Ashes of the Red Heifer (31 page)

David’s hand tightened around the black handle of the pistol. The barrel reflected dull gray light as David pulled the gun up. It was happening too fast for Annie to stop it. And yet, it seemed to be in slow motion, so she noted every detail.

David’s eyes held a deadly intent as they locked onto Moshe’s dark gaze. Annie felt energy pass between them. Moshe quit struggling, terror filling his face.

Annie lunged toward David, her eyes on the gun.

He raised the gun, his arm straight in front of him, the barrel pointed at Moshe.

She couldn’t reach David in time and raised her leg to kick his arm. A flash exploded from the barrel of the gun, the roar searing through Annie’s head, mingled with her screams and David’s shouts. Other noises, maybe the guards or Moshe or the firestorm outside, swirled in the periphery of her consciousness.

She’d succeeded in barely touching David’s arm but it was enough to send his aim high.

Someone stormed through the door gun first, shots ricocheting around the lab. The two guards holding Moshe spun around and started shooting. The man in the doorway ran into the lab followed by another man.

Annie dove for the floor but almost as she hit the ground Moshe’s fingers closed around her wrist and pulled her toward the door, away from the fighting. While David and the guards exchanged gunfire Moshe had the quick thinking to get the hell out of Dodge. Within seconds they were outside of the lab.

Moshe shoved her down the ravine. “Stay in the shadow. Run!”

He didn’t have to tell her twice. Expecting to be ripped to pieces by bullets she ran, keeping as close to the cliff side as she could. It seemed to take hours to reach a small desert brush and she dived behind it. Afraid to look she crouched low and peeked through the dry leaves.

The camp was chaos. Rat-a-tatting that could have been a flock of woodpeckers back home broke though the night and little flashes burst as the Silim and the Corporation battled.

Slight movement caught her eye and she focused on the shadows from where she’d come. Who was following her?

With relief she saw it was Moshe. He moved slowly, not with the panic that had propelled Annie. He stopped and felt around the cliff wall. Of course, he was unlocking the captives. He’d free the boys and their mothers. How would he get them to safety in the middle of the gun battle?

Annie started to get her breath back, trying to figure some plan to get them out. Before she could come up with something viable the rat-a-tat turned in Moshe’s direction.

Moshe grunted. His arms flew out, his chest thrust forward and he hit the cliff as bullets slammed into his back. His lifeless form crumpled into the sand.

The battle continued with the mess tent going up in flames.

Moshe didn’t move. He lay in front of the hidden prison door. Annie looked behind her. She could make a run for safety following the ravine. No one was looking for her out here. She turned to the compound. But who would save the captives inside the cliff?

If the Silim succeeded in wiping out The Corporation they wouldn’t know to free the boys. If The Corporation got away from the Silim they would keep the boys and the Red Heifer for three more years. She couldn’t leave them.

Keeping low and close to the wall, Annie crept back.

Moshe hadn’t moved. She couldn’t tell if he was breathing. When she got close enough she reached for him, taking his still-warm hand. “Moshe.”

David’s rough hands grasped her arms and jerked her to her feet. Not before her hand closed on the key clutched in Moshe’s stiff fingers.

“You weren’t trying to escape, were you?” David’s mouth was close to her ear.

She didn’t say anything. He slouched down and forced her into a crouch then pulled her along the shadows heading back to the compound. She tried to run from him but he slammed her into the cliff and shoved her ahead. The fighting had moved on and they slipped into the lab.

One of the guards lay on his back, lifeless eyes wide, blood puddling under his head. Two other dead men bunched against the lab wall, draining blood they wouldn’t need anymore.

David pulled her toward the pen. “Get the calf. Let’s go.”

Annie couldn’t look away from the guard. That is what happened to Hassan. Somewhere on the desert he lay just like this guard. Dead. Moshe was probably dead, too. She touched the key in her pocket and vowed she’d save Jacob and Hannah. They all couldn’t die.

David climbed over the panel, falling to the other side. “Let’s go. Now!”

Another explosion rocked the compound and someone outside the door screamed in agony.

