Hatchet Page 4

  She pressed the elevator button, relished the few moments of being alone in the elevator, got to her floor, smiled and winked at Yael, sat in her chair and took a deep breath.

  “Yael, can you please ask Michal, Rami and Nirit to join me in my office? We need to prep for the meeting in two hours.”

  First to arrive was Nirit, a new apprentice who seemed like she was going to be a real hot shot. Michal and Rami took their time. The word about Naomi heading the team for the big, precedential case had not yet made the rounds of the entire office.

  “Grab a seat, everyone.” The three of them exchanged bewildered looks, but sat down in front of Naomi’s desk.

  “So, I take it Leibowitz still hasn’t spoken with you. Well, I’ve been assigned the task of forming and heading the team to work on a precedential case that promises to be extremely important for this office.” All three of them looked increasingly interested.

  “I chose to work with you three.”

  “What area are we talking about?” asked Rami and Michal in unison.

  “It’s a damages suit filed by the family of a terrorist attack victim against the family of the terrorist and the organization that sent him. Nothing like it has ever been attempted.”

  “On the basis of vicarious liability, but was the terrorist underage?” said Michal quietly.

  “Very good, Michal. Yes, the suicide bomber was indeed underage. Retributive actions have been taken by the state against the family, such as demolishing their home, but still, as far as I know, nowhere in the world has a damages claim been made against the family of a terrorist or the organization he was working for, by a victim’s family. There are quite a few Israeli and international legal aspects here that we need to understand fully.”

  All three began to discuss excitedly legal terms, referencing international law when Naomi interrupted them. “Ok, friends, are we going to make history! Let’s see what we can learn from the material we have so far. Rami, you start.”

  The animated discussion which followed could easily have gone on for hours if it weren’t for Yael’s head popping through the half open door. “The family’s here. I’m showing them to the large conference room.”

  The four lawyers left Naomi’s office together and entered the conference room where the family was already waiting. They shook hands and introduced themselves first to the young girl. “Nice to meet you. My name’s Rachel. These are my brothers.”

  “Good morning. I’m Gal and this is my brother David.”

  Their father, in his fifties, shook Naomi’s hand (“Strong shake, so much like his strong features”). “I’m Abraham.”

  “We are sorry for your loss,” said Naomi and took her place at the head of the table. She was just about to start the meeting when Leibowitz entered the room. Naomi was a bit flustered. She prepared to get up from her seat but Leibowitz gestured for her to stay seated.

  “I’ve just popped in for a brief moment, Abraham. Naomi is heading the team that will lead your case. She will of course report to me every step of the way. You are in very good hands and I’m confident we’ll get exactly what we all want. Hopefully we will set a precedent that will assist many others who are waiting for their trial results. Good luck everyone.”

  Yael came in and placed cold and hot drinks on the table.

  “With your permission Abraham, before we start, are you all aware of the fact that by making this move you’re effectively forgoing your national security “victims of terror” claim? I want to be very clear, we cannot sue two different entities for the same case. The risk here is that, should we lose the precedential case, you may not qualify for national security compensation.”

  “Yes, Leibowitz has made that clear. I understand and agree to relinquish the national security claim.”

  “In that case, I’d like to hear the details of the event from you. I understand it is difficult, but obligatory.”

  “That’s alright. I’ll begin. Esti, my wife and mother of my children…” Abraham began to unravel the family’s story and chain of events.

  Michal recorded the meeting according to protocol. By the expressions on the siblings’ faces it seemed even the mention of their mother’s name was hard for them.

  “Esti was a teacher, a leftist in her political views. She often participated in demonstrations to remove the blockades in the West Bank. Twice she even held meetings to organize such protests, in our house.”

  The four lawyers sat there with frozen faces, trying to be as professional as possible and not to display any emotion, but they were clearly impacted by the story. Each of their legal pads filled quickly with notes.

  “During the last holiday the whole family was together at the beach, except for Rachel who was at her scouts meeting. Esti took the car to pick up Rachel and bring her to the restaurant where we were to have lunch.”

  “Perhaps you could go on now, Rachel, please.”

  “Mom,” she paused for a moment, “Mom came to pick me up. I was already outside, waiting for her. We went to the seaside restaurant. It’s a Middle Eastern place we used to go to from time to time. Mom really loved eating…” Rachel choked and her eyes began to tear.

  “Have some water, Rachel. If this is too much for you we can stop.”

  “No, no. I’m fine, I’ll go on. Mom loved eating there facing the sea. She parked the car. I was on the phone with a friend so I told her to go ahead and I’d be right there. She went inside…” Rachel could not finish her sentence.

  “We were sitting at the southern section of the restaurant,” Abraham picked up where she left off. “We saw Esti go past the cash register. There was a young boy standing there…” he paused and took a sip of water. “And then there was this awful blast. For a second we could hear nothing but a horrifying silence and then the whole place erupted in shouting and cries for help. The restaurant was full of smoke and dust.”

  “The first thing I did was check to see if Gal was next to me,” David continued his father’s story. “I called his name and he said he was okay. Then I turned to Dad and he said he was okay too. I could see there were scratches on his face and he was bleeding, but he got up and ran towards the entrance.”

