Hatikva
Disclaimer: Same as before. Hatikva means 'the Hope' and is the Israeli national anthem. Just type in the title of this chapter into a Google search engine if you want to hear what the anthem sounds like.
~ ~ ~ ~
22 May 2000: The strains of the anthem echoed through the room of the barracks occupied by the soldiers of the Sayeret Golany, one of many Israeli Special Forces units operating throughout the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
On a large coffee table in the midst of the room was a portrait of a young soldier, about nineteen years old with the standard close-cropped hairstyle of the men in the room. Around the table were clustered several of his mates. A brown beret bearing the cap badge of the Sayeret Golany, the reconnaissance unit attached to the Golany Infantry Brigade was on the table and leaning against the wall was the man's rifle between a pair of boots. The soldiers had shut off the electric lights and flanked the portrait of the soldier with lighted candles.
"Nathan believed in the cause we fight for, against the Palestinian jackals." Yael, the officer in charge of the unit said, "Like every man in this room, he answered Israel's call to fight the scourge of terror. His death was unfortunate, but shall not go unanswered. Families suffer when one of their own is lost. So to do military units, but we must still fight so that sacrifices like Nathan's will not be in vain."
Barak, the chaplain, began to lead the prayer for the deceased. At forty- seven he was an old man to the soldiers in the room. As young as seventeen and none older than twenty-two, they were men revered by the nation as the elite. He could see tears on the faces of many of the men. After the prayer he said, "Would any wish to say more of the deceased?"
"Having known Nathan since before we enlisted, I would." A voice said. The voice belonged to a soldier standing in the back of the room. The soldier's name was Andrew Demerest, a Christian who had lived on a kibbutz started several decades ago by a visionary of his creed in the state of Israel.
~ ~ ~ ~
23 May 2000: Hal put his newspaper down on the table in the bullpen. The headline read, TWELVE PALESTINIANS, FIVE ISRAELIS KILLED. He was waiting for Ivy to work on some necessary paperwork for their last case.
Ivy walked into the bullpen just then and said, "They're still going at it?"
"Yes, apparently. Things have gotten worse than when I was over there in 1998." Hal replied.
A third person walked into the room just then. She had short brown hair that stopped about half way above her neck, rich brown eyes, and a slim figure. She was about twenty years old if her face was any indication.
"Are you done with this paper?" the woman asked.
"Yes." Hal replied.
"Jackie." Ivy said, "This is my new partner, Hal Olden."
"Jackie Harris." The woman said, "Ivy's told me a bit about you. You're from Britain, right?"
"Yes." Hal replied.
"You're also an SAS soldier?" Jackie asked
"Yes." Hal replied, "Ivy, how do you know her?"
"Seven years ago, she was a junior detective assigned to follow me on my safer cases." Ivy replied, "We're due to get a junior detective apiece some time today."
"It's a mentorship program then." Hal replied.
"It is." Ivy replied, "But Jackie and I somehow clicked and seven years later she still comes to me for advice."
Suddenly, Jackie grew pale, "Ivy, could you do me a favor..."
"Sure." Ivy began, as they headed to the Crimenet Area, the intelligence office. As a Detective, Jackie wasn't permitted in that area unless accompanied by someone at the rank of Senior Detective or higher.
The guard let them in and the trio was in a room with a large world map displaying the locations of every ACME Field Office, known VILE or other criminal activity and other such information. One of the programmers turned. He was a young man, about Jackie's age, tall, with brown hair and eyes. He and Jackie hugged each other.
"This is Chris Osteen, my boyfriend." Jackie said, "Chris, has Crimenet gotten the names of the five dead Israelis in today's headline."
"Yeah." Chris said, "Demerest isn't one of them."
"Demerest?" Hal asked Ivy.
"Andrew Demerest, he was a friend of Jackie's. He was an Israeli and last year he went back to Israel to join the Israeli defense force." Ivy replied.
The three detectives left the room and headed back to the bullpen. "So Ivy, what have you been up to?"
"Let's see, I worked three cases in sixteen days that included a psychotic sniper, a corporate takeover, rampaging dinosaurs, and a solved a year old murder." Ivy replied, "I'm in one of those cycles where the caseload multiplies exponentially."
