by K. T. Tomb
As the entourage pulled through the barrier, Thalia began to relax for a moment, though her nerves went into overload the moment that the car stopped and she was helped to her feet behind the barrier. She could feel the hatred and envy of thousands of people and could hear the hundreds of questions whispered among them. “Who is she that she gets such special treatment? Why is she behind the barrier?”
Thalia wanted to crawl back into the limousine and disappear, but that would only make things worse. She steadied herself and began to take several tentative steps toward the Chapel of the Tablets.
“Miss Phoenix, I presume.” The voice came from a well-dressed dignitary surrounded by a number of aides. It was thickly-accented English, nearly unintelligible, or was it her overactive nerves preventing her ears from functioning correctly.
“Yes,” she heard herself say, barely above a whisper. A smile even seemed to spread across her face, though she wasn’t sure.
Everything seemed to pass by in a daze, something that she had never had happen to her before. She simply wasn’t her usual calm, confident self. Could it be the power of the Ark? She had, no Reginald Whitherby had, convinced her that the Ark was not authentic. How did it seem to have such power over her? She had to get herself under control.
“We have been awaiting your arrival, but I’m afraid there is little time to waste on small talk. The crowd is very restless.” The man had a beaming smile and he swept his arm in an elegant motion toward the clamoring mass held back only by the small metal barriers and a line of military police bearing riot shields and, backed by another line holding M16s.
“I understand,” she replied. Her eyes avoided following the sweeping motion of his arm. She would rather get it all over with and get the hell out of there.
“Very good. Right this way.”
The dignitary, no doubt a high-up political figure that she was entirely uninformed about, led her into the chapel. She heard Charlotte’s protest behind her as they stopped her from following her friend in. The sound of her voice snapped Phoe out of her trance, as she turned.
“She’s with me.” She spoke sharply, perhaps more harshly than she intended, due to her mental state.
“I’m sorry, Miss Phoenix. We have very strict orders to only allow you inside.”
Phoe looked at the stern faces. Charlotte’s pleading eyes were an extreme contrast. For a moment, she considered protesting, but the sudden realization that she could be walking into her own death made her change her mind. If the Ark was real and God’s wrath came down, maybe it would only come down upon her. It would be better if she did not lead her friend into that fate.
“May I speak to her a moment?” Thalia asked, retreating back to where Charlotte was being held back by the armed guards.
“Of course. Please be brief.”
“Excuse me, please.” She pushed the armed guards aside. “Hey, Char, it’s no big deal, really. I’ll be back in five, ten minutes, tops.”
“But Thal, what if it’s…” Charlotte paused and made a rather goofy gesture with her eyes and twisted up her face. The comical sight actually brought a bit of relief to Thalia. “You know…”
“Ah. Well. Yeah. In that case, tell mom, Eric, Peter, everybody that I love them.”
“I don’t know how you can be so flippant about this,” Charlotte smiled. Tears started to well up in her eyes as she realized that it might be the last time that she saw her friend.
“You want to know the truth, Char?” Thalia took hold of her friend’s shoulders and leaned in to whisper in her ear. “I’m scared out of my fuckin’ mind.”
“Me too, Thal.”
Phoe kissed Charlotte’s cheek and then withdrew to look at her. “Then you’ll have to do the hoping and praying for the both of us.” She reached up and wiped away the solitary tear that had escaped her friend’s reddened eyelids and then turned away sharply.
Running mostly on autopilot, Phoe took robot-like steps through the door and into the chapel. Once inside, she was met by a priest who spoke softly to her and seemed to be giving her some sort of blessing. There were others lining the back wall of the room and their silent, somber tone only added to the tension that was already reaching its limit inside of her.
Calm down, Phoe. Just calm down. Everything is going to be okay. It’s just a pretty box. It’s just a pretty, empty box.
Thalia Phoenix chanted the same mantra over and over in her head as she was led toward the curtained area off to one side of the chapel. The steps became even more difficult to take and her breathing came with some difficulty as she drew nearer to the curtains.
Why was she so nervous? She had not experienced even a fraction of the nerves she was now experiencing when she’d gone after the Hammer, the Lair, or the Fountain; why did the fake Ark behind the curtain have her on edge? Was it the crowd outside, ready to revolt the moment she declared the box was fake or was it the very real possibility that the Ark of the Covenant, the real one, was actually behind the curtain?
Her tension was near its breaking point when the curtain was drawn back and she saw, with her own eyes, the Ark of the Covenant sitting upon a table of acacia wood and flanked by the two golden lamp stands, just as the account that Reginald Whitherby read to her had portrayed it.
The lamp stands, in and of themselves, were exquisite; but they stood in pale comparison to the glistening gold of the cherubim’s wings stretched over the intricately designed gold that covered the chest, which was not nearly as large as her imagination had allowed it to be. There were two poles of acacia wood threaded through the golden loops on the sides of the chest, just as the instructions that had been given to Moses by God himself commanded.
