Let's get this out of the way by stating that I have no association with "Covert Affairs" beyond a sincere appreciation for the best show to come along in many years. Thanks go to its producers for having faith in it, and to its writers for creating fantastically good scripts, and to its amazingly talented actors for bringing it brilliantly to life. And, Auggie would take his shirt off in every episode if it were up to me.

Dear Readers, please note that while Ben's chapters begin some time ago and move forward, the Auggie and Annie chapters all take place in the present. I don't insist, but many things will be easier to follow if you have first read "In the Dark" and "Dawn of a New Day."

And fair warning, this ends in a cliffhanger. Part two of the trilogy, "Blind Faith," is well underway.

Blind Ambition

Chapter 1 Early Ambitions

Jacob Steinmann was born in a dusty kibbutz located on the West Bank not far from the Jordanian border. His parents were both Americans from devout Jewish families who had immigrated to the Biblical homeland while still in their early twenties.

His father was a quiet, scholarly man who taught in the village school. His mother was a trained dietitian who helped in the kitchens and ran the shared gardens. She somehow coaxed carrots and cabbages, lettuces and herbs from the sandy soil. One of his first memories was of carrying bucket after bucket of the scarce water to individually soak each precious plant.

Not that he really knew his parents all that well. He was raised in the communal nursery, and went to school with the same group he had played with all his life. When they turned teens, they moved into barracks together. The few dark and sturdy girls held little attraction for him, and sexual play was frowned upon by the entire community. When he grew up, beautiful, blonde, hard-to-get women held a fascination for him.

He did well in school, and spoke and wrote fluently in both Hebrew and English. He took to military training with a will and was commander of his kibbutz's militia at 19. That was when Mossad came looking. Jacob Steinmann jumped at the offer. His drive, energy and ambition impressed his trainers, and he was offered opportunities to travel and learn. Glad to get away from the dull routine of a small farming community, he explored the colorful and sometimes dangerous life in the ancient cities of Jerusalem, Cairo, Beirut, Istanbul and others

When the United States seemingly ignored warnings from Mossad that terrorists were planning large scale attacks on major U.S. targets shortly before the World Trade Center and Pentagon disasters, it was decided to place double agents inside the Central Intelligence Agency. Jacob Steinmann was one of the 6 selected for the special training necessary.

That's when Jacob Steinmann became Ben Mercer and a whole new history was created for him. With beautifully forged documents that proved he was the son of a Baltimore family that traded in Middle Eastern artifacts and fabrics, and with his knowledge of Farsi and Pashto, he had no trouble being accepted as a C.I.A. recruit. It was no surprise that he aced his training period at the Farm.