by Alex Lukeman
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
"A cat?"
Elizabeth looked at the huge orange cat in Selena's arms. His ear was tattered and torn. He had only one front tooth. He drooled. He sounded like a truck in need of a tune up.
"That's not a cat. It's a fugitive from a zoo. You want it to live here?"
"He's not just any cat," Selena said. "Burps is a hero. He saved our lives in California."
"That cat," Elizabeth said. "The one that makes noises."
"Only when he eats too much. He won't be any trouble. Burps is an outdoor cat. He'll keep the moles out of the flowers. Steph and I will take care of him."
"I couldn't leave him in California," Nick said. "Think of him as added security. A watch cat."
"We need a mascot," Stephanie said. "A good luck mascot."
"I think he should live here," Ronnie said. "It lightens things up a little. I can make a cat door for the tool shed. He could go in there when the weather's bad."
Elizabeth knew when she was outnumbered. "All right."
Burps had been watching her. He purred louder. The sound rumbled across the room.
"See?" Selena said. "He knows. He's a very smart cat."
She carried the cat over to the garden doors and set him down. She opened the door. Burps looked, walked outside and sat down. He began cleaning his paw. Selena closed the door.
"I talked with Lamont's doctors," Elizabeth said. "They're keeping him in Germany for another day, then they're sending him back here to Bethesda. But he's out of commission for a while."
"What happens now?" Nick said.
"If Adam is right, Cask and Swords is behind this. The man at the center of that is a banker named Harrison. I've got full electronic surveillance on him. Most of the time we know what he's doing."
"Most of the time?"
"He uses an encrypted sat phone sometimes. I don't think he's talking about banking. Speaking of which, Stephanie managed to look at the offshore accounts where he keeps most of the money. Tell them what you found out, Steph."
"Harrison's main accounts are in the British Virgin Islands and the Caymans. That gives him a nice, legal tax dodge. The accounts are set up in shell companies with several layers of separation from Harrison. He's heavily invested in defense industries, gas and oil and real estate. His bank did quite well with the financial meltdown and the government money that went out. He's also funding a few foreign politicians."
"Can he do that?"
"As a private individual, yes. The main recipient is an Israeli politician named Weisner. He's the leader of an extremist right wing party that wants to reclaim the West Bank and Gaza and kick all the Arabs out of Israel. He also advocates using nukes against Iran."
"There's an election coming up in Israel," Elizabeth said. "Weisner is a serious contender to become the next Prime Minister."
"Why would Harrison back someone like that?" Nick asked.
"Weisner's policies could start another war. War means big bucks for Harrison and his friends. Harrison has made several public statements attacking Islam. A war over there with a lot of Muslim casualties would appeal to him."
"Where does the Ark come in?" Ronnie said.
"If the Ark turns up, Weisner would use it to beat the drums for war. For what it's worth, his first name is Joshua."
"So the Arab world is the new Jericho?"
"It might as well be, as far as he's concerned."
"Son of a bitch," Nick said. They all looked at him.
"Now I know what Herzog wasn't telling me, back in Jordan."
"What do you mean?" Elizabeth said.
"When we were talking, I got the feeling he wasn't telling us something. He must know Harrison is backing this guy. Why didn't he want us to know?"
"He probably didn't want to air Israel's dirty laundry," Elizabeth said. "Strictly speaking, it wasn't necessary for you to know. It's not directly related to finding the Ark."
Nick felt his blood pressure rising. "It would have saved us some time if he'd pointed us at Harrison."
"Whatever we may think, we don't have proof yet about Harrison's involvement with Bertrand's murder and the attacks on you," Elizabeth said. "Until we have it, there isn't a lot we can do."
"There's something I can do."
"What?"
"Talk to Herzog."
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Ari Herzog's office was on the top floor of Shin Bet HQ in New Jerusalem. His rank rated a large room and a window looking out to the Old City and the Temple Mount, a sight he never grew tired of seeing. Ari was finishing up a report on an operation that had stopped four Hezbollah suicide bombers from carrying out an attack on the Mount. In some nations a success like that would have earned the man in charge a medal. In Israel, it was part of a normal day's work. Medals weren't important to Ari. The security of Israel was. He was good at it. That was reward enough.
His phone rang, the private number few had.
"Ari, it's Nick."
I wondered how long it would take. "Nick, how are you?"
"I've been better."
"I heard about what happened in Jordan. I was sorry to hear about your man. Will he recover?"
"He's doing okay. It'll be a while before he's back in action." There was a pause. "You know why I'm calling," he said. It wasn't a question.
Ari sighed. "You are on a secure line?"
"Yes."
"You are calling about the Ark?"
"Damn it. Ari, why didn't you tell us Americans were involved?"
"I wasn't sure."
"So it wasn't because of Weisner?"
"You've been busy, Nick." No point in denying it. "Yes, it was partly about Weisner. Also, as I said, I wasn't sure."
