The Pure

had grabbed the AK-47. ‘Leila,’ he said, ‘think. Who cares whether we escape from the MOIS or the Israelis? The important thing is that we stay alive. We can make a life together. We can go where no one will find us, and live a normal life.’ She didn’t respond. Slowly she raised the barrel until it pointed directly at his heart.
    There was a long pause. The sea whispered harshly into the silence. Out of the corner of his eye, Uzi saw the frogmen’s heads breaking the water. They weren’t far off now. He took his M9 carefully from his pocket and tossed it down in the sand.
    ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I’m at your mercy. This is your moment to decide. Kill me and kill yourself. Or take the chance of life – and trust me.’
    ‘I won’t allow the Mossad to interrogate me.’
    ‘Trust me.’
    ‘I can’t betray my country. I can’t betray my father.’ The barrel of the gun was perfectly steady.
    ‘Trust me, Leila. Together, we can do anything. Your country is using you, just as my country has been using me. We’ll piggyback out of here with the Mossad, then escape and disappear. We’ll start a new life. A normal life. To go back to the MOIS will mean certain death. Come with me, and there will at least be a chance.’
    Leila lowered the gun, first by an inch, then two; then it dropped to the sand.
    ‘Well done,’ said the Kol quietly.
    The frogmen arrived. Like mythological creatures, they rose to a standing position, removed their fins and jogged into the cove, the sand clogging on their feet. Each was armed with an APS Special Underwater Assault Rifle, and their suits were studded with equipment.
    ‘We can do this,’ whispered Uzi. ‘I promise.’ He raised a hand; the frogmen raised theirs in return, and jogged over to him. They lowered their masks, revealing quick, intense eyes. Their wetsuits glistened like dolphin skin. When they caught sight of Leila, they lifted their weapons and eyed her suspiciously.
    Uzi joined the frogmen, who were starting to unpack equipment: wetsuits, masks, BCDs, weighted belts, air cylinders. He passed a set to Leila, and began to put one on himself. She hesitated, picked up the wetsuit, put it down again. Then she turned and took a few steps back towards the rocks, the eyes of Uzi and the two frogmen following her. Her body language revealed great distress. One hand was on her forehead, the other wrapped around her stomach; she was shaking her head and shifting her feet in the sand. This was a woman being torn, in body, mind and spirit, between two different worlds.
    She turned back to face them, and for the first time Uzi saw her face purely, without the layers of different masks that normally concealed it. She took one step closer, then another; then she stooped towards the AK-47 that was lying on the sand. Instantly the frogmen raised their weapons. Her hand hovered in the air above the gun. Then she straightened up, and Uzi could see that her eyes were moist with tears.
    ‘Come on,’ he said softly. ‘I’m with you. I’m offering you a life. Come on.’
    She took a deep breath, filling her lungs as if for the last time with the fragrant air of Syria. Then she came over to join them, picked up the wetsuit, and, without looking at any of them, began to take off her clothes.
    ‘We should disable her,’ mumbled one of the frogmen in Hebrew. ‘Bring her in unconscious.’
    ‘What,’ said Uzi, ‘and have her drown on the way?’
    ‘We’ll hold her regulator in her mouth. She’s too dangerous. We can’t take any chances.’ The frogman opened a pouch on his belt and Uzi saw the head of a syringe glinting in the moonlight. He stepped in front of the frogman, screening it from Leila.
    ‘It’s too risky to transport a high-value prisoner unconscious under water,’ he hissed. ‘The regulator might slip out of her mouth. Her tongue might block it. She could choke. Look, I’ve persuaded her to come of her own accord. Leave her be. I’ll take full responsibility.’
    ‘I’m not going to compromise our mission,’ said the frogman, stepping forward.
    ‘This woman is a senior MOIS operative,’ Uzi replied. ‘Interrogating her could save many lives. Jewish lives. I’m not going to risk bringing her in dead.’ The man hesitated. ‘I’m not asking for your opinion,’ said Uzi. ‘The prisoner is not going under water unconscious. I’m the senior officer here, and that’s an order.’
    Reluctantly the frogman conceded. Uzi, seeing that Leila had