the Hunted (1977) by Elmore Leonard

Maccabees. Jesus, h e was reborn.
    He threw extra clothes into a valpac and gathered up a pile of Louisville Courier-Journal s his aunt had sent him. What else? Stop by Norman' s apartment in Ramat Aviv for the shotgun. Wha t else? See Tali and pick up his travel bag full of dirt y clothes. Something else. Shit yes, first he was supposed to meet her friend, Mati Harari. At eleven o'clock.
    It was twenty to eleven when he drove away fro m the Marine House and passed gungy Willard Mim s jogging back from Afeka in his flak jacket and combat boots. A beer with Norman, in his underwear, took a few minutes. Still, it was only eleven-fiftee n when he pulled up in front of the M&A Club o n Hayarkon, half a block from the Pal.
    He remembered something else he hadn' t thought of in the past twelve hours or more and i t gave him a sinking feeling. Twenty-six days to g o and he'd be on his own.
    The M&A--Miguel and Ali's, where Argentin a met the Middle East--was a place with a courtyar d in front, hidden from the street; it had white stucc o walls with dark beams, and impressionist paintings. Not a drinking bar like Norman's, a conversation bar where young Israelis who were making it came in to talk and play backgammon and sip coffee or one glass of wine for an hour. Each time Davis came to the M&A he liked it, the atmosphere, and promised himself to come back and learn how to play backgammon. But he usuall y ended up at Norman's.
    He asked Mati if he wanted something to drink.
    Mati shook his head. There was no one in the plac e except Mati Harari, Tali's friend, and Miguel' s wife, Orah, behind the small bar. Davis got himsel f an ice-cold Gold Star from her before he sat dow n with Mati and saw his Marine travel bag on th e bench.
    "You brought it. Good."
    "Man, she's anxious to see you. But you got t o not go in through the front."
    "I've got to not go in through the front, uh?"
    "I'm suppose to show you a way, how you tak e the lift from the lower level."
    "What're you nervous for?"
    "You talking about? I'm not nervous. Listen , they watching them, man. Tali don't know what' s going on."
    "I don't either," Davis said. "I don't even kno w what you're telling me."
    "I'm not going to tell you nothing, so don't as k me." Like, try and make me. The street kid, th e dark Sephardim with his bandit mustache and hi s bushy Israeli 'fro. He could look mean, all right , and Tali had said he'd served time in Haifa. Davi s accepted that. The guy was still about a Grade C h otshot. He'd last about two minutes on the line.
    "I don't think we're getting anywhere," Davi s said. "Is there anything else?"
    "Follow me," Mati said. "That's all you got t o do."
    Rashad was across the street from the Pal at Kope l "Drive Your Self" Ltd., seeing the man about getting a Mercedes before he dumped the BMW.
    Rashad wasn't watching for anything. He ha d moved away from the counter and was standing i n the open doorway while the Kopel agent shuffle d through his papers. Rashad was in the right plac e to see them coming along Hayarkon, walking i n the street. When the Kopel man said, "Here it is," a nd began to quote rates, Rashad turned to hi m and said, "Hold it, my man. Before we get int o that, let me use your phone. Got to call my father."
    Valenzuela answered. Rashad said, "He's back , coming down the street this way . . . the Marine , man. I'm across the street at the car rental. The Marine's with the Arab kid again. Same one as last night . . . Wait a minute. No, they're going dow n the side street next to the hotel. The Marine's go t his overnight bag again . . . going down there lik e they heading for the beach. . . . I don't know , maybe he's got something going with the cute Ara b kid." Rashad listened, nodding--"Yeah, al l right"--and he hung up.
    He said to the Kopel agent, "Sorry. My fathe r say I got to come right home."
    Through a gray basement hallway and up a servic e elevator to eight. Tali was waiting for them, th e door to 824 open.
    "You're