Adrenaline shot through Annie and she hurried over the panel. She didn’t know where she was going but she couldn’t go out the lab door.

David shoved the gun in his belt and knelt beside the calf. He scooped it in his arms and stood, straining under the weight. He started toward the back of the cave in the deep shadows. “This way.”

Machinegun fire from the door of the lab stopped any rebellion Annie contemplated. She followed David back to the end of the cave, barely three feet from the front of the headgate. All she saw was a wall of stone and dirt. She wanted to run, leave the closed walls of the lab and take her chances outside. Inside, they’d be gunned down like prisoners in front of a firing squad.

David set the calf down and frantically ran his hand over the rock. He glanced over his shoulder and turned back to the wall.

Another burst of gunfire ended with someone screaming.

David’s searching fingers found what they sought and he worked his hand through loose dirt. He threw his weight against the wall and it slid inward. He pushed it far enough that he could slip through. “Hurry!”

Annie bent over and put her arms under the calf. She lifted and scooted at the same time and slipped past David into darkness.

David shoved at the door. As it shut, she heard rapid gunfire crash around the lab.

Behind the door Annie, the calf, and David huddled in darkness. The space barely had room for the three of them.

Beyond the door they heard more gunfire, then yelling in Arabic, then nothing.

David’s rapid breathing filled the air. “We have to get out of here,” he whispered.

Annie was all for that, but she didn’t want to leave with David. He had killed Moshe and she’d be next. Annie bent down and ran her hands over the calf. It seemed to be handling the situation well.

Sounds of rustling led her to suspect David pulled the gun from his waistband. He grunted with strain and she heard the door slide in. A shaft of weak light shone in from the lab. The Silim had shot out all but one of the bulbs.

David wagged his gun at her and whispered. “Come on.”

She hesitated and he grabbed her arm, jerking her in front of him. She slowly made her way into the lab.

Gunfire still erupted and men shouted to one another.

David carefully pulled the door shut, smoothing the dirt over the crack so unless someone knew it was there, it would be hard to detect. His face shone with sweat and his eyes flitted over the lab. He nodded his head toward the door. “Let’s go.”

They crept across the lab. Annie turned her head so she wouldn’t have to see the guard’s blank stare or the puddle of blood that spread beneath him.

At the door David put his hand on her shoulder to stop her. They peeked from the doorway. Flashes of light showed the fighting continued by the tents. Three bodies lay outside the lab but Annie couldn’t tell if they were guards she’d seen around camp or from the Silim. The Land Rover stood where it had stopped to let the Corporation rabbis out, several yards from the lab door, facing the camp.

“Perfect,” David said.

Annie’s mind spun. Should she try to make a run for it? David would probably gun her down. If she died, who would rescue the boys? She had to stick with David, it wasn’t a good chance but it was the only one she had.

David put his mouth next to her ear. “We’ll make a break for the Land Rover. You drive. Head down the valley and I’ll tell you where to go.” He cocked his gun next to her ear.

A chill snaked from her neck down her back.

He softly kissed her ear. “I will use this if I have to.”

Annie nodded and licked her lips. She took a deep breath and streaked out of the lab at top speed, the ground disappearing under her boots. She and David hit the Land Rover at the same time, wrenching open their doors and jumping inside.

Before she had time to think, she turned the key, started the engine and looked out the windshield. At the sound of the motor one man crouched behind a tent spun toward them. Automatically, he raised his gun and fired at the Land Rover.

The back passenger window burst in a shower of glass, a few shards sprinkling the front seat. Annie clenched her eyes shut and screamed in panic.

David yelled at her. “Go, go, go!”

She opened her eyes, rammed the Land Rover into gear and floored the gas. She jerked the wheel to the left, trying for a U-turn to get them out of the compound.

A man ran toward them, his gun raised. David pulled his gun up and fired, the sound deafening in the vehicle. The man flew backward, his gun falling uselessly to the dirt.

Annie spun around, her wheels seeking something solid to grab. The back end of the Land Rover slid and she finally gained forward movement. She gunned the motor and stared into the darkness, picking up speed. From the corner of her eye she saw something or someone in front of them.

