DAYS OF THE MESSIAH: PHARAOH

Chapter Two

Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city will go forth into captivity.

Zechariah

And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

Revelation

Kerry came to see the professor because his phone call had left her feeling troubled. She had already had some second thoughts about the whole affair after her meeting with the minister. Her concerns had intensified after the bizarre role she had to play at the office. When she left with the folder she walked over to the library. All kinds of questions were running through her mind. Naturally, she was very curious about the folder and decided to take a quick look inside. The first thing she saw was the journal article. Kerry removed it, revealing the black-and-white pictures. As she looked through them, they seemed to be of an archeological dig, but other than that they did not mean much to her. Next she found the white envelope; she opened it and saw the letter, but she decided not to read it. The professor had trusted her with these materials, and she felt that what she had seen was enough to satisfy her curiosity and she had better wait until she was able to talk to him for his full explanation.

Then she noticed the papyrus. It looked so beautiful and delicate. It was thicker than normal paper and felt sturdier. There was some writing on one side of it, while the blank side felt much rougher. She examined it closely. The hieroglyphic images were very refined and detailed. Whatever it was, it felt precious.

Kerry looked at her watch. Twenty minutes had passed since she had left the professor’s office. She decided to call him and see if he was free. She called but there was no answer. She left him a message that she was going home and asked him to call her there. When she arrived at her apartment she called the professor’s office, but again, there was no answer. She called him every hour after that without success, so she tried his home phone number, but he was not there either.

There was no broadcast on Fridays; instead they had choir rehearsal in the early afternoon. For a while she was inclined to forego the rehearsal and wait for the professor’s call. But after waiting for three hours she decided that it would be best to go to rehearsal to pass the time and relieve herself from the stressful waiting.

The choir rehearsal was exactly what Kerry needed. All the mental stress of the last few days was washed away in the stream of uplifting melody and rejoicing. The choir practiced one song after another, repeating unfamiliar lines and experimenting with different combinations and arrangements. The pressure and anguish that she had felt all day dissolved as her mind and spirit were swept up in the expression of music and emotions.

Meanwhile, Meir was listening in as Kamal and Ali were meeting with the minister in his office.

“The professor will be missing,” Kamal said. “Just make sure your people keep quiet.”

“My people?”

“Whomever you sent to meet with the professor.”

“Oh,” the minister said, and his face darkened.

“Something wrong?” Ali asked.

“Well, the one who talked with the professor…it is not someone that I really trust.”

“Why? Who is he?” Kamal asked.

“It’s a woman. She is a journalist, a new member of the ministry. I thought that would be the most inconspicuous way to talk to the professor.”

“A journalist!” Ali said with alarm.

“Yes, though she’s from out of town. She’s not working now.”

“How much do you know about her?”

“Quite a bit. I have a file on her.”

“Can I take a look?”

The minister walked to his desk and took out Kerry’s file from the drawer and handed it to Kamal. Kamal opened it and immediately noticed Kerry’s picture stapled to the side. “Take a look at this, Ali,” he said, shaking his head.

Ali glanced at the picture, cursed under his breath in Arabic, then said, “I don’t believe it. He gave it to her right under our noses.”

“Who gave her what?” the minister blurted.

“This woman came by the professor’s office while we were talking to him. He pretended she was a student of his and gave her what we were after. Son of a bitch.”

“I don’t understand…,” mumbled the minister, trying to digest the implications of what Kamal was saying.

“Do you have her address in here?” Kamal asked, browsing a form attached to the picture. “Here it is, 2200 North Lamark, apartment 420.” He walked to the minister’s desk and copied the address onto a slip of paper.

“She is probably here at the ministry for the choir rehearsal right now. Do you want to talk to her?”

“No,” Ali said sharply. “We should not involve you in this any further. We’ll deal with her.”

“When is this rehearsal over?” Kamal asked.

“Very shortly.”

“We’ll go by her home and see what we can do.”

Meir and David followed the two Egyptians to Kerry’s apartment from a distance. “We must call in and talk about what we are going to do,” Meir said as he drove the RV out of the motel’s parking lot. David dialed a number on the car phone.

“Israel One Temple,” a male voice answered.

“Rabbi Solomon, this is David. The two Egyptians are going to the journalist’s apartment to take what the professor gave her. If we wait to talk to her they will harm her.”

“You must not intervene.”

“What she has must be very important. We should get involved.”

“Are you sure?” the rabbi asked.

“They left the professor somewhere in the woods. If she has what they want, then they’ll probably kill her. They have to; she’s a witness.”

“I do not know what to say, David. But I’ll have to call the rebbe. How much time do you have?”

“We are on our way there. I’ll hold on.” David turned to Meir and said, “He wants to call the rebbe.”

“It’ll be a tough decision. You never know what might happen if we do intervene.”

“I know what will happen if we do not.”

“This is not about one person. You can’t ignore the consequences.”

“Yes, you keep saying that. I have been in tough situations before, Meir. In the army things were clearer; this spiritual stuff…”

“You can’t second-guess the rebbe, David. That was the agreement from the beginning. What we do, we do his way.”

David did not answer him. That was the agreement, and it would be hard to break. He listened for the rabbi to come back to him.

“David,” the rabbi spoke, “the rebbe is very concerned about what might happen.”

“Did he say ‘no’?”

“No, but he didn’t say ‘yes’ either. Any overt action could endanger all we’ve done.”

