Keepers of the Lost Ark

by J. Robert Kennedy

“So, bring me up to date.”

  Theodros swallowed. “The professors are here, with Father Amanuel. They were taken to its current location with their equipment, and have been there since. Two workers left about half an hour ago for some reason. We’re not sure why.”

  Ganno pursed his lips as he leaned back. “So then, we can safely assume that not only has the secret of the Ark’s existence been revealed, but they have also been shown it.”

  Theodros frowned, a long sigh escaping. “I can’t see any other possible interpretation of what we’ve observed.”

  Ganno shook his head, his food forgotten. “Which means the Keepers have broken their vows.”

  Theodros nodded. “Yes, but from what we can tell, these professors are here to help preserve the Ark, not take it.”

  “Yes, that fact has been established. We actually found the invoices for their equipment purchases. However, the fact they know it exists means they must be eliminated.”

  Theodros regarded him. “Why? So far, they’ve told no one.”

  “Until today, they had nothing to tell beyond the fact a crazy priest from Ethiopia showed up on their doorstep. Today, they’ve actually seen it, they have something tangible they can speak of. And these are respected people. People will listen, at least enough to flood the area with treasure seekers. And if we keep killing anyone who gets close, it will quickly be known there actually is something to hide.” He shook his head. “No, the moment the professors are finished their work, they must be eliminated so the truth can be contained. Agreed?”

  Theodros nodded, along with the others, though more than he would have hoped appeared reluctant. And he understood, he supposed. This would be the first time any of them would kill to fulfill their duty. They were a safeguard against the failure of the Keepers, and the priests had always done their duty throughout history, with the one exception during the war. But today would be the first time they would shed blood in the history of their order.

  But the Sons of Tamrin would fulfill their duty.

  No matter how distasteful it was.

  “Praise be to Menelik and Tamrin, and to our Lord, Jesus Christ.”

  51 |

  Aksum, Ethiopia

  “Hey, Alexie, look at this.” Utkin waved his tablet without giving Tankov a chance to see what he was talking about. “We’ve got another posting from our moron about where the professors are. He wants half-a-million for the answer. He claims he’s got exact coordinates, and he’s giving it to anyone who pays. No bidding, no single winner.”

  Tankov grunted. “So, it’s a race to the finish. What the hell, pay the man. Let’s see what he has for us.”

  Utkin tapped away then handed the tablet to Tankov, a map displayed with their position relative to the purchased coordinates. “Well, it’s in the area where our trusty Internet says the Ark is rumored to be.”

  A convoy of competitors whipped past them soon followed by another.

  Utkin frowned. “We’re going to have company.”

  Tankov nodded. “Yeah. Let’s hold back and let them fight it out among themselves. We’ll mop up what’s left then take the Ark for ourselves.”

  “What about the professors?”

  Tankov chewed his cheek for a moment, contemplating the future of the two educators who had cost them so much. He sighed. “I like them. Especially the woman. I want to marry her.”

  Utkin grinned. “Kill the husband and she’s back on the market.”

  The men laughed, Tankov joining in. “True, but it’ll have to be one of you. I can’t have her hating me, it would just make our marriage difficult.”

  Utkin leaned in, staring at him. “You could change your face again.”

  Tankov ran his fingers over his face, staring at it in the rearview mirror, the only thing familiar his eyes. “I don’t know. I’m just starting to get used to this one.”

  “It is one of your better ones, that’s for sure. Then again, you always were a handsome devil.”

  Tankov gave him a look.

  “I’m serious. It’s the confidence. You could look like a pig’s ass and you’d come off looking good.”

  Tankov turned to face him. “Arseny, are you trying to get into my pants?”

  Utkin met his stare. “Is it working?”

  Tankov roared with laughter as did the others, punching his friend on the shoulder. He put the vehicle in gear and pulled from the side of the road. “Okay, we’ve waited enough. Let’s go kill what’s left of the competition.”

  52 |

  Approaching Ethiopian Airspace

  Command Sergeant Major Burt “Big Dog” Dawson sat near the rear of the plane, staring at the fuselage opposite, as the others caught a few minutes shuteye. He was tired like they all were, their last op a success though trying.

  Who knew Iranians didn’t like strangers in their midst?

  Normally none of that bothered him, and it didn’t today. It was his new orders. He wasn’t a very religious man, though he did consider himself Christian, and hopefully a good one at that. Beyond watching Raiders of the Lost Ark multiple times, he’d never given the Ark a second thought. Even then, it had never really occurred to him that it was real. It was more a movie prop than something out of the Bible.

  And that’s what had him so conflicted. Obviously, those up the chain, including the President, a man he had tremendous respect for, believed in the possibility enough to not only commit resources to its recovery or destruction, but to put lives on the line.

  His and his men, as well as those who might get in their way.

  What if they had to kill the priests? They wouldn’t if the men didn’t provide armed resistance, but what if they did? What if they had guns and fought back? Killing terrorists and truly bad guys was his business, and he never shed a tear or lost a wink of sleep when he killed one or a dozen of them.

  But priests?

  Even if armed, what was their crime? Protecting something sacred, something they believed in deeply, from thieves—him and his men—trying to steal that which wasn’t theirs.