"We're supposed to be allies. You want Harker to keep you up to speed on the Ark, what we find, but you're not willing to tell me who might be behind it on our end? Come on, Ari, that's not going to fly."
"Your country and mine don't always agree. You know I will put mine first. As you must do with yours. I had specific orders regarding Weisner from the Prime Minister. I couldn't tell you. Now I can."
"So tell me."
"If Weisner is discredited, his party will lose the majority of their seats in the Knesset. It will fragment. That is a desirable outcome, from the PM's point of view. We need proof of Weisner's corruption, his collusion with your American banker. Then we will reveal it to the public. It would swing the election."
"This is all about politics?"
"Not entirely, Nick. The Ark is more important. I was confident you would discover the American connection, sooner or later. It seemed like a better way. Would you have believed me if I had told you I suspected one of the most important men in America was trying to kill you? That he didn't want you to succeed?"
"Probably not. But we would have followed up on it. You didn't trust us to keep the part about Weisner to ourselves."
"I apologize, for what it's worth."
There was a brief pause. "All right. Accepted. We'll move on."
"What have you discovered about the Ark?"
"We still don't know where it is. There's a Templar connection. It could even be part of a bigger hoard, if it exists."
"The Templar treasure?"
"Yes."
"You realize what it would mean to find that?" Ari said.
"Aside from the fact that I wouldn't get to keep it? Yeah, I understand. It'll kick up a shit storm. Especially if the Ark is part of it."
"That may be the understatement of the year," Ari said.
After a few more minutes of conversation, Nick signed off. Ari sat for a few moments, thinking about the Ark. Thinking about the Americans. Then he paged Lev.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Selena pulled open one of the big glass street doors and walked into her building. She wore a light silk jacket that concealed her pistol, a lavender silk blouse and black pants that matched her low-heeled shoes. The lobby was all marble and glass. It was an elegant building that spoke o
f wealth. A security desk with a bank of monitors faced the main doors. The desk was manned 24 hours a day, every day, for the peace of mind of the tenants. The guard called to her as she headed for the elevators.
"Doctor Connor, got something for you." He held up a flat package. "International delivery."
She took the package and recognized the writing of Jean-Paul. It sent a jolt of adrenaline through her. Her heart skipped a beat.
"Thank you."
She got in the elevator and punched in the top floor. The doors closed. She resisted the urge to tear the package open. In her condo she went to the kitchen counter. She took her holster and gun and laid them down on the cool granite. She pulled up a stool and opened the package. Inside was another file folder like the one Bertrand had sent in Paris. She untied the string and pulled it open and recognized the cramped writing of Nostradamus.
It was a different document, the missing quatrains, the ones that should have been with the others.
Jean-Paul split the manuscript into two parts. The thought gave her chills. It was as if her dead friend had reached out to her from the grave.
There was no note with the package.
She looked at the first quatrain. In her mind, she shifted into the peculiar language of Nostradamus.
Under a broken sword a great treasure lies
He who gave hostage to the King speaks from the grave
Eight lie beside him
Three seek his wisdom
I have no idea what this is about. Why couldn't he just say what he means, for once? She read the next quatrain.
The army begins the return from the far lands
War waits in a different place
Under the banners of the Eagle, the Star and the Crescent
False gods and retribution supreme
That one was clearer. The eagle, the star and the crescent. America was the eagle. The star was probably Israel. She couldn't think of another country so identified with a star, except maybe North Korea. The crescent had to refer to a Muslim nation. Iran? Saudi Arabia? All of them?
Troop withdrawals were underway in Afghanistan. Returning from far lands. She felt a shiver run down her spine. It was as if Nostradamus was standing behind her, looking over her shoulder. If he was right, if she understood the prophecy correctly, then a new war was waiting to happen.
There were more quatrains. It would take time to translate them. Selena decided to take the manuscript to Project headquarters so she could work on it with Stephanie. Elizabeth and the others needed to know about this. But before she did that, she thought she might as well make a copy for studying here.
She took the document over to her computer and scanner and began transferring it to electronic files. Ten minutes later she was finished. She copied it to her email and sent it to Stephanie. She turned off the computer and put the manuscript back in the file folder. She put the folder in a black leather briefcase. She clipped her holster back on, closed the door behind her and walked to the elevator.
Selena watched the numbers change as the elevator rose to her floor, thinking about the quatrains. The doors of the elevator opened. She got in and pressed the button for the ground floor. The elevator descended, smooth, efficient.
The doors opened onto the lobby. It took a second to notice that the guard was not at his station. A tiny alarm went off in her head. There's always someone at the desk, she thought. Always.
Instinct and training saved her. As she stepped from the elevator someone swung a club at her from the right. She moved and took the blow on her shoulder. Her arm went numb. The briefcase was in her left hand. She swung it around in a fast arc, more to distract than injure. The man grunted and blocked the blow. Selena bent and kicked and landed a solid hit on his chest. He grunted again and swung the club at her. She dodged, let go of the briefcase, spun and threw her left elbow into his face, followed with a knee to the groin, slammed the hardened edge of her left hand against the side of his neck. She felt bone break under the blow.
