by Alex Lukeman
"Like what?"
"What if it really is more than just a cup? What if there is a mystical connection to it? If there is, only the right person can find it."
"It's just a story, made up a thousand years ago to keep people entertained. Medieval TV, sitting around the fire pit listening to the minstrel."
"Maybe," she said.
CHAPTER 46
Back in Washington, Selena and Nick made a quick stop at home and went to the hospital. They visited Stephanie first. She had two black eyes and bruises all over. Aside from that, she'd escaped with nothing more than an aching body and a wrenched shoulder. It was Elizabeth's side of the car that had taken most of the impact in the crash.
The new baby lay on the bed next to Stephanie. The two women bent over the sleeping child, talking in low voices. Nick stood nearby wondering what else to do after congratulating Stephanie. He decided to ask about the Grail later.
"Where's Lucas?" Nick asked.
"Shh, you'll wake the baby," Selena said.
"Don't worry about that," Stephanie said. "He's like his father. He's a sound sleeper, at least when he's asleep."
"What's his name?"
"Michael."
"I thought Lucas would be here," Nick said.
"He had to go over to Langley. Something's up, I'm not sure what. I should be used to it by now. Have you seen Elizabeth yet?"
"Not yet."
"She's in ICU. It's on the third floor."
"You go ahead, Nick. I'll join you in a few moments," Selena said.
Nick left the room and headed for the elevator.
Glad to get out of there, aren't you?
His critical inner voice whispered to him. He never knew when it was going to stick it's two cents worth into his life.
"Always got something to say, don't you?" he said out loud.
A nurse passing in the hall gave him a wary look.
On the third floor he followed arrows painted on the wall to the intensive care unit. Elizabeth's room had a glass window that allowed hospital staff to observe her and kept visitors and their germs at a distance. Nick recognized two of the security team sitting in the hall. They nodded to him as he approached. Clarence Hood stood outside the viewing window, looking in.
"Hello, Nick."
"Director."
Nick looked through the window. Elizabeth lay on her back, slightly raised in the hospital bed. Her head was tightly bandaged and locked into a brace. She looked as white as the sheets she lay on. Her eyes were closed. A bag dripped clear liquid into one of her veins. A second bag hung next to it.
A monitor near the bed displayed a steady stream of half a dozen vital functions in bright, digital colors. More machines stood ready nearby. Nick didn't know what their function was, but they looked as though you'd be in deep trouble if you needed them.
Intensive care wasn't a fun place to be.
"She's sedated," Hood said. His voice sounded strained. "I can't talk to her, let her know I’m here."
Nick and Selena had speculated about the relationship between Elizabeth and Hood and wondered whether or not the rumors were true. The way Hood was looking at Elizabeth told him they were. Hood's face had the haunted look of a man who thought someone he deeply cared for might die. Nick had seen that kind of face before, but not on the director of the CIA.
"She has a cracked cervical vertebra, three broken ribs, a hairline fracture in her skull and a broken collarbone," Hood said. "One of the ribs punctured a lung."
"She's tough. She'll pull through."
"I know," Hood said. "But seeing her like that..."
"It never gets easy."
"All these years, working in the agency, I never once had to go through this. Waiting to see if someone close was going to live or die."
"She's made it this far," Nick said. "If were you, I'd stick with that thought."
Hood turned to look at him. "You have no idea how refreshing it is to have someone say it like it is. Thanks. I was beginning to let my self-pity get the best of me."
"I know the feeling," Nick said.
"You're stepping into a bad situation," Hood said. "I don't want to brief you here. In any event it can wait until tomorrow."
Nick looked at Elizabeth, lying unconscious.
"You'd better count on being in charge for a while," Hood said.
CHAPTER 47
Early the next morning, Selena sat in the kitchen in a Japanese robe, sipping coffee and thinking about Stephanie.
Nick came in wearing sweats and running shoes. Tucked in the small of his back was his backup pistol, a new .40 caliber Smith & Wesson Shield. It was light and powerful and fit well in his hand. The Smith replaced the Colt .380 he'd carried for years. More punch, and the rounds were the same as what he used in his Sig.
"I'm going for a run. I've got my phone with me."
"I want to go to the hospital this morning," Selena said.
"I can't go with you. I've got to start getting things sorted out and talk with Hood. There'll be a briefing later. Come in as soon as you can."
Nick walked over and kissed her. "See you later."
He rode the elevator down to the ground floor and stepped out into the chill of a late October morning. A gleaming black Cadillac limousine idled at the curb. A man in a formal chauffeur's uniform stood by the car. He opened the rear door as Nick came out of the building.
It can't be, Nick thought.
"Good morning, Mister Carter. I've been told to give you this."
He stepped forward, holding up a gold coin. Nick's hand slipped to the butt of his gun, just in case this wasn't what he thought it was. The chauffeur handed the coin to him. It was about the size of a silver dollar and bore the seal of the Knights Templar, two Knights riding on a single horse.
A man Nick knew only as Adam had given him a coin like that. Adam had told him that anyone showing him a similar coin was from the Guardians, a secret society formed in the twelfth century within the Knights Templar to protect the sacred relics and holy places of the West from desecration and conquest. The Knights had been betrayed and persecuted in 1307, but the guardians had survived.
