The Moses Legacy

Chapter 67

Captain Ben-Dor had told them very little. Little as in nothing. The only thing he would say was that they were to be taken to Herzliya, just north of Tel Aviv.

The captain smiled when he saw the confused look on their faces. Obviously the boat wasn’t going to sail there, as that would mean a somewhat circuitous trip. He pointed to the helicopter hovering above them.

‘You’ll be winched up there and taken directly.’

Gabrielle smiled at this. It appealed to her sense of adventure. But Daniel had had enough adventure for a whole lifetime and felt somewhat nauseous just thinking about it. However, he was not one to show weakness, especially in the presence of military men, so he gritted his teeth and nodded. When the winch of the AS565 Panther lowered the harness to the boat’s deck, he even volunteered to go first, but the captain decided that Gabrielle should have that honour.

The helicopter journey was a sombre affair. In any case, conversation would have been difficult above the noise of the rotor blades, but the cold stares from the crew gave Daniel the distinct impression that he and Gabrielle were regarded as enemies, or at least as troublemakers. Nevertheless, they were offered cold drinks at one point, both settling on diet Coke. For the most part they contented themselves with admiring the view as the helicopter sped towards Herzliya.

When the helicopter landed, eighty-five minutes later, it was on the roof of a rather old nondescript building. They were led out and taken to a waiting room. From there, Daniel was called in first.

He found himself sitting in an office in front of a teak desk, opposite a dark-haired Israeli, not unlike himself and about the same age.

‘My name is Dov Shamir and I am going to ask you a few questions. I would be much obliged if you didn’t try to bullshit me, but just gave me some straight answers.’