Note: this chapter and the next are mostly a retelling of episode 3x15 "Quicksand" from Eyal's point of view. I did made some slight changes so that my story would fit better with the episode.
He left late that night after receiving a tip that Khalid's father, Omar, was in Zurich, working on a deal. Nothing else had seemed to pan out so it was worth a shot to follow up. And after talking to Annie, there was really nothing left in DC for him to do.
It was Tuesday morning when he arrived in Switzerland; the weather a bit colder than it had been in DC. He spent the first few hours in the city contacting all of his assets who might be able to track down Omar. As luck would have it, Omar's movements were easier to track than he'd expected.
By Thursday, when his contact from from Credit Suisse called, Eyal had a good idea of the older Ansari's routine. He knew he'd found his break when he saw Omar leave his car with a satchel, enter Club Au Lac, and leave with nothing.
For five days he tried everything he could think of to get eyes inside the club. He was almost out of options when the club manager approached him. For 100k euro, the manager would let him in. The only problem now was coming up the money to get inside.
He had just finished lunch at the little outdoor cafe, contemplating his next moves, when his phone rang. His heart kept slightly when he saw Annie's name flash on the screen. After a moment of hesitation, he answered, smiling, "Hey. What a pleasant surprise. After our last conversation I didn't think I'd hear from you... Maybe ever."
"Yeah, well, I didn't expect to be fleeing Luxembourg City," she replied in a whisper.
His smile dropped from his lips when she told him what she needed. He asked her what was going on, even though he already had an idea. He listened intently as she explained that Khalid's men were after her.
He rattled directions to her, instructing her to come Zurich where he would wait for her. He didn't specifically say the safe house where they first met, but she would understand.
She ended the call quickly and he was left looking at a screen that flashed the words "call ended" at him. He tipped his head back and let out the breath he'd been holding. He'd hoped that with Cole dead and Megan disappeared Annie would be out of danger. He'd hoped too much.
He gripped his phone tightly in his hand; the cool metal edges dug into his palm. This was his fault. If he hadn't pushed her trust him maybe everything would have turned out differently.
He made one stop before heading back to the safe house that afternoon. His cobbler was good, but it would still take 24 hours to put together a decent clean passport for Annie to get out of the country.
The rest of the afternoon and evening were restless. He found himself pacing, mostly, and checking his phone ever few minutes. He tried to call her at last a dozen times, but his calls all went to voicemail.
Worry and guilt were fast becoming his new friends.
He'd worked it out in his head. The drive out of Luxembourg and into France would have taken some time. The earliest train she would most likely be able to catch wouldn't get to Zurich until very early the next morning.
Even knowing that, sleep was not easy that night. His worry found its way into his dreams and he woke as light broke the horizon with the image of Annie's face in Russia; broken and scared. His heart raced and reached for his phone that he'd left lying next to him in bed. He frowned at the blank screen. She had not called nor had she responded to his text message.
He showered and dressed in a haze. Suddenly everything in the safe house made him think of her.
He'd been sitting out on the balcony trying to read the newspaper when he heard the knock and the door to the apartment open. Instinct and years of being a spy caused him to press his back against the wall and wait. A quick sigh of relief escaped his lips when it was Annie's voice he heard call his name.
He wasn't sure what he expected to feel when stepped through the glass door and saw her standing at the end of the hall, but it certainly wasn't the wasn't the hollow feeling he was experiencing right then pushing against his lungs making it impossible to breathe. "I wasn't sure if you were coming. I tried to reach you-" he said, the relief audible in his voice.
"I dumped my phone. I didn't want anyone tracking me." She looked directly at him as he approached. Her face was cold and expressionless.
The smile that had begun to form on his face faded as she strode to the opposite side of the room. He stood still, feeling the wave of guilt once again. "Listen, I contacted a cobbler I know. He'll have a nice clean passport by noon today - get you on a plane back home."
"I'm not going home, not yet." She turned to face him. "You told me the last time we were in Zurich it didn't matter if I can trust you or not. It only matters if I can use you to complete my mission."
