The Pure

You didn’t know?’
    ‘Fuck,’ said Liberty, ‘that says it all.’
    ‘The unit,’ said Uzi, ‘is called the Neshek – the weapon. It’s top secret. Most of the guys at the Washington Station don’t even know it exists.’
    ‘Dare I ask what it does?’
    ‘It focuses on the Dog.’
    ‘The who?’
    ‘The President.’
    ‘You call him the Dog?’
    ‘That’s right. And his inner circle is monitored too. The Lizard, the Rat, the Chameleon.’
    ‘The Chameleon?’
    ‘Secretary of State.’
    ‘Come on. This is just hocus-pocus. This isn’t serious intel.’
    ‘You think so? Take a look at the list. You’ll be surprised who is working for us. We reach right into the Oval Office.’
    ‘I refuse to believe that.’
    ‘Take a look at the list, and open the file called Scenarios.’
    ‘Scenarios?’
    ‘Assassination plans. All up-to-date, all fully operational. Any one of them could be executed in a matter of minutes by the Neshek. Depending on the President’s movements, of course.’
    ‘Don’t tell me . . .’
    ‘The whole inner sanctum has been provided for. On a contingency basis.’
    Liberty searched his face and saw that he meant what he was saying. Gradually her face clouded over. ‘This – this is worth a fortune,’ she said at last. ‘But it would seriously fuck the Mossad. And Israel. Diplomatically speaking.’
    ‘Be my guest.’
    ‘Why don’t you just sell it to the Agency yourself? Keep the money?’
    ‘Too dangerous. I’m a marked man. I’m happy to get a bonus from you. We’re together now.’
    Liberty sat up in bed and gathered the sheets around her. A chink of light from between the curtains fell across her face.
    ‘Uzi,’ she said girlishly, ‘there’s something you’re not telling me.’
    ‘What do you mean?’ he replied, drinking from the bottle of champagne.
    ‘The damage you’re doing to the Mossad. I mean, I don’t care or anything. But what is going on in your head? You’re making yourself into Israel’s public enemy number one. You’re doing everything you can to fuck your own country.’
    ‘No, I’m not,’ said Uzi. ‘I’m doing everything I can to fuck the Mossad, this government. There’s a difference.’
    ‘Is there?’
    ‘I don’t have to tell you. You know what the current regime is doing to the peace process. To the region. The Israeli political elite is dominated by people hell-bent on setting the Middle East alight.’
    ‘How so?’
    ‘How so? What sort of a question is that? Isn’t it obvious?’
    ‘No. Not to me. Not to the Agency, either.’
    ‘Put it this way. The Palestinians have quietly been offering us concessions for years. East Jerusalem, the Settlements, the Right of Return. They’ve been offering to sell their grandmothers, and we’re still no closer to peace. This fucking government is quite happy with war. Like you said, war equals money. I’ve got the intel on that too. Thousands of documents.’
    ‘Conclusive? Genuine?’
    Uzi didn’t reply. Instead, he began to roll a spliff.
    ‘So, what you’re trying to tell me is that your only motivation is your principles? That you’re some sort of whistle-blowing white knight? A Jewish Robin Hood? Come on, Uzi.’
    ‘Look, I’m not going to pretend this isn’t personal. I gave my life for the Office, my family, everything. My son – I haven’t seen him in years. And my parents were taken from me by a suicide bomber. The way I see it, the bomb wasn’t created by Hamas. It was created by our government’s obsession with fucking the Palestinians. My parents, you know? My parents. Nobody should die like that.’
    Liberty looked at him for a moment.
    ‘I started by believing in the Office,’ Uzi replied wearily, ‘and was disillusioned again and again until I couldn’t take it any more. Like I told you, I had it coming. I was the only one in the Office who actually cared about peace. Or at least I was the only one who had the balls to say so. My views would have been my downfall, if I hadn’t decided to leave before they could fuck me.’
    ‘The Doctrine of the Status Quo?’
    ‘It would work. An extreme problem demands an extreme solution. Israel’s nuclear deterrent balanced by Iran, or Syria, gaining an equal deterrent. Israel will start behaving itself, and there you have it. Nuke-imposed peace. Look at Russia and the US. There’s a precedent there.’
    ‘Now you sound like you believe it.’
    ‘Of course I fucking believe it.’ Uzi got to his