Cursed Days

by J. M. LeDuc

  Brent heard him disengage the empty clip. Knowing he was out of ammo, Brent said, “Lower your weapon and we’ll let you live.”

  Sweat poured off the man’s brow and his gun hand trembled with fear. He obeyed and dropped his weapon.

  “Now back up against the tree behind you and put your hands above your head.”

  He did as he was told and quickly felt the agonizing pain of an arrow buried deep within each of his wrists. Not able to move without causing even more pain, he stood there in shock as he saw two faceless men emerge from the woods. “Tell us what we need to know and we’ll cut you down from that tree,” Brent said.

  In an act of defiance, the man, seething in pain, said that he would tell them nothing. Both Brent and Seven drew back another arrow, this time drilling them into the man’s forearms, placing their arrows between the Ulna and the Radius. Pinned to the tree, he tried to scream, but quickly found Seven’s hand covering his mouth. Brent once again drew back another arrow.

  “This one goes right below your belt line, severing whatever manhood you have. My friend is going to uncover your mouth, if I hear even the slightest scream, I let it fly. Understood?”

  Engulfed in fear, the man nodded his understanding. Seven watched the colonel motion for him to uncover his mouth. He drew his knife from its sheath and held it up to the carotid artery.

  “Who is your leader?” Brent asked.

  When the man hesitated, he let the arrow fly, just clipping his trousers between his legs.

  The enemy looked down and saw how close he came to being castrated. Words spilled from his quivering lips. “I only know him by the name of Red. No one knows his real name. I doubt even he remembers.”

  “Where is he headed?”

  “Somewhere in Ethiopia. That’s all I know.” He saw Brent draw back another arrow and began to cry. “I swear on my allegiance to the Brotherhood, that’s all I know.”

  Again, Brent let the arrow fly, this time it landed just above the man’s head, ripping his hair out from the roots.

  “I swear, on the life of my wife and children, that’s all he told us.”

  “What is the full name of your organization?”

  “The Brotherhood of Gaza,” the terrorist whimpered.

  “One last question,” Brent said, drawing back once again. “Who runs this Brotherhood?”

  Crying like a baby, the man stammered his answer. “No one knows who runs the Brotherhood except for Red. I swear to Allah.”

  Brent walked up to him and lifted his head up so that he could see his eyes. “One last chance. Who runs the Brotherhood?”

  “No one but Red knows his identity. I swear I am telling you all I know. I could be killed for telling you this much.”

  Brent could read the honesty in the man’s eyes and let go of his head.

  Brent and Seven unscrewed the tail off the shaft of each arrow and pulled the man off the tree. Brent again looked in his eyes.

  “Tell him The Ambassador is right behind him and when I catch him I will kill him as retribution for his killing of the messengers.”

  The man slumped to the ground in a heap in front of Brent and Seven.

  “Stand up.”

  The man tried to stand, but he fell back to the ground. They grabbed him by his arm pits and leaned him against the tree.

  “Bandage him,” Brent ordered Seven. Brent went through his pockets, taking his cell phone and wallet.

  Seven poured antiseptic in each hole and tightly wrapped duct tape his arms and wrists. Brent read his name from his identification.

  “Oscar, you better go now, before I regain my sanity and put an arrow right between your eyes.”

  With a scared, wild look in his eyes, Oscar ran. . . stumbled his way through the jungle.

  Brent and Seven pulled off their face masks.

  “Why did you want him bandaged, and why did you let him run? I’m sure SIA could have interrogated him further.”

  “I don’t want a trail of blood leading anyone back this way. I want Red to think that we’re following him to Ethiopia. This,” Brent said, holding the cell phone in his hand, “is just for kicks. We’re gonna have Red looking over his shoulder the entire way to Aksum.”

  “Aksum?”

  “It’s supposedly the last known resting place of the Ark. It’s located in the northern part of Ethiopia. That’s where Red will be headed.”

  Nodding toward the cell-phone, a devilish smirk came over Seven’s face. “Whoever trained you did a good job.”

  “Yeah, he was a real pain in the ass, but he did an okay job,” Brent replied with sarcasm. “Let’s retrieve Bishop Jessup before he has a heart attack.”

  “Or eats everything he can find,” Seven laughed. He stopped and looked at Brent. “We’re not headed back to Egypt, are we?”

  “Not right away. We need to check on the messenger and find out what he knows.”

  “If he’s still alive,” Seven mumbled.

  “Yeah. If.”

  After explaining everything to Bishop Jessup, they were all in agreement to go to the Jewish temple.

  ****

  Before they could see it, they could smell it. Smoke.

  The three stood in shock and sadness. The entire temple and its inhabitants had been killed and then set ablaze.

  “Red must have decided that if the place was burned to the ground along with everyone, he could no longer be followed,” Seven said.

  He and Bishop Jessup looked at Brent to hear what he would say.

  The colonel just stood there, transfixed by the unnecessary carnage. A tear emerged from the corner of his eye and rolled down his right cheek. Brent could taste the saltiness of the tear as it trickled past his lips. He turned and faced the others. His face was emotionless. “We can’t help anyone standing here,” he said. “Bishop, say a prayer for the deceased and let’s get moving.”

