Ashes of the Red Heifer

by Shannon Baker

  David leaned forward. “If I’m going to be sacrificed, the least you can do is explain what’s going on.”

  Someone cleared his throat and spoke with an east coast American accent. “It has come to our attention that Dr. Grant has made remarkable progress in the BA 23 research.”

  “Your information comes from Dr. Alanberg, no doubt,” David said, but no one answered.

  “And you brought me here to give me an award?” She couldn’t help the retort.

  A chair creaked; someone coughed. The cigar smoke made her want to gag.

  The American voice again, “We know you’re on the verge of perfecting the vaccine. So close, in fact, that with a few pregnant cows to work on, you could have the cure within a very short time.”

  Who were these people, government, Mossad, pharmaceutical spies?

  The CEO spoke again. “We have made arrangements for you to complete your research.”

  She needed to stall to think of a way out of this. “The last experiment was encouraging but, unfortunately, a bomb destroyed my data. The vaccine needed some tweaking. Now I have to start from scratch.” She knew she should drop the sarcasm dripping from her voice but her anger burned too hot.

  The growler said, “We have your latest data. Do not worry about that. We have a lab waiting for you and all the equipment and supplies necessary. We also have the blood and tissue you brought away from the kibbutz.”

  Perspiration dampened her ski mask. Alanberg, the sleezebucket, had stolen Hassan’s data. Who took the samples? How had they ended up with The Corporation? “You’re thorough.”

  “We prefer to leave as little to chance as possible,” the CEO said.

  Her mind cast about for escape routes. “The lab won’t do me any good unless I get cows to work with.”

  Growler answered. “We can get cows into the country. You will be back to work tomorrow.”

  David’s voice sounded calm and reasonable. “We don’t have visas.”

  The CEO took a noisy breath. “It has been arranged.”

  Whoever they were, they had power and control in Israel. But not unlimited privilege or they wouldn’t need this secrecy. “You can’t get cows in or get me out to vaccinate them.”

  The CEO wheezed. “We will send you back to the United States to pick up the cows. You can vaccinate them there.”

  “Can I take this blindfold off?”

  David squeezed her hand in warning.

  “Leave it!” The CEO’s voice struck her as sharply as a slap. “We have representatives throughout Israel; true followers in the government, police and even the Mossad. Recognition would lead to their death.”

  “Who are you?”

  The CEO gathered a deep breath. “We are all faithful Jews dedicated to rebuilding the Temple.”

  Annie felt as though she’d come into the middle of a bad movie. “I have nothing to do with your temple.”

  He paused and no one moved. “It may be only cattle research to you, but it is a matter greater than life or death. Most of the world is unaware of the intrigue involved with this disease. For instance, do you know the origin of BA 23?”

  Finally, something she knew about. “The most common theory is that a team of archaeologists working by the Dead Sea unearthed dormant bacteria. It first affected cattle in that area, but spread rapidly. It’s a natural mutation of the brucellosis bacteria common now.”

  The group of men chuckled. Annie tried to count the individual voices. From the sounds, it could be six or seven all together.

  The CEO sucked in air. “That is what we would have you believe. The truth is, the bacteria was introduced into Israeli cattle herds by Islamic terrorists—an obscure Sunni sect from Syria. You may know of them. The Silim.”

  Annie’s stomach clenched. Did the corporation have something to do with Hassan’s trouble? Of course they did. Where was Hassan now?

  She couldn’t let the smug men see her fear. “Now that’s just paranoid. If these Islamic devils were toying with germ warfare, wouldn’t it be more dramatic to target humans instead of cows?”

  Alanberg spoke quickly, anger in his voice. “The Silim is sworn to protect the Dome of the Rock. They must not allow the Third Temple to be built. Therefore, they cannot allow cattle to be born in Israel. Don’t underestimate the Muslims.”

  “Of course. Let’s not underestimate the Muslims. They have secret weapons like my friend Hassan, who is afraid of the Easter Bunny.”