“We have been on this for six months without getting anywhere. What she has might be what we need to move on. I think that we must take the risk.” The rabbi was silent for a while. David waited patiently. He avoided looking at Meir, knowing that Meir’s loyalty was with the rebbe. It was enough for Meir to have an impression of what the rebbe wanted to act accordingly.

“You’re sure this is relevant to what we need?” the rabbi argued.

“This is the closest we have come in six months. Who knows when we will have another chance?”

“Okay, David. Do what you feel is necessary, but only what is necessary, do you understand?”

“Yes. But if we take any action, then everything will change. We need to decide now on what to do next.”

The rabbi sighed deeply, “If you do intervene, then bring the woman to the synagogue, and we’ll discuss what to do next.”

“Okay.”

Kamal and Ali walked to Kerry’s apartment and knocked on the door, but there was no answer. They considered breaking in, but decided to wait for her instead. Kerry pulled her car into the reserved lot moments later, and the two men approached as Kerry exited the car.

“Good afternoon, miss,” Kamal said softly.

“Oh hi,” Kerry said, then, recognizing them, stopped and stared.

“We met this morning,” Ali said.

“Yes. What?”

“We need to talk to you for a few minutes, if you don’t mind,” Kamal said. “We’re with the Egyptian Embassy security,” he said, showing her an ID. “Do you mind if we come up to your apartment?”

“No, not at all.” Kerry was not sure what to make of their appearance or how they knew how to find her.

“How did you find me?” she asked as she led them up the stairs.

“We’ve had the professor under surveillance for some time. We make sure we know who he talks to,” Ali said.

Kerry heard a thud, and saw a man jump down the stairs just ahead of her. The man brushed by her, losing his balance as he tried to avoid her and ran right into Kamal.

“Sorry, man,” David said as he caught himself on Kamal and pushed him against the rails. His right hand slipped quickly into Kamal’s suit pocket; then he jumped down another set of stairs.

Kamal scowled but ignored him. As Kerry opened her apartment door and let them in, David was at the bottom of the stairs holding a device connected to an earpiece. David put the earpiece in his ear and adjusted the volume. When he heard the door close, he walked back up the stairs.

Kerry led the two men into the small, one-bedroom apartment.

“I’ll be back in a second,” she said and walked down a hallway to her bedroom. She glanced at the answering machine, but to her disappointment, there were no messages. Kerry walked quickly back to the living room and turned on a desk lamp by the window. Her leather binder with the professor’s folder was sitting on the desk.

Leaning against the desk she asked, “What is this all about, gentlemen?”

“We need what the professor gave you this morning. It is an artifact that was smuggled out of Egypt.”

“Smuggled? Are you sure? The professor…”

“We’re not accusing him of anything yet, but we need the evidence.”

“I don’t know what to say. Shouldn’t this be dealt with by American authorities?”

“As he said, we need the evidence first; if you don’t mind.”

Kerry hesitated for a moment. Things were happening faster than she liked, and she was not sure how she should react.

“We’re not accusing you of anything, believe me,” Kamal said, misunderstanding her hesitation. “We will not get you involved in anything. We would like to deal with this discreetly.”

“Please give us what he gave you, and if it is what we are looking for, then we will explain everything to you,” Ali said.

She reached into the desk and took the folder out of her binder. “This is what the professor gave me,” she said.

Kamal walked closer and took the folder. He opened it and looked through its contents. He held the sheet of papyrus to the light and inspected it.

“This is an authentic papyrus that was taken illegally from Egypt,” he said.

“Wow. I wouldn’t have thought. What the…?” she blurted. Ali was pointing a gun at her. “You must have had a long day. I think that what you need now is a relaxing, warm bath.” Kerry was more shocked than afraid. It was the first time ever that she had been threatened with a gun.

“Go to your bedroom and take your clothes off.” Kamal grabbed her arm, pushed her toward the hallway, and followed after her.

“Do not move or you are dead,” an unfamiliar voice spoke almost in a whisper. Kerry turned around, and there she saw a tall man with short, curly hair standing with a gun pointed at the side of Kamal’s head. A shorter man in Hasidic Jewish attire then moved in next to him.

“Throw your gun over here,” the tall man said, and Ali complied. The Hasidic man searched Kamal and took a gun away from him.

“Now both of you get out of here,” David said and pushed Kamal toward the door. The two Egyptians looked at him in surprise. “Come on, move it!” He motioned them with his gun. “If I see you again, I will shoot you.” Without a word they moved quickly toward the door.

“This stays here,” the Jewish man said as he took the folder from Kamal.

“And who are you?” Kerry asked after the two men left.

“My name is David, and this is Meir.” David resembled the two Egyptians more than his companion. She recognized him from the stairs a few minutes earlier. Meir’s complexion was fairer. “We mean you no harm. Do not worry,” he continued. For the first time, she noticed his heavy accent.

“You want this, too?” She asked, pointing toward the folder.

“No,” Meir said and handed it to her.

“We do not have time to explain, but you must come with us. They might come back for it,” David said.

“Well, David and Meir, I am grateful for what you did, but I think I should call the police,” walking toward the kitchen she continued, “Why did you let them get away? You’re not undercover cops, are you?”

“No, we’re not,” David answered, “and it will take some time to explain who we are. Time we do not have now.” He was getting a little anxious, “You must come with us. You must trust us.”

“Where do you want to go? Why don’t we call the police?”

