My Own Lili Marlene
Disclaimer: Same as before. Lili Marlene is owned by Vera Lynn and not me.
~ ~ ~ ~
Israeli Intelligence Field Office Somewhere in Gaza 8 May 2003 1245 Local Time
"Oh my God, Harm, look." Mac said, nudging her partner, pointing him towards the small television set.
"We've just received unconfirmed reports that Israeli Special Forces teams have been making at least a dozen more incursions into Egyptian territory in the past forty-eight hours." Stuart Dunston continued as the ZNN Broadcast wore on, "Seven Egyptian army officers have been reported as missing according to a source in the Egyptian Parliament."
Several of the Moussad personnel began to leave the tiny lounge. Ilsa walked up to Harm and Mac and said, "Commander, Colonel, you'll have to speak to Corporal Danilov here. We have immediate need of the interrogation room."
Harm looked out the door to see half a dozen blindfolded men in the uniforms of the Egyptian army being led through the passage by Israeli commandoes. "Sir!" Martin shouted, "I do not think that this is a wise choice of action."
Rahim Al-Batani showed up with his K-9 and two flak jackets, "Sir, ma'am, Colonel Danilov requests that these be issued to the two visiting American officers."
"Thank you private." Harm said, "Dismissed."
"Aye sir." Batani replied.
After Batani had left the room, Harm asked, "What can you tell us about those six men I just saw?"
"Sir, I cannot give you that information. It is a matter of national security that could result in my imprisonment or execution." Martin replied, "But all I can say is that Egyptian military operations in the Sinai are going to be moving a lot slower now that they're out of the picture."
"This just in. Palestinian Liberation Organization Security Commander Hamid Sarhouk was just killed by Israeli Special Forces in the West Bank while organizing an Israeli expulsion campaign. Captured in the raid were large stockpiles of Soviet manufactured weapons believed to have originated in Egypt..." Dunston droned on.
Martin knew more about this than met the eye. For the sake of Israeli national security and the safety of the two American officers he didn't reveal what he knew. This was part of Operation Manhunt. It was a concerted Israeli counterterrorism program that would systematically kill, and not capture, key personnel in Arafat's Palestinian Liberation Organization. The entire effort was to take no less than forty eight hours to completely break the backs of the Palestinian leadership in a series of rapid, covert, and decisive strikes by Israeli commandoes.
"Back on track." Harm replied, "What happened after Benjamin's capture."
"Well, I decided on the original escape and evasion plan and head to the US camp." Martin replied.
Sinai Desert 4 May 2003 0500 Local Time
"Underneath the lantern. By the barrack gate. Darling I remember. The way you used to wait. 'Twas there that you whispered tenderly. That you loved me. You'd always be. My Lili of the lamplight. My own Lili Marlene." Martin sang to himself as he walked along the road.
Tactically it was stupid. Hundreds of Egyptians used this road on a daily basis. And lo and behold he could hear approaching footsteps. He took cover behind some dunes and held his 203 at the ready. He was 100 percent certain that this was the end. The end of his life, he was certain.
It was a pair of Egyptian soldiers walking down the road, carrying AK-47s and not being particularly tactical. Their weapons were slung over their shoulders and both were smoking cigarettes and yammering in Arabic. Martin unsheathed his knife slowly, as they stopped, finding his footsteps about fifty feet to his right. He snuck around behind them, his 203 slung over his shoulder. His knife was drawn as he snuck behind the rearmost Egyptian and cut his throat. The first one fell and the second one turned in time to see Martin running noiselessly his way and saw Martin shove the combat knife's blade into his ceratoid artery and sever it.
It was particularly horrifying; no matter how many times he had committed this deed. All six of the faces of those he killed in this way were right in front of his face. Those that he shot weren't the same, because it was almost like shooting down a silhouette target in basic training. Those that he killed at close range, close enough to smell their last breath, stayed in his dreams forever.