"Christ, if I do another report, it'll be too soon." Hal replied.
"Well I'm not the one who shot a serial sniper dead. Or killed several animals of high value to InGen." Ivy replied.
"Bloody hell, I had no idea death and mayhem required reports to be filed in triplicate." Hal replied.
"Welcome to ACME, my friend." Armando said.
Armando, Tatiana, and now Zack were sitting in the bullpen. "Jackie, I see you're still following Ivy around like a lost pup." Zack said.
"Be nice." Ivy replied.
"Otherwise, knowing your sister, you won't live to be a dad." Hal replied.
"You mean Zack's a father?" Jackie asked.
"He is." Hal replied.
"Excuse me...." Tatiana said, clamping a hand over her mouth and running for the bathroom.
"Two more months of this for you mate." Hal replied.
"Well, as best man, I get to plan the bachelor party." Armando said.
"Why do I sense disaster in your future then?" Ivy replied.
"I'll take care of them." Hal replied.
"That's even worse." Ivy replied.
"Guys. I really don't need...." Zack replied.
"It's traditional mate." Hal replied.
"Besides, I gotta test that new video camera." Armando said, "The one you and Ivy gave me for Christmas last year."
"Oh God no." Zack groaned, "It's gonna be worse than when you guys videotaped the New Year's Party at our house. Mom's still miffed about all those Jose Cuervo bottles you brought into the house Armando."
"She'd better not stay at his apartment, that's all he has in the fridge." Tatiana remarked, walking back into the room.
"Better than that whole rack of sports drinks Hal has in his fridge. I swear the man drinks more lucozade, gatorade, and powerade than an entire football team." Ivy remarked.
"That's how I got through Selection." Hal replied, "I threw tons of electrolytes down my neck before and after every day."
"Pardon me," Jackie said, "But doesn't Armando have nothing but Julio Iglesia music in his CD case?"
"Bollocks mate, Phil Collins can't be topped for best artist." Hal replied.
"Hah? Phil Collins - Great artist, funny, Hal, funny." Armando remarked, "And besides I listen to other stuff."
"Like every version of the Macarena." Hal replied.
"OK Brit, let's not repeat the Falklands..." Armando replied.
"You mean where the British military kicked the crap out of the Argentinians in the South Atlantic." Hal replied.
"Ouch. Bad example! Bad example!" Armando replied.
"Well, I'm off, I've got a case I'm working on." Jackie said.
"Great, Ive, next thing we know we'll have yet another uber-feminist on our hands." Zack remarked.
"I've been trying for the past seven years, Zack, I really have." Ivy replied.
"Well, I've got work to do, and a bachelor party to plan." Armando said.
"Oh geez." Zack groaned, getting on his crutches he added, "I've got some stuff Josha wanted me to look at in the Crimelab."
Hal and Ivy were now alone in the bullpen, "Nothing to do but a ton of paperwork. Cut and paste, cut and paste." Hal remarked.
"Sounds like my approach to paperwork." Ivy replied.
"So who is this Demerest bloke Jackie was asking about again?" Hal replied.
"Andrew Demerest was Jackie's old partner. They were good friends, and I always suspected he had a crush on her." Ivy replied.
"Then last summer, during break, she and Chris started dating. When Andrew found out he quit ACME and joined the Israeli Army." Ivy replied, "Jackie doesn't know that was his reason for joining, though, so don't tell her."
"Personally, I don't think you should keep these things from your protégé, but that's just me speaking." Hal replied, "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a bachelor party to help Armando plan. And we're setting it for tonight."
Ivy rolled her eyes and said, "You know my phone number if you need to get bailed out of jail."
"I'm willing to bet you lunch on me for a whole week that we don't get in any sort of trouble." Hal replied.
"Then I hope you have an ATM card handy, Harold." Ivy joked.
"You wound me." Hal replied, walking back into his office.
~ ~ ~ ~
TBC (That little blurb in the beginning will be explained in succeeding chapters, but coming up next, the infamous bachelor party...)
