The Abditory

The dagger whirled past my face so fast that I barely had a moment to think. I tried to regain my balance, but the assassin was too quick. Falling to the sand, my limited options were not presenting themselves. Only one thought was clear – I was trapped… Sweat slid down my brow, the sun beating hard on my neck, as I walked towards the adversary before me on the sandy ground. She twisted her wrist, curling the long jagged blade in the air. Staring at one another while I circled her, we each contemplated the next move of our challenger, waiting for the right moment to pounce. Taking a deep, quick breath, I went on the offensive. Flipping my dagger in my hand, I ran towards her bringing my blade down close to her face. Immediately I was blocked with the forearm that held her blade. She slid her other hand underneath mine, dropping the steel into her grasp. While still holding her forearm, I stopped her other hand as she attempted to slice my neck. In a quick motion, I twisted her arms down, managing to take her knife in the process and raising my own to her throat. I suddenly felt something sharp embracing my stomach. Another blade. “Enough.” We breathed heavily as we stared at each other. I held the cold steel of her blade as I handed it back to her. “You nearly cut me, Rivka! Take it easy,” said my opponent, reaching for my hand. “They call this training for a reason. You need to go on the offensive more, Thana, if not your enemies will always have the upper hand,” I replied. “It’s better to lie in wait, that way your enemy will expose their weaknesses. Yours, for example, is that you trusted I would fight fair.” I scoffed, reaching for a water bottle to quench my thirst. “ Who’s right, Commander?” Thana asked. The old, gray teacher remained in his chair as he looked us both over. “You’re both right… and you’re both wrong.” Thana and I glanced at each other in surprise. “Thana,” he continued, “if you wish to be victorious you must always assume your rival will be more skilled than you. They will never ‘take it easy’ on you, thus you must never do so to them.” Thana bowed her head low in respect, hands folded around her weapon. He turned his gaze towards me. “Rivka, don’t ever be so naive as to think that your enemy won’t do whatever it takes to be victorious, no matter the means. Not everyone holds to the same rules and standards as you. Never trust anyone, even those that you do now. Everyone has a price that they can be bought for. If you think as such, you will live a much longer life – just like me.” “Yes, Commander,” I said, bowing my head low as well. The old leader rose from his chair, straightening his back with a long sigh. “Onto more important matters. Rav Aluf needs to speak with you both.” Thana and I shared a look, knowing this probably meant that we were getting assigned another mission. We nodded to our aged Commander, before turning to make our way out. As we walked through the port city, the warm sun of Caesarea shined brightly on our noses, the gentle breeze of the coast accompanying it. Being stationed in a sea based town during the hot months of summer was always a blessing, the warm wind bringing a solace that the rest of Israel lacked. When given the chance, I would take time to relish in its beauty by walking along the sand. But those days were few and far between, now having bigger and more pressing matters on my shoulders. Most having to do with Rav Aluf. Reaching our destination in record time, we walked inside the building masked as a phone company's headquarters, located next to various other shops. The building itself was small, only a single story and once inside not much larger than an apartment. Ordinary people came in to buy new phones, posed as the perfect cover, not drawing any unwanted attention. Passing through the doorway, Thana and I put on the gray janitor jumpsuits hanging on a hook nearby. We made our way to the back, into the storage room that disguised the unusual contents inside. Closing the door tightly behind us, we came face to face with an elevator that was only activated through badge number, fingerprint scan, eye scan, and DNA test. Taking only seconds for us both to complete the tasks, Thana and I slid into the metal box, pressing the button to take us to the lowest level, some forty feet down. The ride was swift, but we still managed to relieve ourselves of the jumpsuits, our cargo pants hiding underneath. Once the elevator doors opened, we were greeted by soldiers, guns leaning against their chests. “Rav Aluf wishes to see us,” Thana stated, handing our disguises into one of their hands. Without saying a word, they turned, guiding the way to one of the secure conference rooms, where only the most confidential cases were discussed. Rav Aluf was our commander and chief at the Kidon, they knew if they kept him waiting for even a moment that things would not bode well for them. As we reached the end of the long, curved halfway, a metal door blocked our way from moving forward. A similar entry process as the elevator was issued, and once complete, we entered yet another metal room, only this one was considerably larger. When constructed, the walls were carefully designed so that nothing was heard inside or outside of the room, no electronics in sight. Being in one of the top groups in the organization, Thana and I had been in this room more times than we could count. The guards shut the door behind us, leaving us with the dark haired man standing on the other side of the room – Rav Aluf.