“Sorry, but we can’t, and you aren’t safe,” Meir spoke. “We mean you no harm.”

“I can see that,” she muttered almost to herself.

“Please! We need you to come with us,” David said, as he walked toward the door and looked outside.

Kerry had to make a decision. She looked David and Meir over. She wasn’t ready to have them walk away without explaining who they were, but obviously they were in no mood to sit down and chat. “Okay,” she turned back from the kitchen.

“Bring a suitcase and some clothes, but please hurry,” Meir said urgently.

Kerry gave him a puzzled look.

“Those guys might come back. You’re not safe here,” David answered her unspoken questions.

“Okay, we’ll do it your way.” She walked into the bedroom, got a small suitcase out of her closet, and put the folder in it. She packed some underwear, a sweatshirt, and a pair of jeans, then ran to the bathroom for her toiletries.

“Bring your passport,” David called at her.

“Passport! What for?” Meir whispered.

“Did you say passport?” Kerry called back, sticking her head out of the bathroom.

“Don’t leave any valuables in case they come back.” He was thinking of other reasons but he was not willing to share them.

Kerry ran back to her bedroom and took her passport from her dresser drawer. “Anything else?” she asked when she returned to the living room.

“No, let’s go,” Meir said anxiously.

David reached for her suitcase, “I’ll help you with that.”

“Do you have that folder?” Meir asked before they left the apartment.

“Yes, it’s in the suitcase.”

David hurriedly led the way, carrying the suitcase in his left hand while holding the gun inside his jacket pocket with his right hand. Kerry followed and Meir was behind her. There were no signs of the Egyptians. Meir opened the front passenger door and moved around to the driver’s side. David tossed the suitcase inside, let Kerry enter and followed her.

Kerry and David sat on two separate seats directly behind Meir as he pulled the RV onto the street.

“Do you mind telling me where we’re going?” she asked.

“We are going to Israel One Temple,” David answered.

“And?”

“We will meet with Rabbi Solomon. He will explain to you what is going on.”

“Why don’t you tell me now?”

“I’m not sure how much you need to know. You don’t need to get involved. It is for your safety,” Meir said.

“What do you mean get involved? I’m already involved. I’m the one who almost…” Kerry stopped before finishing the sentence.

“I don’t want to be rude, but to put things in perspective, we weren’t supposed to help you; it might not have been the smart thing to do.” Meir did not sound pleased with what had taken place. “We’re not sure what to do next.”

Kerry, somewhat puzzled by Meir’s response, was silent for a moment. “Maybe I should wait for Rabbi Solomon’s explanation,” she said softly, as if speaking to herself. “But how did you know I was in danger?”

“We think that they killed Professor Seaport. So we thought that they might do the same to you,” answered David.

“They killed him!”

“They took him this morning to somewhere in the hills,” Meir said.

“Did you see them kill him?”

“No. We couldn’t follow them all the way, but when they came back, the professor was not with them,” David said.

“Why didn’t you go to the police?”

“The police can’t help with what we’re dealing with. The professor’s life is not that important. Our lives are not important, either; neither is yours,” Meir said with some exasperation.

“But you did save my life,” she argued.

“Yes,” he paused for a moment, “and I really hope that it was the right thing to do.”

Meir sounded so dramatic that she wondered if he was totally sane. She looked at David, deep in his own thoughts, but he averted his eyes. What could all this be about? Kerry looked outside through the windshield; the sun was just above the horizon. She looked at Meir, in his religious clothes, and wondered if it was only a disguise. She almost asked him about them, but she felt awkward. She just wanted to talk, to break the silence. The two men were quiet and contemplative, so she sat and waited.

The drive from her home to the synagogue took about ten minutes. Meir pulled the RV up by the front entrance. They walked into a large, unlit foyer. In front of them the hallway forked. To their right was a glass wall with a long bench along it. The glass ended at a wooden divider perpendicular to the wall, ten feet in front of them. The wooden divider had two closed windows. There was a faint stream of light coming from a door just beyond the dividers.

“Wait here,” Meir said and walked down the hall. He opened the door, flooding the hall with light, and went in.

A minute later Meir came back, followed by another man.

“Rabbi Solomon, this is Miss Kerry Rosemond.”

The rabbi looked younger than David and Meir—in his thirties. He had a well-groomed beard, and he stood about two inches taller than David.

The rabbi shook Kerry’s hand politely, saying, “Nice to meet you. I think we’d better go to my office.” He led the way with Kerry walking half a step behind him. “We have over an hour before we need to prepare for the Shabbas services, enough time to visit together and explain a few things that’ll help you understand what’s at stake here.”

“You go ahead,” David said and walked back toward the entrance.

“What is it?” asked the rabbi.

“Just looking.”

From the open door the rabbi led her into a large enclosed area; to the right, Kerry was able to see the other side of the wooden divider. There were three desks and other office equipment and materials. They walked through that area and into a large office. A dark, plain desk was right by the door with a large executive seat behind it and two armchairs on the other side The left and far walls were covered with bookshelves and wooden cabinets.

Kerry sat down on one of two dark couches in the middle of the office. Meir and the rabbi sat on the other one across from her.

