by J. M. LeDuc
“All your guards are either dead or disarmed. You and your men at the gate are surrounded.”
Anwar’s eyes became merely slits as his anger grew. Aiming his gun directly at Bishop Jessup, he pulled the trigger. Seven, seeing what was about to transpire, drew back his bow and loosed an arrow. It tore through the hand of Anwar just as he was about to kill the Bishop. The arrow caused Anwar to drop his weapon, but not before he fired an errant shot. The bullet missed the Bishop, but hit the leg of Isa, the father of the dancers.
Bishop Jessup, seeing what happened, picked up one of the girls discarded veils and tied it around his thigh. Brent put a dart into the three men that were present with Anwar. The terrorist watched as his men fell around him.
“I want all of the people inside the gate to move away from Anwar,” Brent said.
“How is it, you know my name?” Anwar asked while he was trying to control the bleeding in his hand.
“This is not the first time we have met, but I’m not here to become reacquainted. I just need information,” Brent said.
“You’ll get nothing from me, infidel!”
“You have two minutes before your command center blows sky high. Tell me what I want to know and I’ll disarm the explosive.”
“Are you such a coward that you will not show yourself to me? And what is it that means so much to you that you would kill for it?”
“Ninety seconds. Where did the messenger send the men last night?”
Anwar spit in Brent’s direction. “I will tell you nothing until you show yourself.”
“Sixty seconds.”
“Show yourself!” Anwar screamed. “I do not deal with cowards.”
Brent walked in from the shadows and stood thirty feet from his adversary.
At first sight, Anwar immediately knew him. His hand traced the purple scar running the length of his cheek. “I have vowed to kill you, since the day you left your mark on me.” He was practically foaming at the mouth. “I will give you nothing.”
“Thirty seconds,” Brent said calmly. “I did not come to rehash old times. I just came for the information.”
Anwar spit again as he took a couple steps closer to Brent. “I spit on you, you American pig.” Before he could move ten feet closer, an arrow found its way into his right foot. “Ahh,” he cried as he hit the ground.
Brent looked at his watch. “Out of time.”
The bomb detonated, destroying the mausoleum and all that was inside. Anwar pulled himself up off the ground and reached into his waistband with his good hand and pulled a second gun.
“Don’t be a fool,” Brent warned.
Fury was all Anwar could feel as he raised his gun to fire. Before he was able to raise it higher than his belt, he dropped back to the ground, seemingly lifeless. From the shadows on the opposite end of the graveyard, Seven appeared pointing his gun at the spectators.
He checked to make sure Anwar still had a pulse. He pulled the dart from his neck and cuffed the man’s ankles and wrists. Brent looked around.
“Everyone, go home. This is no placed to raise a family,” he yelled.
“We have nowhere to go,” a woman said in broken English. “How are we supposed to live?”
“There is a Mosque on the eastern edge of Medinat. Arrangements have been made for food and shelter for all of you. Tell them that the Ambassador sent you and all your needs will be met. But I warn you,” he said, pointing. “If you return to ‘The City of the Dead’, the provisions will stop.”
Brent bent down and picked up Anwar and slung him over his shoulder. He and Seven turned and walked back into the shadows from once they came. Behind them, they could hear the gate open and the people leaving. As they approached the back gate, Brent saw a woman holding a baby standing to its right. As they walked closer, the woman stepped forward.
“The man you call the messenger was my husband, Abdul. It was you he was waiting for.”
“And who do you presume me to be, dear woman?”
“You are the one they call The Ambassador. My family members have been knights for many years.”
“How do you know that I’m The Ambassador?”
“No one else could do what you just did without having the Holy Spirit to guide him. You are the one,” she said with conviction.
Brent reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. “On this paper is the name of another knight here in Cairo. He will be expecting you and your family. Once you are there, you will be able to begin a new life.” He then gave her a money clip in the shape of a cross.
“You will present it to the man of the house when you arrive. This will be the sign that you were sent by the Ambassador.” Pointing to the clip, he said, “In it, you will find a card with a phone number on it. If you need anything, this number will get you in touch with someone who’s part of the inner circle. They will make sure your needs are met.”
The woman reached out and took it and thanked Brent for his generosity. “God be with you,” she said.
“And may the blessings of the Lord be with you,” Brent replied as he gave her a hug and kissed her on the cheek.
Just as they were walking away the woman said, “My husband sent the imposters to the island of Elephantine on the Nile, near Aswan. He said that they were to search out the head rabbi at the Jewish Temple found there.”
Brent smiled and thanked her for the information.
She nodded and said, “But that was just a ruse.”
Brent motioned to Seven to come take Anwar from him. “I want you to go and meet the Bishop at the restroom. I’ll follow shortly.”
“The explosion was loud. Don’t be too long, Colonel. You don’t want to be here if the Egyptian police show up.”
“I’ll be right behind you, now move out.” Brent turned and walked back toward the woman. “I’m sorry, I never even asked your name,” he said.
“Djeserit,” the woman said, “but my family calls me Desi.”
“That is a beautiful name, if I’m not mistaken it means, ‘Holy Woman’. Is that right?”