He remembered the parting words of an old soldier from his Golany Brigade. "Never look into the eyes of those that you kill, they haunt you forever. Believe me I know this."
"Grigori, you were right." Martin groaned. Grigori Yemelyan was a Russian immigrant to Israel, who had been fighting for the nation since 1982 and was a veteran of covert operations all around the Middle East. The warm, friendly youth Martin had been but seven years prior was largely missing. He only wished to destroy the worthless scum responsible for Diane's death. But with each kill he felt farther and farther away from the innocence of his youth.
Martin ducked into a small gulley that was concealed from view and took stock of his equipment. He still had his last 66mm rocket and disposable launcher and about five more 203 bombs left. He had seven out of the twelve magazines he left with as well. As the day wore on he went and cleaned his 203 and checked his feet, one foot at a time. Lancing blisters and bandaging them as best he could he put his boots back on and waited for the night.
Israeli Intelligence Field Office Somewhere in Gaza 8 May 2003 1305 Local Time
"So what happened after that?" Harm asked.
"I kept walking for two days where I encountered another large Egyptian contingent." Martin replied.
Sinai Desert 5 May 2003 2300 Local Time
The sound of trucks coming his way was enough to make Martin stop his route. He could see headlights, two of them. At first they turned away, for a while, but then they returned and Martin could hear the voices of several Egyptian soldiers.
"Shit." Martin groaned, as he lifted up the 66mm rocket, aiming it at the nearer of the two Egyptian vehicles. As soon as it was in range, he let fly.
The Egyptian truck stopped in its tracks as if struck by a giant hammer and then flashed in a great gust of flame as its fuel and ammunition exploded. Martin could see three Egyptian soldiers, cloaked in flames running through the desert, shrieking in agony. There was no time for remorse as he lined his 203 on the second truck and fired off a 40mm grenade into the front cab that killed both driver and front passenger.
Amazingly the Egyptians didn't try to chase him. Instead they fired off their weapons in a 360 degree arc, thinking they had been attacked by another Israeli patrol. Martin took advantage of the confusion to sneak away, firing off another couple of 203 grenades and bursts as he hooked around the enemy unit.
Israeli Intelligence Field Office Somewhere in Gaza 8 May 2003 1400 Local Time
"How large a unit do you think you faced?" Mac asked.
"I'd estimate an under strength platoon, twenty-five people most likely ma'am." Martin replied, "I had to disable their vehicles to hinder their efforts to chase me."
"Understood." Harm said, "Mac, I'm gonna go have a talk with the other four members of our witness' team, see if I can't get a statement."
"Be careful flyboy." Mac replied, half-jokingly.
"Easy, Mac, I'm only gonna be five feet down the hall." Harm replied.
"I know, but for some reason this building's been the target of a lot of hostility lately." Mac replied.
Martin visibly stiffened when she said this. Those Egyptian Army officers his fellow team members had captured were obviously being held here. It was very possibly Egypt was bribing Palestinians to try and liberate them and thus get a chunk of Israel as payment. Not if he had anything to do with it. Martin swore he would die fighting to prevent some other young woman from sharing Diane's fate or some other young man from dealing with his angst.
"So what happened next?" Mac asked, getting back on track, trying to get back to the case.
"I kept on the move until I ran into the American camp's perimeter guard..."
Sinai Desert 6 May 2003 0200 Local Time
Martin had been walking for days on end. Benjamin, Avi, everyone else in the patrol. Where were they? Dead surely, or wishing they were. Arabs were not particularly predisposed to following the Geneva Conventions especially if the prisoners were Israeli Special Forces personnel.
Where exactly was he? It had been hours since he even bothered to check his map or compass direction. He was so out of it, hunger, thirst, exhaustion from no real sleep, all had caught up to him rather violently. "Halt!" he heard the challenge. It was an American accented voice that he recognized as being from the Southern part of the nation.
"Step forward and identify yourself."