“It’s somewhat complicated, and I don’t know exactly where to begin,” Rabbi Solomon spoke softly and a little hesitantly. “But to make things as simple as possible, let’s start just about fifty years ago. You might be familiar with some Middle East history, so please excuse me if I sound redundant, but I need a starting point. In 1948 there was a war between Jews and Arabs in Palestine; as a consequence, the Jews were able to establish the state of Israel. While two people fighting over the same piece of land is a fairly common event in human history, two things about this situation make it remarkable. The first was that it involved Jews, and the second that it was in the Holy Land. For the first time in thousands of years, the Jews had their own state, independent and sovereign without foreign control. This fact is, to some extent, a problematic one for some Jews who believe that salvation would only come through spiritual means, namely the coming of the Messiah. Those Jews, who saw salvation as a function of spiritual power, viewed the secular events that led to the establishment of Israel with suspicion and concern. Israel, in essence, represents a contradiction in Judaic faith, but most Jews have learned to live with it. The other significant factor, that it happened in the Holy Land, had wider implications, mostly because of its impact on Christians. Most Christians believe that the return of the Jews to the Land of Israel would precede the coming of the Messiah, whom they believed to be Jesus Christ.”

The rabbi paused for a moment, “In 1967 Israel defeated the armies of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan in another war. It was a brilliant military victory, but ironically, it had some remarkable religious aftershocks, especially in the United States. After the Six Days’ War, as it came to be known, America fell in love with Israel, Jews and Christians alike.

“Leaving politics aside, for many Jews it led to a revival of Jewish pride. Once again the Jews had proven that they could be a strong nation with a modern army. This same event that excited many in this country became a cause of concern for those Jews who have had some misgivings toward Israel since its inception. The image of the exiled Jew, the underdog, who has only his god for protection, was dramatically replaced by the image of the strong, intelligent, and secular Jew. The Jews became a normal nation, no longer defenseless or at the mercy of gentiles. This was the message that came out of Israel. A message that implied that the Jews did not need God any more: not his protection, nor his Sabbath, nor his laws, not as long as they had their jet fighters and tanks. This Israel was not something new. We had similar situations in the days when the prophets were ignored and idol worship was rampant.

“Along with the American-Christian fascination for Israel,” he continued with a little hesitation, “there developed a new theology to explain Israel from a Christian point of view. This was most evident among fundamental Christians, who try very hard to interpret modern history in the light of biblical prophecies. Their interpretations generated tremendous support for Israel, both political and economical, which Israel and its friends recognized and cultivated. As a Jew I might have seen this as a very positive thing and rejoiced in it, except for one thing. The catch is in the fundamental Christian’s interpretation of today’s events. According to their understanding there is only one way for Israel to go. And that, if you’ll excuse my expression, is to hell.

“What those Christians are looking for is their Messiah, and the events preceding his coming are clear. The Jews will return to their land, and then all hell will break loose on them. Armageddon is their destiny. Jerusalem will be built only to again come under siege and be destroyed. Then Christ will return. He will stand at the Mount of Olives and show the Jews the wounds in his hands so they’ll believe in him. This is the scenario that the fundamental Christians read in their Bible. The problem is that when you believe something so strongly, you want it to happen now.”

“At the church I belong to, the minister preaches the ‘not so distant’ Second Coming all the time.”

“Exactly. If Armageddon is going to come, then let it come now. The Israeli-Arab conflict must be the means for it, if not this year, then in the next year. Eventually, it must happen. This is very fatalistic thinking. But even that’s not the whole problem. The real serious concern arises when some individuals begin to believe that they are responsible for bringing about Armageddon. They see themselves as instruments in the hand of God, working to fulfill the prophecies.” The rabbi paused and looked at Kerry.

“Who is doing that?”

“The minister.”

“What minister?”

“Minister Rauly, of course.”

“Minister Rauly! You know him?”

“Know him? We have been spying on him for months now. That’s why you are here.”

“The minister. I thought you were spying on the Egyptians.”

“He works with them. Didn’t you know that?”

“Oh my,” Kerry said, as a sense of clarity reached deep into her mind. “I didn’t know that.”

“The minister and some other individuals have come together in an attempt to bring the Last Days closer. They’ve formed an association that includes very influential individuals, congressmen, businessmen, government officials, religious leaders, and more. Most of them are well-known supporters and patrons of Israel. They believe in Israel and its destiny. They believe that the only way Armageddon is going to come about is if the conflict between Israel and the Arabs continues. A decade or two ago that was not very hard to imagine. We supported Israel, and the Soviet Union supported the Arabs. We built arms and supplied Israel with what it needed, and the Soviets did the same for the Arabs. This organization, which we shall call the Organization, for lack of another title, thought that eventually, one leader would come along that would bring about Armageddon.

“At the time, they did not have to do much to keep this scenario alive. Ronald Reagan was in power, and the Russians were the ‘evil empire’. We were stockpiling and developing bigger arms, and the Russians were doing the same. The Organization’s hopes began to shake when the Soviet Union began to fall apart. As the world began to change more and more, they searched for different strategies to accomplish their goal.”

“How do you know all this?” asked Kerry.

