Haifa could be described as where the mountain met the sea. Han Lue stared at the awesome bay then the sprawling mountain city, a perfect postcard view of Israel's third largest city. Gisele Yashar studied her companion's face and smiled. She could only speak so much of how beautiful the city was especially here at the Port. Ever since they had decided to tour the globe together, she wanted them to stop here and see it with his own eyes. This was where she was born and grew up, a reminder of more innocent times and thoughts of a stint in the IDF then the Mossad then a mercenary were the furthest things from her mind.

The pair had spent a month driving their Lexus LFA all throughout Europe with stops in Berlin, Madrid, Rome then Bern. They had agreed to head for Hong Kong after Haifa, but did not put a time table on how long they would actually stay here. Gisele wanted to catch up with a few friends and former army comrades. Over the course of their trip, Han had learned that her parents had been killed by a suicide bomber and her sister was a Mossad agent. She had not revealed to him much about her time in the Mossad or if she had been "burned" as an agent. Now that they had a combined twenty million dollars between them from the Rio job, she wanted to start living less dangerously and hopefully devote time to being a writer and live quietly happily ever after. Han had never been one to be in a committed long term relationship but after meeting her everything had changed. He couldn't put a finger on it, but they were extremely compatible and their personalities meshed. Sometimes he'd wonder what she saw in him and feared he would awake to find her gone.

Giselle reached out and took his hand in hers. She didn't care if her countrymen saw her engaging in PDA with a foreigner. "Let's head to the Wadi Nisnas."

Most men were an open book to her and she was used to having them wrapped around her finger. Using men had been her stock in trade while in the Mossad. When she got out, she built up a tough, deadly exterior working in a violent world, eschewing any type of emotional relationship. There was something different in Han.

"So, where are we meeting your friend?" he asked as they walked the streets of the Arab neighborhood.

"Falafel Hazkenim," she replied. "Absolutely the best place for falafel."

"Ah, I get to eat genuine Israeli finally," he smirked. They had dined at several fine restaurants in Europe trying the various ethnic cuisines. Gisele never stopped touting her own country's fare.

Heading down a narrow side street, they came upon the old stone eatery with circular archways. Waiting for them stood a tall leggy blonde in a light blue sundress. Comparatively attractive to his gal, this one could have passed for Bar Refaeli. Alongside her lingered an older Asian gentleman in a light green cotton shirt and teal Chino shorts.

"Hey there, Delilah!" beamed the brunette. She hugged the other woman and spoke to her in Hebrew.

"Babe, this is Deliah and John," Giselle introduced the other couple to her boyfried.

Han shook both their hands.

"First time in Israel?" John asked Han, looking the younger man over.

"Yes it is," he replied. He couldn't tell what type of Asian the older man was but later on intended to chat it out of him if he could.

They entered the miniature eatery which had white tiled walls. Old photos and write ups decorated them and the distinct aroma of falafel made Gisele's mouth water. The place was packed as usual.

"We'll order," Delilah told the two men.

John noticed four people just leaving their table, so he and Han lingered near it and waited for a staff member to clean it off.

"Is this your first time in Israel too?" Han asked.

"First time in Haifa," the older man replied. "I've been to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem."

"This city reminds me a little of San Fran," the other offered. "Gisele told me they're sister cities. Who would have thought?"

"You American?"

"Grew up in Orange County," Han replied. "How bout you?"

"I spent time in New York," John admitted.

"But now I'm a man without a country, looking for a new one," he smiled.

His counterpart smiled. Delilah had told him her friend Giselle had been a former colleague in the Mossad and they were as close to sisters as could be. So if this younger man was with her, he could be trusted with small truths about his past. Likewise, Gisele had vouched for Delilah and John, so Han was not at all afraid of revealing snippets about himself or sticking to a cover story.

They had decided to make it a joint venture in visiting all the Tourist attractions Haifa had to offer. In Europe, they had kept mostly to themselves and doing things with another couple would be a welcome change.

In no time, Gisele brought over lunch.

"Falafel are these balls made from chickpeas," she informed Han and John. "They're placed in a pita with the cucumber tomato salad or pickles with hot sauce and tahini sauce."

"Heavenly," the blonde grinned.

Han took a bite out of the heaping sandwich that he had to hold with both hands then considered for a moment. "Not bad!" He gave Gisele a thumbs up.

"I thought we'd try the Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art then the Educational Zoo today," suggested Delilah.

"That's fine," Gisele said. "The Bahai gardens tour is over anyway until tomorrow morning."

"So Han," John began. "How did you and Gisele meet?"