The idea that the Israelites gave up their precious gold so that the artisans could hammer out the gold that was laid over the wood that had created the chest, crossed her mind only for a moment and she took a hesitant step forward; her eyes drawn toward the cherubim and the mercy seat. The glistening gold of the mercy seat flickered softly in the candlelight as Thalia’s eyes scanned each and every intimate detail.
The Ark of the Covenant between God and His people, the promise of God’s protection and provision, as well as the reminder of His holiness and power was sitting before her. A chill went through her as she recalled the story of poor Uzzah being struck down because he had made a caring gesture to keep the Ark steady as the cart pulled it across the threshing floor. The overwhelming power of God surrounded her and yet, it was where her eyes were focused on the mercy seat that brought her sudden relief.
Though Reginald Whitherby had never mentioned it, the thought occurred to her that if sacrificial blood had been sprinkled over the mercy seat every year for thousands of years, then the mercy seat and the lid of the Ark would have tarnished spots that no amount of polish would ever be able to get out. Besides, it was her understanding that no one would have dared to polish the gold of the mercy seat, since the consequences of touching the Ark to do so would have been dire.
After her discovery, she moved forward confidently, though with a hint of doubt. What if I’m wrong? She extended her arms toward the lid, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. There’s only one way to find out.
Chapter Seven
The tightly packed crowd was even beyond what Sergei had expected to see at Aksum. He’d seen the enormous number of camps set up all along the road and surrounding the small town when he’d arrived the night before. He’d also watched as the crowd began to surge toward the barriers that surrounded the Chapel earlier that morning. It was going to be impossible to penetrate the throng and come anywhere near Thalia Phoenix.
As he looked on in frustration, the young man with him, who had asked him to refer to him as Asam, was scanning the crowd calmly. After a few moments, he said, “I’ve got an idea,” and disappeared into the crowd. Within a few seconds, Asam was swallowed up and Sergei looked on helplessly. He’d screwed things up again.
However, the circumstances were certainly not under his cont
rol. He had been sent into an extraordinary situation, horribly ill-prepared, to do an impossible task; place a bug on Thalia Phoenix or her friend who was always at her side. Worse yet, he’d lost the only assistant that had been provided to him without any explanation as to his intention.
He’d assumed that Asam was a professional, but he had evidently been fooled. A professional did not go wandering off without telling his fellow team member what he was up to. Sergei really only had one choice. He had to attempt to penetrate through the crowd and try to get near enough to Thalia Phoenix and her friend to get a bug on one of them or in their bag.
With the pressing throng, his face might even go unnoticed. Perhaps Miss Phoenix wouldn’t recognize him or would realize who he was too late. In either case, if he could get the bug placed, he would have done what he’d come to do and could slip away into the crowd before anyone would be the wiser.
As he pushed his way forward and weaved through the packed mass of people, he saw a line of military vehicles escorting a black limousine through the crowd. The ripple made by the passing vehicles gave him an idea and he wormed his way into a position that was likely to be very near the swath that the entourage would sweep through the mass of humanity.
He had guessed right and he was able to use the parting and flowing movements of the crowd around the trucks to make his way through the crowd and up to the open barrier. He continued on through the open barrier as though he was a part of the entourage, but was stopped quite abruptly with an M16 in his chest.
Though he did not understand the words that were spoken, there was no mistaking their meaning as he was forcefully shoved back by the soldier and the barrier was closed in front of him. Damn! Close enough to smell her, but not close enough to place the bug.
Sergei looked on helplessly from behind the barrier as both Thalia and Charlotte Phoenix were escorted out of their limousine and up to the dignitaries that awaited them in front of the chapel door. From his vantage point, he watched the brief exchanges, first between Thalia and the dignitary and then between Thalia and Charlotte after what seemed to be a tense moment as the guards stepped in front of Miss Phoenix’s friend.
There was a long, breathless span of time that even held the crowd in utter silence as they awaited news of what the renowned archeologist would say. Was the Ark authentic or not? The hush over the crowd had an eerie feel to it and for a moment, even Sergei wondered if the death and destruction associated with what Asam had explained to him about the Ark of the Covenant was about to come.
He suddenly realized that Thalia Phoenix was in an impossible position. If the Ark was a fake and she told the truth, there would be a massive revolt and her life would be in desperate danger, but if the Ark was real, she risked being struck down. He had a new admiration for Thalia Phoenix. Though he’d been admiring the shape of her feminine form and the intricate features of her beauty, until that moment, he hadn’t realized the strength that must also reside inside of her. However, the real test was yet to come. How would she handle the situation that she faced?
The span of five minutes that passed seemed to be nearly half a lifetime from the moment that Thalia Phoenix passed through the double doors of the Chapel of the Tablets and then returned back through them. As she paused on the landing, she raised her arms high above her head so that everyone could see and pushed her thumbs up into the air. A brilliant smile split her lips and revealed her straight white teeth as the roar of the crowd surged toward her and struck her with full force.
Sergei watched as the dignitaries that surrounded the door of the chapel embraced one another, shook hands and spoke excitedly. Each took a turn to shake hands or embrace Miss Phoenix. In their eager celebration, they even drew Charlotte in, giving sudden deference to a woman who only minutes before had been held up in a similar manner to the way that the soldier had forced him back behind the barrier.
