Looking at Dani, Jackson asked, “what about you?”
Ben initially answered for her. “She’s third on the team, in charge of operations. We call her ‘Arielle’.”
“Operations, really?” Jackson replied, clearly impressed. “And where does ‘Arielle’ come from?” he asked. “Just how long have you been working with these two?”
Ben replied first. “Arielle’s easy; it means Lioness of God. It fits.”
“So, is that what that scar’s all about?” Jackson asked Dani, looking at her left arm.
“Yeah; I’m sure you’ve heard the adage about bringing a knife to a gun fight, right? Well, several months back, I was the number two shooter on a bike team in Tehran. We were driving through a residential neighborhood and got separated by some kids playing in the street. We were only a second or two behind but that’s all it took for the target’s body guard to knock me off the bike. I lost my piece and so did the guard, but he had a knife. His first — and only — swing sliced my arm and continued across the left side of my rib cage. I disarmed him with his next attempt and killed him with his own knife.”
“Damn,” was all Stonewall could say.
“Told you; it suits her,” Ben added.
“My family’s been tied pretty closely to the Israeli Special Forces and Mossad since our independence,” Dani continued on. “My Dad and Tamir served together in the Paratroopers and my grandfather and Tami’s father served with General Arik Sharon in the Sinai in the ‘67 war.” For Jackson, that answered a few questions right there. “I talked with Tamir right after I finished my schooling as I wanted another challenge. Tamir offered me a chance to try out for the Sayeret Matkal”—Israeli Special Forces—“and four years later, here I am.”
“What did you do your schooling in?” Jackson asked her.
“I did my undergrad work in Tel Aviv in nuclear physics. From there, I got my PhD in nuclear engineering at Texas A & M.”
“Texas? Why Texas?” asked Jackson.
“A & M has a great program and I wanted to see the States. Everything I read made Texas look and feel like Israel so I applied and they accepted me. Outside of Israel, I consider Texas, my second home.”
“That’s cool; I hail from San Angelo. Always nice to have another Texan around.”
III
Dani arrived at Jackson’s hotel at six forty-five the following morning. “Hey, Stonewall, you ready?” she said into her phone.
“All set; be right down. Wasn’t expecting you for another fifteen to twenty minutes.”
“What’s the matter? I thought you Special Forces guys were always ready,” Dani chimed in.
“I’m ready; just need to put my shoes on and I’ll be right there.”
Jackson emerged from the lobby elevator to find Dani waiting for him — and her transformation could not have been more complete: Gone was yesterday’s ponytail and tomboy image and replaced with a Giorgio Armani business suit that seriously out-classed Jackson’s sport coat and tie.
“Ready to go?” She asked him as Jackson walked up to her.
“I’m not sure; just what are we doing today?” Jackson asked, noting Dani’s very professional attire.
“Ah, today’s an office day, so you’re good.”
Jackson noticed Dani’s sense of style extended to her choice of vehicle as well. “Cadillac, huh? Nice car,” Jackson commented admiringly as he got into her car. “A little different from yesterday’s rig?”
“That was a pool car; those things are just too generic for me. I like something with a little more style.”
“Well, it looks like you found it. Bet you don’t see many of these over here, do you?”
“No, you really don’t. I wanted something stylish yet something really sporty. The ATS seemed to fit the bill — I actually had to special order it so I picked up the ATS-V,” Dani replied.
“I bet you did; this is really cool!” Jackson added. “So, what’s on tap for today? Jim didn’t give me any kind of agenda or any idea as to what to expect.”
“Remember that sudden meeting I told you that Bibi scheduled with Tamir, just as you arrived yesterday? Well, it turns out we have a little operation scheduled for tonight.”
“Really? What kind of an ‘operation’?” Jackson asked.
“Well, Ben’s talking it over with Tamir right now. Even though I’m Ops, I don't know all of the details on this one yet. Ben will fill us in when we get to the office.”
“So, tell me about Ben. He seems like a real take charge kind of guy. I mean he answered the first two questions that I asked you last night.”
“He is in command of our unit but don’t prejudge him. He’s very good and usually, all business. Until you get to know him, he might come off as a bit of a control-freak. Once he’s had a chance to get to know someone, however, he relaxes quite a bit. Yoni, on the other hand, is much like you saw him last night, quiet and fairly reserved, but don’t let that calm demeanor fool you. We’ve been in a few scrapes with Hezbollah up in Lebanon — there is no one, Ben included, who I’d rather have with me in a fire fight. Yoni is rock solid and seemingly knows the entire battle-scape — wherever that is — like it was his hometown.”
“What are you guys doing in Lebanon? I thought this team’s focus was Iran.”
“Oh, Iran is, and remains, the primary focus of our team. You see, Iran supplies Hezbollah with everything, from ammunition to rockets — and they station several of their Republican Guards in the Beqaa Valley. Every now and then, we get another piece of the puzzle up there.”
“I can see that; just thought a different team would take care of that for you.”
“When it comes to Iran, Ben likes our team to do as much of the work as possible. He wants to make sure nothing gets missed.”
“Yeah, I can appreciate that.”
“So, did you get your Starbucks fix in yet this morning?” Dani asked, changing the subject.
“No, I didn’t. I thought there’d be one in the hotel but couldn’t find anything.”
“Well, Starbucks isn’t in Israel. I got hooked on them when I was at A & M but had to get used to our variety back here when I came home; it’s a lot stronger here. This place here’s a favorite of mine.”
Seeing that Dani pulled into a parking spot, rather than the proverbial drive-thru, he asked Dani, “Ah, what time are we supposed to get in to the office this morning?”
“Ben and Tamir are still working out the details for tonight’s operation. They told me we didn’t need to be in the office all that early, so, since you haven’t been to Israel before, I thought we’d take our time this morning. Find a table and I’ll get the coffee.”
Jackson found a table on the street-side patio and waited for Dani. Once she sat down with their coffee, Jackson simply stated, “So, tell me about Iran’s nuclear ambitions.”
Tamir told Ben that as soon as Arielle & Stonewall arrived, they were to be brought into his office right away. Two hours after their coffee stop, Ben ushered them into Tamir’s office.