A dark skinned boy of about 15 approached them and asked if they were Israelis because he had a special deal for them. When they nodded he motioned for them to follow him and headed along a trail that led further into the trees. The two Israelis were already a bit high and were looking forward to a night of a thousand pleasures. They didn't pay attention to the four large men who surrounded them until a dirty rag with something that smelled like ether was placed on their mouths and their hands were pinned to their bodies. They passed out almost immediately and were carried to a truck that was waiting on the dirt road that ran close to the beach.
They came to a little later with a splitting headache and discovered that their feet and hands were tied with coarse ropes. It took them a while to orientate themselves and realize that they were captured. Avi tried to speak but his mouth was so dry from the alcohol, drugs and ether that his tongue felt like sandpaper and no sound came out. Ari was in no better shape but managed to make some noise by stumping his feet until one of the captors hit him across the back of his head and told him to shut up. Finally, when he noticed their condition he held a bottle of water close to Ari's mouth and gave him a couple of sips and then did likewise to Avi. He said that they would soon reach their destination.
The two Israelis had no idea why they were captured or where they were taken to. Ari knew that the island of Phuket was 49 km long so reckoned that they must still be on the island and not too far away from Kata beach. The truck left the paved road and moved on to a gravel road and then came to a stop. They heard someone get out the truck's cabin and open some kind of a gate. The truck moved a few meters and stopped while the man closed the gate and got back into the cabin. The truck moved a little further and stopped and the driver switched off the engine.
Ari and Avi were brusquely unloaded from the truck and unceremoniously led by two men to a small wooden shed where they were chained to a metal pole. Dawn was rapidly approaching and they could clearly smell the ocean and see it. But then every place is near the beach in Phuket so that didn't add any information until they heard a plane taking off and understood that they were near the airport.
At long last a man dressed in a safari suit addressed them in accented lilting Hebrew and said that they were hostages of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and would soon be sent to Tehran. He introduced himself as Colonel Shirazi, a senior officer in the IRG and head of the Counter-Intelligence Department that dealt with the Zionist entity that some called Israel. He said that if they behaved and cooperated they would not be harmed and added that in the evening a private jet would take them to Iran. Ari asked if he could go to the bathroom and the Colonel said that the Iranians were civilized and an ancient people with a proud history and treated their prisoners well. He said something in rapid Farsi and one of the captors untied Ari's feet and took him outside to the toilet. The guard drew his pistol and led Ari outside. Avi looked up at the Colonel and said that they would cause no trouble. Suddenly a shot was heard and Avi cringed with fright and moments later the door opened and the laughing guard led the shocked Ari in to the room and tied his feet again. The Colonel smiled when he saw that Avi had wet himself and said that this was just a demonstration that they were serious.
After dark the Israelis were escorted by the Colonel and two guards and driven to a hangar in a jeep with dark windows. A small private jet was waiting there with its engines already turned on. The Israelis were forced to board the plane and were seated on both sides of the aisle at the back of the plane. The plane taxied to the runway and took off towards the west and then headed north. The small jet covered the distance of about 5,500 kilometers in a nonstop eight hour flight and landed in Tehran. There was a small welcoming committee consisting of IRG members who greeted Colonel Shirazi and without further ado led the two Israelis to Evin Prison.
Evin Prison, Tehran
The eight Israeli prisoners now understood that they were held as hostages, as none were interrogated for military or secret information. Apparent to all was the fact that the Iranians were not selective — any Israeli would be fit to serve their purpose — regardless of age, gender, position in society or personal history. The fact that they were grabbed from Turkey, India, Thailand and Georgia indicated that this was some kind of global operation by Iranian intelligence, or more likely by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. They realized that there could be more hostages brought in to Evin Prison in the near future or even being held in other locations. For the time being they were treated quite well, despite the sadistic behavior of Fatso the fat jailor.
Chapter 5
The Head of Mossad received yet another phone call from the Prime Minister inquiring if any progress had been made with regard to his granddaughter. The PM told Shimony that the young diplomat sent to Srinagar from the Israeli embassy in New Delhi sent his report to Colonel Dan Oren and didn't discover any new information about the whereabouts of the young Israeli couple. Haim Shimony replied that he already knew that and Mossad was investigating the matter of the disappearance of several other Israelis under similarly mysterious circumstances and that there was a theory that the incidents were related. The PM asked who was behind this and Shimony answered that there was no definite evidence but that he believed the Iranians were responsible. The PM then wondered aloud if these incidents could be connected to the fate suffered by the Iranian nuclear scientists. Shimony answered that this was also part of the theory. The PM said that he wanted a full report by the end of the month and hung up without giving Shimony a chance to respond. Shimony looked at the silent phone in his hand and shouted to his secretary to summon all Mossad divisions heads, as well the head of military intelligence, the representative of the Israeli Security Agency and David Avivi for an urgent meeting in the evening.
With a stern expression, which was in contrast to his usually relaxed features, Shimony addressed the meeting.
"I am sorry to have summoned this meeting at such a short notice, but the PM is putting a lot of pressure on me. He is worried not only about his granddaughter and her fiancé but that the recent series of disappearances of Israeli citizens could somehow be connected to some global operation by the Iranians. He has instructed me to give this matter top priority and pool our resources. Does anyone wish to comment?"