Martin saw four American soldiers, rifles in hand. He put down his 203, raising his hands, palms facing the Americans. They picked up his weapon and he gave his cover story as an American Special Forces NCO separated from his patrol. They let him into the compound to a small tent where several US Army officers were cloistered around a map table.
"We know you're not an American." One of them, a major, began, "The question is, what is Israel doing in the Sinai this time?"
"I cannot tell you sir." Martin replied, "I can only inform you that the operation is of a covert nature and should I reveal any more I would be violating the standing orders of my government."
"Bob, call Washington up. We might have a situation here." The major replied.
"Yes sir."
Israeli Intelligence Field Office Somewhere in Gaza 8 May 2003 1430 Local Time
Harmon Rabb had a sneaking suspicion that the reason why this field office kept falling under attack was because of those six Egyptian Army Officers he saw being squirreled away by Israeli commandoes. He walked into the ground floor garage of the building where he saw the four other members of Martin's team that had not been on the operation in the Sinai.
"Officer on deck!" Mgambe shouted, with his trademark African accent.
"At ease." Harm said. The soldiers all sat down, to a man looking like kids with their hands caught in the cookie jar despite their seemingly easy going demeanor. Jesus, most of them weren't even out of their teens. He noticed all four had their weapons within easy reach.
It was like a children's crusade, except to a man these boys were hardened by months and lifetimes of warfare. Martin himself had said that every man on his team had lost someone close to them to the terrorist attacks, had a relative, friend, or lover killed or disabled by the HAMAS group.
Rahim's German shepherd sniffed at Harm curiously and started to lick his hand. The young man grinned, "That's a first sir. He usually doesn't like strangers, and officer strangers in particular."
Mgambe laughed in turn, "There was the Inspector General incident where Lot bit the rear end of a very important official of the Israeli police."
"Every newcomer to our unit has been bitten by this particular mongrel sir." Martin replied. He was walking slightly ahead of Mac.
"They've found another member of our patrol. Haru." Amit said, soberly, breaking into the conversation.
All of the other four men knew, judging from Amit's words and disposition that Haru was dead. "A patrol found his body in the desert not three kilometers from the border. The Egyptians killed him where they lay and just left him to rot." Amit replied, bitterly.
"Those bastards." Jacob hissed, cradling his CAR-15 menacingly.
"When are we going in?" Haru asked Martin.
"When we are ordered to do so." Martin replied, with a cool, even tone that masked the roiling emotion within.
Harm and Mac stood off to one side, observing the conversation. Even though it had shifted into Hebrew, a language neither spoke, Harm could guess that Martin was now the senior man and was clearly uncomfortable at this time.
"If David was alive, we'd be going across the border now to help the others." Amit growled bitterly, he was choking back tears.
"Stand down soldier!" Martin replied, his voice taking the tone of a sergeant down dressing an unruly private, "We've all lost someone dear to us in this war. I know you lost your sweetheart Amit, but we must wait until we have orders."
"Damn it, David and the others could be dying out there!" Amit replied.
"Amit, what good is it gonna do us if we die ourselves." Martin replied.
"We will at least die trying to help our own!" Amit insisted.
"Amit, if we do that, we will be wasting four more lives." Martin replied, "We will find the others, we must have faith."
"Harm?" Mac asked, "Are you alright?"
"Huh," Harm said, he seemed a little lost in thought, "Mac, I'm alright."
"There's a lot of you that you see in our witness, don't you?" Mac asked Harm.
"Correct counselor." Harm finished with a wry grin. He could see the same grief stricken darkness in Martin that he had suffered when Diane had been murdered. Only in this case Martin had little to fear in attacking Palestinians with his unit shortly after his Diane had been killed, "Mac, I'm alright, seriously."
"Harm, don't push me away like that." Mac said. Harm hated it whenever she looked like she was about to cry and this moment seemed like one of them.
