Love Among the Unicorns

Disgusted... Josette rolled him off... leaving Al Husseini lying on his back with a stiffy that looked like the Ghawanima minaret. Then it too slowly deflated. Still naked, Josette walked over to Al Husseini's side of the bed, picked up his brief case and dumped it on the unoccupied side.

Josette sorted the pile of documents and began to meticulously organize and photograph each one - using the Minox subminiature camera stashed in her purse. She struck gold with the eighth document. It was a courtesy note from the headquarters of the Arab Legion in Zarqua informing all area garrisons of the precise time that Field Marshal Amer and Lt-Gen. Sedky Mahmoud would travel from Almaza Air Base to Bir Tamada in the Sinai.

The communique informed everybody that all Arab air defense systems would be offline during that time because they were worried that rebel Egyptian forces might shoot down the plane. Josette realized why her mission was so critical. The Israelis were planning an airstrike during the time that the Egyptian air defense radar was shut off, which would be a game changer in the upcoming war.

Josette assumed that Al Husseini was so morally bankrupt that he wouldn't report that he had been compromised. His pride would suffer if he had to do that. But the Needle was meticulous. It was why she was such a successful spy.

So, Josette wrote a flirty note and placed it on the pillow next to Al Husseini's head. It said, "Dear Sleepyhead... I don't know whether it was the wine. But you fell asleep right after you gave me so many orgasms that I lost count. My husband is waiting for me and he is very jealous... But we have to meet again... Love- Hanna."

Josette was always Hanna when she ran exploits in the Arab part of Palestine. In fact the Egyptian Mukhabarat even had a file on that mysterious woman. Finally, she slipped out of the room chuckling to herself about the number of lies she had managed to squeeze into one simple note.

*****

I'd been tailing the Archangel since our first contact. He probably knew that I was there but he didn't challenge me because he had already guessed that we were on the same side. Calling him the Archangel was natural since the man was almost celestial. I had just watched him change from a person everybody would notice into a non-entity who was such a nebbish that both his marks sailed right past him without a second glance. He did it by simply altering his posture. It was an amazing trick.

The woman we were both following had checked into the American Colony Hotel with a pretty boy Arab... totally beneath her in both looks and personal charisma. So, I assumed that she was working a swallow exploit. And whatever she had with her at the end of the exploit was what I needed to get.

It was twelve fifteen when they went into the room and both of them looked capable of fucking the afternoon away. So, I was expecting to be sitting at the Arab coffee house I'd posted up in for at least four hours. That's the reason why I was so shocked when the woman re-appeared less than an hour later and walked off down Van Passen Street in the direction of the Mandelbaum gate. By reputation, the Needle was a very dangerous woman. So, I assumed she had killed the guy.

The Archangel started to move the instant Josette turned the corner. I had the same idea that he had. Josette wasn't carrying anything when she'd left the hotel. So, the magic briefcase with all the good intel in it, must have been left in the room. Nevertheless, rather than going directly into the building, the Archangel disappeared into the lush landscaping that surrounded it.

He had been a lot closer to the scene and he must have spotted the room that Josette had emerged from. Once I'd fought my way out of the greenery, I could see one door slightly ajar about halfway down the row. The ground floor rooms all opened onto a wide, manicured back terrace befitting a romantic five-star hotel.

I approached warily, and opened the French doors to find the Archangel sitting on the bed, legs crossed primly at the knee. He was cooly smoking a distinctive Moreland cigarette, with a naked man sprawled on the bed next to him. My first thought was -- "Yep she killed him!" My next thought was, "Oh my God!! I've just walked in on the Archangel!!"

I was clearing the decks to defend myself, knowing I was going to end up just like the naked guy -- i.e., dead, when the Archangel looked at me and said mildly, "I suppose I should introduce myself." He continued in a cultured Oxbridge accent, "Peter Ashworth... old chum... of Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence Service."

I already knew that the Archangel was MI-6 but it was a good sign that he was willing to share that information with me. I said, trying to sound as relaxed as he had, "Erik Schwartzwalder, CIA - It's an honor to meet the Archangel... in person."