Disclaimer: Same as before. Hatikva means 'the Hope' and is the Israeli national anthem. Just type in the title of this chapter into a Google search engine if you want to hear what the anthem sounds like.
~ ~ ~ ~
22 May 2000: The strains of the anthem echoed through the room of the barracks occupied by the soldiers of the Sayeret Golany, one of many Israeli Special Forces units operating throughout the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
On a large coffee table in the midst of the room was a portrait of a young soldier, about nineteen years old with the standard close-cropped hairstyle of the men in the room. Around the table were clustered several of his mates. A brown beret bearing the cap badge of the Sayeret Golany, the reconnaissance unit attached to the Golany Infantry Brigade was on the table and leaning against the wall was the man's rifle between a pair of boots. The soldiers had shut off the electric lights and flanked the portrait of the soldier with lighted candles.
"Nathan believed in the cause we fight for, against the Palestinian jackals." Yael, the officer in charge of the unit said, "Like every man in this room, he answered Israel's call to fight the scourge of terror. His death was unfortunate, but shall not go unanswered. Families suffer when one of their own is lost. So to do military units, but we must still fight so that sacrifices like Nathan's will not be in vain."
Barak, the chaplain, began to lead the prayer for the deceased. At forty- seven he was an old man to the soldiers in the room. As young as seventeen and none older than twenty-two, they were men revered by the nation as the elite. He could see tears on the faces of many of the men. After the prayer he said, "Would any wish to say more of the deceased?"
"Having known Nathan since before we enlisted, I would." A voice said. The voice belonged to a soldier standing in the back of the room. The soldier's name was Andrew Demerest, a Christian who had lived on a kibbutz started several decades ago by a visionary of his creed in the state of Israel.
~ ~ ~ ~
23 May 2000: Hal put his newspaper down on the table in the bullpen. The headline read, TWELVE PALESTINIANS, FIVE ISRAELIS KILLED. He was waiting for Ivy to work on some necessary paperwork for their last case.
Ivy walked into the bullpen just then and said, "They're still going at it?"
"Yes, apparently. Things have gotten worse than when I was over there in 1998." Hal replied.
A third person walked into the room just then. She had short brown hair that stopped about half way above her neck, rich brown eyes, and a slim figure. She was about twenty years old if her face was any indication.
"Are you done with this paper?" the woman asked.
"Yes." Hal replied.
"Jackie." Ivy said, "This is my new partner, Hal Olden."
"Jackie Harris." The woman said, "Ivy's told me a bit about you. You're from Britain, right?"
"Yes." Hal replied.
"You're also an SAS soldier?" Jackie asked
"Yes." Hal replied, "Ivy, how do you know her?"
"Seven years ago, she was a junior detective assigned to follow me on my safer cases." Ivy replied, "We're due to get a junior detective apiece some time today."
"It's a mentorship program then." Hal replied.
"It is." Ivy replied, "But Jackie and I somehow clicked and seven years later she still comes to me for advice."
Suddenly, Jackie grew pale, "Ivy, could you do me a favor..."
"Sure." Ivy began, as they headed to the Crimenet Area, the intelligence office. As a Detective, Jackie wasn't permitted in that area unless accompanied by someone at the rank of Senior Detective or higher.
The guard let them in and the trio was in a room with a large world map displaying the locations of every ACME Field Office, known VILE or other criminal activity and other such information. One of the programmers turned. He was a young man, about Jackie's age, tall, with brown hair and eyes. He and Jackie hugged each other.
"This is Chris Osteen, my boyfriend." Jackie said, "Chris, has Crimenet gotten the names of the five dead Israelis in today's headline."
"Yeah." Chris said, "Demerest isn't one of them."
"Demerest?" Hal asked Ivy.
"Andrew Demerest, he was a friend of Jackie's. He was an Israeli and last year he went back to Israel to join the Israeli defense force." Ivy replied.
The three detectives left the room and headed back to the bullpen. "So Ivy, what have you been up to?"
"Let's see, I worked three cases in sixteen days that included a psychotic sniper, a corporate takeover, rampaging dinosaurs, and a solved a year old murder." Ivy replied, "I'm in one of those cycles where the caseload multiplies exponentially."
