I should not call home before we talked, was makingmy life difficult. I hadn't spoken to Bella since calling her fromthe Ben-Gurion airport. By now, she must be climbing the walls withworry about me. Ephraim was concerned that my home phone mightbe bugged (there was little doubt it was) and that the Mossad wouldknow I had made a prolonged stopover in England on my way to theStates. Should something go wrong, Ephraim's also coming to Englandmight not sit well.I scanned the television for something to pass the time, but foundit difficult to concentrate. At about ten-thirty in the morning I decidedto head for London and get my mind off things for a while. I neededto loosen up, walk around, get something to eat. When Ephraim came,he would just have to wait.I took a train into the city. The thirty-minute ride brought me toVictoria Station. From there I took the underground to Piccadilly,changing at Green Park. I wandered the streets aimlessly, eventuallyreturning to the tube station. I had a couple of hamburgers at Wimpy,the British answer to McDonald's. Afterward, I headed back to thehotel.In the elevator, I noticed the sweet aroma of cherry tobacco. It gotstronger the closer I got to my room at the end of the ale green corridor.Standing at my door, I could all but taste the pipe. The only smellas strong as the cherry was the smell of the freshly painted walls,hanging heavy in the air.I stood by the door and listened: Ephraim and the general. It wasmore the smell of the tobacco than the sound of their voices thatbrought recognition.I entered the room quickly. They sat staring at me, bewildered."Why are you so surprised to see me?" I said. "Who were youexpecting?""I asked you to wait for me at the hotel." Ephraim's voice was onthe harsh side."I don't work for you, my friend. I'm here as a favor.""I saved your life, remember? May I remind you of Lebanon?"It was true that he had gotten me out of Israel before I could besent to South Lebanon and a certain death. No doubt he would bereminding me of this over and over again in the future.I tossed my coat onto the bed and sat on the edge."You only got me out of something you put me into, and probablyin order to get me into something else." I smiled at him. "For the timebeing, I'm here to listen, then I'll make up my mind who I work for. Sowhat I suggest you do is come out with it.""Look here, Victor-" Ephraim started. The general put a handon Ephraim's shoulder. "The man's right, why play games? We knowwhat we want and why we want it. You've got a job for him, fill himin, bring him inside."I could hear the tradition of the Israeli military speaking out of thebrigadier general's mouth: An informed soldier is a good soldier.Ephraim stared at me silently for a few seconds. He then leanedback and glanced at the general, who was relighting his pipe. "Let'sstart from the beginning, then.""Just a minute," said the general, producing a large thermos froma brown leather tote bag at his feet. "Get some glasses from the bathroom.I need a coffee.""I could use one too," I said, moving quickly to fulfill his request.Coffee was served."I'm listening." I said, sitting back on the bed."This all started in '82. You were still in the navy then. You probablyknow we were all preparing for the war in Lebanon. At that time,the operation was still called the Cedars of Lebanon, and we in theMossad had a close relationship with Bashir Gemayel's Christian Phalange.Our man dealing with Gemayel was Nevot. Nevot was in themidst of getting Israel involved in what he and other right-wingerscalled the best war we'll ever have."They saw Israel as the policeman of the Middle East. Prime MinisterBegin loved the idea of appearing to be saving Christians fromthe savage Muslims, which fit in well with his right-wing colonialistideology. Ariel Sharon, then minister of defense, was all for it."He paused to sip the hot coffee. Then he drew on his cigarette, let-