She barely holds together

The news of her father's **** and of so many others in the Knesset explosion devastated her, and for days Aviel was adrift and aloof, inconsolable save among her closest friends.

She could not sleep, she barely ate, and outside of work she barely registered anything her mind considered unimportant.

Some, in her state, would turn to drowning their stomachs in liquor, despite it only amplifying their sorrow. Some would turn to therapy or to religion, to find some form of comfort and answer to this tragedy. Abirit did neither, simply staring into the ambient air and seeing nothing.

She tried to book a flight to Israel, to pay her final respects to her father's funeral, but she received messages from her father's friends strongly advising against her returning. Tight-lipped they were, refusing to elaborate, but Wakeyo advised the same thing, believing something amiss.

Her own contacts in the IDF eventually said that her name was blacklisted among returnees from Liberia, and that to return would mean her immediate arrest, that she would be unable to return home in peace or attend her father's funeral regardless. Most were clueless as to the reason why, but gave promises that they would continue to investigate.

And so she relented, crushed by the guilt of not being a filial daughter.

"Aviel..."

Aviel didn't need to turn around to see Wakeyo standing beside her.

"You can't go on like this," Said Wakeyo, "You need to get up."

"...Why?" Said Aviel, "I can't go back home, and I can't attend my abba's funeral. What good can I do here?"

"Aviel, listen to me," Said Wakeyo, "I know this isn't the time, but this is extremely important; with the Knesset's explosion, the Likud and Yesh Atid Parties are effectively leaderless and the other parties are similarly struggling, and a new party has arisen to rise to the challenge. Already, it's absorbed at least half a dozen parties with strong support from the military."

That stirred Aviel out of her stupor. Wiping away her tears, she then asked, "What is this party?"

"The Amas party," Said Wakeyo, "It's led by Barnabas Angel, a retired IDF Captain who's since become a terrifyingly wealthy industry captain."

"Barnabas Angel..." Aviel mouthed, "How wealthy is he?"

"He's rapidly expanding his business empire in all kinds of industries, logistics and semiconductors included, and has a wide network of allies and business associates in both the US and EU," Said Wakeyo, "He's using said contacts to buy out competition and forcibly coerce smaller parties to join his party."

"Then he easily has hundreds of millions, no, billions of Euros worth of capital," Said Aviel, "And since he doesn't want to play fair, he'll use any sorts of discreet means and outsource them to third parties so he's not directly implicated."

"And the Likud party's already in danger of losing the next upcoming election," Said Wakeyo, "If that happens, Israel will be under Barnabas's thumb and our allies will be in a dangerous position."

"...What about our contacts?" Asked Aviel.

"They're trying desperately to rally support, but... it's not looking good," Said Wakeyo, "He's already got his hands into several government institutions, and is ready to perform the coup de grace."

"Then tell our contacts to let him have the win for now," Said Aviel, "And be prepared to leave Israel for good if need be."

"That's not a good idea, Aviel," Said Wakeyo, "If he finds out we suggested they leave, he may choose to target us instead, or worse eliminate those contacts before they can become trouble."

"Not if we have them split up into different countries, and if we time it right," Said Aviel, "If they leave when Barnabas takes power and begins consolidating his power - maybe two or three months into his tenure - then Barnabas won't suspect a thing."

"Even so, not every one of our contacts and allies should leave Israel," Said Wakeyo, "If possible, a small portion should stay behind and join the Amas party as double-agents, so they can monitor him and feed us information."

"Then who?" Asked Aviel, "We can't choose just anyone."

"Tamara Kalish," Said Wakeyo.

A woman of Yemeni-descent, Tamara has made a huge career as a businesswoman and entrepreneur in the water desalination industry, helping reclaim sea water to feed Israel's ever-growing industries. At 38 and married with four children, she is a terribly powerful and influential player, but also one who likes to play two sides to emerge the supreme victor.

"Honestly, I don't know if she'll be bought out by Barnabas instead," Said Aviel.

"I wish you didn't say that about her, but she's also a very proud woman; she hates it if people try to buy her out with money," Said Wakeyo.

"Well, she always preferred earning money by her own effort," Said Aviel, "Alright, we'll take our chances with her, and start sending those calls; we need as many officials and talented personnel here in Liberia as soon as possible."

"On it," Said Wakeyo.

Tears could wait for later. For now, the battle to survive in politics has just begun.