13th Apostle by Richard F. Heller, Rachael F. Heller Page B

three-by-five yellow index card in there. It should have all the phone extensions of…”
    Gil stared at the open drawer. It held a yellow index card, a pair of white cotton gloves, and one more thing; a very small, very shiny revolver.
    â€œOh, the gun. Don’t mind that,” said DeVris with a smile. “She won’t use it on you unless you give her a hard time.”
    Gil stared at him.
    â€œHey, I was only joking,” DeVris said with a smile.
    Gil nodded, closed the drawer, and stepped away from the desk.
    â€œLook, this is Israel,” DeVris began.
    â€œAnd do most of your translators carry guns?” Gil asked.
    DeVris admitted that it was not common practice but added that Sabbie’s personal history made her actions quite understandable.
    â€œIt was not a simple homicide,” DeVris began. “The man she killed was one of those who had sexually assaulted her. The others remain free. Who knows, she may still be in danger after all these years, so carrying a gun makes all the sense in the world.”
    She killed one of them!
    DeVris continued. “If the Military Board of Aleph had not turned their back on her, she…”
    â€œThey threw her out of the army?” Gil asked.
    â€œNo, Aleph is a Special Police Unit, the crème de la crème of counterterrorism. It started out as a branch of the Yamam but later became an independent SWAT force unto itself. Sabbie was one of Aleph’s best.”
    She had gotten her training in the Lochamot MaGav, the Women’s Border Police, DeVris explained. An excellent sharpshooter and brilliant strategist. Her skills and her drive had “anti-terrorist unit” written all over them. When her first tour of duty with the Border Police was completed, Yamam snatched her up for Aleph, a special elite and highly experimental SWAT team.
    â€œIt was the first of its kind, a SWAT team for women, hence the name,” DeVris explained. “When Aleph broke ranks with Yamam, Sabbie chose to go with them. If she’s one thing, she’s loyal.”
    DeVris continued to rummage through the books as he spoke. “It never made sense that, after she was arrested, Aleph turned on her like they did. Not a single one of her fellow officers ever testified for her at her trial. They claimed that when they found out she had gone after the other men as well…”
    â€œ Other men? She killed more than one?”
    â€œYou should really be discussing this with her, you know,” DeVris concluded and took a step toward the door.
    â€œWait a minute,” Gil interrupted. “I can’t just say to her, ‘Oh, by the way, I hear you’re a convicted murderer.’”
    â€œYou’re overreacting,” DeVris said. He made it a point to look Gil in the eye for emphasis.
    â€œLook,” DeVris continued, “she was tried and found guilty, that’s true, but she was given a suspended sentence based on an elaborate rehabilitation plan. She went to England, enrolled in graduate school and, essentially, turned her life around. Now, her love of antiquities and her dedication to their translation has become her life. Still, if she’s sometimes overzealous, I think we can afford to be a little compassionate.”
    â€œHow come she’s back in Israel?”
    â€œLudlow met her at the University of London, where he was doing research and teaching. Actually, Ludlow was introduced to her by one of our off-campus artisans, a man by the name of Sarkami…”
    Gil looked up sharply at the sound of the name.
    DeVris registered the reaction and continued.
    â€œAnyway, Ludlow and his wife, Sarah, apparently took Sabbie under their wing. So, when he brought her to me a couple of years ago and begged me to give her a real job, how could I refuse?”
    Gil shook his head.
    So Ludlow’s death must have hit her like a ton of bricks. But she didn’t mention it for days.
    â€œI have to