The man laughed delightedly and said, "Are they still using that old sobriquet? Well there's nothing angelic about either of us -- is there?" Then he added politely, "My friends call me Peter... Father."

Yikes!! he thought I was a priest. I said. laughing, "I'm no more a Jesuit than you are an archaeologist." He emitted a controlled chuckle; we were buddies now.

The Archangel reached over to pick up the briefcase. He said, "This is what we're both here for so we might as well have a look." I gestured toward the man on the bed. The Archangel looked lazily behind him and said, "Drugged, not dead. Probably chloral hydrate, but we'll never know. We'll have to dispose of him either way." His tone was casual... as if he was discussing a menial chore.

I mean -- I got it... We had the critical information that Josette was after and so the man on the bed was a dangerous loose end. Questions would be asked if he disappeared. But the Jordanians could only guess what had happened and what had been lost. Even better, his disappearance would distract his masters' from the fact that whatever Josette was seeking was missing.

The Archangel picked up the house phone and dialed a number. He said, "I need a cleaning for room one sixteen at the American Colony. The priority is 1-A-1!" Then he languidly picked up the briefcase and slipped out the French doors - with me following. We took the same route through the lush greenery and back to the street as the four "workmen" who brushed past us going in the opposite direction.

Then, the two of us headed for the British Consulate General in the Jarrah Quarter of the city. I was tagging along, naturally, because the Archangel had the briefcase and I wanted to share the intel we would glean from it.

The Archangel was greeted with a certain amount of wariness by the head of that facility -- given that he had a well-known grisly past. And it was obvious that the Director didn't want me to go into the room where the analysts were stabled. However, Peter insisted, "Share and share alike, old boy... That's the Five Eyes motto." Most people would view that statement with skepticism. But Peter Ashworth just radiated honorableness.

A lot of folders were stuffed in the briefcase. But there was a single page that had not been re-filed. That must have been the one that Josette was after. It was the schedule of an innocuous inspection tour that two Egyptian Generals were planning in the Sinai. Peter said, "I don't understand old -boy. Why would the Jews launch a major espionage operation to find that out?"

I pondered for a second and then it all fell into place. I said excitedly, "Look here... it says that the Egyptian air defenses will be switched off during that period. That's when the airstrike is going to happen. So, we know that the war starts tomorrow and we have the exact time that it's gonna happen. Our people have to be warned!! "

I added, hesitantly, "If none of your senior people are handy I have an asset in the area." The Archangel looked at me for a heartbeat, obviously deciding how much he could trust me - he was clearly balancing the pros and cons. Then he said in a steely voice, "This had better be an even-handed exchange."

I took that as assent. But there were nuances in the way he'd said it that implied ruthless commitment to the conventions of fair play - as well as utter confidence in his own abilities to enforce it. The man was intimidatingly deep, and I would NEVER think about backstabbing the Archangel. That would be a fatal mistake.

I said, "Let me call my handler and he'll set us up with my Director-level asset." Then I paused and said, "In fact he may actually be the mastermind behind this whole gambit."

*****

Two hours later... Peter and I were sitting on one side of a mahogany table in the ornate, lobby of the King David Hotel. I'd last seen the man sitting on the other side a day and a half earlier at the Hilton

The guy was a caricature of an old fashioned mobster from his beetling brow, and his glittering black eyes to the five o'clock shadow across his massive jawline. But humanity and intelligence just radiated from him. Even Peter seemed awed.

More remarkably, Josette was sitting next to the guy acting for all the world like his daughter. Her adoring gaze told us that she loved the man. I whispered to Peter, "I thought your part of the operation was complete?" The Archangel gave me an enigmatic smile and said, "I have some unfinished business -- Old Boy." I suspected I knew what that was. Both he and Josette were almost visibly emanating attraction for each other.

This version of Josette was nothing like the floozy who I had seen exiting the American Colony Hotel. She had her sheaf of blond hair pulled back into a sleek ponytail; her gorgeous face didn't have a speck of makeup on it. Yet... she was still stunning. She was wearing a military shirt with epaulettes and slacks, which was a crime against mankind since it covered up those fabulous legs.

