Hi-Tech Hijack by Dov Nardimon Read Free Book Online Page A

professionally. Unlike your sisters, you’re not following anyone, I hope, and I’m confident you’ll know when enough is enough and come back in time.” His mom surprised him by sensing with her female and maternal intuition that matters of the heart also played a part in his dilemma.
    “Right, but keep in mind this wasn’t the only company that was after you. I’d look into some of the other options here in Israel if I were you,” his father chimed in. As the son of pioneers who settled the land and dried the swamps of Hefer Valley back in the 1930s, Arye raised his children to believe that leaving Israel was the act of a defeatist, and he could not stop agonizing over the failure of having his daughters live abroad. In Arye’s eyes life’s calling was to give back to your country and to be the best in whatever you do. As a boy Eddie always knew he couldn’t ride his bike to the beach with his friends before he finished his chores, hoeing the soil, or driving the tractor to bring the milk to the village center—tasks that contributed to the building of the land. For Eddie, executing every task perfectly became second nature and failing to live up to his father’s high standards was a weakness he could not allow.
    He chose not to say anything about Orit. He assumed his mother had noticed the envelope from California but respected his privacy and did not pry. He did not tell them about Rose either. Being away from home for many years during his army service and the studies at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem created a distance between Eddie and his parents’ day-to-day life, and they learned not to bother him with questions like any curious parent would normally do whenever he came home. Eddie never even shared with them his dream of independently starting his own company and leveraging the Ebola virus to fight cancer.
    The more he thought of moving to the States, the more he realized the main attraction was Orit. But frankly, what did he really know about her? He felt extremely flattered by her pursuit of him, but they were never that close or shared anything other than their studies. Orit was the object of desire of every man on the faculty, but after all, desire and love were two very different things. Was she the kind of person he could love, or was she just a trophy anyone would be proud of so he should snatch her up now that she was ready, willing, and able?
    He paid no mind to the job itself or the professional challenge it may present. America simply did not appeal to him at this point in life. He felt he could not make a sensible decision and that he needed to get some air. He took his parents’ truck and headed to Tel Aviv. It was 10:30 p.m. The roads were clear, and in half an hour, he was in Udi’s pub, where his army friends would meet on the weekends. Even though it was a weekday, he thought he’d find someone to talk to there. Anyone would do, really, as long as they would help clear his head for a bit.

Chapter 11
    The sleeping drug took its effect, and Eddie slipped back into a few more hours of dreamless sleep. The sun was leaning west in its course toward the sea and cast a pinkish hue on the light clouds that resembled a group of helpless, confused little sheep who lost their herd. The plane moved into a sharp downward angle, and two minutes later its wheels touched the black asphalt of the landing strip. The loud sound and jolting of the landing woke Eddie and Reuben up; but their hands were still tied and their eyes still covered, so they could not see where they landed.
    Instead of entering the terminal, the plane was heading in a relatively high speed toward a tall, brown building with a slanted roof that looked like a regular airplane hangar or garage. The hangar’s two large sliding metal doors opened, and the plane was swallowed whole into the darkness. The pilot shut both engines down and an ominous silence fell. The plane door opened downward and the built-in ladder almost