  “Do not take this lightly,” the CEO said. “If the Muslims find you have discovered the cure, that same day you will die.”

  “And my life is secure with you?”

  “We have already saved your life by terminating your research.”

  This news rocked her. “You bombed Shalom-Hagolan? You’re monsters.”

  The CEO sighed. “We are indeed sorry for the death. The barn should have been empty. But the move was necessary.”

  Annie felt sick. “You killed Avrel and you set Hassan up to take the fall. All to stop me from finding the cure?”

  “Not at all. We need you to find the cure. We simply want to protect you from the Silim until you succeed.”

  This got crazier and crazier. “What possible gain can the Silim receive from a bunch of dead cows?”

  There was a pause. “They are trying to prevent the coming of the Messiah.”

  This was too much. “It might seem obvious to you but I’m having a hard time making the jump from bovine disease to Messiah.”

  The CEO sucked in a labored breath. His chair creaked again as his weight shifted. “The fate of the entire world depends upon you enabling the birth of a special heifer. It is a heifer that will provide the means for the congregation of Israel to purify ourselves for the presentation to God.”

  Alanberg joined in. “This particular heifer must be born in Israel and when she is sacrificed and burned and her ashes mixed with living water, the mixture can be sprinkled on the unclean to make them clean.”

  Religious fanatics. A little hocus pocus, wave the magic wand—or in this case, sprinkle yourselves with cremated cow—and God will give you what you want. Same song, different verse from her childhood. Only this time the consequences of disobedience were worse than a belt across the back.

  “And you need to be clean to walk around on the Temple so you can rebuild it,” she said.

  The CEO’s wheezing increased, as if he were excited. “The Second Temple was destroyed in 70 AD and the Jewish people have been forbidden to practice the Temple rituals. We are chosen by God to be a light unto the nations. But if we are not clean, we ourselves are in darkness. Ashes of the heifer will purify us for this purpose. We must present a congregation of pure believers before the Messiah will appear.”

  Alanberg resumed. “Only purification by the ashes will cleanse us.”

  More religious folderol. They might as well divine livers or read tea leaves. They could believe whatever they wanted but when it put the people she loved in danger it made Annie want to attack.

  The CEO’s voice took on the tone of a stern schoolmaster. “Prophecy tells us that three events must occur before the coming of the Messiah. The first is that the nation of Israel must be restored—this happened in 1948. The second is that Jerusalem must be a Jewish city—the Israeli army conquered Arab occupiers in 1967. The third is that the Temple worship must be resumed. It is this last requisite that concerns us.”

  A new baritone voice took up the story. “Clearly the signs of the messianic age are visible. We believe that God has called upon us to make clear the way by providing the heifer and means to purification.”

  Single-minded religious devotion wasn’t new to Annie, but this time it had a deadly twist. “Let me get this straight. You think the end times are near, and God wants you to rebuild the Temple. But, you can’t do that until you kill a heifer, mix her ashes with water, and sprinkle them over yourselves.”

  David squeezed her hand, probably trying to tell her to be quiet.

 
“Just how many of you can be purified with ashes of one heifer—every Jew in the world or only you special ones?”

  The CEO’s voice raised hair on Annie’s neck. “Don’t mock the word of God. The ashes are mixed with water. It only requires a molecule of the ashes to cleanse the impure. So, yes, one heifer can accomplish much.”

  “If I understand it correctly, the Dome of the Rock is right where the Temple needs to be. What is the plan for that?”

  There was silence for a moment. The baritone voice spoke again. “God will provide for that.”

  The CEO cleared his throat again. “This precept of the heifer is the deepest mystery of the Torah. Even King Solomon couldn’t understand it. But the greatness of Israel is our ability to follow God’s laws even when they make no sense to us. It is a merit of faith and will bring Israel’s final redemption.”

  It is a merit of stupidity to do something that makes no sense, she thought, but didn’t say it.