She was staring at the Archangel like she was trying to recall how she knew him and he was looking back at her with a puzzled look on his normally guarded countenance. It was like she had upset him. I thought to myself, "Oh my God!! The Archangel is human after all."

Peter clearly fancied Josette -- a lot!. And it was obvious that she was attracted to him in return. Was this the beginning of a romance between two almost perfect human beings? I couldn't imagine what the offspring of that union would look like.

I only knew the man sitting opposite me by his code name, which was "King." But the title Director was clearly more appropriate. So, I led with that. I said, "I am sorry to contact you, Director. But we have critically important information about Israeli intentions."

The man laughed kindly and said, "Josette already told me." That was astounding!! She was working for the CIA, not the Mossad, or was it a joint operation?

The Director said, looking meaningfully at Peter, "There are things I can't talk about in front of you. So, I'm going to ask you and my goddaughter to take off." He added with a twinkle in his eye, "Do me a favor and spend some time with each other. I think you'll enjoy exchanging stories." Aha... so, King saw the same thing I did. Since he might as well have just told them to get a room.

Once they'd left, King chuckled, and said cheerfully, "I've known Josette since she was five. She was the smartest and bravest little girl in the entire Second World War. I thought that there would never be anyone else like her. But she's stumbled on the other unicorn." He gave me a wink and said, "She knows what to do after that."

Then King got down to business. He said conspiratorially, "The Israelis are going to establish air superiority over the entire region, in preparation for finishing things with the Arabs and the Company's running an op to ensure that the UN and some of the more deluded elements of our own government don't interfere."

I understood exactly what the Director was talking about. In 1956, England and France had regained control of the Suez Canal and Israel had removed the Egyptian military as a threat. But political forces in the US, gave it all back to the Egyptians. That intervention was what created the current geo-political mess. But it also probably saved us from nuclear war with the Russians - who were backing Nasser.

King was still talking, "Israel intends to roll its borders out to the most defensible boundaries. Meaning the Egyptians will be pushed back to Suez, the Syrians kicked off the Golan Heights and the Jordanians relocated back behind the Jordan River. That will take a few days. Meanwhile, in order to avoid interference from the Western powers, the U.S. needs to be kept in the dark."

That horrified me since I would be the first one under the bus if that exploit went south. I said, "Let me get this straight. The CIA is conducting a joint operation with the Israelis aimed at pulling the wool over the eyes of the American public - because they don't want the U.S. to interfere with what's going to happen next!!"

King gave me a jaunty look and said, "That about sums it up. You know what the mood's like back home." I did indeed... the Vietnam war protest movement was rocking most campuses. While there was a lot of antisemitism running through the right. I nodded my head in agreement.

King said, "The problem is that the Israelis have their own factions and they are arguing about whether to capture Jerusalem's Old City, as part of the initial operation. Egypt is the biggest and strongest of their adversaries. So, they have to be dealt with first. There's Syria after that. So, understandably, Israel doesn't want to open another front with the Jordanians -- at least, right away. Hence, the current plans are to lay off moving on East Jerusalem, unless the Jordanians join the fight."

He added, "But if Jordan attacks the Israeli enclave on Mount Scopus... the Jews are going to push them completely out of Jerusalem. Ammunition Hill is the key to the whole strategic puzzle. So, I want you to go up there and assess the situation. Your Jesuit cover ought to get you in and out without anybody suspecting. But it could be dangerous and this IS your first assignment. So, what do you say?"

I mean... what could I say? Danger was what I'd signed on for and I knew I'd eventually have to face it. So, I said, trying to sound brave and probably failing miserably, "No worries, boss...I'll get my Liturgy Kit and get up there -- stat! It should just take a couple of hours up and back."

King looked sentimental as he said, "Good lad." He had been putting himself in harm's way for almost twenty-five years but there's always a first time.

*****

The priest who wasn't a priest had lingered to talk with the CIA Director as Peter and Josette walked out onto the luxurious dining Terrace of the King David. The entire west end of the City was spread out in front of them - in all of its sunbaked glory. For the first time in their graceful and disciplined lives, both of them were feeling awkward.