  “I ran to the cash register. Esti was lying there on her back. Her face was serene and I knew straight away she was gone. That’s when Rachel burst inside yelling ‘Mom! Dad!’. I tried to keep her away, to shield her from the terrible sight, but she had already seen her mother.”

  When Yael came in carrying a tray laden with pizzas and pastries she stopped short at the door, a look of discomfort on her face at the emotional turmoil she perceived in the room.

  Naomi noted that over four hours had passed. The pages on the table were all filled with handwritten notes. Rachel, Gal and David were looking quite exhausted.

  “We all need to calm down. Why don’t we stop for now and pick up here at our next meeting,” said Naomi, realizing how everyone in the room was distraught. Nirit and Michal were in tears, unable to write anything down. Rami looked very emotional and the family members were all huddled together, embracing one another.

  “Yes, I agree. I’d like us to meet again tomorrow,” said Abraham. Everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Rami, Michal and Nirit picked up the paperwork and shook hands with the family.

  “Naomi, shall we move to your room to sum up and prepare for tomorrow?”

  “If you don’t mind, I’d like to have a few more minutes with Naomi,” said Abraham.

  The others regained their composure and exited, leaving the room to Naomi and Abraham.

  Abraham got up and silently walked to the window. Naomi stayed seated, waiting for him to speak. After a few minutes of heavy silence the door opened and Leibowitz entered. To Naomi’s surprise he locked the door, picked up the phone and instructed Yael to hold all his calls no matter how important, and then, to Naomi’s even greater
surprise, unplugged the phone from the wall.

  Leibowitz walked over to Abraham and Naomi and she watched as the two men embraced, patting each other’s backs like old chums from the army.

  “Naomi,” Leibowitz turned to her. Something about his voice was different . “Nothing we say here can ever leave this room. You will never repeat any of it to anyone, because none of it has ever been said.”

  Naomi was perplexed (“What’s happening here?”).

  “As you know I am a lawyer and the owner of this firm. But what you, or anyone else working here for that matter, don’t know is that I am also a former employee and current legal advisor to the Mossad.”

  Naomi’s jaw dropped in amazement. Unsure how to react, she felt her heart racing. She reached for a glass of water that was on the table and downed it like a shot of tequila (“I’m in shock”).

  “Abraham will now introduce himself.”

  “Thank you, Leibowitz. Naomi, I’m not just the husband of a terror victim,” said Abraham, still gazing out of the window.

  “I’m also a department head in the Mossad. Leibowitz and I go way back and have been working together for more than thirty five years, since our joint service in the Matkal, Israel’s elite commando unit.”

  Naomi looked to Leibowitz, her eyes searching for his confirmation, and Leibowitz nodded in agreement.

  “The terrorist whose family we’re suing is part of a cell composed of Israeli Arabs and residents of the Gaza strip. It’s a rigidly self-contained and guarded cell, and several of our finest men have fallen in failed attempts to infiltrate it. The members are highly skilled and operate like an intelligence organization of the highest degree. They’ve been trained in Iran, in Lebanon by the Hezbollah, and in a remote camp in the Libyan desert.”

  Abraham turned to look at Naomi. “Do you follow?”

  “Yes, yes, of course.”

  “We now have updated intelligence and are forming a new team, outside of the Mossad, but one that will be attached to it as an independent unit. We have our reasons for doing it this way. This team will receive authority directly from the Prime Minister and has one goal for which it has been training for six months. Am I clear so far?” he asked, and for the second time turned to look at Naomi who was glued to her seat as if watching a suspense movie. She nodded slowly.

  “Leibowitz recommended you. We did thorough research, and found that you are good candidate to join this team, by virtue of your intellectual abilities, your impressive memory skills, the fact that you are fluent in English and French, and your military and social background. There are some shortcomings, like physical fitness and such, but those can be improved.”

  “Before I go any further, you should know, this is serious business. You have been selected out of hundreds of candidates. We’ve converged on the team of which you will now be a part. We’re not going to require that you pass any tests or take exams, but your training and preparations will be extremely rigorous, both mentally and physically, but more importantly, you will not be able to talk to anyone about any of this - not your mother, your sister, nor Reuben.”

  She tried to disguise her surprise (“They know pretty much everything about me, though they’re not completely up to speed”).

  “You will continue your work as a lawyer here at the firm and proceed with your role as head of the legal team of the case.”

  “I’m sorry to interrupt,” she finally managed to speak a few words. “If I’m to go on with my work as usual, when will the training you spoke of take place?”

  “Don’t worry, we know how to do our jobs,” said Abraham. “I need to know your decision We have no time for deliberations. Leibowitz and I will leave the room so you can think about it. If your answer is yes, this is the address where you need to be tomorrow morning at 8:30. If you do not show up, then this meeting never took place.” He jotted down an address on a piece of paper, showed it to Naomi, and after ten seconds tore it up and stuffed the shreds in his pocket. Then Abraham and Leibowitz left the room.