"Mac," Harm began, "It's just that I can see myself in Danilov's shoes after his beloved died. That's exactly how I felt after Diane had been murdered."
Mac knew that Harm carried a lot of emotional grief under his strong exterior, the death of his father and Diane's murder were just two of those things. The story of this Israeli soldier seemed to bring the latter of those two ghosts into the forefront. Even the name of his lost love shared the same name as Harm's old Academy sweetheart.
Mac looked at Danilov for a brief moment, seeing almost exactly what Harm had seen in the soldier. There was a network of wrinkles, small ones, around his eyes, careworn and aged before their time in countless firefights throughout Israel.
Harm's face was impassive, as usual, but Mac knew him well enough to know the roiling emotions underneath. She could remember seeing it when Martin told his story about how he had returned to Israel to avenge his lost love. She could practically feel Harm dredging up old memories again. It was disconcerting to see her pillar of strength seeming to crumble, but Mac knew that she had to be strong for Harm right now for he had never failed her in the past.
Harm was dealing with a ghost from the past, true. But that wasn't his main concern. His biggest fear was seeing Mac sharing Diane's fate. In this volatile Middle East brushfire, Mac could easily find herself in jeopardy. He couldn't let that happen, not as long as he was alive. He was going to do everything in his power to keep safe his own Lili Marlene.
~ ~ ~ ~
Time would come for roll call
Time for us to part
Darling I'd caress you
And press you to my heart
And there neath that far off lantern light
I'd hold you tight
We'd kiss good night
My Lili of the lamplight
My own Lili Marlene
Orders came for sailing
Somewhere over there
All confined to barracks
'Twas more than I could bear
I knew you were waiting in the street
I heard your feet
But could not meet
My Lili of the lamplight
My own Lili Marlene
Resting in our billet
Just behind the line
Even though we're parted
Your lips are close to mine
You wait where that lantern softly gleamed
Your sweet face seems
To haunt my dreams
My Lili of the lamplight
My own Lili Marlene
My Lili of the lamplight
My own Lili Marlene.
Disclaimer: Same as before. Lili Marlene is owned by Vera Lynn and not me.
~ ~ ~ ~
Israeli Intelligence Field Office Somewhere in Gaza 8 May 2003 1245 Local Time
"Oh my God, Harm, look." Mac said, nudging her partner, pointing him towards the small television set.
"We've just received unconfirmed reports that Israeli Special Forces teams have been making at least a dozen more incursions into Egyptian territory in the past forty-eight hours." Stuart Dunston continued as the ZNN Broadcast wore on, "Seven Egyptian army officers have been reported as missing according to a source in the Egyptian Parliament."
Several of the Moussad personnel began to leave the tiny lounge. Ilsa walked up to Harm and Mac and said, "Commander, Colonel, you'll have to speak to Corporal Danilov here. We have immediate need of the interrogation room."
Harm looked out the door to see half a dozen blindfolded men in the uniforms of the Egyptian army being led through the passage by Israeli commandoes. "Sir!" Martin shouted, "I do not think that this is a wise choice of action."
Rahim Al-Batani showed up with his K-9 and two flak jackets, "Sir, ma'am, Colonel Danilov requests that these be issued to the two visiting American officers."
"Thank you private." Harm said, "Dismissed."
"Aye sir." Batani replied.
After Batani had left the room, Harm asked, "What can you tell us about those six men I just saw?"
"Sir, I cannot give you that information. It is a matter of national security that could result in my imprisonment or execution." Martin replied, "But all I can say is that Egyptian military operations in the Sinai are going to be moving a lot slower now that they're out of the picture."
"This just in. Palestinian Liberation Organization Security Commander Hamid Sarhouk was just killed by Israeli Special Forces in the West Bank while organizing an Israeli expulsion campaign. Captured in the raid were large stockpiles of Soviet manufactured weapons believed to have originated in Egypt..." Dunston droned on.