Brent watched as Desi’s face and demeanor changed. Warmth seemed to wash over her, bringing a renewed vitality.
“That is its meaning, though I’m not so sure that I live up to it.”
“Oh, I think you do. Much more so than you give yourself credit for.”
Desi bowed her head as she began to blush, and in a whispered tone, said, “Thank you, Ambassador.”
Brent lightly placed his fingers under her chin and raised her head so they were looking at each other. “Desi, what did you mean. . . it was just a ruse? Are you saying that your husband sent them in the wrong direction?”
“Every messenger and their ancestors have known that a false Ambassador may try to find the whereabouts of the Ark, so they devised a safety net.”
“Why was I not made aware of this?”
“In generations past, all of the messengers got together and formed this plan,” Djeserit said. “They felt that they needed utmost secrecy in order for it to be fail-safe. Since they did not know the identity of the Ambassador, they didn’t want to go through the inner circle, afraid that their plan might be compromised.”
Brent smiled at their ingenuity. “I can appreciate the safety measures that were put in place. Do you know the true location of the Ark?”
“My husband had said that in order to find the Ark, you must first find your way into the Holy of Holies.”
Brent looked at Desi with confusion. “I thought the Holy of Holies had been destroyed along with Solomon’s Temple?”
“The Holy of Holies was built under the temple,” Desi said. “You must pass through a maze of tunnels in order to find it. It is thought that it probably survived because of its depth.”
Brent couldn’t believe what he was hearing. For a moment he just stood there,
staring at Djeserit. “Did your husband tell you how we are supposed to get into this maze?”
Shaking her head, she said, “All he knew was there was another tunnel system that would lead to it from Kiryat Yearim.”
Brent smiled, knowing where he needed to go. Kissing Djeserit on both cheeks, he thanked her and disappeared into the night.
Fifteen minutes later, Brent was with Seven back at the public restroom where the evening had begun. Seven tied Anwar to the plumbing in the last stall as Brent made the call to headquarters.
Ten minutes later, Bishop Jessup showed up. He was late because he wanted to be sure that the injured man received medical care.
CHAPTER 21
At nineteen hundred hours, the SIA directorate and the remaining squad members assembled in the conference room to wait for Brent’s phone call. Joan and Scarlet brought in food, knowing it was late and that no one had eaten all day. Two hours later, the food was hardly touched but a lot of coffee had been drunk. Everyone sat in silence, eyes glued to the phone. As the silence escalated to a deafening level, it rang, startling everyone. Fitz spilled his coffee and Scarlet practically fell off her chair.
Maddie placed the phone on speaker, “Colonel, is that you? Is everyone alright? Is Seven with you?”
“Slow down, Maddie. Everyone is fine and yes, Seven is here by my side.”
“Hey, baby doll,” Seven drawled.
“Thank God,” Maddie said. “How did the mission go? Were there any casualties? How’s the Bishop?”
“Again, everyone is fine and present,” Brent said. “Ease up on the caffeine. At this rate, it will be days before you get any sleep. Before I get into the specifics, I need Joan to contact the American Embassy in Cairo. Tell them that the terrorist, Anwar is packaged in the public restroom on the north side of Medinat al-mawta, bagged and gagged in the last stall.”
“Anwar?” Maddie exclaimed. “What the hell happened, Colonel?”
Brent spent the next fifteen minutes rehashing the specifics of the mission. “I’m sorry about the casualties. They could not be helped.”
“We’ll discuss that when you arrive home. For now, we’re all thankful that you’re safe,” Maddie said.
“Ahem,” Chloe cleared her throat.
Maddie smiled. “I believe your wife has something to say to you, Colonel.”
“How’s are my girls?” Brent said.
“Much better now that we can hear your voice,” Chloe answered. “What’s your next move?”
Brent eyes his teammates. “We’re headed back to Kiryat Yearim.”
There was a few seconds of dead silence while everyone at headquarters was thinking.
The colonel broke the tension. “Kiss my baby for me.”
“I’m not that flexible,” Chloe said with sarcasm.
“Now that’s the girl I married.” Brent could hear laughter coming from the room. “Joan, are you still there?”
“I’m still here, Colonel.”
“I need all the information you can find on an ancient tunnel system built in the ancient caves along the hillside of Kiryat Yearim, and I need it yesterday.”
“I’m gathering it now, Sir. You should have everything you will need by the time you wake up in the morning. You do plan on sleeping?”
“We would probably go without, but it’s not worth the Bishop’s whining.”
Again, laughter could be heard, but this time it wasn’t just coming from the other end of the phone. Seven and Brent were also laughing. In fact, the only one not laughing was the Bishop.
“Sir?”
“Yes, Joan.”
“Unless you want to be interrogated, it’s time to get out of there. The embassy forces have been deployed. They should be there in five.”
“Thanks for the heads up. We’ll check in tomorrow.”
CHAPTER 22
The team spent the night with Isa, his wife and daughters. Brent paid all of the hospital and doctor’s bills out of a special Endowment bank account and thanked them profusely for their help and sacrifice. The girls, ages 17 to 22 were completely enamored with the muscular builds of Brent and Seven and hung on every word they had to say.
