David positioned himself on the sidewalk of Badstrasse between Lidl and Kaiser's supermarkets while Julia waited on the other side of the broad street near the other mini-market. They were only about 100 meters apart but could not maintain eye-contact because of the traffic on Badstrasse that was heavy at this time of the evening. They agreed that there was no point in hanging there after 8 pm, so they had a window of opportunity of about one hour in which they hoped that Ruby would appear, or else they would have to devise a different approach for the planned "accidental" encounter.
Minutes before 8 pm Julia saw a familiar female figure approaching the Euro Gida supermarket and as the woman got closer she recognized Ruby. She turned away and started walking south on Badstrasse to avoid getting too close to Ruby. She texted David that she saw Ruby entering the supermarket and picking up a shopping cart so assumed that Ruby intended to take her time shopping. David immediately hurried from his post between the two other stores and crossed the road toward the supermarket. He picked up a small shopping basket at the entrance and looked around until he saw Ruby carefully viewing the tomatoes and trying to select those that looked fresh and juicy. David approached the stall on which the tomatoes were displayed and selected one of the finest he could see and then quietly spoke to Ruby saying "This would really taste good in your salad tomorrow morning" knowing that Israelis liked a fresh vegetable salad for breakfast.
Ruby was startled to hear someone speaking to her in Hebrew and looked up with a confused expression. Then she recognized David who was something of a legend in Mossad and smiled innocently "Wow, imagine running across you by accident here". She was too experienced to believe that the meeting was really a coincidence, but she knew that creating a scene would draw unwanted attention and not serve her well.
David saw that she was not going to buy any of the cover stories he had prepared so he cut to the chase "Ruby, I need to speak to you in private".
Ruby looked around and said "I have nothing to say to you or to the people that sent you" and continued her shopping as if nothing had happened without another glance at David.
David said the magic words that he had planned as a last resort, appealing to her patriotic feelings "Your country needs you. I know that you and Sam have been mistreated by Shimony and have been punished for following direct orders from your boss. He has sent me to make amends…"
But before he could complete the sentence Ruby interrupted "A bit late for that, don't you think? I have started a new life and am quite pleased with it. I owe you nothing but contempt".
She abandoned her cart and walked past the cashier before storming out of the supermarket with David close on her heels. She walked rapidly up Badstrasse pulling out her cell phone as she turned the corner heading up Gruntaler Strasse. She was gesturing excitedly with her free hand as she passed the Willy-Brandt Oberschule and reached her apartment building. David had no choice but to follow her into the building and expect the confrontation with Sam who had already opened the apartment's door and was waiting for Ruby with one hand hidden behind his back. It didn't take a genius to guess what was concealed in his hand, so David held both open hands far from his body and put a smile on his face. "Sam, indeed it is a nice surprise to meet you, too".
Sam was not smiling "David, I wish I could say the same. Walk slowly through the door, turn left into the living room and sit on the sofa. Don't make any sudden movement and keep your hands where I can see them."
David obliged grudgingly and said "Sam, I told Ruby that I have come to make amends" and seeing the expression on Sam's face he quickly added "Shimony feels bad about the way you were treated and sent me on a special conciliatory mission. Please let me speak freely."
Sam looked at Ruby who nodded saying "OK, let's hear him out".
David repeated the message he had earlier said to Ruby "Your country needs you" continuing with "I know, and Shimony does too, that both of you are true patriots. Segan got you in trouble with his unauthorized initiative. You two just followed his instructions, that to you seemed to be a perfectly legitimate task, coming from your superior officer. It was not your place to question his motives and certainly above your pay-grade to worry about the consequences of being found out".
Sam instinctively responded "So why were we thrown out of Mossad?!"
David honestly said "Because the PM needed a scapegoat and just sacrificing Segan was not enough to satisfy the Americans. They wanted more blood and you were not exactly innocent bystanders."
This last sentence enraged Ruby. She raised her voice "So here's the truth coming out at last. The Americans had to be placated and we paid the price. Effectively we were banished from Israel into exile. We cannot safely return to visit our families for fear that a journalist, or worse a CIA informer, would discover us entering the country. Without Mossad's blessing we cannot even do this under assumed names and fake passports. If you want any degree of cooperation from us you first have to remedy this."
David hastened to say "You have my word that you can freely enter the country. We'll provide you with valid, legitimate new passports under any name you wish to choose." Seeing the skeptical look on Sam's face David persisted "You don't have to say anything to me until you get the new identities. In fact, I would prefer you to visit Israel and meet Shimony at Mossad headquarters. Then and there we can continue this conversation."
Ruby and Sam exchanged another look and Sam spoke "OK. Contact us again with the new passports and then we'll see. We demand that you alone do this. Here's my private unlisted and untraceable cell phone number. Call me when you are ready."
Before parting David said "It is best that this little meeting and agreement is not shared with Segan. He is very unpredictable and his reaction may be violent".
While all this was taking place Julia was nervously pacing up and down the apartment building on Gruntaler Strasse. She was getting worried that David had not come out or called and even considered breaking into the apartment. However, she had second thoughts about trying to take the two veteran Mossad field operators by force. She was relieved to see David walking unharmed out of the building and approached him discreetly. She took David's hand and whispered that she was glad that he was unscathed and he answered that he needed a stiff drink urgently.
David and Julia walked up Gruntaler Strasse, turned right on Klever Strasse and found a nice pub with the improbable name of Offside Pub and Whiskey Bar. They sat at a corner table under a few paintings that depicted realistic scenes and admired the old radio sets in the display cabinet near their table. After each had downed a double whiskey they had some greasy snack and a cold beer to wash it down. David reiterated the main points of the conversation he had with Sam and Ruby. Julia was kindly compassionate and asked him if she could help. David emphasized that they demanded his personal handling of the matter and said that it was best if the Mossad Berlin station was not involved.
Julia wondered why they really insisted on new Israeli passports. "After all," she said "Ruby and Sam had used Israeli fake passports and probably a myriad of other passports that were illegally obtained for their operations in the service of Mossad and certainly when working for Segan. I would be surprised if they didn't keep some of them or if Segan had not supplied them with all kinds of new passports."
David said "They are considered as pariahs in Israel. Even if they enter the country with a false identity the face recognition algorithm at the border control posts in Tel-Aviv airport are sure to identify them and trigger an alarm. That is not to say that they will be arrested on the spot — after all they were allowed to leave the country after the US fiasco — but Mossad, the police and the ISA will know about them. They may be followed or harassed, depending mainly on Shimony's decision, and whoever they meet would be under surveillance. This they want to avoid so they have required a kind of official pardon that will remove them from the list of "most wanted persons". This will enable them to meet freely with their families and friends."