Martin knew more about this than met the eye. For the sake of Israeli national security and the safety of the two American officers he didn't reveal what he knew. This was part of Operation Manhunt. It was a concerted Israeli counterterrorism program that would systematically kill, and not capture, key personnel in Arafat's Palestinian Liberation Organization. The entire effort was to take no less than forty eight hours to completely break the backs of the Palestinian leadership in a series of rapid, covert, and decisive strikes by Israeli commandoes.
"Back on track." Harm replied, "What happened after Benjamin's capture."
"Well, I decided on the original escape and evasion plan and head to the US camp." Martin replied.
Sinai Desert 4 May 2003 0500 Local Time
"Underneath the lantern. By the barrack gate. Darling I remember. The way you used to wait. 'Twas there that you whispered tenderly. That you loved me. You'd always be. My Lili of the lamplight. My own Lili Marlene." Martin sang to himself as he walked along the road.
Tactically it was stupid. Hundreds of Egyptians used this road on a daily basis. And lo and behold he could hear approaching footsteps. He took cover behind some dunes and held his 203 at the ready. He was 100 percent certain that this was the end. The end of his life, he was certain.
It was a pair of Egyptian soldiers walking down the road, carrying AK-47s and not being particularly tactical. Their weapons were slung over their shoulders and both were smoking cigarettes and yammering in Arabic. Martin unsheathed his knife slowly, as they stopped, finding his footsteps about fifty feet to his right. He snuck around behind them, his 203 slung over his shoulder. His knife was drawn as he snuck behind the rearmost Egyptian and cut his throat. The first one fell and the second one turned in time to see Martin running noiselessly his way and saw Martin shove the combat knife's blade into his ceratoid artery and sever it.
It was particularly horrifying; no matter how many times he had committed this deed. All six of the faces of those he killed in this way were right in front of his face. Those that he shot weren't the same, because it was almost like shooting down a silhouette target in basic training. Those that he killed at close range, close enough to smell their last breath, stayed in his dreams forever.
He remembered the parting words of an old soldier from his Golany Brigade. "Never look into the eyes of those that you kill, they haunt you forever. Believe me I know this."
"Grigori, you were right." Martin groaned. Grigori Yemelyan was a Russian immigrant to Israel, who had been fighting for the nation since 1982 and was a veteran of covert operations all around the Middle East. The warm, friendly youth Martin had been but seven years prior was largely missing. He only wished to destroy the worthless scum responsible for Diane's death. But with each kill he felt farther and farther away from the innocence of his youth.
Martin ducked into a small gulley that was concealed from view and took stock of his equipment. He still had his last 66mm rocket and disposable launcher and about five more 203 bombs left. He had seven out of the twelve magazines he left with as well. As the day wore on he went and cleaned his 203 and checked his feet, one foot at a time. Lancing blisters and bandaging them as best he could he put his boots back on and waited for the night.
Israeli Intelligence Field Office Somewhere in Gaza 8 May 2003 1305 Local Time
"So what happened after that?" Harm asked.
"I kept walking for two days where I encountered another large Egyptian contingent." Martin replied.
Sinai Desert 5 May 2003 2300 Local Time
The sound of trucks coming his way was enough to make Martin stop his route. He could see headlights, two of them. At first they turned away, for a while, but then they returned and Martin could hear the voices of several Egyptian soldiers.
"Shit." Martin groaned, as he lifted up the 66mm rocket, aiming it at the nearer of the two Egyptian vehicles. As soon as it was in range, he let fly.
The Egyptian truck stopped in its tracks as if struck by a giant hammer and then flashed in a great gust of flame as its fuel and ammunition exploded. Martin could see three Egyptian soldiers, cloaked in flames running through the desert, shrieking in agony. There was no time for remorse as he lined his 203 on the second truck and fired off a 40mm grenade into the front cab that killed both driver and front passenger.
