by D A Walmsley
“Hey, dude, I only invited you here for a drink, calm down.”
Benjamin leans back. “Remember the time when we all went on that booze up to Acco. Your mate Milo ended up in jail for punching a woman in the face. She pinched his bum and he thought one of the lads had done it, so without looking he turned round and BAM - blood everywhere. Good times. So, how is psycho Milo, you seen him lately?
“Not lately, he’s dead!”
“Oh… well, I can’t say I’m surprised.”
Benjamin has quickly finished his pint. He catches the eye of the barmaid and waves his empty glass.
“I still can’t get over you. You never talked about religion. Shit, collectors aren’t even allowed in the Temple. I honestly thought you’d be dead by now.”
“I’m surprised they let you become a Temple Guard! Did you lie on your CV?”
“They have a more relaxed recruitment policy nowadays, they like the guards to have been around, if you know what I mean? Don’t tell anyone but there are one or two guards who have done serious jail time.”
Benjamin continues to talk about his job, about how he has become one of Annas’ most trusted guards and all the things he has done for him; he always did like to brag. He even admits that he was one of the guards that had tried to arrest Jesus. Matthew tries not to take it to heart. He used to like this guy, they’ve done a lot of drinking together - right now it seems a lifetime ago.
“So there was this one time, I was just starting out as a guard, minimum pay, bottom of the ladder, and this guy comes into the Temple shouting, screaming saying he is the Christ, the Messiah, the whole false prophet shit. Anyway, me and this other guard, we are ordered to arrest this guy and take him deep inside the Temple, where no one can hear the screams. This guy cried like a baby. It was so funny.”
“You trying to tell me something?”
Matthew realises Benjamin hasn’t changed one bit and now he’s starting to find him annoying.
“All I’m saying is, I’ve seen this all before, your man is no different. Look at you, hanging out with the Zealot, the Zealot for shit’s sake. That team you are with, what a bunch of tossers. Fishermen and kids, that’s all they are. I didn’t want to tell you this, but, there’s a rumour going round the Temple that your team don’t trust you. How come somebody who has worked with money and numbers all his life and ran his own business, can’t even be trusted with the petty cash for a bunch of losers and dreamers? That must really piss you off.”
Matthew takes a long drink of his Goldstar. That did annoy him, he’s right on that one.
“My boss could help,” says Benjamin.
So he was right, Benjamin has an ulterior motive, “Go on.”
“He’s a very wealthy man, he would be willing to pay a decent price for some good information regarding your boss.”
“As you said, I’m good with numbers, so give me some good numbers.”
“For that you would have to talk to my boss. I’ll have to arrange a meeting, privately of course.”
“I’m not sure, what do you think?” Matthew says loudly, looking at the table next to them.
It is a few seconds before he gets a response.
“Yo, I heard.” Simon slides into the seat next to Benjamin. “Man, you two can talk.”
“Benjamin, this is the Zealot. Simon this is the old friend I told you about.”
Simon takes out his knife. He waves it in front of Benjamin’s face.
“This is my knife, you ever seen one of these?”
Benjamin shakes his head. Matthew wishes Simon would just put it away, he still hates that thing.
“You’re lucky, ‘cos they can be very dangerous, one little slip and…”
He slides the knife across Benjamin’s face.
Matthew leans over the table and whispers.
“Listen.”
Under the table Matthew has taken out his gun and flicks the trigger back.
Click.
“Did you hear that. That’s my Jericho saying hello. Now, do you believe I’ve changed, ‘cos if you don’t, then prepare to take your last breath.”
“Hey, Matt, come on, we go way back, this was all my boss’s idea.”
“Tell your boss he’s wasting his time, he can’t buy me or any of us off. Our boss is the real deal, got it? Now get the hell out of my sight.”
Benjamin quickly gets up and heads for the door. Before leaving he pauses, turns to Matthew and shouts, “people don’t change, you were a bastard then, you’re a bastard now.”
Feeling like the whole bar is staring at him, Matthew puts his gun away then downs the rest of his pint.
“People do change, and he knows it. Before the boss, I wouldn’t have thought twice about firing the whole clip into my old friend.”
“I need another drink, how much money you got?” says Simon.
Matthew looks in his wallet.
“Not enough.”
Chapter 30
Jude slides open the door to the storage unit and smiles. Now here is a sight to please the eyes. “There was no way I was going to sell you,” he says. His V-rod is just how he left it several months ago, along with his helmet and leathers. He wheels the bike outside and starts it up. It thunders into life, the sound reverberating around the yard and startling some sparrows perched on a nearby roof, sending them high into the sky.