  A lighter flicked open followed by a fresh wave of cigar smoke. The CEO puffed heartily and coughed. “It’s not necessary you share our beliefs. You are an indecipherable gift from God.”

  “I don’t even believe in God. I’m not working for you or your Divine Dabbler, got it?”

  “God chose you before time began.”

  Didn’t Hassan say he was protecting her because of some special heritage? “I’m not buying my whole specialness, okay? I’m not going to work for killers and crazies. Let me go or kill me.”

  The CEO continued as if she’d never spoken. “Over two thousand years ago, in the time of the Second Temple, there was need for a heifer. The ninth in history. Our rabbis found one such perfect animal belonging to a Gentile named Dama ben Natina. He was a good and honorable man. When he supplied Israel with her needs, the rabbis blessed him, saying when the time was right, another heifer would be provided by his family.”

  The mask on her face made her skin damp and itchy. She was scared and worried about Hassan and she didn’t know what they had planned for David. “So, two thousand years ago a Gentile coughed up your goods. Just because I’m a gentile, it doesn’t mean jack.”

  The CEO drew a deep breath. “Although Jews have been persecuted and murdered throughout history, certain rabbis have guarded the records of our faith. Many records have been lost or destroyed. But we know Dama ben Natina’s blood is in your veins. It is no coincidence you are poised in this time to deliver the heifer.”

  “That’s plain nuts. You can’t possibly have traced us through two millennia.”

  “It is possible and we have done it, praise the Lord of our Fathers,” the CEO said.

  “Besides, I’m pretty sure no one in my father’s family would have helped a Jew to do anything but die.”

  “It’s true, your father has not been cooperative,” the CEO said.

  They’d contacted her father? When? She sat straighter, turned her masked face toward the CEO and said, “Cram your myths and campfire ghost stories. I don’t believe them and I won’t work for you.”

  The CEO heaved a sigh. “We thought that might be the case.”

  “Good,” she said. “No surprises then. Why not show me and David to the door and we’ll be on our way.”

  David gave her hand another warning squeeze. “Please, Annie.”

  The CEO’s voice hardened. “No, your attitude does not surprise us. However, we are adamant that you continue your research and give us the perfect heifer. So we’ve added a little incentive.”

  “I don’t want anything you can give me,” she said.

  “I didn’t want to resort to this. But you have forced our hand.”

  There was a scrape of chairs on the hard floor and people approached her. Hands grabbed at her upper arms and pulled her back, nearly tripping her on her chair. She staggered to her feet as the two men pulled her away from the table.

  Now is when they’ll beat me with a garden hose or pull out my fingernails.

  They dragged her across the floor. With the mask on her face she was disoriented and clumsy and worst of all, scared. Air rushed across her skin as the door opened and she was pushed through it. They pulled her down the hall a few steps, shoved her through another door. She stumbled and, before she could right herself, someone whipped the mask from her head. She whirled around in time to see the door slam shut.

  TEN

  She blinked, trying to focus her eyes after wearing the hot mask for so long. No furniture graced this room, only cracked linoleum on the floor. It looked like an excavation site in the corner with a pile of dirt next to a hole in the ground.

  A low moan came from the corner. She spun around to see Hassan crumpled on the floor. “Oh my god!” She ran to him.

  His face was a mass of blood, both eyes swollen shut. What hadn’t already been bruised by the beating yesterday was bruised now. His right arm lay at an unnatural angle, clearly dislocated at the shoulder.

  He moaned again. “I’m here,” she whispered.

  His tongue slowly emerged and touched his split upper lip. With effort he said, “I tried. I’m sorry.”

  Tears slipped down her cheeks and dropped onto his neck. She should have gone with him. Why hadn’t she trusted him? “We’re going to get you out of here. I promise.”

  Tears of his own ran down the sides of his face and into his wild mane. Each word was a struggle. “All…the years… Training…watching. And I…failed.”