  CHAPTER 26

  With heavy hearts, the team found themselves back on the ferry, headed back into Cairo. “When we get there, the old plan is still in place,” Brent said, addressing the Bishop. “We still need a ride back to Israel.”

  By now, Bishop Jessup knew not to argue and to do what he was asked. He nodded his affirmative. He took his rosary beads from his pocket and said that he felt the need to pray for the families of all those who were lost in the fire.

  Brent squeezed his shoulder to let him know that he understood how he felt. He and Seven then excused themselves to give the Bishop some time alone.

  Brent and Seven lowered their heads and silently prayed in their own way for all those who had been lost during this mission.

  After a sufficient amount of time had passed Seven asked, “What do you have in mind, Colonel?”

  “We need to back to Caleb’s and pick up Alana,” Brent said.

  The Bishop heard Brent’s words and soon joined his brothers. Seven and Bishop Jessup exchanged glances as they remembered the sparks that flew between the two.

  “Do you really think that’s necessary?” the Bishop asked.

  “Yeah, I do,” Brent said. “She’s a trained archeologist and her help in finding and navigating the tunnels will be invaluable.”

  “Why her?” Seven asked. “I’m sure that there are others within the outer circle that can help us.”

  “Because, she is no longer in the outer circle, she knows who I am.”

  “Yeah, but. . . ”

  “There are no buts, Seven,” Brent said in a stern voice. “Just do as you are commanded.”

  “Yes, Sir,” Seven replied.

  When Brent left the table to go to the restroom, Bishop Jessup said, “Do you think we’re going to have to watch the two of them?”

  “There is no one more professional than Colonel Venturi,” Seven answered. “He has his reasons for wanting her to come along
, and I’m sure they’re pure.” After a brief pause, he added, “But there is no harm in keeping an eye on them.”

  Early the next morning, the team found an internet café in Jerusalem and e-mailed Joan.

  “Knowing Joan the way I do,” Brent said, “she is now sleeping with her laptop, so I don’t think it will be too long before we receive a message back. Let’s just relax and enjoy what might be our last real meal for the next few days.”

  The Bishop didn’t like the way that sounded, but he did like the idea of eating, so he ordered the biggest breakfast the boys had ever seen.

  “I never thought I would see anyone put away more food than Malcolm,” Seven said, “But I was wrong. How does a body that skinny put all those groceries away?”

  Bishop Jessup looked up from his plate and with a fork full of food, said, “Fear makes me hungry and I’ve never been hungrier than I have been these last three days.”

  Brent and Seven started to laugh when the computer chirped. Brent opened the e-mail from Joan and read it aloud.

  “You have the worst timing in the world. You do know what time it is here, don’t you? In case you don’t, let me refresh your memory. It’s 1:00 a.m. Now that I’ve got that out of my system, I’ll answer your questions. I checked every database possible, including the Israeli Secret Service. There is no mention of a tunnel system in Kiryat Yearim linking up to the Holy of Holies, but after our last communication I kept digging into the caves and tunnels in Kiryat Yearim. There are a lot of unexplored caves up in those hills.

  “As far as the tunnels under the Temple Mount, what is now The Dome of the Rock, an Islamic Mosque, the entrance to them was destroyed during the Six-Day War in 1967. The Israeli government has decreed that there is to be no excavation under the Temple Mount and if anyone is caught trying, they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

  “I have contacted Maddie and after what happened at Elephantine, she insists that you and the team end the search and come home. If you are caught, there is no way the SIA or the U.S. government can help get you out. I know you won’t listen and I asked Maddie not to tell Chloe what you’re up to, but you know Maddie. There are no secrets among the council. She has ordered an emergency meeting to take place in one hour and requests that you stay on line for the meeting. Please do and please be careful.

  “Against her command, I have attached the last know diagram of The tunnels, drawn in the early eighties by an American archeologist who swears he found the Ark in the Holy of Holies and then saw it vanish before his eyes. This story was told on his death bed, some years later and of course was never substantiated or believed.”

  Brent went ahead and downloaded the diagram, a crude pencil drawing of lines and symbols.

  “So, what’s our next step, Colonel?” Seven asked.

  “We obey the director’s orders,” Brent answered.

  “You mean we get to go home,” Bishop Jessup said with excitement.

  “No, I mean we wait here for the meeting. It will take that long for you to finish all that food anyway.”

  CHAPTER 27

  The directorate of the SIA was assembled around the conference table. Maddie stood and began to speak.

  “I’m sorry to call you all out of bed at this ungodly hour, but there is news from the Covenant Team that we all need to hear. As I speak, Joan will be typing my words directly to them. You will be able to see their response on the screen behind me. Let’s begin.

  “Colonel, are you and the team assembled?”

  “We are, Madame Director,” Brent typed.

  “I understand there was a detour in your travels between Cairo and Kiryat Yearim. Would you care to explain?”