He pops on the jacket and helmet and sits on the bike’s perfectly sculptured seat. He still can’t believe how close he came to selling it. It became clear very early on, that money for the team was going to be tight. There wasn’t the big named backer with unlimited funds that some rabbis and teachers have. Funds were stretched right from the beginning. Yes, they have some wealthy followers, but it’s not cheap looking after them all. Travel costs and food soon add up. There was never any reason for them all to have cars sitting doing nothing when the money could be put to better use. All the others moaned and complained at first but it made sense, especially when they were given the minibus to use. Jude was supposed to sell his beloved V-Rod, even though it was a present. He had all but given up on trying to keep it, until luck came his way and he was made the treasurer for the team. OK, so no one had wanted to do it, Peter had offered, but Peter offered to do everything. James and John, having worked with Peter, really weren’t keen on him having control of the teams’ money. No one asked Matthew, there was way too much resentment against him as it was. Jude was the compromise candidate so to speak, and he was more than happy to accept the job. It meant that he didn’t have to hand over his bike to anyone. Instead he discreetly rented a storage unit in Capernaum. At first he covered the cost himself, but as no one ever questioned him about the team accounts he started paying for the rental out of petty cash.
A couple of days riding around, giving himself some precious time alone far away from the team and time to think is just what he needs. It can be quite claustrophobic, spending so much of your time with the same people. He gets on with them fine, but sometimes they do frustrate him. Like recently, they were as angry and disappointed as he was when Jesus decided to just leave the Temple; yet a day later, they were back to normal, passively standing by while the boss seemed unwilling and hesitant to use this amazing power to take on the Union. He had thought it would be different, he thought the team would have more high achievers in it, be full of the best people in the country. He thought he’d be more famous than he is. All the crowds want is to see Jesus, sometimes it’s as if the rest of us don’t exist. Maybe it’s just frustration, he might feel better once he tastes the power of the V-Rod and the rush of speed. Jude has missed riding and really wants to ride it back to Jerusalem. It’s no fun being squashed in the bus all the time.
He realises that if he turns up on his bike the others would know that he hasn’t contributed any money to the team, and won’t be too pleased. They may even demand he sell it. He could even lose control of the finances. Although he wants to ride into the city, it is not worth the risk, so after one last
ride around the hills and valleys of Southern Galilee, he puts it back into storage and catches the coach back into Jerusalem.
Before he sets off he rings Andrew to find out if they are still in the city and then finds Peter is on the same coach. Andrew picks them up from the bus station in the minibus to take them to the house.
“It looks like we will all be staying here for the rest of the festival,” he informs them.
Great, back to sleeping on a camp bed.
“Hey Andy, did you manage on the money I left for food? It’s bound to be running low now?”
“Oh yeah, the boss wants to talk to you about that.”
Jude’s heart starts beating a little faster. Does Jesus know about his bike? Or that for the last few days he’d stayed at a very nice hotel, all paid for with the teams’ money? Did someone recognise him? He thought he’d been discreet, well as discreet as he could. After all he was riding a V-rod. Trying to keep calm, he asks if Andrew knows the reason why.
“Something about the Passover meal.”
Relief. For a second he thought he’d been caught.
Peter wants to catch up with all that’s been happening, especially regarding Jesus, so Andrew brings them up to date.
“The boss’s been in the Temple teaching most of the time. The city seems busier than usual. James and John have found their old pool table in the garage and have set it up and that’s it.”
That night Jude can’t sleep. The air bed which he has been given is uncomfortable and with the sound of snoring echoing around the house and a whispered conversation going on somewhere, he wishes he’d had a few more days in the hotel. There the bed was king size and the pillows soft. He fidgets until his frustration boils over and he throws off his quilt; a cigarette may calm him down. In the dark he fumbles through his bag for a pack and a lighter, then quietly goes outside to smoke. Pacing around the back garden unable to relax, he can hear the conversation more clearly. It’s Simon and Matthew, what are they on about?
“Should we tell the others?”
“And say what exactly, would you believe me?”
“Your mate, will he do anything stupid?”
“He wouldn’t call it stupid. No, he’s tough, but he may be more afraid of us. Benjamin’s no problem, it’s Annas I’m worried about.”
“He’s getting desperate if he thinks he can buy us.”
* * *
Jude was finding it difficult to get to sleep again the following night. They’re pathetic fools, blind to the future. Don’t they realise it is a win-win. In the end he didn’t care. He had been away a few days and nothing had changed, back to the normal routine of just following the boss here and there and ultimately going nowhere. It was the same today, Jesus got up, went to the Temple, spent most of the day teaching about something trivial no doubt. Then in the evening Peter will have even more questions. Jude is not the only one who is a little bored. The twelve are itching for the boss to take control, do something. One of the thoughts he’d had while riding around, was that Jesus seemed to work best under pressure. In a crisis, there’s no one better. If someone is sick he heals them: he meets a blind man, gives him sight, if there’s a storm he controls the weather, everyone’s hungry, he feeds them, when he was going to be arrested he escaped, a friend dies, no problem. The last two particularly interest Jude. Jesus should, by all accounts have been arrested, only he escaped through a guarded doorway and later, like he was really rubbing it in, he performs the greatest miracle ever. It can’t be a coincidence. The only rational conclusion is that Jesus needs a push, someone to force the issue. Jude has already thought that if Jesus were to be backed into a corner, say in an arrest, successfully this time, it could be the catalyst for Jesus to use his awesome power and bring in the dawn of the new Kingdom. Then Israel will see the true Messiah, and finally the twelve will get to sit on their thrones. Only this time, he will get to sit on Jesus’ right. The overheard conversation confirmed a few things - eventually the guards will arrest Jesus because it comes straight from Annas himself. The rest of the team are too cowardly and small-minded to plan such a thing and now he has an advantage. He has found out there is even money in it; money and power - the perfect win-win!