As he looked on at the celebration, a smile slowly spread across his face. One of the men engaged in the celebration was his assistant, Asam. Though it went unnoticed to the tens of thousands of people at Aksum, Sergei saw the brief, yet precise movement of Asam’s hand as he embraced Charlotte Phoenix and placed the bug inside of her bag. Mission accomplished!
It was several hours later before Asam came wandering up to the place that they had used as a camp while in Aksum. Sergei estimated that it had taken him nearly an hour just to push back through the crowd. Even though he had used the trucks to make his exit, the crowd had built up so much beyond the point where he had begun earlier that day, that he had spent the major part of that hour simply fighting his way to the outer edge.
“Asam,” he laughed, giving him a huge, Russian bear hug. “I don’t know how you did it.”
“A magician never reveals his tricks,” Asam beamed. His white teeth were in stark contrast to the dark features of his face. “The receiver?”
“It is in the car, which, I’m afraid will take hours for us to get to.”
“That is where you are wrong, Sergei. I have yet another trick.”
“Then by all means, show it to me.”
“Come,” he replied simply.
Asam led them off along the edge of the crowd, which was not packed nearly as tightly as it was back toward the barriers. Once they had broken through the edge of the crowd, they were among the rocks and brush, but they were going in the exact opposite direction to where their car was parked.
“Excuse me, Asam, but our car is back that direction,” Sergei commented when they had wandered out into the rocks for quite some time.
“I am well aware of where the car is, Sergei, trust me,” Asam replied.
Sergei began to wonder if Asam had an unpleasant surprise waiting for him. It wouldn’t be the first time that he’d been led into a trap because he had trusted someone. He reached inside his jacket and let his hand rest on the handle of the pistol as he followed. He was about to demand an explanation at gunpoint, when Asam stopped before a patch of brush and parted it revealing a cave entrance.
“What the hell?” Sergei asked, still suspicious.
“Well, you see, my friend,” Asam began. “The other thing that I studied, besides the Ark of the Covenant, were the churches and chapels in this area. They are all connected by secret tunnels.”
“That’s how you got behind the barrier?”
“There is also a branch of the tunnel that leads to the church that is very near where our car is parked,” he replied, ignoring Sergei’s question.
“So a magician does reveal his tricks,” Sergei chuckled.
“Only when it is convenient,” Asam laughed.
Chapter Eight
“It is most definitely a fake,” Phoe announced the moment Kessler posed the question to her. She had waited until they were safely in the air and outside of Ethiopian airspace before she placed the call.
“But you said it was real,” Charlotte objected, interrupting Thalia’s call with Simon Kessler. The phone had been placed in speaker mode so that Phoe could sit back and relax while she gave her report.
“You told them that it was real?” Simon asked.
“Actually, I didn’t say a word.” Thalia beamed.
“But you came out of the chapel, put your hands in the air and gave two thumbs up,” Charlotte clarified.
“And everyone assumed that I was giving a signal that it was authentic.”
“But why would you do that? Why would you lead everyone on like that?”
Simon was silent as the two friends discussed Thalia’s actions.
“What would you have me do, dear friend? If I said it was real, then I would be lying, but if I said it was fake, then that entire crowd of tens of thousands of people would have revolted and we may not have gotten out of there with our lives. Now do you get it?”
“You made the right call, Phoe,” Kessler interjected. “It keeps everyone happy, though ignorant, and takes the focus off of the location of the real Ark of the Covenant.”
“I sense that thi
s was more than the simple task that you had originally informed me of.” Her eyes narrowed as she smelled the rat.
“No. I only wanted you to determine whether the Ark in Aksum was authentic or not.”
“But...?”
“No but,” Simon replied.
“Damn you, Simon Kessler. You knew that once I discovered that the Ark in Aksum was not authentic that I’d be inevitably hooked into wanting to know where the real one was.”
“It had crossed my mind.”
“Bullshit! You had it planned that way. You reeled me in. You allowed me to bring Charlotte along in order to make me believe that it was all a very simple little assignment, but you had something bigger in mind.”
Thalia was fuming. Had he simply asked her to find the Ark of the Covenant, she would have been able to accept or reject the mission. By using her for his little game, he had sucked her right in.
“Damn it, Simon, you knew that I was going to lie. You knew that I would have no choice. The enormous public spectacle, the arrangements that you made for me to be the expert that was called in; you set me up!”
“Not exactly. I didn’t know for certain that the Ark in Aksum was fake.”
She suddenly realized that had the Ark been real, she might have been dead. “So, you risked my life to discover that it was a fake. What if it had been real? What if God had fried me for touching his sacred Ark?”
“Phoe, I was counting on you being smarter than that.”
“What do you mean?”
“Did you open the lid and look inside?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“You wouldn’t have done that if it had been real.”
“How do you know that, Simon?’
“Phoe, how long have we been working together?”
“I know,” she muttered. “God, Simon, you could have gotten me killed!”
There was a long pause as each was sifting through their own thoughts.
