SOIKOS: Into Canaan

[x-dominion.livejournal.com]

Garrison arrives in Israel and gets to hear his counterpart's suspicions about why Calysee Neramani was taken.



“Agent Kane. I had a call from the Mossad about you. Apparently you cause trouble.” Yaakov Zerach was a bear of a man, barrel-chested, and easily three inches taller than Kane. His black beard was neatly trimmed, and it contrasted with his bald head. Under heavy black brows, his dark eyes were sharp and intelligent. Garrison took the other man’s hand, ignoring the attempt to crush his knuckles together. He had never met Zerach before, but he already had a strong idea who he was dealing with.

“In my own defense, the Mossad had something to do with it.” Kane said with an easy smile. Zerach was roughly the same rank as himself, but he had ten years additional experience, and his billet was with the Yamam; Israel’s elite counterterrorism unit. “So, Mefake'ah Zerach, assuming you’re not going to arrest me on principle, can I have a seat? It was a long flight.”

“Your accent is appalling, Inspector Kane. Sit.” The chair seemed almost flimsy to try and contain Yaakov’s frame. He waved over a waitress and held up two fingers. Obviously he’d been here before, as she automatically brought over a pair of frosted Goldstars.

“I know the Bureau told me you wanted some expertise in working kidnapping cases, but nothing else. What’s all this about?”

“History, Kane. And people who like the idea of turning the Middle East into a biblical battlefield.” Yaakov drained half of the bottle in one long swallow, and leaned back. “The Lashkar are likely moving Calysee Neramani into Israel. We think the reason is that the kidnapping is not entirely related to religious fervor.”

“Why’s that?”

“As a symbol, Calysee makes a good target. She was a wild child before marrying Khan. India is a little inconsistent with their Muslim populations, between using Pakistan as a threat while cozying up with Indonesia. But really, worth the effort? Neramani converted to Islam when she married her husband. Following the collapse of Pakistan’s government, she’s voluntarily confined herself to a house to remotely direct charity work. It would be hard to cast her as an enemy of the Faith for Muslims around the world.” He shook his head. “The Mossad works with our police forces relatively closely, and we both think that based on the slim things we’ve heard, Calysee’s real value is to someone else.”

“So they hired these Lashkar as, what, a smokescreen?”

“I think so. They are well connected, and have contacts to move through Iran and Iraq and into Syria or the Kingdom without too many troubles. Either they’re looking to get her into Egypt and off from there, or into Israel with a reason.”

“What benefit is it for them to get Calysee to Israel?”

“If she dies here, especially as part of a botched IDF rescue mission? The backlash in the Muslim world will be far greater than if she’s killed by fellow Muslims, sadly. But I think that’s a last ditch plan.”

“You’re going in circles, Yaakov.” Kane leaned forward. “Without any idea of the motive, it’s going to limit what I can do to help the Yamam.”

“Have you ever heard of the Opus Dei?”

“I read that crappy book.”

“There’s a lot of truth in those badly written pages. Oh, not the nonsense of hidden codes and that nonsense. But the Opus Dei do move in the world, and they do have an agenda.” The man pulled out a piece of paper, and unfolded on the table. On it were three printed photos of what looked like a war scene. With a thick finger, he traced the pictures. “These are from Somalia, over a decade ago. See the figures in the back; the white mercenaries?”

“Sure.”

“An Opus Dei force. The conflict was a useful way to reacquire access to Coptic ruins in the area. The Opus Dei are a cult inside of the Catholic church; a sort of back to the Inquisition group that thinks the modern Vatican has gone too soft, too concerned with secular opinion, to take the proper actions in the name of their religion.”

“So, is this one of those ‘back to the fire and lash’ kind of revivals?”

“Outwardly, no. Past the façade, certainly. Most of the real operations are now outside of the church, and only a few true members of the cult remain, as a kind of enclave inside the state. The Opus Dei are obsessed with two things; making the end of the New Testament happen, and acquiring whatever knowledge and relics they think might jumpstart the process.”

“You have to be kidding.”

“I never said it made sense, Inspector Kane. Whether they believe in an Old Testament God or little blue fairies, they are militant, well funded, and willing to cause all manner of collateral damage so long as they get what they want.” Yaakov finished the bottle and waved for another. “We know that at least two teams of their numbers are operating in Lebanon and Egypt. What we don’t know is if they’re in Israel right now. The theory is that Calysee might be headed for them. Otherwise, it’s just a big coincidence.”

“And you don’t like coincidences.”

“Do you?”

“No. So, worst case, if these Opus Dei get a hold of Calysee, what do they do with her?”

“Well, executing her under the guise of, say, some militant Israeli nationalist group would raise tensions significantly. They might use her for leverage into Indian or Pakistani sites. One of the reasons we track this group, Kane, is because for their goals to work, Israel needs to be ground zero of a massive war. Unfortunately, there’s a few Jews with power here that believe exactly the same thing. That’s why I think they’re connected, and it worries some of my colleagues enough to send for help from the high and mighty FBI just incase you see something we’ve missed before it bites us on the tuchus.”

“High and mighty crack was kinda harsh.” Garrison stared into his beer label for a moment, thinking. “Alright, I’m assuming you’ve got people working numerous angles. I’ll focus on the delivery idea. Calysee is being brought here for someone else. I’ll be by your office tomorrow morning and we can talk specifics. How much latitude do you have, politically?”

“Don’t start any wars. The right people in the Knesset are scared about this, Kane. There won’t be too many hoops to jump through.”

“Sounds good. I need to sleep off the better part of the Atlantic before my brain kicks back in. You want to pay for the waters?”

“Do you always insult your host's beer?”

“Only when they’re not Canadian.”