Amazingly the Egyptians didn't try to chase him. Instead they fired off their weapons in a 360 degree arc, thinking they had been attacked by another Israeli patrol. Martin took advantage of the confusion to sneak away, firing off another couple of 203 grenades and bursts as he hooked around the enemy unit.
Israeli Intelligence Field Office Somewhere in Gaza 8 May 2003 1400 Local Time
"How large a unit do you think you faced?" Mac asked.
"I'd estimate an under strength platoon, twenty-five people most likely ma'am." Martin replied, "I had to disable their vehicles to hinder their efforts to chase me."
"Understood." Harm said, "Mac, I'm gonna go have a talk with the other four members of our witness' team, see if I can't get a statement."
"Be careful flyboy." Mac replied, half-jokingly.
"Easy, Mac, I'm only gonna be five feet down the hall." Harm replied.
"I know, but for some reason this building's been the target of a lot of hostility lately." Mac replied.
Martin visibly stiffened when she said this. Those Egyptian Army officers his fellow team members had captured were obviously being held here. It was very possibly Egypt was bribing Palestinians to try and liberate them and thus get a chunk of Israel as payment. Not if he had anything to do with it. Martin swore he would die fighting to prevent some other young woman from sharing Diane's fate or some other young man from dealing with his angst.
"So what happened next?" Mac asked, getting back on track, trying to get back to the case.
"I kept on the move until I ran into the American camp's perimeter guard..."
Sinai Desert 6 May 2003 0200 Local Time
Martin had been walking for days on end. Benjamin, Avi, everyone else in the patrol. Where were they? Dead surely, or wishing they were. Arabs were not particularly predisposed to following the Geneva Conventions especially if the prisoners were Israeli Special Forces personnel.
Where exactly was he? It had been hours since he even bothered to check his map or compass direction. He was so out of it, hunger, thirst, exhaustion from no real sleep, all had caught up to him rather violently. "Halt!" he heard the challenge. It was an American accented voice that he recognized as being from the Southern part of the nation.
"Step forward and identify yourself."
Martin saw four American soldiers, rifles in hand. He put down his 203, raising his hands, palms facing the Americans. They picked up his weapon and he gave his cover story as an American Special Forces NCO separated from his patrol. They let him into the compound to a small tent where several US Army officers were cloistered around a map table.
"We know you're not an American." One of them, a major, began, "The question is, what is Israel doing in the Sinai this time?"
"I cannot tell you sir." Martin replied, "I can only inform you that the operation is of a covert nature and should I reveal any more I would be violating the standing orders of my government."
"Bob, call Washington up. We might have a situation here." The major replied.
"Yes sir."
Israeli Intelligence Field Office Somewhere in Gaza 8 May 2003 1430 Local Time
Harmon Rabb had a sneaking suspicion that the reason why this field office kept falling under attack was because of those six Egyptian Army Officers he saw being squirreled away by Israeli commandoes. He walked into the ground floor garage of the building where he saw the four other members of Martin's team that had not been on the operation in the Sinai.
"Officer on deck!" Mgambe shouted, with his trademark African accent.
"At ease." Harm said. The soldiers all sat down, to a man looking like kids with their hands caught in the cookie jar despite their seemingly easy going demeanor. Jesus, most of them weren't even out of their teens. He noticed all four had their weapons within easy reach.
It was like a children's crusade, except to a man these boys were hardened by months and lifetimes of warfare. Martin himself had said that every man on his team had lost someone close to them to the terrorist attacks, had a relative, friend, or lover killed or disabled by the HAMAS group.
Rahim's German shepherd sniffed at Harm curiously and started to lick his hand. The young man grinned, "That's a first sir. He usually doesn't like strangers, and officer strangers in particular."
Mgambe laughed in turn, "There was the Inspector General incident where Lot bit the rear end of a very important official of the Israeli police."
"Every newcomer to our unit has been bitten by this particular mongrel sir." Martin replied. He was walking slightly ahead of Mac.
"They've found another member of our patrol. Haru." Amit said, soberly, breaking into the conversation.