"Christ, if I do another report, it'll be too soon." Hal replied.
"Well I'm not the one who shot a serial sniper dead. Or killed several animals of high value to InGen." Ivy replied.
"Bloody hell, I had no idea death and mayhem required reports to be filed in triplicate." Hal replied.
"Welcome to ACME, my friend." Armando said.
Armando, Tatiana, and now Zack were sitting in the bullpen. "Jackie, I see you're still following Ivy around like a lost pup." Zack said.
"Be nice." Ivy replied.
"Otherwise, knowing your sister, you won't live to be a dad." Hal replied.
"You mean Zack's a father?" Jackie asked.
"He is." Hal replied.
"Excuse me...." Tatiana said, clamping a hand over her mouth and running for the bathroom.
"Two more months of this for you mate." Hal replied.
"Well, as best man, I get to plan the bachelor party." Armando said.
"Why do I sense disaster in your future then?" Ivy replied.
"I'll take care of them." Hal replied.
"That's even worse." Ivy replied.
"Guys. I really don't need...." Zack replied.
"It's traditional mate." Hal replied.
"Besides, I gotta test that new video camera." Armando said, "The one you and Ivy gave me for Christmas last year."
"Oh God no." Zack groaned, "It's gonna be worse than when you guys videotaped the New Year's Party at our house. Mom's still miffed about all those Jose Cuervo bottles you brought into the house Armando."
"She'd better not stay at his apartment, that's all he has in the fridge." Tatiana remarked, walking back into the room.
"Better than that whole rack of sports drinks Hal has in his fridge. I swear the man drinks more lucozade, gatorade, and powerade than an entire football team." Ivy remarked.
"That's how I got through Selection." Hal replied, "I threw tons of electrolytes down my neck before and after every day."
"Pardon me," Jackie said, "But doesn't Armando have nothing but Julio Iglesia music in his CD case?"
"Bollocks mate, Phil Collins can't be topped for best artist." Hal replied.
"Hah? Phil Collins - Great artist, funny, Hal, funny." Armando remarked, "And besides I listen to other stuff."
"Like every version of the Macarena." Hal replied.
"OK Brit, let's not repeat the Falklands..." Armando replied.
"You mean where the British military kicked the crap out of the Argentinians in the South Atlantic." Hal replied.
"Ouch. Bad example! Bad example!" Armando replied.
"Well, I'm off, I've got a case I'm working on." Jackie said.
"Great, Ive, next thing we know we'll have yet another uber-feminist on our hands." Zack remarked.
"I've been trying for the past seven years, Zack, I really have." Ivy replied.
"Well, I've got work to do, and a bachelor party to plan." Armando said.
"Oh geez." Zack groaned, getting on his crutches he added, "I've got some stuff Josha wanted me to look at in the Crimelab."
Hal and Ivy were now alone in the bullpen, "Nothing to do but a ton of paperwork. Cut and paste, cut and paste." Hal remarked.
"Sounds like my approach to paperwork." Ivy replied.
"So who is this Demerest bloke Jackie was asking about again?" Hal replied.
"Andrew Demerest was Jackie's old partner. They were good friends, and I always suspected he had a crush on her." Ivy replied.
"Then last summer, during break, she and Chris started dating. When Andrew found out he quit ACME and joined the Israeli Army." Ivy replied, "Jackie doesn't know that was his reason for joining, though, so don't tell her."
"Personally, I don't think you should keep these things from your protégé, but that's just me speaking." Hal replied, "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a bachelor party to help Armando plan. And we're setting it for tonight."
Ivy rolled her eyes and said, "You know my phone number if you need to get bailed out of jail."
"I'm willing to bet you lunch on me for a whole week that we don't get in any sort of trouble." Hal replied.
"Then I hope you have an ATM card handy, Harold." Ivy joked.
"You wound me." Hal replied, walking back into his office.
~ ~ ~ ~
TBC (That little blurb in the beginning will be explained in succeeding chapters, but coming up next, the infamous bachelor party...)