  Sniffing her nose and wiping it on the hem of her t-shirt, Annie examined his dislocated arm. She felt around the socket, trying to ignore his flinch. “If I hadn’t been so stubborn neither of us would be in this mess.” She yanked his arm.

  He yelled in pain. But his arm settled into the socket.

  Annie put her face down to his. “That will be better.”

  He swallowed. “Let them kill me. Don’t do their bidding to save me.”

  The tears ran down her face again. “When have you ever been able to tell me what to do?”

  The door burst open and two men in masks ran at them. Annie tried to protect Hassan from them but they weren’t interested. Before she could get to her feet to fight, one had both her arms behind her and her nose touched the filthy linoleum. The other stuffed her mask on her face. They pulled her to her feet, straining her arms and sending shots of pain through her.

  They retraced their steps to the boardroom.

  The men shoved her to her chair and she landed with a plop. David’s hand found hers. The CEO started the conversation. “So, you see the deal we are giving you.”

  “Work for you or you’ll kill him.”

  “That’s essentially it,” he said.

  When she gave them the vaccine, they still might kill both of them. David too. But there was time between then and now. To give in to extortion, to work for someone’s religious foolishness, to yield to bullying, this went against everything she believed in.

  She bowed her head and whispered. “Okay. I’ll do it.”

  “Within the month, you will supply us with a heifer born in Israel,” the CEO said. “You will proceed from here to our research facility. You have one week to perfect your vaccine before you will return to the United States and obtain the cattle.”

  “There are countries closer to Israel where we can buy cows. And you better understand there are no guarantees with science. If I perfect the vaccine, there’s only a fifty/fifty chance you’ll get a heifer. And if you’re looking for more specific genetic requirements, you might need up to two hundred cows to get what you want.”

  A chair creaked and cigar smoke wafted toward Annie. The CEO spoke. “You will go to the United States. We will go to any lengths to acquire the correct breeding stock. The Lord will guarantee the results.”

  His words chilled her, like some kind of warning. “What’s so special about this heifer?”

  Alanberg’s voice was laced with excitement. “It has been over two thousand years since the last of these heifers was born in Israel. It was the ninth in history. Prophecy te
lls us when the tenth heifer appears, the Temple will be built and the Messiah will finally come.”

  “In all your history there must have been millions of heifers born in Israel. Is this special heifer polka dotted or what?”

  There was a moment of silence before the CEO answered. “What God requires is a perfect red heifer.”

  Red. Annie’s heart stuttered as understanding flooded her. She knew where the Corporation intended to send her. The one place she couldn’t go.

  Grant Red Angus. The bloodlines she’d designed so long ago.

  Annie faced a dark mask but instead saw the grass-covered hills of her Nebraska home. As always, longing and anger split her in two.

  Trying to get something from her father would be like trying to rope the wind. “I gotta hand it to you, the timing is perfect. Dad ought to start calving in about three weeks, just in time for your perfect Red Heifer. But you’ve overlooked one detail, boys. I haven’t spoken to my father in sixteen years.”

  The CEO spoke. “For your information, we didn’t plan the timing. Again, it is no coincidence. Further evidence that the Lord is at work in this.”

  In her dreams, she always returned to the ranch in victory. But this wouldn’t be that idyllic homecoming. “There’s no way he’d sell me cattle. He doesn’t like me very much. Did you know he’s anti-Semitic? He hates Jews.”

  The CEO sighed. “These are really not our concerns.”

  Her voice carried a note of desperation even she could detect. “You aren’t listening to me. My father won’t cooperate. We can try other Red Angus breeders. I could contact some in Europe or Australia.”

  The CEO sounded worn out. “Please forgive my straightforward manner. We believe the Lord chose you to supply the Red Heifer. Your job has been outlined. You are free to decline our offer.”

  The ski mask drew in and out with Annie’s breathing. A trickle of sweat seeped down her temple and stung her eye. A soft whirring noise filled the room along with the creak of wooden chairs and the rustle of clothing from the men at the table. Odor of cigar smoke filtered through the mask. No one spoke.