“Our information came from a businessman who became involved with the Organization, not out of religious or ideological reasons, but because of economic ones. He had business dealings with many Arab countries and was very successful. As you might know, the Arab countries have laws that prohibit them from dealing with companies with investments in Israel. They did not want someone making profits off of them and investing these profits in building their enemy’s economy. The United States passed a number of laws to punish companies that went along with the Arab boycott. So this man’s business began to be effected. Politicians and bankers were putting pressure on him, somewhat veiled and disguised, to be more considerate of Israel’s needs. Therefore, he became resentful. He didn’t really have anything against Israel, but he didn’t appreciate being bullied either. So, when he was invited to become a member of the Organization, he accepted. They needed his connections in the Arab countries, and he found a way to express his resentment toward Israel and its supporters. Last year this man found out that he had cancer and would probably die soon. It seems that he was having second thoughts about his involvement with the Organization, and about six months ago he confided in a friend. This friend realized some significant spiritual implications to the work of this organization, and he spoke to Rabbi Menahem Bleisky, a very respected leader in ultra-Orthodox Jewry, who heads a yeshiva in Boston. I used to be a student of the rebbe, and he approached me.”

“The rebbe?”

“It is rabbi in Yiddish. This is how we call him.”

“I see.”

“Minister Rauly is the spiritual force behind the Organization. David, Meir, and others have worked for months on monitoring his activities. But let me explain a few things about the Organization first. We estimate that there are about twenty prominent figures who function as its directors. Underneath them they’ve established a strong network of individuals who are recruited mostly from a number of conservative and right-wing organizations. These members do not know the main goal of the Organization, but are enticed into cooperation under a number of other banners.

“As I said earlier, for the Organization, the Israeli-Arab conflict was the key for the end of the world. Hence it was imperative to keep the conflict alive. Their activities focused on two seemingly contradictory levels. The first one was to support a hard-line, right-wing Israeli government that is not interested in the prospect of peace as much as in holding on to the occupied territories and in building Jewish settlements in those areas. This is because the Organization realized that any meaningful peace process between the Arabs and the Israelis would only work if it were modeled on the peace accord between Israel and Egypt. And that would require that Israel return the occupied lands in exchange for peaceful relations.

The second level of their activities involved giving clandestine military support to the radical Arab countries in their opposition to Israel.” He paused for a moment then said, “I hope I am not making things too complicated for you.”

“So far, so good.”

“Good. Before the Gulf War, the Organization provided support and assistance to the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein by securing loans and Western technologies to build up his arms capability. Since Iraq was engaged in war with Iran, which we see as an enemy, they were provided with a perfect excuse for strengthening the relations with Saddam’s regime. The Organization almost fell apart a while ago. For some time it seemed that all their options were coming to a dead end. Iraq lost the Gulf War, the Israelis elected a new government that is serious about peace, and the organization lost significant political clout when Bush lost to Clinton. In addition, significant progress was made in bringing Israel and the Arabs closer to peace agreements. So as a last effort, the Organization held a general meeting for all its directors to discuss what they can do. They came to the conclusion that the only means to keep the conflict alive is to bring down the government of Egypt. We know that the Organization is engaged in activities to replace the Egyptian government with one that is hostile to Israel. This would serve two significant goals. First, it would put an end to the peace process in the Middle East. If the Egyptian government were to change and revoke the peace accord, then the Jews would never again trust an Arab as a peace partner. Second, the Arabs need Egypt to wage a successful war against Israel. It is the ancient enemy of Israel and the largest Arab country, with the largest and best-trained army in the Arab world. The Middle East will be on the edge, and war would be inevitable.”

The rabbi stood up and moved toward his desk. He unlocked the lower drawer and took out a paper from it. “This is a copy of a document that was presented to the Organization’s directors at their meeting.” He handed the paper to Kerry. “Now if you look at the second page, halfway through there is bold heading that reads El Fara’nah.”

Kerry took the paper and looked at the title: Plan of Action for the General Meeting of Directors. She turned to the second page and scanned it quickly until she found the bold heading “El Fara’nah,” and she read out loud, “El Fara’nah: an Arabic name referring to the ancient Egyptians, meaning the people of Pharaoh. A nationalistic movement in modern Egypt that rejects the Islamic and Arabic cultures of Egypt as foreign influences and seeks to reestablish a new Egypt based on reviving ancient Egyptian tradition and government.”

“Yes,” the rabbi said. “We suspect that the two Egyptians who tried to kill you are members of this organization. Rebbe Bleisky is a very devout and spiritual man. He is critical of the political entity of Israel. For him, the secular state of Israel is just another form of the Hellenization of the Jewish nation. He is more concerned with the spiritual well-being of the people of Israel than with the country’s military strength, and so he feels that the real threat to the Jews in Israel can only be spiritual in nature.

“When he received the report that you have in your hand, he was very alarmed by this movement in Egypt. For him this was the real threat, the threat of an old spiritual conflict between the Hebrews and the ancient Egyptians, the war between Moses and the priests of Pharaoh. This stems mainly from Jewish understanding of the events preceding the coming of the Messiah.”

“Are you saying that you, too, believe that these are the Last Days when the Messiah will come?”

“The belief in the coming of the Messiah is a basic tenant of Judaism and is one of the thirteen articles of faith. Do we think that it will happen soon? We always think that it’s possible. The rebbe directed us to try to identify the leaders of this movement. He wants to know the name of their leader.”

“I don’t understand. What’s so important about the name of this leader?” She was impressed by all the rabbi had said, but the focus on the leader’s name sounded trivial. “What do you need it for?”

