(live here in the stories) – Yitzhak Toito • Author of “Collecting Gifts from the Floor” and “Hatzalat Shout” – recently published
- Continued from last week
The data is waiting in Paris
They sat by the falafel, in front of what was left of the Palace cinema and wiped the remains of the spicy falafel with napkins. They were on their way to Michael trying to join them in Paris.
Jumbo knew what his friend was doing when he reminded him of forgotten things from their childhood. He tries to detach him from thoughts that contribute nothing.
Something from one of their endless conversations jumped out at him: ‘When you strain your brain in solving some problem, and you are all involved in the matter, you enter a kind of thought loop, and become much less effective in terms of the ability to solve the problem in front of you. And this is true for any kind of problem.
What you need to do is just disconnect. Dealing with a completely different matter, not thinking. Bedtime is also good and then, when you come back to the problem again, the solution will appear to you naturally, so much so that you won’t understand how you didn’t see it before, right here under your nose.’ These were Champ’s sentences then.
Today it is Dana who disappeared as if swallowed by the earth, which is completely different.
Still, there was no point in wracking your brain over a problem that was exhausting and impractical to deal with, simply because they didn’t have all the data. The data is waiting in Paris.
Costs a little more but worth it
Champ made an appointment with Michael at three o’clock at the club. Michael understood that there was urgency here and did not ask questions. On the way there, Jumbo got a background.
The guy got married a year ago and divorced ten months later, he said he understood the principle. He rented what used to be a spacious gym, renovated it, and adapted it to fit a martial arts class. He operated three classes, three groups. Kung Fu, Judo and Taekwondo. He was the judo coach, and two other instructors coached the rest. So he was busy at the institute from half past three in the afternoon until eight in the evening. Three consecutive classes. not at the same time.
Jumbo was interested in why three hours of training should be extended to four and a half hours?
This is because of the added value that Michael has and the decisive advantage over any competitor in the field, his friend explained. He collects the students himself from their homes, and returns them at the end of class. The parents love it. Thus, they know the coach who is responsible for their child, from the moment he leaves the door of the house until he returns to it. Costs a little more than anywhere else, but worth it.
You have a friend
They arrived a few minutes before three. A yellow minibus was parked at the entrance of the club with an inscription emblazoned all along the side: ‘Student transportation.’ Michael is already here.
The entrance to the club was blocked. Blocked in Michael.
It stood at the entrance and filled its entire width and not just the width. His head came within inches of the top rail. big guy is very.
“Hey, Jordan,” Champ and Michael exchanged handshakes and pats on the back.
Chump thumbed at his friend. “Get to know, Jumbo.”
“Hey,” Michael said, holding out his hand. They shook hands with the right amount of pressure. Not weak and not too strong. Matter of fact, without broadcasting any macho message.
Michael had never met Jumbo, but knew the general background. Champ’s childhood friend, for him – Jordan. Most friends have nicknames, but only a few catch on so strongly that you no longer remember your friend’s original name. Probably a result of the reason that led to the nickname. A matter of timing. That’s how it was perceived with ‘Jumbo’ and that’s how it was with Champ who for Michael, was Jordan, timing matters.
When Champ once explained to Michael that Jumbo was a friend, Michael asked. ‘Yes, but at what level?’ Chump scratched his head, ‘I don’t know, but probably at the level that Carole King sang about in the famous song, ‘you’ve got a friend’. That was enough for Michael.
“Come on, let’s sit in my room.”
Additional articles in Haifa – Haifa News:
Nothing becomes something
It was a room with plaster walls, measuring three by three meters, built by Shmeikel. There was a wooden table that looked somewhat artistic and a laptop in a closed position, resting in the center. In the corner of the table, there was a bottle of mineral water and three disposable cups next to it. Four wooden chairs are arranged around the table, a small wooden library with four shelves attached to the wall and in the corner of the room, adjacent to the opposite wall, was a bed.
When Michael started renovating the place, Champ helped as much as he could.
Money wasn’t a problem for Michael, but there was something fun about building your own place with ten fingers. Champ said he would take care of all the wooden furniture, chairs, table and bookcase, and brought all the equipment in his car. Every time something.
Michael was excited about the furniture and then, Champ showed him pictures.
In the photos, four dismantled and old chairs were seen, thrown in a corner of a garbage center and a wooden skeleton of what was probably once a table.
“This is your furniture, in its previous incarnation,” Champ said.
Michael couldn’t believe it. How could something like this come out of the garbage he saw in the pictures. An avid carpenter, Champ loved building with wood and, more importantly, refurbishing old furniture. He saw a challenge in turning an object that was thrown into the trash, into something useful. Nothing becomes something. To him, there was something magical about it. The furniture looks beautiful and is designed in a rustic style, and there is a homely and pleasant atmosphere. In most cases, the final product surpassed the original in its uniqueness.
Michael sounded almost apologetic, “I’m not offering you anything to drink because we’re all in a hurry.”
He poured water into the glasses. “Shoot, I’m listening.”
well, when are you going out?
Jumbo also had a basic background on the giant who was now sitting in front of him, and together with the last two minutes he had a clear picture. he is fine. Jumbo told in general, what he knew so far about Dana’s disappearance and his reservations about the very term – disappearance.
