Chapter 44

It had taken three days to eventually reach the King David Hotel where he now sat waiting on the terrace for Ari Silverman, Sharon’s father.

When he arrived they hugged and Shaun told him how his daughter and grandson were doing. After getting that away he began to explain about Bobby and what he was prepared to do. Silverman’s eyes gleamed at what Shaun said.

“You will have to speak to the council about this Shaun. We do have two ships that are registered as Greek ownership but in actual fact are owned by us. Both are old tramp steamers that potter about the Med but we use them to bring in refugees from Europe”.

He made arrangements with Shaun where to meet the committee and at what time.

The meeting took place in the cellar of a house belonging to an old woman who ran a coffee house. The room was lit with a single electric light bulb that shed its light over a table around which six men sat.

Shaun sat at the end of the table. Some of the men he recognised from his previous meeting. Ari made the introductions and outlined what Shaun had arranged regarding weapons.

“But how can we land that amount of weapons without the British discovering the landing place?” one of the men asked knowing of the naval patrols along the coastline.

“If I am right, my plan is to land the weapons somewhere along the Suez Canal, they would then need to be transported overland to you. Now I realise that will take a convoy of trucks to do so. But I have a comrade who is versed in desert navigation who would plan the route to avoid detection, a route that would take over two hundred miles and almost a week to achieve. The main problem would be the trucks you have at your disposal and the fuel to get them there and back. That will mean creating catches of water and fuel along the route to the canal. It may well be, depending on how many trucks are available, that more than one journey is required”.

The table became a buzz as others joined in the debate.

Finally Ari brought the meeting to order. “Shaun, what you propose to do could be the difference between life and death for the new state of Israel. The ship is no problem, all we need to know is the port for embarkation and the dates. We will start to locate the trucks that will be used and gather the fuel supplies needed. But will your comrade be available to guide the trucks?”

Shaun smiled, “He will be there along with the drivers who we will train and the main thing from your point of view is that the trucks will be up to mark regarding the journey. I will need to know how many trucks you have at your disposal”.

They discussed other points before the meeting broke up.

Outside the café Ari said, “Shaun, I’ll give you an address to send your mail too. Unfortunately some of the hot heads within our ranks are creating waves with the British here and their security has been beefed up, so be careful”.

Shaun shook hands with his father-in-law, then left to return home.

Back at the Crater he found that the vehicles had arrived and were already at the training area along with ten trainees from Palestine. Sharon informed him that Prof and Cookie along with Ken had begun their training. He brought her up to date with his news regarding Bobby and her father.

“I need to set up a meeting with the three of them as soon as possible here at home. Can you send a Gurkha to the camp to inform them? I need to get some shut eye because it’s been a hectic nine days,” he murmured tiredly.

Sharon noticed the dark rings around his eyes, realising he had been very busy whilst he had been away. “You rest darling. I’ll see to getting them back here”.

Prof, Cookie and Ken arrived in a Jeep the following day.

While Sharon mixed drinks for them all, Shaun brought them up to date with what had been happening.

“So Prof, could you pick out a route from the Canal to get it undetected back to Palestine?”

Prof pursed his lips, “I could easily plan out a route, but without going over it to see the road conditions I can’t guarantee it”.

Shaun nodded, “So we need to get you into Palestine. But what about a cover story?”

Prof laughed, “Well I still have my Doctorate in Archaeology so I could claim I’m searching for evidence of Moses’s route from Egypt”.

The others chuckled. “Well you will be helping another exodus”. Ken joked.

“Start looking for routes Prof. I’ll contact Silverman to let him know you are coming and to get transport ready,” Shaun murmured.

“Have you thought about radios, Shaun?” Ken asked.