“It’s how the rebbe intends to fight them. As I said, this is a spiritual war in line with that between Moses and the priests of Pharaoh. Our goal is to identify this individual. We can’t go to the police or even the government of Israel. It is a spiritual battle, not a secular one. We hoped to identify this leader through spying on the minister. We believe that the minister and his organization have established close ties with this movement and that they are helping them with money and secret information to spread their influence in Egypt. We were tapping the minister’s phones and have bugged his office. That’s how we came to know about you and the professor. David and Meir’s intervention to save your life has risked our operation, but we hope that it will be worth it.”

“How?” His explanation did not make their motives any clearer to her, but she felt that she was being asked to pay them back for helping her. “I don’t think that I can get you more information about the minister.”

“No, that’s not what we want from you. We hope that what those Egyptians wanted from the professor would give us information to get to their leader.”

“You’re welcome to it,” Kerry felt relieved by his request. “If the professor is dead, as David said, then you can have it.” She reached to her suitcase. “There are some pictures and a piece of papyrus in the folder. It did not make much sense to me, but if it can be of any use…”

“I am afraid it is not that easy,” the rabbi said, stopping her. “We don’t want what you have. We need your cooperation.”

“My cooperation with what? I don’t understand.”

Before the rabbi could answer her, David entered the room and said with alarm, “The Egyptians followed us, and they are down the road.”

“What should we do?” asked Meir.

“You should take Kerry and go to Boston,” the rabbi said to David.

“Boston! Why?” Kerry asked.

“The rebbe is in Boston. He’s the only one who’d know how you could help us. I can’t explain now, but I’m sure he will. Here, take my Honda,” he handed David a key ring. “It’s parked by the back entrance. Drive to Dallas and fly to Boston from there. Houston’s not safe.” Turning to Kerry he said, “Please, you must go.”

Kerry thought for a moment. She should be going to the police, but that did not seem an option at the moment. She was intrigued by the turn of events, but everything was happening too fast for her to make a rational decision.

“Ok. I’ll go and talk to the rebbe.”

“Thank you,” the rabbi said with relief. “God bless you and mazel tov.”

“We’ll be in touch,” David said and led the way. “See you, Rabbi,” Kerry said and followed after David.

The rabbi looked at Meir and asked, “Do you want to stay?”

Meir looked at him for a moment. “I can’t. I must go with them,” his voice sounded very distressed.

“Yes you must. It’s pikuah nefesh. I’ll call the rebbe and give him an update. Just be very careful.”

“Thank you,” Meir said, but before he could walk away, the rabbi grabbed his arm and whispered, “Keep your eyes open. David doesn’t understand our ways. Always remember that he is an outsider. The woman must meet with the rebbe and do as he says.”

“I understand.”

“Go, and be careful.”

Meir followed after David and Kerry and caught up with them as David was opening the car door. Meir took the driver’s seat as Kerry sat in the back behind David, who took the passenger’s seat. Meir drove across the parking lot, and instead of going through the exit, he drove slowly over the sidewalk and into the street.

The rabbi looked at his watch. It was already Sabbath in Boston. After a short hesitation he decided not to call the rebbe. He’d wait and call tomorrow, after the Sabbath. Inside he was feeling flustered. For months he had overseen the monitoring of the minister’s activities, listening to his sermons and eavesdropping on his phone. On the one hand, he wanted to get to the man behind the El Fara’nah movement, but on the other hand, he was interested in reaching inside the minister’s soul. Here was a man who wanted to bring about what might be the closest to a Holocaust-like action, a man so convinced of his own beliefs that he was blinded to the destruction that his actions could lead to. The lives of millions of Israeli Jews were put in jeopardy for one man’s hope of salvation.

Did the minister ever wonder what would happen if he were wrong? What if the enemies of Israel were able to muster enough arms and power to come against Jerusalem and destroy a third of the city, and then the minister’s Messiah didn’t show up? Did the minister ever consider this possibility? Israel’s leaders had made it clear numerous times that they would not let their country fall to its enemy. In addition to all the conventional arms, Israel had the material and the know-how to develop nuclear power. This was no secret to anyone with any interest in Middle Eastern politics, nor was the belief that many in Israel were prepared to use it if their existence were in certain danger. It was the mentality of Massada, suicide over surrender. The horrific scenario of what could happen in the Middle East if the minister’s plans were successful was so disturbing to the rabbi that he shouted in agony, “How could anybody be so blind?” He stood up and walked around the office. “Nothing has changed much since Hitler,” he thought. “He hated us to death, and this one wants to love us to death.”

Minutes later he heard someone knocking on the front door’s glass. He left his office and walked to the front door. He could see three strange men dressed in suits and ties, an older man and two who appeared to be in their twenties. One of them knocked on the door again with a key ring, but stopped when he saw the rabbi approaching.

The rabbi opened the door just enough to talk.

“Good evening, sir,” the older men greeted him politely. “We are special agents for the Justice Department.” He presented the rabbi with a government ID card. “We have cause to believe that someone in this building is in possession of ancient artifacts that entered the country illegally.”

The rabbi read the name on the ID. “Well, Mr. Sorenson, I’m the only one in the building, and in case you haven’t noticed, this is a place of worship. I assure you that there is nothing illegal inside.”

“As I said, we have probable cause for our belief; we know exactly what we are looking for. So if you don’t mind.”

“Of course I mind; this is a sanctuary, a place of worship. Do you have a search warrant?”

“We don’t need a search warrant under the circumstances. You are required to cooperate or you will be arrested for interfering,” Sorenson threatened him.

