Read Mitla Pass for Free Online Page A

gas chambers.
    And then it came back to me. The first time someone reached out to embrace me and I saw a number tattooed on her arm, I screamed and turned into Gideon’s arms, weeping. I was shaken for days. So, I thought, have a good time, guys! Thank God for Israel.
    I turned and retraced my steps from the bluff and glanced up to Gideon’s window on the fourth floor. A large beach towel was draped over his balcony railing. Strange. Oh well, he must have taken a dip earlier — wait, what the hell’s that? A woman darted out of Gideon’s room, took the towel, and wrapped it about herself quickly.
    I just stood there, stunned. From my vantage point I could see the door that led from the hotel to the beach. In a few moments the same woman emerged, ran across the beach, flung off the towel and joined the merrymaking in the sea. I looked up. Gideon was now on the balcony, watching h er. I learned a short time later her name was Natasha Solomon. Apparently they had begun a not so discreet affair before my arrival
    Oh God, Gideon, God! Why! Why! Why! Oh God! She was wild and beautiful, an untamed bird. I almost went insane but I held my tongue. It hurt, it hurt, it hurt but I didn’t face him with it. That was my damned fault ... but ... I guess ... I wanted him, no matter what the price.
    Suddenly Gideon’s words captured her and she was at peace. It’s beautiful stuff, she thought. I guess it must be worth the price we have to pay. One page, and another and another. I’ve got to tell him. I really do.
    Grover barked and she heard the sound of Gideon’s jeep. Pleasant surprise. There was an impulse to turn off the lights and feign sleep. That’s childish, Val. Tell him what you think of the pages. Maybe he’ll talk about what’s coming up next, maybe we’ll talk halfway through the night, the way we used to.
    She pretended to read, but was now taken by his sounds, the door of the jeep slamming shut, his unmistakable gait, the jingling as he fumbled for the correct key, the careful closing of the front door, the click of the refrigerator door opening and closing, a stop at the girls’ room and a final whispered word to Grover.
    “Hi, you’re home early,” she said doffing her glasses. Gideon stared at her thighs from the doorway and watched her deliberately jiggle her breasts through the sheer gown. No matter how rotten things were, it could heat up between them in a hurry.
    Why don’t I just take it off and welcome him home? she thought. She remained formal, unconcerned at his stare.
    “Your friends must all be up in Jerusalem tonight,” she said. Why? I didn’t mean to. It just came out.
    Thanks, pal. You didn’t disappoint me, he mused to himself.
    “No phone calls?” Val went on.
    Translation. No phone calls from her? Did you knock off a quickie with her? Say it, Val, God dammit. She has a name. Say it! I dare you.
    “No phone calls,” he said.
    Val pulled down the gown covering her legs, set the pages aside without comment, lay back and drew the sheet over her. “God, I’m tired,” she said.
    Wacko! Bull’s-eye! Whatever mellow mood he’d brought home was curdled.
    “Let’s knock off,” he said. “I’ve got to get an early start tomorrow.” There was a dreadful beat of silence. “I have to leave at four-thirty.”
    Val sat up slowly, afraid of the coming conversation. “Am I permitted to ask why?”
    “I’m going out with the boys.”
    “The boys?”
    “The troops.”
    “Good Lord, Gideon, you’ve been on two Negev patrols already this month. How many altogether—five? Seven?”
    “Seven or eight, I don’t know.”
    “What are you doing? Buying stock in the Lion’s Battalion?”
    “Val ... Val ... this isn’t exactly a patrol.”
    Val became uneasy, frightened, not wanting to ask the next question. “Exactly what is it, then?” she asked tersely. No answer. “Well, do you care to tell me?”
    “I’ve been invited to ... join an action.”
    “Have you gone bonkers?”