The Pure

know what it is, but it seems important to her. Then we walk away.’
    Avner shook his head in disbelief. ‘Who are you trying to kid? Drug dealers don’t just walk away. No quitting, no retiring, no escape. They’re in it till the end.’
    ‘You don’t know,’ said Uzi, ‘you just don’t know.’
    ‘Oh I know,’ said Avner ambiguously. ‘I know very well.’ He paused. ‘I just want you to be careful, that’s all. Lie low, very low, OK?’
    ‘Yeah, I know.’
    There was an uncharacteristic weight to Avner’s words, and Uzi’s emotions were moved in a way he didn’t understand. They drank.
    ‘The things you have to do when you’re an Israeli,’ said Avner drily. ‘Ignore the situation and you’re political. Try to do something about it and you’re political. Either way, you’re in danger. There’s no escape.’
    ‘That’s the nation of Israel for you. After thousands of years we have our own country, but the water is bitter. It’s in the babies’ milk. We’ve all accepted it. Another suicide bomb, bang . Another war, bang . Assassination, bang . Kidnapped soldier, bang . The PM using the Office to kill his own minister, bang . We have no hope – all we can do is keep going, keep going, keep going. I always hoped that peace would be like that. One day, completely out of the blue, nothing to do with us. Bang , and that’s it. Peace. Millennia of struggle, all over at once.’
    Avner laughed and took a swig of beer. ‘If only. I’ve only ever been in this for the money. From here on, I’m living a life of luxury. An easy life.’
    Uzi sucked his teeth. ‘The way I see it, even if I am killed, it will have been worth it. If nobody stops Operation Desert Rain, it would be total war.’
    ‘Just what the Office wants,’ said Avner.
    Uzi groaned.
    ‘Thing is,’ said Avner after a time, ‘the Office has never understood the meaning of trust. We’ve never trusted other intelligence services, with even the most basic intel. Things haven’t changed, you know. They’ve got worse.’
    ‘Remember the British SIS?’ said Uzi suddenly. ‘The locks they asked us to test?’
    ‘Yeah, I was the one who drafted the report telling them the locks were impregnable.’ They both laughed, and Avner opened two fresh bottles of beer. Then their smiles faded.
    ‘The Office is only working for their own interests,’ Anver continued. ‘They’re not interested in anyone else. They’re not even interested in their own country. Just in war, money and sex.’
    ‘We were bastards,’ said Uzi, still thinking about the locks. ‘Bastards like the rest of them. And some of us are still bastards. Just in a different way.’
    ‘I’ll drink to that,’ said Avner. ‘But soon you’ll be a hero bastard.’
    ‘A hero bastard,’ Uzi repeated. ‘Old school Mossad, eh?’
    ‘Old school Mossad.’
    ‘Cheers.’
    By the time Uzi got up to go, twelve empty beer bottles sat on the floor. They weren’t drunk, but they weren’t entirely sober, either. Uzi felt a little unstable on his fee and he was already dehydrated. He slipped his R9 back into his waistband, and in the doorway the two men embraced for the last time.
    ‘Remember this,’ said Avner. ‘I’m not going to write it down. [email protected]. Six months, then you can reach me there. We’ll see how things have panned out.’
    ‘Sure,’ said Uzi. He descended a few stairs, then looked back. ‘Here’s hoping this fucking plan works.’
    Avner walked down after him and took him by the elbow. ‘I know you won’t listen to me but I’ve got to say this one last time. If you must stick with that Liberty woman, at least persuade her to give up the business now. You have the money. Get the fuck out of the country. You have a passport in the slick I made you, you have plenty of money, you have everything you need. Take it, take her, and get out of here. Before it’s too late.’
    Uzi grinned. ‘It’s never too late, Herr Gruber,’ he said. He turned his back, went down the stairs and jogged off unsteadily into the darkness.

 
34
    By the time Uzi got back to Home House, it was late and the night staff was on duty. A party was taking place in the downstairs bar, and crowds of revellers were milling about in the foyer. Uzi, out of breath and sweaty, in running gear, attracted some glances, but the staff knew he was with Liberty. He was untouchable. He went up the ornate staircase to his room, finding that the jog had sobered him up.
    In