Everybody on the terrace turned and looked at the two of them - astonished by their perfection. Neither of them noticed. They were both very ill at ease walking with each other. Both of them sensed that the other completed them. It was upsetting to recognize something that was so personal and absolute.

Peter and Josette were always in control. The sole factor that guided their life was their individual sense of their capabilities and each had their own powerful moral compass. Now, they could both feel the gravitational pull that the other exerted and both wondered what that meant. Either could walk away from the evolving situation, as they had done many times before. But it was different this time. It was like this meeting had somehow been preordained.

Josette could remember an incident from her childhood. She had been drawn across the Luxembourg Gardens, to a boy who she thought resembled a knight errant from the romantic novels that she used to love. So, in typical Josette fashion... she had confronted him -- just to confirm that he was real. Was this him, all grown up? If so, then it had to be fate.

Peter was looking speculatively at the beautiful woman standing with him and thinking, "She might be the only person in this world courageous and supremely intelligent enough to share my life." He was reminded of a little girl he had once encountered while his father was recuperating in a hospital in Paris. That little spitfire was a true force of nature... strong and self-assured. Maybe this was the same girl?

Peter said conversationally, "Why don't you and I spend the rest of the day together since, as we both know, it won't be long before the balloon goes up." Was that a hint of hope in his voice? Josette gave him a frank look and said, "There is a lot at stake in the next twenty four hours. So, maybe we should get through it together -- what do you say?"

That was what Peter wanted to hear. He needed to take time to understand what he was feeling and being a man of action he also had to be certain that he was making the right choice. Because once he acted, the die would be cast.

*****

Meanwhile, I was fulfilling my pastoral duties up on Ammunition Hill. My excuse for being there was that I was ministering to the spiritual needs of the Catholic members of the Arab Legion. Of course, if I picked up some vital intelligence along the way... then, more's the better.

As I threaded my way through the maze of barbed wire fronting the gate, I gave a casual wave to the two privates who were guarding the entrance to the Police Academy bastion. One was wearing a crucifix so I was sure he would let me pass and I knew that neither of them would suspect a Jesuit of anything but mendacity.

I almost immediately stumbled on the information that King was seeking -- and it was a doozy. It was clear that the Jordanians were massing their forces. I could see Jordanian troops pouring out of the fortified bunker at the top of the hill and into the defensive trenches surrounding the fort. The Israelis had assumed that Ammunition Hill was lightly defended - no more than a single platoon... perhaps 20 men. Yet, this was a reinforced company -- closer to 250 men. There was going to be an attack.

I had to get that information back to King pronto. So, I did a quick, "Ite, Missa Est," for the dozen, or so, Catholic attendees clustered around the water tower and began to pack up my stuff. Okay, I admit I was a CIA fraud. But a little religion never hurt anybody -- even if the Priest's actually an operator. I would smooth that out with God at a later date.

I was trying to look casual as I walked back down past the trench line, which was full of soldiers. I had just reached the barbed wire exit gate, and safety, when I was stopped by an officious little man in full Arab Legion regalia.

He had a crown on his shoulder board. The Arab Legion was modeled after the British army so I didn't know what rank that meant. But he should have been a Modern Major General based on his attitude. It turned out that he was only a Major.

He said, his voice full of suspicion, "What are you doing here Father." I said, trying to sound holy, "Why, I am bringing the Faith to the Chaldeans in your unit, my Son."

He said, skeptically, "But you have seen the surprise that we are preparing for those Jew dogs, haven't you?"

The essence of good tradecraft is to double down on your legend if you are ever questioned.... So, I drew myself up to my full height and said, trying to sound righteously indignant, "The Church has no interest in earthly matters. All I see is a collection of sinners in need of God's grace. So, please step aside, I have Vespers at Saint Anne's to attend."

The little man looked at me with contempt and said, "Unbelievers!! You are ALL liars!! You have seen our troop dispositions and I cannot allow you to leave this place until we have eliminated the Jews over there." He pointed toward the Israeli enclave on Mount Scopus and added with ghoulish delight, "That will be soon. After that, you may go."