“What do you have in mind, Rachael?” Zane asked in a quiet voice. As she explained, Zane began to turn pale. What she suggested was just plain crazy. What kind of girl was this, anyway?
“Do you trust me?” she asked again.
With a final deep, searching look into her eyes, Zane turned off his flashlight and shoved it deep in his pocket. Taking his arms, he wrapped them around Rachael’s waist and tucked his head down and into her neck. With her head tucked tight against his chest, they carefully shuffled right up to the edge of the well. In the darkness, they waited. When they finally saw the lights of the searching men turning their direction, Rachael whispered, “On the count of three: one . . .two . . . three.” And they both stepped off into pitch-black void.
As they fell through the empty shaft, time seemed to stand still for Rachael. It was one of the clearest moments of mental realization she had ever experienced. From the moment Zane Harrison had wrapped his strong arms around her waist, she knew she had found her man. He hadn’t argued or laughed. He had just quietly analyzed their circumstances and knew what she suggested might work, even though it was practically insane. He had trusted her judgment and without hesitation had acted upon it. This was a man she could proudly walk beside through life. A man who would not be intimidated by her, one she knew would protect her, challenge her, and cherish her. This was a man who would father strong, independent children.
Zane Harrison didn’t know it yet, but he was spoken for.
With this final thought, they plunged into the cold waters at the bottom of the well.
With a jarring shock they hit the water and separated. Down and down they plunged. Fighting the pull of gravity, they struggled to reach the surface. Finally, both of them broke the surface and took in gasping mouthfuls of air. Rachael began to scream, “Help, help, help! We are down in the well. Down in the well! Help us! Please, help us!” She let the last pleading tones hang in the air.
Hurried steps approached the well. Zane lay facedown in the water, holding his breath. As three lights shined down into the well, Rachael made as if she were taking her last gasp of air. Thrashing about in the water, she finally disappeared under the surface.
Three lights shined on the now-still waters. As Rachael thrashed about in the water, Zane had carefully taken another breath of air. He could hold it for about a minute and fifty seconds before he had to take another breath. He did not know how long Rachael could hold hers, but he hoped they lost interest before she had to surface.
The seconds slowly ticked by as the light shone down. He could hear them discussing the situation. He did not know what they were saying, but by the tone of their voices it sounded as if two of them were trying to convince the other one of something. Finally, just as Zane was starting to black out from lack of oxygen, the other two convinced their companion that it was over. The lights disappeared. They were gone.
Zane tried not to make too much noise as his hungry lungs greedily devoured the oxygen. A few seconds later, Rachael rose through the surface of the water like some ghostly apparition. As quietly as she could, she too filled her starved lungs. After several minutes of silent listening as they treaded water, Zane whispered, “I think they’ve left. Let’s get out of this cold water.”
Turning so they were back to back, they locked arms. Together they pushed against each other, their feet firmly planted against opposite walls. Slowly, with great care they silently walked inch-by-inch out of the cold, dark well. Their legs burning with exertion, they finally reached the opening, and carefully, they turned to one side. Releasing first one arm and then the other, they found purchase on the edge of the well. Still pushing against each other with their legs, they gave one final heave and rolled out onto the floor of the cave.
Exhausted, they lay there in their wet, cold clothes. After several minutes of silence, Zane said, “You know, I am by nature a very cautious and conservative person, but every time I am around you, you seem to find new ways to risk my life.”
A rich, feminine laugh rolled softly off the walls of the dark cavern. “It worked, didn’t it?” Rachael’s voice asked out of the darkness.
“It shouldn’t have, Rachael, it shouldn’t have,” Zane said seriously. “Your heavenly Father must have something very important in store for you, because despite your best efforts to kill us both, he is miraculously keeping you alive.”
“Us alive, Zane, us alive.” she repeated softly.