He went down. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw two more men coming for her. Her right arm was still numb and useless. She couldn't draw her pistol. She ran for the stairwell door on the side of the lobby and pushed it open. The body of the guard lay crumpled at the foot of the stairs. She ran up three steps and turned as one of the men came through the door. She launched herself from the steps and caught him with both feet under his chin. His head snapped backward. She heard the bones crack. She fell hard onto her back on the cement floor. It knocked the breath out of her. Gasping, she climbed to her feet.
The door to the lobby stayed closed. Feeling came back in her arm. Her fingers tingled, but she had control again. She drew her pistol and took a deep breath. She stepped over the body of the guard and pulled open the door.
The lobby was empty. The man who had clubbed her lay partway in the elevator, his head at an odd angle. There was a two foot length of pipe lying on the lobby floor next to him. Must be what he hit me with. The elevator doors were cycling, trying to close against his body. The third man was gone.
So was her briefcase with the Nostradamus file.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
"The men who went after you were both in the system," Elizabeth said. "Convictions for assault and burglary. One of them just got out after doing five years for armed robbery."
Selena, Ronnie, Nick and Stephanie were in Harker's office. The cat lay sleeping in the sun outside the garden doors.
"Only five?" Ronnie said.
"He got paroled. Good behavior."
"A boy scout," Ronnie said.
"I'm following up with his parole officer. Known connections, all that. I don't expect to find much. We're not cops. We can't track down every low life he might have known."
"Be nice if we could turn up the third guy," Nick said.
"Selena, I'm sending you over to the Metro Police HQ to look at mug shots, on the off chance we can ID him. You'll liaise with a Detective Mark Hanson over there."
"All right."
"How's your arm?"
She flexed her shoulder. "I'm okay. The shoulder's sore."
"You're lucky he didn't break something," Nick said.
"He wasn't fast enough."
Nick smiled.
"This is starting to feel personal," Elizabeth said. "We need to get this resolved."
"Maybe the new Nostradamus material will help," Selena said.
Elizabeth nodded. "It's a good thing you copied it. They want it that badly, there has to be something in it."
"I printed it out," Stephanie said. She handed copies around.
"There are five quatrains that might have something to do with the Ark," Selena said. "I haven't finished all of the rest them yet but these five are grouped together. They could be relevant."
"How many more are there?"
"Another seventeen."
They looked at the quatrains.
Under a broken sword a great treasure lies
He who gave hostage to the King speaks from the grave
Eight lie beside him
Three seek his wisdom
"Under a broken sword," Ronnie read aloud. "What the hell does that mean?"
"I don't know," Selena said. "Someone's dead, that much is clear. And there are eight others with him."
"So it's about nine dead guys."
"Not just any nine dead guys," she said. "Probably nine dead knights."
"How do you get that?"
"The sword. They used to decorate the tombs of medieval knights with a figure of the knight in his armor, with his sword on top."
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Nick said.
Selena nodded. "One of the Knights Templar. After finding those Templar symbols in Jordan, that's the only thing that makes sense."
"That narrows it down some," Elizabeth said. "How many Templar tombs are there?"
"A lot. Even if we find the right one, we still have to make sense of the quatrain. It's like chasing the white rabbit in Alice i
n Wonderland."
"How does a man speak from his grave?" Nick asked.
"Through writing, or something left behind. I think there might be something inside the tomb itself. Under the sword."
"That's great," Nick said. "First we have to find the right tomb, then we have to open it up on a million to one chance there's something there except bones."
"Do you have a better idea?"
Harker leaned back in her chair. "What about the other quatrains?"
"Nostradamus is predicting a war."
The army begins the return from the far lands
War waits for them in a different place
Under the banners of the Eagle, Star and Crescent
False gods and retribution supreme
"Eagle, star and crescent. America, Israel and the Muslim world."
"War in the Middle East?" Ronnie said.
"Not again," Nick groaned.
"Our troops are coming back from Afghanistan. It's today he's talking about, right now."
"It might refer to what happened when Nick was in Jerusalem," Harker said.
"It could," Selena said. "But this next one bothers me."
In the seventh month no time remains
The prince's calculations anger heaven
Fire over the Holy City, the sun touches the earth
If the Container is found, then success
"The seventh month is July," Selena said. "That's in just a few days. If any of this means anything, if Nostradamus really saw the future, we're running out of time."
Nick's ear began itching. "It's like the one you think is about Hiroshima."
"Yes. That bit about the sun touching the earth. It's how Nostradamus would have thought about a nuclear explosion, if he'd seen it in a vision. The Holy City would be Jerusalem or Rome. Or even Mecca. He capitalizes the word container. That could be the Ark. It's called the Sacred Container in the Bible. The next quatrain mentions it again."
"Who's the prince?" Ronnie asked.
