CHAPTER 1
THE FUGITIVE
January, 2031, Barcelona, Spain
Ariella Abba said goodbye to her classroom children andto the other teachers and chaperones that had accompaniedthe group on their classroom field trip to Spain. Everyoneknew that Ariella had planned to meet her husband Aharonfor some beach time after the field trip in Barcelona. She andAharon would take a break before returning to Israel. Thetrip had gone well and everything was on schedule for theirromantic meeting on the beach just south of Barcelona.
The only difference from the announced public planwas there would be no romantic meeting with Aharon, norwould there be any beach time. Aharon was not in Spain butinstead lay dead in his own bed in Tel Aviv as the result of avisit from a nasty snake. Multiple bites had done the trick.
Immediately after leaving the group, Ariella proceededaccording to her plan and visited a small fruit stand off analley in Barcelona. She carried with her an overnight bag.She arrived and mentioned to the vendor that she thoughthis stand was the best that she had seen. The vendor lookedat her and said, "I have more items in my shop if you wouldlike to see them?"
"Yes, I would, thank you, Sir". Ariella then followed thevendor to a small shop around the corner.
In the shop, she was greeted by a woman in her fiftieswho addressed her by name, "Ariella, we have prepared thepaperwork as desired. As part of our plan, a bank accounthas been established in your new name at the BBVABancomer. It is a Mexican bank with branches all over SouthAmerica. Your account balance is one and a half million U.S.dollars which is payment in full for your services. Should youdesire to change your identity along the way, you will needto also change your bank account. We would suggest thatyou leave the Mexican account open. Open a new accountin the country desired and then transfer part of the funds tothe new account as needed."
"From this point on you are no longer a citizen of Israelbut rather you are a citizen of South America. Your newname is Juanita Hernandez. Your passport, bank check bookand paperwork are in order and your new personal historyis included in the enclosed papers. We have also includeda cash amount of five thousand dollars to begin yourventure. You are encouraged to study and memorize yournew personal history before booking a flight to whereveryou choose. Once you are comfortable with your newbackground you should book the flight yourself and proceedaccordingly. I do not want to know where you are going andmy services, and that of my team, end at this point."
"In addition to the documentation on Juanita Hernandez,we are also supplying you with two additional sets ofdocumentation per your request. The second is a passportwith family history in the name of Maria Montez. Montezis a Mexican from Mexico City. Her family history is alsoattached. The third, with accompanying picture and historyis under the name of Gina Gatti. Gatti's citizenship is Italian.We believe we have assembled everything you required onGatti. We wish you the best of luck in your new life."
With those remarks, Ariella, who was now Juanita, turnedand left the small shop. Before departing she said, "Thankyou, I appreciate your efforts."
"No need to thank me, my dear, you have done a greatfavor for those of us who have no desire to see Israelcontinue to exist on this planet." With that, Juanita turnedand left the shop. She had no idea what group had arrangedfor her support in this transition but she suspected that itwas in all probability the Russian Mafia that was still looselyconnected to Iran.
Within a twenty minute walk she entered the lobby of asmall local hotel. A reservation had been made in the nameof Juanita Hernandez and her room was waiting.
Once in her room, she sat on the side of her bed andopened the package that had been provided to her. She tooka long breath and then turned to the business at hand.
Juanita slowly read her new background. She was bornto a single mother in Pasto, Colombia. She grew up in Pastoand Florencia at the foot of the Andes Mountains. She waseducated in public schools and did not attend the University.Her mother was a hotel maid and she had no recollectionof her father. Her mother never mentioned him as she wasgrowing up. She had no brothers or sisters.
After high school she began work at a local school as ateacher's aide and studied English for use with the children inthe classroom. As a result of her studies she was bi-lingual inboth Spanish and English and valued by the school and herstudents. Never married, she had taken a leave of absencefrom her school and was using the time to travel around theworld. Her passport indicated that in the past six months shehad been to the United States, Canada, Scotland, Ireland,the United Kingdom, Portugal and now Spain.
She was visiting Spain as a tourist and would bereturning to South America. The package contained a profileof the city she had grown up in. It stated the following: Pasto,officially San Juan de Pasto, is the capital of the departmentof Narifio, located in Southwest Colombia. The city is locatedin the Atriz Valley on the Andes Cordillera at the foot of theGaleras volcano, at an altitude of 8,290 feet above sealevel. The city has a population of approximately 400,000inhabitants.
Pasto is the center of an agricultural region specializingin the production of dairy products. The manufacturing offurniture is also an important part of the local economy. Thecity is an important center of commerce with many malls. It isoften visited by people from nearby Ecuador.
One of the most important events held by the city isthe Black and White Carnival, with outstanding displays ofcraftsmanship in floats portraying legends and traditions,often mixed in with references to current political events inColombia.
Juanita read that during the carnival the city goes wild.She noted that the carnival is held every year between the2nd and 7th of January.
She noted that this would be the excuse for her travelsduring this period. She wanted to get out of town. She wouldfurther read and weave into her story that during these daysthe streets of Pasto become an urban playground where men,women, children of all ethnicities and backgrounds use black,white and color cosmetics to paint each other as a symbol ofcommunion and joy in their ethnic and cultural differences.
That afternoon, after extensive review of her newbackground, Juanita felt that she needed a break and someair. She was also hungry.
Before leaving her room she opened the small carry-onbag that she had brought with her and laid out the clothesshe had prepared for this part of her journey.
She had thought extensively about what she would putin the bag to wear on this next portion of her journey. Sheknew that typical Latin American dress was influenced bya mixture of traditions handed down over the generations.Typical clothing was characterized by its emphasis on color.
The uses of bold colors, like red, orange and bright blue,were a staple of Latin American woman's clothing.
She had picked nondescript items of clothing. She hadchosen a black tango skirt that was slit only in the front toallow for movement. She wore with it a white peasant blouseof the style said to have originated in Mexico in the early17th century and with it a matching shawl that was done ina mixture of red and orange colors. On her feet she woresimple leather sandals.
Once...