Zane rolled over, sat up, then stood. He could hear Rachael doing the same. Reaching down into his pocket, he retrieved his flashlight, thankful it still worked. A few seconds later, a second light shone in the darkness. “Let’s retrieve that crowbar and get out of this dark hole in the ground. I’ve spent about as much time down here as I want to for one night.”
“Can’t say as I disagree with you on that,” she said.
On the way out of the room, Zane found the crowbar. Grabbing it, they proceeded back down the tunnel. After they reached the stone door, Zane handed his flashlight to Rachael, and while she directed the light, he placed the crowbar into the crack and pried with all his might. Finally, just as he was about to move to another location and try again, they heard a grating sound as the stone moved ever so slightly. With renewed hope, Zane again placed the crowbar in the crack between the stones and pried. This time the stone gave way, and the door moved upward three inches. Setting down the crowbar, he sat down and pushed on the door with his feet. It opened all the way.
With a sigh of relief, they gathered their things and slipped under the overhanging door. Once outside, Rachael reached up and grabbed the stone door, pushing it back into place.
“What should we do now?” Rachael asked in a whisper.
“I’d say we should get away from this area as fast as we can and call the police. If Efran wanted to kill us before, he needs to kill us now. You should also call your father and let him know about Efran, not to mention the artifacts. Let’s carefully sneak up to the parking lot and my car. My cell phone is in there, and once we’re safely away, we can call the police and your dad.”
Standing together, they slowly made their way up the steps out of Matthew’s basement. When they could see out, they carefully reconnoitered the area, both of them searching for anything that moved.
“Okay, it looks clear,” Zane said. “Let’s make our way up the hill to the parking area. It would probably be better if we stayed off the trail and came to the parking area from a different direction.”
As slowly and quietly as they could, they sneaked up to the parking area. About two hundred feet from their destination, they both saw movement at once. It was one of the men who had been sent to kill Rachael. He was leaning up against Zane’s car smoking a cigarette.
“Do you see the other two or Efran?” Zane asked in a whisper.
“I don’t see anyone else,” Rachael replied.
Zane thought for a moment. It was only a matter of time before the other two returned from wherever they had gone. A hint of light showed in the eastern sky. They needed to act now while they only had one person to deal with.
That was when Zane remembered his flashlight. It was the one thing he had allowed himself to splurge on with his money from his AQES stock. Setting down his pack, he opened it and took it out. It looked like a regular flashlight, but it was much more than that. Without its protective diffusion lens, it was a one-watt green laser. To the human eye it appeared eight thousand times brighter than the sun. Carefully, he unscrewed the wide beam filter from the end of the laser and handed it to Rachael. As quietly as he could, he explained how it worked. Entering his code, he unlocked it so all Rachael had to do was turn it on. “Give me five minutes, then turn it on and shine it in his eyes. I’ll work my way around behind him. As soon as he’s down, make a run for the car. Try to get both eyes if possible. And whatever you do, don’t look into the beam.”
Rachael looked skeptical. “You really think shining a flashlight in this guy’s eyes will work?”
> Zane replied with a warm smile, “Do you trust me, Rachael?”
With a look of understanding, she said, “I’ll give you five minutes.”
Chapter 67
“We have two new contacts. They appeared out of the ground near the ruins.” Camera Four on the Heron was directed toward the newcomers. The operations supervisor’s voice continued. “We have one male and one female. IR thermal signature indicates they have spent time in a cold or wet environment.”
As the new contacts turned and the moonlight illuminated their faces, David recognized Zane and Rachael Neumann, the girl Zane had rescued from a cliff face. Jumping up from his chair, he walked over to the operations director and motioned to get his attention. The director, a look of anger on his face, waved David away.
“Sir,” David said, “that young man is Zane Harrison, and the young woman is Rachael Neumann, the antiquities director’s daughter.”
“How do you know that?” the director asked skeptically.