David’s arm came up again and he fired. The man twisted and screamed. He floundered.

Annie couldn’t slow down and screamed again when the Land Rover connected with a sickening thud and the man careened into the night.

In seconds they were free from the camp.

Annie didn’t slow down until David’s calm voice directed her to turn and follow another trail.

* * * *

Annie had been driving on the paved highway for about an hour, her mind as stiff and unyielding as her white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel. A road sign announced Jerusalem was ten kilometers away.

She fought to keep the image of Moshe’s death from her head. “Where are we going?”

He held the gun in his right hand, finger ready to press the trigger. “God spoke clearly tonight. He’s saying the Messiah is ready. We have work to do.”

“What work?”

David’s face split into a grin. “The time of the Third Temple is at hand.”

She shook her head. “No it’s not.”

David glanced out the window; he seemed pleased with the night. “We already have the cornerstone. It’s in hiding for the time being. We have the vessels, the garments, everything we need. All the dark doubts are over; the Temple will be built soon. Praise God. All we need to do is eliminate the Muslim’s evil shrine.”

Her stomach rolled with dread. “The Dome of the Rock.”

He nodded in satisfaction. “That’s our mission. You and me. This is what God means for us to do. Sacrifice ourselves for this great cause.”

The night kept getting better and better. “Do you have any idea what will happen if you destroy the Dome? Think about this, David. There are over a billion Muslims in the world and barely more Jews in the whole world than would crowd my father’s ranch. If you do this, it’s possible the Jews could be exterminated. Is that what you want to be known for?”

David shook his head, his eyes glistening with his vision of the future. “I trust in God. My job is to prepare the way. While I waited for you to find the cure I was busy finishing my plan.”

The lights of Jerusalem filled the windshield in front of her. Desperation clawed at her brain. “You’ll never be able to destroy the Dome. Fanatics have tried to destroy it before. What makes you think you can?”

He grinned at her. “Tunnels. The tunnels underneath the Temple Mount. They’re part of the ancient city. You see, even then, God was planning for this time. They’re covered up and only partially excavated. But I’ve found a way to use them. There’s a house in the Jewish section of the Old City. Like a lot of people who live in Jerusalem, the owners have been doing their own archeological dig within its walls. Only in this house, the digging has gone deeper. Inch by inch, foot by foot, until the house is connected to the tunnels. And the tunnels wind their way to a spot directly underneath the Dome. God has provided us the means and he asks us to be bold enough to claim his power.”

She frowned at him. “How can you profess faith in God? This plan of yours is the worst kind of evil. Death in God’s name.”

David’s enthusiasm transformed in an instant into flashing anger. “Shut up! You don’t know what you’re talking about. God has ordained that I bring him the Red Heifer and lay the cornerstone of his Temple. I’ll be at the right hand of the Messiah. My name will be whispered along with Moses.”

Annie had seen twisted thinking in action. But the look in David’s eyes terrified her.

For an hour they rode in silence. They drove the Land Rover to the Jaffa Gate and parked in a lot. David held up the gun. “Let’s go.”

Annie slid from the Land Rover, shoving the keys between the seats. They turned right and walked around David’s Citadel and wound down stairs to a large parking lot, mostly empty at this late hour. The night closed around them, the cool air chilling Annie. The uneven cobblestones felt rough beneath her soles. A left took them through the upscale shops and cafes, closed now. The next turn brought Annie face to face with a carved stone lion above a doorway.

She stopped, startled to see such a ferocious beast. It looked ready to tear her to pieces. David nudged her sharply with the gun and she continued down the narrow passage.

They didn’t speak. Their footsteps sounded dull on the empty street. He directed her around so many turns, through narrow alleys and across nondescript streets that Annie quickly lost her way.

He led her to a house that looked like scores of others. Made of stone blocks that probably dated to Christ’s time, they created a wall running continuously to the end of the street. The arched door, made of wood that appeared as ancient as stone, was crossed with bands of iron and had several Hebrew letters positioned on it.

David pulled keys from his pocket. Before he put them in the door, he knocked softly. “It’s Eli.”