“Shut up, you idiot! That wasn’t a question.” Tzadik was at least four inches shorter than Nir, but his bearing was such that Nir felt he was looking upward at his superior. “Am I to assume you are going to invade Iran, break into a police station, rescue your girl, and then ride off into the sunset?”

“Yes, that sounds—”

“Did I ask you a question? Did I?”

Nir was pretty sure that was exactly what he’d done repeatedly. But he had the good sense to not answer. Still, he looked hard into the other man’s eyes.

Another thud echoed in the room, causing both men to instinctively turn toward the speakers. Nir had no clue what that was, but it sounded violent.

Tzadik’s hand came down on Nir’s shoulder, causing him to turn. “Follow me,” the man said, leading Nir away from his team. “Listen, Tavor, le Roux is an agent of the Israeli Mossad, and she is in enemy hands. Do we ever abandon our people?”

“No, Ha’mefaked.”

“Tell me about Jordan in 1997.”

“I understand,” Nir replied, knowing the exact incident his commander meant.

“Tell me about Jordan,” Tzadik said, insistent.

“Botched targeted killing of Khaled Mashaal. Two Mossad agents posing as Canadians were arrested. First, the ramsad flew to Amman to see King Hussein, and when that wasn’t enough, Netanyahu himself flew to apologize to Hussein and plea for the agents’ release.”

Tzadik was nodding. “Exactly. Both the head of the Mossad and the head of the country got involved. And who did we eventually trade to get just two agents back?”

“Twenty Hamas prisoners initially and dozens more later.”

“Including…”

“Including Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, a founder of Hamas, who was serving a life sentence for conspiring to kidnap IDF soldiers.”

Tzadik was right. These stories had been drilled into Nir from the time he started his training with the Mossad. There was nothing the government wouldn’t do to rescue someone being held for protecting the State of Israel.

“Exactly. We will get her out, son. A time when guns are needed may come, but right now our most powerful weapon is the telephone. So get in there with your men. Talk them off the cliff. Get your gear ready in case you’re needed, and let me do my job.”

“Yes, Ha’mefaked,” Nir answered, though reluctantly.

He turned toward his Kidon team, but Tzadik’s voice stopped him.

“By the way, what did we do to Yassin in 2004?”

“Dropped a missile on his scraggly head.”

“Israel never forgets.”

Tzadik turned away, and Nir watched the man go. He was right. It didn’t matter where Nicole was born or whether it was Jew or Gentile blood running through her veins. If she was risking her life for the State of Israel, then the State of Israel would move heaven and earth to safely bring her home.