I kissed Tamar goodbye and told her that we would meet again. The tears flowed in Tamar's eyes as she said that she was not as hopeful. Tamar couldn't promise me anything. I gave her my telephone number in Canada but she said that she couldn't afford to make any overseas calls and I must never call her family. She cried as she left me at the luggage security giving me a long, passionate and deep kiss before leaving for the bus stop. Tamar's face was lined with tears and worry. I sensed that this would be the last time I would see her. Frankly, I was kind of weepy myself. Who would ever recognize us as the happy, carefree couple we had been the last three days?
The security staff at check-in was not impressed with me. I was male, single and in a rush to catch my flight. The agent looked like my grandmother except older and more suspicious. She opened up my passport to see if the photo matched me. Not too likely, as I had shaved the beard and moustache I had in university. Granny looked me in the eye:
"Canadian, I see." I could see what was going through her mind. Every Israeli knew that Canadian passports were traded like baseball cards in the shouks. "Why did you come to Israel?"
"I'm a journalist. If you look a few pages down, I have the proper visa and work permit." I could see from her face that she thought all foreign newspapers printed a steady diet of anti-Israeli propaganda.
"I see. Did you pack your luggage yourself or did someone else do it for you?"
"Someone else packed my luggage. My girlfriend."
"I see. Where is your girlfriend? Is she travelling with you?"
"No, she's Israeli. She can't come to Canada with me just yet."
"I see. And how long have you and your girlfriend been acquainted?"
"A little bit over two weeks. I hope you aren't suspicious of Tamar. Tamar and I are in love."
"I see. You fell in love after knowing this Tamar after two weeks. Where did you visit in Israel and was this Tamar with you?"
Like an idiot, I mentioned that I had been north near the Lebanese border but I couldn't remember the name of the town. That did it. Granny started probing my luggage but came up with only my dirty underwear. Then Granny took my typewriter over to a bomb expert while another security guard started to take apart my single lens reflex camera.
I still had half a hope that I could make my flight when I heard a woman scream and a man shouting in Hebrew. I turned to see what was the problem and Tamar was screaming at me: "Chris! Be careful. Mossi has a knife!" That was redundant information because I could clearly see a young Israeli man running across the airport departure hall towards me with a knife in his hand. I must have been tired because I didn't run from my Israeli rival. All I could think of was how that long hunting knife reflected the lights from the ceiling. Fortunately, two Israeli bystanders tackled what I assumed was Tamar's resentful boyfriend. The knife skidded harmlessly across the terrazzo floor of the departure hall.
The security guards who arrested Mossi took their orders from a woman in her late 30's. She didn't have a uniform like the guards, just typical street clothes like any other Israeli woman. She asked Tamar a few questions and another security guard took her away, although they didn't put her in an armlock. The leader came over to Granny and talked in Hebrew to the security guards fondling my underwear. She shook her head incredulously and turned to me:
"Are you the one called Chris? I don't know what to make of all this. The guards think you want to hijack the airplane. On the other hand, this young man obviously wants to kill you so your plot must be very complex. I'll have to detain you while I sort this out. Give me your passport and ticket please. I can't allow you on an El Al flight while you're under suspicion. Livshitz! Take this so-called tourist and search him!"
I hadn't noticed that a burly soldier had quietly walked up behind me and trained his Uzi at parts of me that I preferred he wouldn't shoot at. Without words, he motioned to a small room. I didn't hesitate one second. Once the door was shut, Livshitz said: "Take off clothes." Livshitz' conversation didn't improve much as he went through my pockets and looked over my notebook. He left me standing in the cold draft of an air conditioner as he left with the contents of my pockets and returned with a pair of latex gloves.
"Bend over. Spread"
Impressed that Livshitz could put three words together, I did as he asked. At that point, I don't know if I was displaying nervousness or the aftereffects of too much falafel washed down with Nesher beer. All I know was that, when I bent over, I cut a fart that turned the small room into a miniature version of the men's bathroom at the Tel Aviv Bus station. Livshitz staggered back but then started poking angrily around my rectum for whatever it was he was looking for. The pain was excruciating but I couldn't give him any pleasure by acknowledging it. Finally, Livshitz stopped poking, threw the gloves in a wastebasket and said: "Put on clothes."
When I was fully dressed, Livshitz led me down to another room and sat me down on my sore ass at a table. Livshitz sat down, cradling his Uzi in his lap, on the opposite side of the table at the end. The woman who had told him to search me entered the room along with a uniformed policeman and another man dressed in a white shirt and black slacks. The woman sat down and deliberately arranged my passport, ticket, a pad of paper and two pens in front of her. I had seen this act before on television and it didn't intimidate me. All I could think of was my sore ass and my missed flight. In addition, I was concerned about what had happened to Tamar. If Mossi couldn't kill me, would he kill Tamar? Finally, the woman spoke in a soft Hebrew-accented voice:
"I am Daniellah Argov of El Al security. I don't like this kind of incident happening when I'm on duty. It frightens our passengers and it doesn't look good for El Al. I intend to find out what happened and why this happened. I believe you have already met Sgt. Dov Livshitz of Zahal. Also assisting me in my investigation is Lieutenant Ze'ev Kinnor of the Lod Police Detachment and Agent Shlomo Galil of Shin Bet. If we determine that you're a criminal or a security risk, one of these two gentlemen will assume responsibility. Now, you will tell me everything. What are you doing in Israel, who is that woman, why does that man want to kill you? I must advise you that they are being interrogated elsewhere. If we find that they have a different story, you're in deep trouble."
Kinnor and Galil just sat in silence and scowled at me. Livshitz kept fondling his Uzi. Obviously Daniellah wanted to sing the part of the good cop in this quartet. It wasn't a difficult part for her to play because she was definitely the best looking of my four interrogators. Daniellah had a bit of mileage on her but she wasn't middle aged yet. I put her in her mid-30's. Like most Israeli women, she had dark, shoulder-length hair and brown eyes. A business-like suit hid Daniellah's tits from my inquiring eyes but I assumed they were big, if Tamar was a typical example of an Israeli woman. Her fine Semitic features were marred by a stern expression, which I assumed was intended to increase her intimidation factor.