“I’ll call my lawyer first. So if you’ll wait here, please, I’ll be back with you shortly.” The rabbi tried to lock the door, but instead he found himself shoved inside so abruptly that he fell to the ground.

“What the meaning of this?” he shouted, trying to get up. One of the men pulled him up by his shirt and pushed him against the wall. The man held a gun to the rabbi’s stomach.

“You know what we want. Where is she?” Sorenson asked him.

“There’s no one in here but me. Whoever you’re looking for is not here.” The rabbi tried to break free, not paying any heed to the gun, but the man shoved it harder into his ribs. The rabbi shouted in pain and stopped resisting.

“Leave him with me and go search the place,” Sorenson said.

The two men walked down the hall with their guns drawn. A few minutes later they returned.

“Nobody here,” they said.

“Then we’ll have a chat with you. You wouldn’t mind answering some questions for us, would you?” Sorenson grabbed the rabbi by his arm. “Let us go where we can talk in private.” He walked, pushing the rabbi next to him down the hall.

“Ken, lock the doors,” he said to one of the men. Ken picked up the rabbi’s keys that had fallen out of his hands when he was pushed to the floor. The rabbi, realizing that there was no sense of arguing, regained his composure. He thought that he could at least stall them.

When they entered the office, Sorenson pushed the rabbi onto the couch and said, “Let’s begin with the whereabouts of the woman.”

“I don’t know.”

“Where did she go?” The rabbi did not answer.

“Who were the two men with her?” There was no answer again.

Sorenson was walking around the room as he asked the questions. He was now standing by the desk, looking over the stack of books that the rabbi had. “Rabbi, I am afraid that we don’t have much time, and we would appreciate your cooperation.”

“There is nothing here for you. I suggest you leave immediately so that I don’t have to file any complaints.”

On the other side of the desk Sorenson saw the paper that the rabbi had shown to Kerry. He read the title and his facial expression changed instantly. His nostrils opened wider and his breathing accelerated. He looked at the rabbi with eyes filled with puzzled rage.

“Tie him to the chair,” he said, looking through the other papers on the desk. The rabbi tried to resist, but the men held him tightly and made him sit on one of the armchairs by the desk, tying his hands to the sides.

On the desk Sorenson saw the key ring that Meir had left. He tossed it to Ken and said, “Check the RV,” then turned to the third man. “Wait outside, please.”

When the two men left, Sorenson walked toward the rabbi and held the paper in his hand. “Do you know what this means, Rabbi? You’ve gotten yourself so deep in shit that I don’t know how you’re gonna dig yourself out. Do you want to talk about this?”

The rabbi felt helplessly frightened. He tried hard to keep calm and gave Sorenson an empty look. Sorenson walked around the desk and emptied the drawers on top of it. Seeing nothing interesting, he ran his arm over the desk, throwing papers and books all over the floor.

“There’s nothing for you here. Get out of my temple; your presence desecrates it,” the rabbi shouted at him.

Sorenson did not say anything. The situation had changed drastically. He needed to find out what the rabbi knew and how he had gotten the information. Sorenson looked around the room. There was a wooden closet built into the right wall. He took two big steps and opened it. There were books and some boxes in it. He dumped some of the contents onto the ground, opening the boxes, but nothing seemed interesting. He then noticed a side door at the far end of the room, blocked by a TV and a VCR mounted on a metal-wheeled rack. He pushed the rack and pulled on the knob, but the door was locked. The rabbi jolted his body, trying to free himself.

Sorenson kicked the door with his foot, cracking the wood around the lock. He kicked again and it broke open. It was a small storage room. Sorenson moved inside. To his right there was a narrow table with a sound recorder on it. He looked for the light switch, and when he turned it on he saw the entire left side covered with shelves stacked with video and audiotapes. On the wall opposite the door there were more shelves and tapes. He took one video out and read the label; it had only a date on it: February 1, 1999. He ran back into the office and put it inside the VCR and turned on the TV. By then Jeff and Ken had returned. Ken had a number of cassettes in his hand.

“It is a surveillance van,” he said, his voice excited. “It had all kinds of electronic equipment.”

The familiar opening tune of the Millennium Hour played from the TV. Sorenson took one of the tapes from Ken and went into the side room. The rabbi’s face was filled with anguish and distress; his operation had been discovered much sooner than he had expected. He shook his head and closed his eyes. His lips moved as he recited a prayer.

Sorenson put the cassette in the recorder. He recognized the voice of the minister talking with his secretary. He stopped the tape and took it out. “Those SOBs,” he mumbled as he walked out, his head shaking.

“Well, Rabbi, you have a first-class spying operation here. Very professional, I might say. Do you feel like talking now?” The rabbi did not say anything. “I didn’t think so.” Sorenson turned to Jeff and said, “Go break the gas lines.”

“Well, Rabbi, any final words before all this turns into one big bonfire?”

“Why are you doing this? What more do you want?”

“I want a detailed explanation of where you got this information, all the names of your accomplices, and where the woman went.”

The rabbi shook his head. He knew that he could not tell him. He wished he could be assured that all was not in vain. This was the price for saving a stranger’s life. Was it worth it? The rebbe had warned him about the consequences, but he could not have acted any other way. His only hope was that she would be able to help in doing what they had failed. My life is but a small sacrifice, he thought to himself. That was the only comfort that he could find in his heart.

“Go and drive the RV as close as you can to the building and get me a gas container,” Sorenson said to Ken.