Isa talked until early morning with Bishop Jessup. They discussed the differences between the Muslim and Christian religions. Isa said that the tenants of the Koran state that there is no original sin. All men are born pure in nature. Whatever becomes of man afterwards is a result of external influences and intruding factors. The Bishop went on to explain to Isa why Christians believed in original sin and why it took the death and resurrection of Jesus to make man sinless again in the eyes of God.
They continued late into the night discussing Mohammad and Jesus, the similarities and the differences between the two, as well as the Holy Trinity and how both religions saw them differently. By the time the evening was over, both men had a deeper understanding and respect for each other’s faiths.
Goodbyes were said just after dawn and the team left for their next destination. Before leaving, Brent left a Bible with the family. Unbeknownst to Isa or his daughters, he also left a large sum of money.
“We need to find transportation back to Israel,” Brent said. “I’m thinking that the Pope’s envoy needs to go back to the American Embassy and secure us a ride back.”
“Oh, come on,” the Bishop said. “Can’t you two do anything by yourselves? You do know that it is against my vows to lie, don’t you?”
“What lie?” Seven said. “You followed the Pope’s request by coming to Cairo and now you’ll be doing the same thing by going back to Jerusalem. That seems pretty truthful to me.”
Bishop Jessup looked at Seven and shook his head. “If I didn’t know where your heart was, I’d swear you were going to burn in hell.”
“In that case, padre, I’m glad you know where my heart is,” Seven said as he slapped him on the back.
“Alright children, that’s enough,” Brent said. “I want to go back to the internet café and find out what happened at ‘The City of the Dead’ when the Egyptian authorities showed up.”
They soon found themselves sipping coffee and staring at a computer monitor. In no time, Brent made the connection to SIA headquarters. Joan had written a lengthy blog about the aftermath of the Medinat invasion.
“It seems our gift was not as well received in Washington as we thought it would be,” Brent said.
“How’s that?” Seven asked.
“President Dupree was bombarded with questions about the raid from the Egyptian government. Though they were happy that Anwar and his men were apprehended, they weren’t too happy about the casualties. President Dupree told the Egyptian president that he had no prior knowledge of the raid and that it was not sanctioned by the U.S. government.
“Egyptian troops rounded up as many of the residents of Medinat al-mawta they could find and interrogated them. Composite sketches were made and a price was put on our heads.”
“Oh, dear God,” Bishop Jessup said.
Brent looked over at his anxiety ridden friend. He had his head buried in his hands. “Don’t go getting your panties tied in a knot, padre. Our faces were blacked out, so they don’t look much like us and you were not even mentioned. Here, take a look.” Brent swiveled the monitor toward him, so he could take a look at the drawings. “The good people of Medinat stated that there were only two involved in the raid, and they said that we were both dark skinned. They described us as probably Israeli.”
“They blame everything on the Jews,” Seven said.
“And vice-versa,” Brent added. “The bible states that there will never be peace in the Middle-east until Christ makes his triumphal return.”
“Let’s hope it’s soon, for everyone’s sake,” Seven said. “He didn’t happen to give you a date or anything last time you spoke to him, did he, padre?”
Bish
op Jessup just glared at him. His emotions started to flair. He was tired of Seven’s wisecracks.
“Relax, Bishop Jessup,” Brent said. “You’ll find that any humor, even that which borders on sacrilege is welcome if it breaks the tension. In my eyes, that qualified.”
He looked at both Brent and Seven and slumped in defeat.
“Joan also sent a map of the tunnel system that begins at the caves in Kiryat Yearim,” Brent said. “She says that the drawing is very old, and that she could not find any way to verify its accuracy.”
Seven looked at the drawing as Brent was printing it. Shrugging his shoulders, he said, “Well, at least it’s a start.”
CHAPTER 23
While Brent and the Covenant Team were gathering supplies, Red and his squad were wrapping things up at the Jewish temple on Elephantine. Once again, they left a trail of death and carnage in their wake.
“Our sources tell me that the other Ark hunters are just a day behind,” Red said. “Somehow, they keep getting the information about the location of the next messenger even though we kill them. We need to slow them down or stop them all together.”
“What do you have in mind?” his second in command asked.
“You and the team are going to stay behind. I want you to go back on the ferry and wait for them. I’ll get a message to Omar and he’ll have the elders dispatch another team to meet up with me.”
After Red spoke to Omar and made the arrangements, he turned to his men. “There are to be no mistakes. You are to follow them onto the ferry, but stay out of sight. I want you to blend in with the tourists. Once you get on the island and into the woods, kill them.”
“That’s all well and good except for one thing.”
“What’s that?” Red asked.
“We don’t know what they look like or how many there are.”
Red slapped his own man across the face and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. “Don’t you listen to anything I say? I told you before this mission began that they would consist of three men. That’s the way it was written by the scribes and they aren’t going to screw with the formula.” Red then pulled three pictures out of his wallet. “As far as what they look like, here are the pictures of them that were taken last week. I’m sure they can’t look much different. Now get moving, before you miss them.”