“Zane is a lifelong friend of mine. He’s a volunteer at the Capernaum dig. Put his name in your database. You’ll find he just entered the country a few days ago.” The supervisor entered Zane’s name in his database, and seconds later a picture of Zane appeared.
“People,” the voice called out again, “new contacts are Zane Harrison and Rachael Neumann.” He picked up the phone and dialed the number for Marcus. “Sir, I would like to send some additional resources up there. We have confirmed bad guys and a potential terrorist. If this starts to get ugly, we’ll need more manpower.”
Marcus replied, “Agreed, get two teams up here ASAP. I don’t know what’s happening down there, but let’s get prepared.”
David watched as Rachael and Zane made their way up the hill to the parking area. About two hundred feet from there, they stopped. They appeared to be talking, and Zane reached into his pack. David saw him pull out a flashlight and hand it to Rachael after a few moments. Then, stealthily, Zane made his way around behind the suspect.
“What is he doing?” David asked himself out loud. Why was Zane sneaking up on the man standing in the parking area? Obviously they didn’t want to be seen. Zane slowly made his way around behind the suspect and to the edge of the parking lot. For a minute he didn’t do anything—he just seemed to be waiting.
Over the speakers was heard, “Contacts 3 and 4 have turned around and are heading back to the parking area.” David could feel the tension building. All of a sudden, a brilliant beam of green light pierced the night air, its shimmering beam directed at Contact 2. “What the hell was that?” the operations director said involuntarily.
* * *
At the five-minute mark, Rachael pushed the power button on what she understood to be a flashlight. The moment she let off the power switch, a blinding, brilliant beam of green light shone from the end. The beam immediately got the attention of the man at the car, and Rachael steered it into his left eye, raking both his eyes with the beam. The man reacted as if he had been struck by the hand of God. He instinctively recoiled, reaching for his eyes and at the same time emitting a hair-raising scream. He began to roll and thrash on the ground. The focused beam of light, eight thousand times the brightness of the sun, hit his wide-open pupil and badly burned it. The focused energy of the beam completely overloaded the optic nerve, and he went into convulsions.
Zane made his move the moment he saw the beam of light. He covered the ground between himself and the man in just a few seconds. When he got to his car, the man was still screaming and convulsing on the ground. Clearly he was out of commission. Zane opened his car door and reached across to open the passenger door for Rachael. A few seconds later she appeared, throwing the pack over the passenger seat. Jumping into the front seat, she closed the door. Zane started the car and screeched out of the parking lot. The lights from his car revealed the other two killers just returning. Turning the wheel, he floored it and raced away.
Rachael looked out the back window a few seconds later and saw the killers throw their companion into the back seat and jump into their car and leave the parking lot.
“Zane,” she said, “I think they’re following us.”
Zane pushed the accelerator harder and hoped they had enough of a head start. Rachael watched as the car behind them gained. Clearly, Zane’s little compact car was no match for whatever they were driving.
“Stupid enviro-friendly cars,” Zane muttered. By the time he reached Kfar Nahum Junction, the killers’ car was only eight hundred feet behind them. Zane hit the turn going too fast and almost lost control.
Now on a straightaway, he again floored it. The car behind them was only two hundred feet back, and suddenly there was a flash of light and the back window shattered.
“They’re shooting at us!” Rachael yelled. She unclipped her seat belt and turned around in her seat.
Over the sound of the wind and car engine, Zane yelled, “What are you doing?”
“I am not just going to sit here and let them shoot at us,” Rachael replied. Reaching into her pocket where she had shoved it earlier, Rachael removed Zane’s laser. Another flash—this time the bullet missed. Pointing the laser out the back window, Rachael turned it on. The brilliant beam of emerald-green light again split the night sky with its shimmering brightness. Rachael held on to her seat with her left hand as she directed the laser with her right, walking the beam into the driver’s-side windshield and searching for the driver’s eyes. He tried to swerve, but he could not avoid the beam. Finally, Rachael scored a direct hit on his eyes, and the car careened off the highway, rolled, and exploded in a ball of fire.
