Rules of Betrayal

26

The day’s work was done. The countersurveillance exercises in downtown Tel Aviv had been followed by spatial recall and memorization drills. An abysmal beginning had been followed by a miserable second act and capped with a mediocre finale. Still, Jonathan could tell himself that his performances had improved over the course of the day. Progress was progress.

Danni steered the BMW sedan along the curving road leading down to the Mediterranean with finesse. It was raining harder now, a downpour that blurred the windows and made it difficult to see outside. Seated so close to Danni, Jonathan had the impression of being in a cell, and felt the cellmate’s forced camaraderie.

“How do you know him?” he asked.

Danni shot him a sidelong glance.

“No one’s listening,” Jonathan went on. “It’s just you and me. I’m talking about Frank Connor.”

“I know who you’re talking about.”

“Well?” Jonathan’s tone was insistent, bordering on insubordinate. For the past seventy-two hours he had been on the move, following others’ instructions without question or complaint. To obey meant to survive. Connor’s arrival on the scene changed nothing. His proposal of service was an order concealed as a request. Emma was Division’s trump card, and Connor had waited to the end to play it. Jonathan had had no choice but to comply, as a husband and as a citizen singled out by his government as the sole individual capable of performing a service essential to his nation’s security. It was his role as the reluctant operative that rose up inside him now and demanded an explanation. Every minute in Danni’s company magnified the peril of his assignment. “Need to know” didn’t cut it anymore.

“We worked together,” said Danni.

“Are you Mossad?”

“Names aren’t important. Let’s just say that most governments have their own equivalent of Division. I work for Israel’s.”

“How did you get into it?”

Danni looked at him, her blue eyes appraising him yet again. But instead of dodging the question, she smiled. It was Jonathan’s first victory of the day. “Now we’re getting personal?” she asked.

“Yesterday I was lying buck naked on the floor with your knee in my back and your mouth at my ear. I’d say we’ve gotten past the embarrassing part.”

“In Israel, military service is compulsory for men and women. Turn eighteen and off you go. Two years in uniform. I guess I liked it more than most. Maybe I was just better at it. Does it surprise you to see a woman doing this?”

“Are you serious?” Jonathan began, realizing only then that Danni knew nothing about Emma. “Need to know” went both ways. “No,” he said. “Not at all. I’ve climbed with lots of women who are stronger than me.”

The blue eyes narrowed. “Only stronger?”

“Okay,” said Jonathan. “Smarter, faster, safer. And stronger.”

Danni nodded, her lips curling as if to say “That’s better.”

“You climb?” he asked.

“Me? No, thank you. I’m afraid of heights. It’s my one phobia. I washed out of jump school because of it. I made it as far as the doorway of the plane, looked down at the ground a thousand meters below me, and had an absolute fit. I wrestled the jumpmaster to the floor and nearly knocked him out. That’s when they decided I might have other skills they could use.”

“Funny how things work out.”

Danni chuckled, and for the first time all day, Jonathan felt as if he were seeing the real woman behind the carefully constructed facade. “My sport is orienteering,” she said. “You ever do it?”

Jonathan said he hadn’t.

“Map, GPS, running shoes, and off you go. It’s good fun.”

“I think I’d like that.”

“No one’s tailing you. You might just be good at it.”

They both laughed. Jonathan allowed himself to look at her. For once, her mouth wasn’t so firmly closed, the jaw not so rock-solid. Her eyes had softened, and seemed a lighter shade of blue. She brought her left hand to the steering wheel and he saw that she did not wear a wedding band.

“You’re not married?” he said.

“No.”

But when Jonathan was going to ask her why, he saw that the mouth had tightened and the jaw had resumed its combative stance. Her eyes were locked on the road ahead, as relentless as ever.

Jonathan rolled down the window. A gust brought a fresh wave of rain into the car. The air smelled strongly of salt and brine. Danni said nothing.