Adam had always met Nick like this, without warning, at his doorstep, waiting in a black Cadillac limo. But his car was ripped open and turned into a smoldering wreck by a bomb thrown from a motorcycle, right after Nick had gotten out of the car. As far as Nick knew, Adam was dead.
The chauffeur gestured at the open door. "Mister Carter?"
What the hell.
Nick got into the back seat of the luxurious car. The chauffeur closed the door. It locked with a soft sound. In a moment the car began moving, accelerating silently away from the curb. Nick was plunged into a sense of déjà vu. It was surreal to be sitting in a car he knew had been destroyed
Everything was as it had been before. The compartment was lit with discrete lighting. The seats and fittings were rich, black leather and polished rosewood. The windows were completely blacked out. Nick had no idea where the vehicle was going. The chauffeur was hidden behind a raised panel of black glass. A similar panel divided the rear compartment in two, so that Nick was unable to see who was on the other side of the glass. There was a speaker and a closed slot in the glass that Nick knew concealed a large drawer.
"Good morning Nick. It's good to see you again."
The voice was distorted by electronics. It was impossible to know if the speaker was a man or a woman.
"Adam?"
"You sound surprised." Nick heard a soft chuckle on the other side of the glass.
"You're supposed to be dead."
"It was a necessary fiction. I knew that AEON would make an attempt to eliminate me. I was taking standard precautions. As you will have gathered by now, I was not in the car. I was talking to you from a remote location."
"What about the chauffeur?"
"That was unfortunate. Joshua was an exemplary soldier," Adam said. "His death was regrettable."
"So am I talking to you or to a
speaker?"
"I am here in the car."
"I'm relieved to hear you say that. At least I don't have to worry I'll be blown to bits while we're riding around having this little talk."
"You sound upset, Nick."
"Not upset, annoyed. All this cloak and dagger, hocus-pocus doesn't go down well. I like to see who I'm dealing with face-to-face."
"I would've thought that you'd trust me by now," Adam said.
"If I didn't trust you I would not have gotten in this car. But that doesn't mean I'm happy with the arrangement."
"Perhaps one day it will be possible for me to reveal myself to you. In the meantime, there are things we need to discuss."
"I'm all ears," Nick said.
The car slowed and stopped and began moving again.
"Let me say first that I am sorry Director Harker and her deputy are now unable to assist you. It will make things a bit more difficult for you over the next week or so. Rest assured that we are watching them and they will be safe in your absence."
"My absence?"
"You must go to Syria."
"You mind telling me why I would want to go to Syria?"
"Because you've been looking for the Grail and that is where it is. Because ISIS must not find it before you do."
You have got to be kidding. How does he know this stuff?
"Okay, I'll bite. Where in Syria is it?"
"In a suburb of Damascus called Darraya. You were told it was moved from Mor Gabriel. That is true. It is also true that it was handed over to the Knights Hospitallers. But that was a temporary arrangement for safekeeping to avoid the threat Tamarlane presented. The cup was returned to the Syriac Patriarch and taken to a church in Darraya. It's hidden in a library, which is in itself hidden beneath the remains of the church. The building was destroyed in the early days of the war. There's a trapdoor in the rubble that opens onto stairs leading down to a large basement. That's where the library is, far enough under the surface to be safe from the bombs and shells. The Grail is inside a crypt which hasn't been discovered yet."
"Why would someone hide a library in the middle of a war zone?"
"To preserve the light of civilization in the midst of the darkness covering that sad land."
"You make it sound almost biblical, Adam."
"It is biblical, Nick, in more ways than you yet understand. You recall the prophecy in the Book of Simon?"
"You know about that? Would it do any good for me to ask how?"
"It would not. Besides, it's not relevant. ISIS has built a nuclear device. You will learn about it today when you take over Director Harker's responsibilities. DCI Hood knows most of the details. He'll brief you. What he doesn't know is that the bomb is being brought to America."
"Shit."
"Elegantly put."
"Who controls Darraya?" Nick asked. "Assad or the rebels?"
"The rebels, specifically the Free Syrian Army. The city is under siege by Assad's troops. It is a very dangerous place. There are snipers everywhere and constant bombing and shelling."
"And you want me to go there. Sounds like a perfect vacation spot."
"The Grail must be recovered before ISIS finds it. They've discovered that it never left the Middle East and they're closing in on it. If they find it, Simon's prophecy may be fulfilled. You have to stop them."
Whoever was sitting on the other side of the black glass had just made Nick responsible for preventing the end of the world.
A dull pain began in his forehead.
"Are you telling me this prophecy is real? That if the Grail falls into the hands of ISIS it will bring about the Last Judgement?"
"Yes. It could."
"Damn it, Adam, how come you don't go get it? You know where it is. Why call yourself Guardians if you can't guard something as important as the Grail?"
"We are not allowed to interfere. I'm not permitted to tell you why. We use our resources to guide others, like yourself, when things reach a crisis in the war."