Sorenson walked up to the rabbi and said to him, “This is your last chance to save yourself. You have only a couple of minutes to convince me that I should let you live. Where is the woman, and who are you working with?”

“Do you understand what you are doing?” the rabbi yelled back at him. “Millions will get killed if your group has its way. I don’t care about myself, but you are allowing the death of millions of people.”

“Where is the woman?” Sorenson ignored the rabbi’s words. “Sooner or later we will find her and your accomplices. If you talk now, you’ll make our job easier, and you’ll save yourself. You don’t know what you’re dealing with. Do you want to die?”

“You are the one who doesn’t know what he’s dealing with. Open your eyes; your secrets aren’t going to last longer. If I know about it, then others do, and sooner or later you’ll be finished. You are the one who needs to think about saving himself.”

“You don’t know anything.”

Jeff returned and said, “We’d better move fast.”

“Take him out; drop him near the gas leak,” the minister said.

Jeff struck the rabbi on the side of his head with the gun, knocking him unconscious. He untied him and carried him out.

Ken was back with the gas canister. Sorenson took it and went into the small room, pouring gas all around, then came out of the closet still pouring gas. Sorenson walked out of the office, leaving a trail of gas behind him. “Let’s go,” he said, passing the canister to Jeff. He knelt on the floor and with a lighter ignited the gasoline-soaked carpet.

The three men sprinted outside, breathing heavily. They jumped into their car and drove away. Flames were coming out of the building from the side by the rabbi’s office. A second later there was a sharp flash of light, and a big explosion enveloped the whole building in flames. The RV was caught in the fire, and then exploded as its gas tank ignited.

As they drove away from the synagogue, Sorenson dialed a number on the car phone. “Hello, Brian. Yes, listen, we’re bugged. For all we know, nothing is safe; take the minister to the Park Hotel. Check him in; he’ll not be going home tonight. Get everyone out of the building, turn on all the security systems, and keep someone on as a lookout in the parking lot. I don’t want anybody to go in until I come. Do you understand? Yes, everyone out. I want everyone out and the minister in the hotel in ten minutes, understood?” He hung up and dialed again. “Mike Bryer, please. Mike, this is Sorenson; listen, this is urgent. I need the phone records of the Jewish synagogue on Roosevelt. I need today’s immediately. No, immediately. I understand, but this is urgent. As well the records for the rabbi’s house number. I don’t know; look it up. Call me at the Park Hotel. I’ll be with the minister.”

As soon Sorenson turned the phone off, it rang. “Sorenson, what’s going on?” It was the minister, his voice trembling.

“Sir, your phone is not secure. Hang up now; don’t call anyone. If it rings, don’t answer it. Meet me at the hotel. I’ll explain everything there.”

Minister Rauly was with three of his aides at the hotel suite when Sorenson arrived. “Did Mike call for me?” Sorenson asked.

“No. What’s going on, Sorenson?” the minister responded.

“I’ll be with you in a minute,” Sorenson said as he reached for the phone and dialed a number. “Bryer? Yes, what have you found? Yes, today, how many? No, give me the out-of-state ones first.” Sorenson wrote down the numbers then said, “Listen, could you see how many times the Boston number appears on your list? Really! Thank you. I’ll send someone for the list first thing tomorrow morning. What? Good work; thank you.” When Sorenson hung up, he looked around the room; everyone was looking at him.

“I need to talk to the minister, alone.” The other men immediately left the room. Sorenson walked over to the minister and handed him the paper he had found on the rabbi’s desk.

“Goodness!” the minister exclaimed in shock. “Where did this come from?”

“The rabbi had it on his desk. My guess is that he was showing it to the woman.”

“What about her? What happened at the synagogue?”

“I went there, but I couldn’t find the Egyptians. We went into the synagogue, and the rabbi was alone. I was trying to talk to the rabbi when I found this paper, and these tapes.” He took the audio and the video tapes from his coat pocket.

“What are these?”

“Tapes of you. The video is of your broadcast, but the audio is of you in your office. We checked the van that the men were driving; it was full of reconnaissance equipment. I’m afraid your office and phone were bugged.”

“Sorenson, what is the meaning of this? Phone and office bugged? Where were you? Where is our security?” He looked at Sorenson, pale and confused. “What’s the meaning of all this?”

“I am sorry, sir. You can have my resignation any time.”

“Don’t be stupid.” He shrugged him off; for a long moment he paced the room trying to focus his thoughts. “What else have you found?”

“Nothing in the synagogue. The rabbi didn’t say much, and there was an unfortunate accident there. Whoever is behind this will understand that this is serious. I got some numbers that were called often from the synagogue. One of them was to the Sunrise Motel, just outside the studio’s property. One number to Boston was last called not long ago. I think this is our clue to who is behind this. It was called regularly in the last four months. I’ll fly there first thing in the morning after I make sure the building is clean.”

“Boston, huh? This is very serious, Sorenson. We can’t have traitors. I find it hard to believe, but I think I know the source of this. Both of us need to go to Boston. But where are the Egyptians? Well, I won’t worry about them now; whatever they’re after is not my concern. This is much more serious. Do you think that the jet is bugged?”

“I don’t know. I’ll get a team on it immediately. We’ll have it ready. You’ll be in Boston first thing in the morning.”

“Get on it. Clean up the airplane first, then the building. I want to leave for Boston at six o’clock in the morning, and I want you with me.”

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