In the evening, when James, John, Simon and Thaddy were playing pool and the rest sitting around listening to Jesus, Jude sees an opportunity to slip out. He had hinted earlier that he needed some air, so he makes his escape in relative safety. He had thought about taking the minibus, but decided against it. Instead he walks to the nearest bus stop and rides in with the many pilgrims. Even this late in the evening there are hundreds heading up the hill into the main city centre and then going the short walk to the Temple.
He hadn’t rung ahead, and he doesn’t even know who he would see, but he does know the chief priests will still be there at this hour, if the news bulletins are to be believed.
On arriving at the Temple he wanders around in the hope that someone might recognise him. His chance comes when a chief priest, one of the Pharisees, stops and looks right at him.
“You, I recognise you, aren’t you one of the Galilean’s team?”
Jude smiled, at last someone knows who he is.
“That’s right!” says Jude.
“Is your man here too?” It is said with a venomous hatred.
“No, I’m alone, but I am here to see your boss.”
“Really,” says the priest.
“Really,” answers Jude.
He is in luck, the priest believes him and can introduce him to the right people. At first the priest wants to talk loudly, it is his chance to ridicule a member of Jesus’ team in full public view, but Jude is having none of it.
“We need to speak in private, or I walk away.”
“As you wish, follow me,” Now the priest understands and leads Jude away from the main courts, upstairs and along a corridor. Between the arches he can see the main courts below. He wants to stop and take it in, but knows he needs to appear confident and not overawed.
“Please sit, I will inform the High Priest he has a visitor.”
Jude sits down in the quiet anteroom. There are a few velvet upholstered chairs and a water cooler in one corner. Jude’s throat is dry, probably from the meal - Andrew uses way too much salt when he cooks, so he helps himself to a drink.
He is left alone for what seems like an age. Finally a man calls him.
“Mr Iscariot.”
Jude nods.
“I’m Jonathan Sethas, I work for Josephus Annas, would you please follow me.”
They walk down another corridor, lined with cedar wood panelling and furnished with gilded benches. If it’s meant to intimidate me it won’t work, Jude thinks.
“Mr Iscariot,” announces Jonathan as they both enter the office.
Immediately Jude recognises Annas and Caiaphas the High Priest who both stand on his arrival. He strides forward to meet them. As he was waiting, he’d kept telling himself, that even though he might meet the High Priest he shouldn’t be overawed. He has what they need. They should be grateful to him, not the other way round.
“What can we do for you today Mr Iscariot?” says Annas.
“Well, you can call me Jude, Mr Iscariot is my father.” He feels rather pleased with that reply, it tells them he’s his own man, knows his own mind.
“Alright, Jude, would you like a drink?”
Annas and Caiaphas look relaxed and both look to be drinking whisky.
“Coffee, would be good, black, no sugar,” he says. He doesn’t want to smell of booze when he gets back.
Jonathan nods, “very good.”
Annas sits back down, offering Jude the seat that Caiaphas had been sitting in. The high Priest stands behind the chair, making Jude feel a little uncomfortable.
“I do know who you are, I know all of the Galilean’s team. You are from Kerioth as I recall,” says Annas.
Jude nods.
“Now, Jude, do tell us what it is you wish to discuss.”
�
��My boss,” says Jude.
“Naturally, we didn’t think you were here to have a scripture lesson,” says Caiaphas.
Jonathan comes back in with the coffee. Jude takes it, and holds the hot cup in his hands.
“It has come to my knowledge that you are in the market for information regarding my boss.”
“Go on,” says Annas.
“I might be willing to give you what you want, at the right price.”
“What if I told you we had already purchased the information!” says Caiaphas.
“I would say you are a liar!” he says without turning to look at the High Priest.
“Bravo, there’s fight in you, I like it, I really do. Ever considered becoming a priest?” says Annas.
“How can we be sure you are trustworthy, you are after all betraying your teacher?” asks Caiaphas, bending so close Jude can feel his breath on his neck.
“I’ll give you a money back guarantee if you’re not happy with what I deliver to you,” he says looking Annas straight in the eye. Caiaphas huffs but Jude holds Annas’ stare, after all it was his name he’d overheard between Matthew and Simon.
“Excellent, young Jude, excellent. Because what we require of you… Is your Jesus!” says Annas.
“Fine.”
“It’s imperative that this is done correctly, how can you be sure he will surrender to us? This must be done in secret,” says Caiaphas.
“I’ll deliver him to you personally,” replies Jude.
Annas leans back in his chair. “Then you shall have your reward.”
He shouts for Jonathan.
“Open my safe Jonathan, and give our friend Jude - oh what shall we pay?” He smiles, “what about thirty pieces of silver.”
Caiaphas laughs, “most appropriate.”
Thirty shekels, even at the current exchange rate wasn’t what Jude was expecting. He’d been hoping for at least a few thousand euros, maybe he should haggle. Why only thirty? That isn’t enough.