  If they resisted with lethal force, he’d have to figure out some alternative to killing them.

  “What’s up, BD?”

  He flinched, so lost in thought, he hadn’t noticed his best friend and second-in-command, Master Sergeant Mike “Red” Belme, approach. He pointed at a nearby seat. “Take a load off.”

  Red sat and leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “You look a bit off.”

  “It’s nothing.”

  “Bullshit. I know you better than that.”

  Dawson grunted. “Okay, let’s put it this way. It’s nothing I can talk about.”

  Red frowned. “Opsec?”

  “Exactly.”

  “Ahh, the burdens of command.”

  “You have no idea.”

  Red leaned back, stretching out his legs and folding his arms. “Is it the fact the professors have found the Ark of the Covenant?”

  Dawson bolted upright. “How the hell do you know that?”

  Red’s eyes bulged. “Holy shit, I’m right?”

  Dawson cursed, having fallen for the oldest trick in the book, delivered by his best friend and second-in-command. “You tricked me.”

  Red shook his head. “No, honestly, I was joking. Niner looked up archaeology conspiracy theories in Ethiopia, and Google came up with the Ark.”

  Dawson shook his head, his frown deep. “Remind me next time to shut down Internet access.”

  Red grinned. “They’ll riot.”

  Dawson grunted. “Probably.”

  Red leaned closer, lowering his voice. “So, umm, are we on the Indy side of this? I mean, are we the good guys?”

  Dawson sighed. “I hope so, but I have a bad feeling we’re Belloq on this one. The only difference is we’re stealing the Ark for America instead of Nazi Germany.”

  “This is insane. Do the brass actually think this thing works?”

  Dawson shook his head. “My understanding is they think if the
re’s even the remotest possibility, it can’t be allowed to fall into the wrong hands.”

  “I see their point. If it does work, and the wrong side has it, like the Russians, it could be chaos. They could march across Europe, and there’d be nothing we could do to stop them.” Red’s eyes widened. “It could mean nuclear war.”

  Dawson nodded. “That’s not what really worries me. I just can’t see it being real. But what happens if a group of fanatics gets their hands on it, then decide to destroy it publicly? What would the reaction of Christians around the world be? Could it trigger a holy war?” He shook his head. “I think the safest thing is to just grab the damned thing, crate it up, and shove it in Hangar 18, never to be seen again.”

  Red’s head slowly bobbed. “Agreed. Let’s just hope that’s what our President has planned for it. What’s that old saying? Curiosity killed the cat?”

  Dawson grunted. “There’s something about Pandora’s Box that has me more worried.”

  53 |

  Aksum, Ethiopia

  Tesfay pushed his newly acquired wheels as hard as he dared. His truck, now shot up, he knew. He knew its limitations, its capabilities, its quirks. This piece of junk pickup truck? He knew nothing beyond what it cost him to rent from a local for the day.

  Too much.

  But he had been desperate, with little time, and was lucky to have found anything.

  He was heading for the last known position of Ganno, Control having sent him the coordinates only minutes ago. He was certain Ganno wasn’t with the professors, as Control reported it was a house, not a church, that he had been seen entering. But Ganno’s men would know where the professors were, and would likely lead him right to them.

  He noticed his wounded arm getting tired and cursed as he let go of the wheel slightly, the vehicle heading to the right, the wheels far out of alignment.

  This is going to be a shit drive.

  He punched the steering wheel, wondering how he had been made. Control had confirmed the vehicle that had shot him up had left with Ganno, so it was his people that had made him. The only thing he could think of was that he had been spotted while he waited, then when he pulled out after Ganno, his men took action.

  It could have been worse.

  Normally they would have killed him, and the fact they hadn’t, perhaps said something about the type of men they were dealing with. Perhaps these weren’t insane murderers like he was used to dealing with, but instead, good men doing something they might find distasteful, though had no choice in.

  Like himself. He had risked his life to save that little girl, now reunited with a thankful mother. Yet he wouldn’t hesitate to kill a target if ordered to do so, as long as he was certain that target was bad.

  He had to have faith in his handlers.

  He hit a rut in the road and battled to regain control before skidding to a near halt, his speed less than half of what he’d like. He checked his watch and cursed. He had fifteen minutes to get into position. That might not be a problem in Texas, but here, where random roadblocks of military or armed gangs could appear with no warning, it was an entirely different thing.

  Not to mention the road conditions.

  He cleared a rise and cursed, jamming on his brakes. A roadblock, as feared, lay ahead. He grabbed the camera and adjusted its telephoto lens, peering at the barricade, and more importantly, who was manning it.

  And cursed again, a group of men climbing into a vehicle, obviously with plans to confront him should he turn around.

  He activated his comm. “Control, Whiskey-Alpha-Four here, come in, over.”

  “This is Control, go ahead, over.”

  “Umm, can you give me a hand here? I’ve confirmed they’re not government. It’s a local gang, over.”

  “Understood. Stand by.”

  Tesfay watched as the vehicle pulled away, loaded with half a dozen armed men. He put his truck in reverse, just in case.