  “We knew that our ‘friends’ would expect us to follow them to Elephantine,” Brent wrote. “We had to make it look like we were. Unfortunately, we met with a little trouble on board the ferry from Cairo to the island.”

  “A little trouble, Colonel,” Maddie emphasized. “I would call two dead Egyptian soldiers and two others wounded a bit more than a little trouble, not to mention what transpired at the temple.”

  “If you know of the skirmish,” Brent replied, “then you also know that it was not us who did the killing. We did what we had to do in order to proceed with the mission.”

  Maddie hesitated before continuing. “I hate all this typing nonsense, Brent. Please break your communication silence and call. As a friend, I’m asking you. Please.”

  A minute later, the phone in the conference room rang, and everyone jumped for it. Maddie’s hand grabbed at it first and she depressed the speaker button.

  “Brent?”

  “Yes, we are all here. Before you continue I have some information that I need Joan to work on. When we were in contact with the enemy on the boat, the gunman said that he was part of an organization known as The Brotherhood of Gaza. All of the men apprehended had the same tattoo on their forearm. It was a picture of the Ark with two swords crossing in front of it. I need Joan to find out everything about this ‘Brotherhood’.”

  “I’ve already done so,” Joan answered. “I. . . ”

  “That’s the main reason I called this meeting, Brent,” Maddie said. “The Egyptian authorities photographed the tattoo from one of the captured. Our SIA operative inside the embassy was able to upload it to our website. The Brotherhood of Gaza is terrorist organization. From what we have been able to ascertain, which isn’t much, the Brotherhood is a multi-religious group as old as the Knights Templar. Their only goal is to gather up all the most sacred religious artifacts in the world. . . ”

  “To what end?” interrupted Brent.

  “They believe that all of these artifacts have powers associated with them. Whatever powers they have will be activated when the three Arks are united and opened in the correct order. This is a vast organization that we know very little about. What we do know is that they have men stationed in every major city and government,” Maddie continued. “You could be walking into a trap with every step you take. That’s why I am ordering you to end this mission.”

  “I’m sorry, Maddie, I couldn’t quite hear you. There seems to be a great deal of static on our end,” Brent said. “Can you repeat your last statement?”

  As Maddie began to repeat her command, the line and the internet connection went dead. Maddie stared at the phone, not saying a word. The conference room was so quiet, it was frightening. When she finally lifted her head, she had an emotionless look on her face.

  We need to prepare for a possible attack on headquarters. Everyone has their orders. You’re dismissed.”

  The inner circle of the Endowment stood without saying a word and walked out of the room. The only two left in the conference room were Joan and Maddie.

  “He knows what he’s doing,” Joan said quietly.

  “I hope so,” Maddie replied. “I’m just glad we decided to leave Chloe and Lucille out of the loop on this meeting. They’re stressed out enough, without having to hear what kind of danger the Covenant Team may be walking into.”

  “You made the right decision, Madame Director.”

  “Rationally, I know so. Emotionally, I feel like I deceived my own family.” Maddie huffed and shook off her emotions. “Let’s get moving. We have a lot of security measures to put into effect.”

  CHAPTER 28

  “So, we are to continue with this madness?” the Bishop asked.

  “We are,” Brent said, pointing to Seven and himself, “you’re to head back to Palm Cove on the next available flight.”

  The Bishop picked up his napkin and wiped his mouth. “You see, Colonel,” he said, “Here’s the thing. I’m not a soldier and I’m not an SIA employee, so you really have no right to order me to do anything I don’t want to do. Besides—what are you going to do if you find the Ark? You know as well as I do that it can only be touched and carried by a priest—so I’m a
fraid you’re stuck with me. Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to go wash up, before we continue this march into hell.”

  Brent and Seven watched him get up and walk away from the table. Seven spit into his empty coffee cup. “Well what do you know, I never would have guessed he had a pair that big.”

  Brent smiled and shook his head. “You do have away with words, Sev.”

  Hours later, the three of them were walking through the marketplace where they walked with Caleb just days before. As they were about to enter the alley that led to Caleb and Alana’s home, they heard a familiar voice come from behind.

  “I knew you couldn’t stay away for long.”

  Turning, they saw Alana walking toward them. She was wearing a long dark skirt and a long sleeved white blouse that were meant to cover up her curves. Traditional wear for an Orthodox Jewish woman. But as she walked, her femininity could not be denied. You were immediately drawn to her eyes and lips. She wore a scarf covering her head, but when the wind blew from behind, her thick black hair swept forward, as if it were caressing her olive complexion. She oozed sensuality.

  As Brent watched her walking toward them, he thought, the only other woman I have ever seen have this effect on men, was Maddie. It’s a gift and a curse all at the same time.

  Brent’s smile disappeared when she was finally standing in front of them. Even though she covered them up with foundation, he could see the faint marks of bruising on her face and neck. Brent plastered on a fake smile and stepped forward to give her a hug, knowing now was not the time to mention it. The others did the same.

  “What brings you back to my humble village?”

  “We need your help,” Brent said. “But I’d rather not discuss it out in the open.”

  “Come,” she said, “we will go back to the house and I will get you something to drink. We can talk there.”