"Which war are you talking about? There are several going on at the moment."
"I thought you would have understood by now, Nick. This isn't a simple question of bad people trying to start a new war. You're part of a war that has been going on for a very long time. You could say that it's the only real war."
As the electronic voice echoed through the speaker, Nick felt an electric rush of adrenaline and a sense of something dark and ancient watching outside the edge of his awareness. It made his skin crawl.
"Darkness and light, good and evil. There is no war older than that. That story can be found in every religion in the world."
"If you mean what I think you mean, I don't believe in the devil," Nick said.
"Do you believe there is evil in the world?"
"I think that's self-evident."
"That is all that is required," Adam said.
"What am I supposed to do with the Grail once I find it? If I find it?"
"That will become apparent."
The drawer in the black glass wall separating Nick from Adam slid open. It contained a folded map. Nick reached in and took it out. The drawer slid closed.
The car came to a stop. Nick heard the quiet sound of the door lock releasing. Adam's disembodied voice came through the speaker.
"The map gives you the exact location of the library. The opening to the crypt is in the southwest wall of the room."
"How come no one's discovered it yet?" Nick asked.
"It was always well hidden. Good hunting, Nick."
Nick got out. Adam had brought him back to the sidewalk in front of his loft. He watched the black limo pull away.
How do I get into these things? he thought.
CHAPTER 48
In Raqqa, Abdul Haddad was thinking about Darraya and the hidden library. The irony did not escape him. He'd been looking far away for the cup used by the prophet Isa, when all along it had been close nearby.
In a normal world it would have been within easy driving distance. The world wasn't normal anymore and it wasn't going to be easy to get to it. Darraya was one of the places in Syria were ISIS was not in control. It was under siege by Assad's forces. Scum. Pigs. Words would never describe how much Haddad loathed the Shia.
He knew about the prophecy in the Book of Simon from his spy in Sweden. It fit with the signs of the coming of the Mahdi laid down in the Hadiths, teachings collected after the death of Mohammed. Haddad was certain he'd been chosen by Allah to help fulfill the prophecy. Why else had he found himself at the center of this search for the relic?
One man traveling alone had the best chance of getting through Assad's lines. Once through the ring of steel surrounding the city, he would need to be careful if he wanted to stay alive. Discovery meant torture and death. Allah would protect him, but he needed to prepare.
He would have to take on the appearance of the thing he hated most, a Shia apostate. Few in the caliphate knew as much about Shia ways as Haddad. Aside from his personal distaste, it wouldn't be difficult to pass as one of them. In the service of Allah, anything was permitted. He would be forgiven for his deception.
Haddad didn't know the exact location of the bombed out building where the secret library hid the cup. The library had been created by University students, as a way to continue their studies in the midst of the chaos. It wouldn't be hard to find out where the students gathered. One of them would tell him where the library was, whether he wanted to or not.
Most of Darraya had been destroyed and many of its inhabitants slaughtered by Assad. Those who were left were being bombed by the Russians and shelled by Assad’s troops. The city was on the old road to Damascus, famous as the place where the traitorous Jew Saul had received his conversion to Christianity. Haddad prayed the destruction of the city would be complete and all association with the Christian heresy wiped forever from the face of the earth.
But not before he found the cup of Isa.
Just as the Christians believed in the final judgment and an eter
nity in heaven or hell, Islam believed in the coming of the Mahdi and the yawm al-qiyamah, the Day of Retribution that would follow. On that day the faithful would ascend to paradise. All others would be cast into hell and suffer the torments of the flames for eternity.
The coming of the Mahdi was something Haddad wished for with all his heart, as all true followers of the Prophet did. He would find this cup the Christians wanted so badly. When Jaffari's bomb exploded in the great American city, the final war would begin and the rest of the prophecy would unfold.
The call to prayer echoed through the dusty streets of the city. Haddad spread his rug on the floor and began the ritual ablution.
CHAPTER 49
Adam left Nick in front of his building. Nick watched the limousine pull away and then went up to the loft to change. Selena had already gone to the hospital. He drove out to Virginia and Project headquarters. Now he sat at Harker's desk, staring at the blank monitor on the wall and a row of clocks above it.
He was alone in the building except for Burps. The huge, orange cat strolled over and rubbed against his leg, purring and shedding and drooling on his shoe. Burps was getting old. Nick reached down and scratched him behind one of his tattered ears.
"You're still a pretty kitty," he said. "Don't let anybody tell you different."
He got up and opened a can of cat food and set it down near the desk with a bowl of water. There was something comforting in the sounds as the cat ate. It was noisy, like everything else Burps did.
Nick had wanted a little time to think before the others got there. The unexpected encounter with a man he'd thought dead changed everything.
What was it Adam had said? You're part of a war that's been going on for a long time. He'd meant since Lucifer had been thrown out of heaven. The Templars were a religious order, and Adam was one of them. It made sense he would see it that way, but it wasn't the way Nick was used to looking at things.
He'd never been religious. How could anyone believe in God when they thought about the terrible things happening every day? Things like barrel bombs falling on children or fanatics justifying mass murder in God's name.