  Then smiled as two missiles streaked past him, hammering the illegal roadblock, two massive fireballs destroying everything and everyone in front of him.

  Clearing his path.

  “Thanks, Control, I owe you one.”

  “Any time, Whiskey-Alpha-Four.”

  54 |

  Ganno Residence South of Aksum, Ethiopia

  “We’ve got company!”

  Ganno, prepping to join the others, spun on his heel as Theodros rushed through the front door. “Who?”

  “I don’t know. Four vehicles. Two to the north, two to the south. All armed.”

  “Soldiers?”

  Theodros shook his head. “No, the guys to the north look white, and the south look Middle Eastern. We must have been followed.”

  “How? You said you neutralized the tail, and we had an escort vehicle trail us by more than a kilometer.”

  Theodros threw up his hands. “I don’t know! He had friends? Does it matter?”

  Ganno grunted, shrugging his AK-47 over his shoulder. “No, it doesn’t.”

  Theodros ushered him out the door and toward their awaiting vehicle. “We need to get you out of here.”

  Ganno grabbed his brother by the arm. “No, we must all go.”

  Theodros shook his head. “They’ll just follow us if we do. You go, we’ll engage them so you can escape. Rendezvous with the others and send help.”

  Ganno embraced his brother, bowing to Baruch as he rushed the women, including his wife, away to safety at another house a short distance away. If these new arrivals were after him, they should ignore the women, unless they were true barbarians.

  Gunfire erupted from one of his men, the two hostile positions opening up with what sounded like far superior firepower. He hopped in the already running truck and slammed it in gear, flooring it then popping the clutch. The vehicle surged forward and down a rise, immediately providing him with some cover. He glanced to his right to see his wife and the others running toward the shelter of their neighbor’s house, and sighed in relief as he spotted his children waving at them, safely out of range.

  They would survive the day.

  He just wondered if their uncles would.

  Please, Lord, take care of my family and friends.

  Tankov hammered on the brakes, bringing them to a halt. Utkin handed him binoculars and he surveyed the area, a smile spreading. It was exactly as he had hoped. There was a three-way gun battle unfolding, with all sides taking losses. All they would have to do is wait, then clean up the mess, with hopefully somebody in the house that seemed to be the primary target—and an exact match to the GPS coordinates they had just paid handsomely for—surviving the day to answer their questions.

  Utkin pointed to their left. “Look.”

  Tankov turned to see a truck racing away, billowing dust behind it, there little doubt as to who its lone occupant was. “That’s our guy.”

  “What makes you think that?”

  “Because he’s alone. If they were just trying to escape, that truck would be loaded with people. Instead, these guys stayed behind to give him a chance to get away.”

  Utkin nodded. “Sounds right. So, what are we going to do?”

  “Play Follow the Leader. There’s nothing to learn here beyond what we already have.”

  Utkin eyed Tankov. “And what’s that?”

  “That the GPS coordinates were bullshit.

  Utkin’s eyebrows shot up. “What makes you say that? There’s obviously something going on here.”

  “Yes, but we’re being used. There’s no church here. There’s just a house. The Ark isn’t here, and there’s no way the professors are here.” Tankov shook his head. “We were led here, probably to have us take out whoever lives in that house.”

  Utkin frowned. “So that guy we’ve been paying was lying?”

  Tankov shook his head. “No, I don’t think that’s what’s going on here. He’s too stupid to come up with something like this.”

  “Then what?”

  “I think we’re being played.”


  “You mean there’s no Ark?”

  Tankov shrugged. “I don’t know, perhaps, perhaps not, but somebody else is involved, and with those two professors in the mix, I think I know who it is.”

  “Who? The American government?”

  “Yup.” Tankov stuck his head out the window, staring up at the sky.

  “So, we’re being watched?”

  Tankov leaned back in. “Absolutely.”

  “Then what are we going to do?”

  “Follow the leader, and see how things play out.” He raised a finger. “But watch your backs. Special Ops could already be on the ground.”

  Dawson touched down and spun, hauling in his chute as the rest of the team landed around him. Their local contact, a man named Tesfay, jogged over to greet them, a ridiculously inadequate pickup truck the only transport in sight.

  “Are you Mr. White?”

  Dawson nodded. “Mr. Tesfay?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  He pointed at the truck. “This is our transport?”

  “Sorry, I had something bigger, but they made me and shot it up. This was the best I could do.” He beckoned them to follow him. “Don’t worry. It’s not far. You won’t be uncomfortable for long.”

  Niner smacked Dawson on the arm. “Forget comfort.” He jerked a thumb at the massive Atlas. “If he gets in the back of this thing, we won’t be going anywhere.”

  Atlas’ impossibly deep voice cheerfully replied. “Don’t worry, little man, if we need traction, we’ll just put you under the tires.”

  Niner shoved the big man into the back of the truck as the others piled in, the shocks creaking in protest, the tires and frame getting disturbingly close. Dawson climbed into the passenger seat and slammed the door shut as Niner climbed over the hood and onto the roof. His head suddenly poked in the driver side window.

  “No sudden stops, okay? I’d hate to damage the paint job.”

  Dawson reached over and shoved the man’s face back outside. “Ignore him.”