Summary

The story begins with Stein and Davidoff, two Israeli soldiers, playing backgammon. While they played, Davidoff noticed a Border Police officer approaching them. Davidoff began speaking to Stein, but Stein “impatiently” (75) told Davidoff to keep playing the game. Davidoff tried to explain that the officer was looking for a soldier to reinforce his regiment, but Stein became angry and insisted that Davidoff “shoot the fucking dice” (75).

After Stein gave up on the backgammon game, his commander told him that he had chosen Stein to reinforce the border control regiment for one week, citing Stein’s ability to remain calm under “provocations” (76). Stein accepted that he was only going to be with the regiment for one week, then he entered their jeep.

At the Border Police regiment’s dormitory, Zanzuri, one of the soldiers, demanded to know who took his “commando knife” (76). Shafik, another...