Michael knew from Champ that his old friend had served in some special unit for seven years and had never been seen in a military uniform. He didn’t know how to tell him more than that and Michael didn’t need more either.
“So, you don’t trust, or you don’t believe, your guys who are working and investigating there, and you want to go to Paris and conduct a private investigation and you need more people, because you think it’s going to be dirty.”
Jumbo didn’t answer.
Michael continued, “Take your guess, what happened there.”
Jumbo shook his head slightly. “This does not appear to be the action of a state body. Paris is full of terrorist cells, like most European countries and it is possible that one of them is behind the matter. On the other hand, they like to brag about their terrorist actions and until now we have not heard anything or received any demand and that leaves us with – not really Know”.
Michael didn’t need prodding or persuasion, but he had a problem.
Jumbo read it like an open book. “I have… for us,” he said, pointing a thumb at Champ, “two friends who own a small transportation company. They can take your place in picking up the kids from home and dropping them off after class, you just have to find a coach to replace you in the judo class. “
Michael looked skeptical.
Champ said, with a smile he couldn’t swallow every time he thought of backgammon, that’s what he called them, the two eternal backgammon players from their childhood neighborhood in downtown Haifa. “Don’t worry Michael, I know them, they grew up with us.”
It almost occurred to him that even if he forgot to leave them the car key, no big deal, it would delay them in no more than a minute.
“When are you going out?” Michael asked.
“Tomorrow morning.”
“It’s too close, I’ll follow you. I need to arrange a replacement for the judo training, inform the parents of the children and sit down with the two guys from the transports about all the details. I’ll follow you as soon as possible.”
They stood up and headed outside, they all had preparations to make.
Jumbo stopped Michael just before he got on the minibus, and extended a hand to shake, “Thank you.”
“Have fun mate, have fun.”
You are already starting to pay back the investment
When they were in the car Champ looked at his friend. “From the beginning I thought that Michael’s only problem would be the transportation of the students. He can’t cancel, that’s his uniqueness. Your idea with Shash and Besh is excellent.”
Jumbo shrugged. “Shish picked me up for guidance. He called this morning asking for help with his son at school. I told him that school is a matter that belongs to the Department of Education, that is, you. Except that you will be abroad with me for the next few days, but when we get back that’s the first thing we’ll take care of, so which was not difficult to immediately think of as a solution. He’s been on my mind since the morning.”
After a few seconds of silence, Jumbo turned his head to Champ. “Also your idea of offering Michael a unique advantage over every competitor, in the form of personally collecting the students and returning them, is excellent.”
Chump tried to look surprised “And why do you think it came from me?”
“Because I know the stuff.”
A moment later Jumbo added. “Won’t your wife have a problem with your trip?”
“You know you don’t. In fact, she’ll be mad if I don’t go out with you.”
Jumbo handed him a business card. “Arrange all the missing details with the travel agent. The tickets are already booked. Bash will pick us up from the house. We’ll pass through at half past five in the morning, you’re used to getting up at that time.”
“Of course, that’s the time I leave for Paris every morning. Listen, I think we’ll have an apartment available in the city. Nina, a relative who lives there, is usually in Israel at this time. She’ll be happy to leave us a key, I’ll find out tonight.”
“You’re already starting to recoup your investment.”
If only they knew…
Late that evening, Jumbo caught up with Yossi, his former commander and Dana’s current boss, on all the details, and more precisely, on all the lack of details. He had no clue. Yossi knew that there was no point in trying to convince Jumbo, that there was no need for him to come to Paris, and that they were doing their best, it wouldn’t help. Certainly not when emotions are combined with professionalism.
Yossi informed Tzvika Neman, the ambassador in Paris, that someone else would be coming from Israel, whom he called Jimmy, and that it would be worthwhile to inform those who should know that there is another factor, our own, that is working there for the benefit of the investigation.
Yossi had many doubts about Jimmy’s presence in Paris. On the one hand, if you can make a comparison with food, then Jumbo was superfood, and as such, it’s good that it’s here. On the other hand, he is in the status of a citizen, a foreign and independent citizen who has no obligation to report to anyone. He won’t ask permission for anything he decides to do and in fact, he doesn’t have to.
There is no one to supervise him and this could be problematic. Very problematic.
He will not consider any political consideration, he will not resort to any means to find Dana and will do whatever it takes, without any consideration of possible collateral damage and there is no telling where it could end up. In fact, based on their shared past, he had an almost accurate estimate of where this could go.
And that is exactly the problem.
Three thousand three hundred and sixty-five kilometers away, as the crow flies, in Paris, someone was watching their every move with the utmost precision and was waiting for them like a tiger hiding in a thicket waiting for the moment of fitness to pounce on its prey.
If they knew who, their hair would stand on end.
(Continuation of the plot in the recently published book “Whip Whip”. The first chapter, which was not published here and additional details, can be obtained at the following link:
After years of education, he took early retirement and is engaged in writing and producing wine in the small boutique winery he owns. After the success of his first book “Collecting gifts from the floor” which was highly praised and loved by readers, he published, just these days, his second book – “whiplash”.