"What are you proposing?" he asked stepping closer. He had a pretty good idea what she was asking, but he needed to know, from her, what she needed.
"Khalid tried to take me alive. As long as he's after me, I'm not ever gonna feel safe. I have to get to him before he gets to me... Can I use you?"
"Use me," he answered letting a half smile settle on his lips. He searched eyes looking for anything more, but her face was steel; her real emotions locked under the surface. "Come," he said finally breaking the silence. "When was the last time you ate?"
She followed him into the kitchen, quietly retrieving items from the fridge and setting the table. Once she finally began to eat, she also began to talk. She explained how she'd been trying to track down Megan. How Auggie was out of country and Joan was on leave. How she'd fallen for the false intel that Megan had been found dead in Luxembourg. And when her story came to and end with more questions than answers, he began his own.
He explained how he'd come to Zurich to surveil Omar Ansari because he suspected the older man of passing funds to Khalid. He had just finished explaining his theory when his phone rang, 9am on the dot.
His contact from Credit Suisse informed him that Omar had, in fact made another request for funds; this time for much more. If they were going to try and follow Khalid's trail, now was the time.
He and Annie drove in silence to the shop. The owner was a sayan for Israel. If he could convince the man that the request was legitimate, they were in.
"Eyal," the man said as he opened the door. "Noah," he answered as they stepped into the high end jewelry store. "It's been a long time."
"Not long enough," Noah answered in English. And then added, in Hebrew, "You should have called first."
"This is a time sensitive mission and I need your assistance," Eyal spoke deliberately in English partially for Annie's benefit, even though he knew she had a pretty good grasp of his native language, but because he'd also made a choice.
"How much?" Noah asked.
"100k in clean diamonds," Eyal answered calmly.
The other man was nervous. 100k in diamonds was a lot and he wanted confirmation from Rivka. Eyal's anger and frustration took over as he tried to convince Noah to just hand over the diamonds. When Noah refused and then threatened Eyal with a taser, he snapped, wrenching the man's arm and raising his fist.
Eyal was about to make a threat when Annie's hand close around his fist. "That's enough," she said calmly, looking directly into his eyes. Her soothing voice calmed his momentary rage and he allowed her to pull him away and prod him towards the exit.
They walked along the sidewalk for a few minutes before Annie broke the silence. "So much for laying low. What happened?"
"I didn't have time to be polite," he answered. "I needed to get that money so we can pay off that club manager."
"I'm not talking about your methods. You didn't want him to call Rivka."
"Annie, I told you, I quit Mossad. If he'd called Rivka, it would make our situation even more complicated."
She paused beside him. "You really quit Mossad? I-I didn't believe you before."
"Don't read too much into it. I wanted to hunt Khalid down and kill him. They're mission was complete. Lets just call it creative differences."
"Eyal-" she said, matching his pace.
"It was time anyway."
"Eyal-" she said again, tugging on his sleeve. They both stopped and he turned to her waiting for her to call him crazy for going into this mission without Mossad behind him. "I'm sorry," she said at last. "I can't imagine how hard that was for you."
"I don't need your compassion right now, Annie. What I need is money."
"How are we going to get 100k euros. I'm not even supposed to be there."
"I don't know, but if we don't get eyes on that pass we might never get to Khalid."
They stood in silence for a moment before Annie sighed. "Come on. I need to get a burn phone." When he raised his eyebrow she added, "I've got a long shot."
They purchased a phone at a nearby store and sat down at a park table. "Here goes nothing," Annie mumbled as she dialed.
He sat quietly, listening, as she spoke to Joan. Time was running out and he was beginning to worry. He rested his elbows on the table and leaned his chin on his folded hands. If Annie couldn't convince Joan to give them the 100k, they were done.
She carefully told Joan her story of how she ended up in Zurich and how he'd been doing surveillance on Omar and trying to find an in into the club. What she didn't tell her supervisor was that he was no longer Mossad. When she ended the call she turned to him, a smile on her face. "We're in."
Stay tuned for the second half of quicksand from Eyal's point of view...