Zane slowed down a little, his hand shaking on the wheel. “They won’t be bothering us again,” Rachael said matter-of-factly as she turned off the laser. Sitting back down in her seat, she held the laser in the palm of her hand.
Zane glanced over at her and saw that she was wide-eyed and shaken. “Rachael, why don’t you call your dad? He ought to know what is going on.”
Chapter 68
Marcus had followed the chase and subsequent explosion of the killers’ car on his smartphone video feed from the Heron. Zane Harrison and Rachael Neumann appeared to be okay. He knew they would probably proceed directly to her father and he would be able to find them there later in the day. Right now, he was going to find out exactly what Efran Finkelstein knew about Capsule 13. Marcus reflected on that for a moment. His thoughts scared him. He decided he didn’t want to know too much or he might end up dead—and that was if he was lucky.
Marcus headed down to the parking area of the Capernaum dig. Exiting his car, he looked around for any evidence the killers might have left behind. Before the other two left the parking area, they had loaded their wounded companion into the car. He doubted they would find much useful evidence in the exploded remains.
After five minutes of experienced examination of the parking area, finding little in the way of evidence, Marcus continued on to the dig camp. When he arrived, the camp staff were all gathered around in a group. In excited voices they were discussing the commotion they had heard up in the parking area. Efran Finkelstein stood among them, acting innocent and asking questions like the rest. Marcus laughed inwardly. Mr. Finkelstein was in for a rather unpleasant morning.
Then he suppressed a shudder. He knew Mr. Finkelstein would be paid a visit from the emissaries of the Guardian.
As Marcus entered the camping area, he asked, “Who’s in charge here?” The surprised group all looked to Efran.
Blustering, Efran replied, “I am in charge here. Who are you and what do you want?”
Marcus pulled out his Mossad credentials and showed them to the group. An unpleasant silence settled over the camp. To Marcus’s satisfaction, Efran had turned markedly pale. The Mossad had a heavy-handed reputation, but seldom did the innocent react with fear to their agents. Anger maybe, but seldom fear.
Efran Finkelstein was scared. When the agent showed his credentials, it was all he could do not to turn and run. What w
as the Mossad doing here so soon? What had happened up there in the parking lot? He’d heard the bloodcurdling scream and then the voices of Kameel and his killers. He’d caught the words “live” and “escape” and “kill them,” but nothing more. He assumed Rachael must have somehow escaped from the tunnel. Those incompetent ignoramuses! How had they let a single girl escape them? Efran had killed Zane, so he doubted Rachael knew of his involvement. Maybe he could bluff his way out of this. Members of his staff had seen him leave his tent when all the commotion started—he’d made sure not to be the first one out of his tent. He had been feeling pretty good about the events until the Mossad agent showed up just few minutes after the commotion up in the parking area. There was no way they could know of his involvement, was there?
Now that the agent was directing his attention solely at him, Efran wished he was no longer in charge. He had to hold it together. Millions of dollars of historical treasure was just a few steps away and just within reach of his greedy grasp.
“How may I help you?” Efran asked without warmth. With a disarming smile, Marcus replied, “I don’t know if you all heard the commotion in the parking lot above, but we have had a group of suspected archeological thieves under surveillance. We believe they were preparing to steal the artifacts of your dig.”
Efran, trying not to show his terror, replied, “Well, they chose the wrong dig site to steal from. We have no artifacts of any value here. In fact, this is the last day my staff and I will be here. We are closing this dig.”
With another disarming smile, Marcus replied, “That makes matters easier for all of us, then. I have two teams of investigators coming to check the area for evidence. During that time, no one will be allowed at the site. You all may go, finish packing your things, and leave. If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, Mr. Finkelstein, I would like you to remain behind so that I may ask additional questions.”
The 13th Enumeration Page 31
