The English Teacher Read Online Free

asked, nothing in his voice showing whether he remembered anything besides the name and the nickname. “To the best of my memory he was outside the service years before she was recruited.” “Correct,” said Ehud, “but he knows me.”
    Aware that they had no choice, Ehud waited patiently. When he talked about Joe they didn’t know who he was referring to. Only the real veterans, those who turn up even in wheelchairs at retirement parties, knew his nickname and had been privileged to work withhim. The younger ones heard lectures from Yakov Peled on the establishment of the Unit and of those glory days, and jealously read accounts of the successes of the master spy who gave up the role of chief of the Mossad to go into business. If there’s a need for it, Ehud will explain to the commander on a one-to-one basis that Joe was his mentor in the Unit, that he needed someone he could rely on. It was clear to him that the commander didn’t want to broaden the circle of those who were in on the secret, and to him this whole episode was a pain in the ass. Rachel left the Unit before he arrived and he hadn’t heard of her until this morning. But this was a mission like many others, and no harder than finding and bringing in Vanunu, the traitor who revealed Israeli nuclear secrets. This was what the commander said at the start of the discussion, and although Ehud was offended by the comparison he knew that it was hard to argue with.
    â€œAll right,” said the commander as he noted something on the pad of yellow paper familiar to Ehud from the old days. “I agree, I’m giving you a free hand, and you’ll be liaising with the war room.” The commander turned to look at the head of the operations department, who nodded his assent. Ehud wondered about their working relationship, and he assumed that the veteran department chief had already submitted the plan and that the meeting was a display for Ehud’s benefit, a respectful gesture to someone who was once a part of the organization and might now be indispensable.
    The commander looked at him, his lips curling cynically. “I don’t know what you’re planning, but I trust that you want her to come back in one piece.” Ehud felt a stab of pain and suppressed the impulse to respond. There would be time for that. For now, he was satisfied with how things were working out.
    â€œI’ve always believed that the paved road isn’t necessarily the right one to take,” the commander continued, pleased with the image,and then he told Ehud that the war room was operational and all special measures had been activated. There was an all-out search for this one woman who threatened to become a loose cannon.
    â€œAll right,” said Ehud, though he didn’t know what the commander was referring to.
    â€œAnd another thing,” said the commander, and he pointed to a young man wearing a blue T-shirt, in contrast to the collared and buttoned shirts of his superiors. “Yaniv will be liaison between you and the war room. He was her contact man in the Office.” Ehud didn’t say anything. It seemed strange to him that these young people barely out of diapers were assigned to look after operatives who had left years ago. But times had changed and he was on the outside now; eons had passed since he was part of the inner circle.
    The commander added, “Update me directly if you find anything, and don’t stay up too late working. It isn’t healthy at your age.” Yaniv smiled. Ehud felt sorry for him. He still needs to curry favor with his boss. His career depends on it.
    â€œSince you contacted us we’ve had time to do some checks.” The commander opened his laptop, turned it toward Ehud, and took him through a well-prepared PowerPoint presentation. He assumed it had been designed for the Mossad chief and perhaps for the Prime Minister too. And all to explain to them how this