Three (25 page)

Extending downward from these
images was an arrow pointing to the words,
Mark of the Beast,
followed
by,
The End of Days,
and finally,
I am become death, the destroyer of
worlds. 
Beneath these words Oliver had placed a second pair of opposing
arrows to match the matter, antimatter arrows on the opposite side of the
board.  Within the first of these arrows, he had written,
The Four Horses,
and in the opposed arrow,
Oliver and Max.
  Next to this last arrow,
centered at the bottom of his story board he placed a full-sized print of the
selfie Max had snapped in Jerusalem.  Again he felt that ache in his heart. 
She had become so close to him over the past two weeks, but then chose to push
away.

Putting these thoughts of her
aside for the moment, he began to scan the story board, pondering what forces
held together these three key conspirators who had almost succeeded in vaporizing
Temple Mount in Jerusalem, and triggering a holy war.
  Oh Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, how many tears have bathed your walls; how much blood has stained
your streets? 

He knew Benton Spencer had chosen
to carry out his destructive mission believing he was following the will of God,
when, in fact, he had used scripture to create, of himself, a false prophet
. 
Yes, world conflict is, in many cases, driven by religious fervor; but I now
realize that only through the quest for goodness within a religious belief can
mankind learn to live together in peace.

His own bitterness toward
organized religion had slowly dissolved as Oliver had experienced the events of
the past days that had carried him to the far corners of the earth.  He
reflected on the morality of mankind and his own return to his Christian
beliefs, and how faith, as well as knowledge, had led him through the series of
dramatic and dangerous events of the past two weeks. 

His eyes now returned to the
image of the free spirited Oliver and Maxine in Jerusalem.  Oliver stood before
the story board, his thoughts again fixed on this picture and of the two of
them, and slowly shook his head.  Just as Alice had become a part of his life
through their emotional ties, so had Max.  He spoke to the picture. “Damn!  Like
Professor Higgins in
My Fair Lady
, ‘I’ve grown accustomed to her face.’”

He was still staring at her
picture when she suddenly appeared wearing her work-out clothes, the gold
pendant hanging around her neck.

“Max, I thought you had gone
to Langley.  Why are you here in these academic halls of drudgery?”

“I’ve changed my mind.  I’ve
turned down the offer and am staying here as your partner.”

“You’re kiddi…” was all
Oliver was able to say in response before Maxine grabbed him firmly by the
shoulders, causing a sharp pain to run down his left arm, and planted a warm,
passionate kiss on his astonished lips.

She then turned and headed
out of his office saying, “Now I’m off to my martial arts class where I’m going
to throw my instructor on his ass.”

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author wishes to thank
several people for their help in the review of the early draft, and the final
manuscript of this book.  They include Eloise and George MacKay, Dr. Jack
McGuire, Jan Kiser, and Gerald Marin.  The author is grateful for the changes
and additions suggested by Dr. Christina Clark, Dr. Jonathan McIntyre, and especially
Dr. Gretchen Sutherland, for her thorough editing and suggested improvements. 
Without this help, the final manuscript would not have come together.  Finally,
the author wishes to thank his Sister-in-law, Lynn Ryan, and his wife, Sheila
Oelfke, for the hours they spent reading and re-reading the manuscript,
providing a thorough, final check of grammar and style.