All of the other four men knew, judging from Amit's words and disposition that Haru was dead. "A patrol found his body in the desert not three kilometers from the border. The Egyptians killed him where they lay and just left him to rot." Amit replied, bitterly.
"Those bastards." Jacob hissed, cradling his CAR-15 menacingly.
"When are we going in?" Haru asked Martin.
"When we are ordered to do so." Martin replied, with a cool, even tone that masked the roiling emotion within.
Harm and Mac stood off to one side, observing the conversation. Even though it had shifted into Hebrew, a language neither spoke, Harm could guess that Martin was now the senior man and was clearly uncomfortable at this time.
"If David was alive, we'd be going across the border now to help the others." Amit growled bitterly, he was choking back tears.
"Stand down soldier!" Martin replied, his voice taking the tone of a sergeant down dressing an unruly private, "We've all lost someone dear to us in this war. I know you lost your sweetheart Amit, but we must wait until we have orders."
"Damn it, David and the others could be dying out there!" Amit replied.
"Amit, what good is it gonna do us if we die ourselves." Martin replied.
"We will at least die trying to help our own!" Amit insisted.
"Amit, if we do that, we will be wasting four more lives." Martin replied, "We will find the others, we must have faith."
"Harm?" Mac asked, "Are you alright?"
"Huh," Harm said, he seemed a little lost in thought, "Mac, I'm alright."
"There's a lot of you that you see in our witness, don't you?" Mac asked Harm.
"Correct counselor." Harm finished with a wry grin. He could see the same grief stricken darkness in Martin that he had suffered when Diane had been murdered. Only in this case Martin had little to fear in attacking Palestinians with his unit shortly after his Diane had been killed, "Mac, I'm alright, seriously."
"Harm, don't push me away like that." Mac said. Harm hated it whenever she looked like she was about to cry and this moment seemed like one of them.
"Mac," Harm began, "It's just that I can see myself in Danilov's shoes after his beloved died. That's exactly how I felt after Diane had been murdered."
Mac knew that Harm carried a lot of emotional grief under his strong exterior, the death of his father and Diane's murder were just two of those things. The story of this Israeli soldier seemed to bring the latter of those two ghosts into the forefront. Even the name of his lost love shared the same name as Harm's old Academy sweetheart.
Mac looked at Danilov for a brief moment, seeing almost exactly what Harm had seen in the soldier. There was a network of wrinkles, small ones, around his eyes, careworn and aged before their time in countless firefights throughout Israel.
Harm's face was impassive, as usual, but Mac knew him well enough to know the roiling emotions underneath. She could remember seeing it when Martin told his story about how he had returned to Israel to avenge his lost love. She could practically feel Harm dredging up old memories again. It was disconcerting to see her pillar of strength seeming to crumble, but Mac knew that she had to be strong for Harm right now for he had never failed her in the past.
Harm was dealing with a ghost from the past, true. But that wasn't his main concern. His biggest fear was seeing Mac sharing Diane's fate. In this volatile Middle East brushfire, Mac could easily find herself in jeopardy. He couldn't let that happen, not as long as he was alive. He was going to do everything in his power to keep safe his own Lili Marlene.
~ ~ ~ ~
Time would come for roll call
Time for us to part
Darling I'd caress you
And press you to my heart
And there neath that far off lantern light
I'd hold you tight
We'd kiss good night
My Lili of the lamplight
My own Lili Marlene
Orders came for sailing
Somewhere over there
All confined to barracks
'Twas more than I could bear
I knew you were waiting in the street
I heard your feet
But could not meet
My Lili of the lamplight
My own Lili Marlene
Resting in our billet
Just behind the line
Even though we're parted
Your lips are close to mine
You wait where that lantern softly gleamed
Your sweet face seems
To haunt my dreams
My Lili of the lamplight
My own Lili Marlene
My Lili of the lamplight
My own Lili Marlene.