  Naomi remained sitting in her chair, numb, breathing heavily and feeling like this was all some kind of prank. She looked around her for hidden cameras but knew that what she had just heard as very, very real. Leibowitz, a Mossad man?! My God. She felt butterflies in her stomach (“What was that address again? 22 Yirmiyahu St., 22 Yirmiyahu St., I have to remember that”).

  She needed to leave the conference room. She rose, feeling the pain in her cramped leg muscles from yesterday’s workout (“I’m not even allowed to tell Shuli. Oh, what am I going to do?”). She left the room and Yael asked if she was feeling alright. It was as if the whole firm was watching her. She fled to her office.

  “Naomi, can I get you anything to drink? What is it? Nirit said it was an extremely hard meeting,” Yael followed her.

  “No, thank you, I’m fine. I just have a lot on my mind. It’s a difficult case and it was hard hearing from the bereaved family. I need to leave now. See you later,” she grabbed her bag and was out.

  For a moment she thought about going home (“There’s really only one place I can go to be with myself and think, quietly”) and without hesitation she headed once again to the beach.

  She sat in her car, staring at the repetitive motion of the waves. The windows were shut and she couldn’t hear a thing. She played a blues CD her mother had given her and the car filled with the sound of Lou Rawls’ golden voice. She leaned her seat all the way back. Her mind was buzzing with images and thoughts, the tale of the terrorist attack, the siblings crying, the talk with Abraham and Leibowitz. She tried to erase it all and give in to the heartfelt melody. On the beach, opposite the bushes, she saw Moshe, sitting on a faded blanket. His eyes were full of yearning but he did not get up, as if knowing he shouldn’t bother her. She looked at him in a daze, unable to concentrate. She felt she had to talk to someone, had to get some advice, but knew she couldn’t. Suddenly, it was like her whole body screamed for him. She opened the door, kicked off her shoes, left her glasses in the car and in her tailored clothes walked towards him on the soft sand. Without so much as a word they grabbed each other, her lips searching for his, her tongue making its way into his mouth. She tried to tell him everything without saying a word. He took her by the hand and laid her down next to him on the prickly army-issued blanket.

  He touched her face, his fingers tracing her features, following the lines of her mouth and nose. He pushed her back a little so that he could look her in the eyes and she found herself sinking into his green gaze. He started to say something and she stopped him, laying a finger on his lips, her body surrendering to the touch of his rugged hands. Her white blouse and skirt were tossed aside and she helped him remove her bra and panties, revealing herself to him. Her naked body moved against his and she pulled down his pants, exposing his erect member (“Ok, he’s clearly Jewish”).

  He stopped for a moment, pushing her away, looking at her once against, then pulled her in closer, clutching her buttocks. She couldn’t hold it in any longer. Her whole body cried out in passion, she pushed him on his back and slid onto his member, taking him into the molten lava inside her, wrapping him, moving up and down, up and down in rhythmic motions, again and again. She could feel his member harden and sensed that he was about to come. She stopped moving, she wasn’t ready yet, she couldn’t focus with all the noise inside her head. He flipped her on her back and moved in and out of her, again and again, and she felt as if her temples were about to explode.

  “Moshe, Moshe,” her nails left red trails on his muscular back as he arched backwards. “I can’t hold on anymore, Moshe…” she felt the spasms of orgasm washing over her in crashing waves as the wet burst of his semen released, becoming one with the molten lava inside her.

  His body turned rigid as if every muscle had tensed up at once and then he dropped on top of her limply.

  Their two naked bodies curled into one another, his l
eg resting between her legs, her hands on his stomach, trying to steady their breathing. After a few minutes she calmed and turned to look at him and she could read some sort of pain in his face. “Is something wrong?” she asked.

  “No, Naomi, everything’s fine. I just have something on my mind. I’ll tell you another time.” She shrugged it off, not wanting to spoil the moment. Her body was totally at ease and that was all she cared about at this moment.

  “Can we meet later tonight? Maybe I can come by your place?” she wanted to get to know the man she had just had sex with a little better.

  “No, it’s just that, with my current living situation I can’t really have guests over. I’m at a crossroads in my life.”

  (“He’s married, that’s what it is. I’m such an idiot, I never even asked him if he was married, moron.”) “Are you married?” she heard herself ask.

  “No, no way. I wouldn’t have let this happen if I were.”

  She reached for her jacket that was lying on the ground next to her and pulled out her business card from its pocket. “I’d like you to call me tonight. You have my number.”

  “No, I can’t tonight. I’ll call you during the day, or maybe send a short email.”

  They stayed there, lying on the blanket, her head resting on his firm abs.

  She began to talk about herself, telling him about the firm and about Shuli and her mom, about her favorite pub, the Victoria, about her love of skiing, even about Reuben. The sun was setting when suddenly he sat up and put on his shorts and flip flops. “Leave the blankets here, no one will take them,” he said to Naomi, then turned to the coastline and without so much as a word walked south along the beach, first at a leisurely pace speeding up gradually to a run. She saw him running and kicking at the waves, running and shouting, though she couldn’t hear what he was saying. He looked like a child who had just won some grand prize. She smiled at his receding figure as it vanished in the descending darkness.