To see things the way Dakkuri had, it was necessary to reverse the process. To somehow look at the modern landscape and see the ancient one beneath.
Such a task required an uncanny ability to read relief maps in three dimensions, a detailed knowledge of ancient geography, and an intuitive sense of geological transformation through time—not to mention a kind of sixth sense that you couldn’t put a name to.
Luckily Laura was one of only a handful of people on the planet who had the full skill-set. As Murphy watched her pore over her papers, he marveled at these unique and powerful skills. Finding the tail of the Serpent at the Horns of the Ox was going to test those skills to the limit.
IT WAS THE
second punch that Murphy regretted. No one was fighting him; he was hitting a heavy bag in the Preston University gym. The first punch, a sharp right jab, felt good to him, so good that be quickly snapped his left hand with a pop against the bag that sent a jolt from the boxing glove straight up his shoulder. The shoulder he had momentarily forgotten was still throbbing from the clawing by the lion.
When Murphy dropped both arms to let the pain ricochet around his upper body, the burly figure next to him let out a gruff snarl. “Come on, Murphy, no coffee breaks. This isn’t government work, it’s supposed to be a workout.” Levi Abrams pushed Murphy’s shoulder to get him started again. His left shoulder.
Now Murphy had to double over to keep the pain from
shooting around his torso. “Levi! Didn’t you hear me say I had to take it easy today with that shoulder?”
“Suck it up, Murphy. Intensity. Focus. Do you remember nothing of your army time? Tram, tram, tram some more. That’s the only way to keep yourself from decaying like one of your desert mummies.”
Murphy had to laugh as he looked over at the six-foot-five Israeli who was always so serious about their training sessions. Actually, Levi Abrams was serious about everything he did, as far as Murphy could tell. He had been recruited to the United States by the high-tech companies in the Raleigh-Durham area as a very highly paid security expert. So highly paid that he could afford to take an early retirement from the Mossad and relocate his family to Raleigh.
However, Murphy was certain that Levi had not completely retired. He would never ask Levi directly, and Levi was far too serious and closemouthed to say anything, but he remained extremely well connected in the Mideast, in the Arab countries as well as in Israel. So much so that Levi had been able to help Murphy on a number of occasions with expediting papers to get himself and, more important, some objects out of the Mideast.
For his part, though you would never guess it from his always stern expressions and no-nonsense conversations, Levi seemed to respect Murphy. Like Murphy, in his way Levi was a natural instructor, though if Murphy worked his students the way Levi worked him, the university would have him brought up on abuse charges.
They had first met by eyeing each other before sunup on the running track two years earlier, when Levi was overseeing
the security needs for a high-powered computer system being donated to the university by his current tech firm. Eventually, Levi offered to expand Murphy’s martial arts skills, which led to high-intensity training sessions whenever they could fit them in. With Levi, Murphy always pushed himself way beyond the effort he put in on his own, and he normally pushed himself hard. Right now, getting so carried away had brought on the pain that kept him doubled over.
This morning Murphy would have skipped working out altogether to let his shoulder heal, but he had an urgent reason to get together with Levi. He decided to get to it while he was waiting for the pain to subside.
“Levi, my friend, I have a major favor to ask. I’ve gotten a lead on something really huge, an archaeological find that I need to jump on.”
“Another of your dusty knickknacks?” Levi’s respect for Murphy as a fighter did not exactly extend to Murphy’s choice of profession. “Let me guess, you need, as my son has taken to saying, ‘wheels’? Transportation to somewhere dicey in the Mideast?”
“You know me all too well, my friend. Levi, all I need is to get Laura and me into Samaria ASAP, try to find the hiding place for this piece we’re looking for, and bring it back to Preston and have no hassles with officials or customs. Oh, and have it cost me no money.”
Levi gave a long, low whistle. “What, you’re not going to make time for a round of peace talks as long as you’re in the neighborhood? Let me see what I can do. How soon can you get away?”
“We have most of next week off for independent study, and
I’ve just about got all my students covered, so I can leave immediately. Laura’s getting her office hours covered as well. I really owe you, Levi.”
“Let’s see if I can deliver first. In the meantime”—Levi punched Murphy’s shoulder—“your coffee break is over. Get back to the bag.”
“
WE ARE TWO
men, but we make an interesting couple, Professor Murphy, do we not?” Murphy nodded deferentially to his host, Sheikh Umar al-Khaliq, but he wondered where he was going with this conversational opening. They sat drinking strong Arabic coffee in al-Khaliq’s beautiful home in Samaria, after a day of traveling, all arranged by Levi Abrams with amazing rapidity.
Laura had gone to their guest bedroom, saying that she was exhausted from her flight, but privately she pointed out to Murphy that she was sensing the sheikh was no believer in women as being worthy of inclusion in any serious discussion. “Typical,” she said, “of so many Arab men of his generation. In fact”—she jabbed Murphy with her finger—“typical of so many men of every country.”
“Hey, don’t point that finger at me. It’s loaded,” Murphy said. “I’m clean.”
“But you could help bring the sheikh into at least the nineteen hundreds.”
Murphy sighed. “I agree, dear, but could we not offend the generous hand that has made this trip possible? At least until the trip is over. Then, I promise, I will leave you behind to enlighten him. You will be my very special gift for the Samarian host who seems to have everything else.”
“Murphy, it’s a good thing I have my maps to study. Because tomorrow, when we set out exploring, I’m going to pick out a really great place to leave
you
behind. Don’t stay up too late with your manly man talk.”
Actually, Murphy was pretty certain what the sheikh might want to talk about, thanks to Levi Abrams, who had connected him with the sheikh. After working his cell phone for fifteen minutes while Murphy finished his workout, Levi said, “I think I’ve made a perfect match for you, my friend. Sheikh Umar al-Khaliq.”
“And he’s perfect because …?”
Levi sat Murphy down. “This may sound like the last thing you would expect me to know about the Mideast, Murphy, but did you know that there are more and more Arabs who are seeking out
your
God?”
“I had read a little bit about the Christianity movement among Muslims, but I honestly believed it had to be about as likely as their coming to your God. No offense.”
“None taken. At any rate, al-Khaliq is wealthy beyond belief, still enjoys diplomatic status for his fleet of private airplanes, and somehow, I guess, it was not enough. I had heard
that he was putting out some discreet feelers to some of the Christian missionary groups in the region. As you can imagine, such seeking is not a popular extracurricular habit in the Mideast, no matter how powerful you are. So I told him that you would be happy to counsel him in return for round-trip passage and supplies for a little digging.”
“Levi, you are a genius. Can I trust him?”
“I helped the sheikh out years ago with a messy situation with some trigger-happy Bedouins who were making it a little awkward for him to fight back against them on his home turf. I would trust him.”
“Thank you, Levi. I owe you big-time.”
“You owe me nothing. Take care of that wonderful wife of yours. You, I would miss not so much. Her, I would miss. And, Murphy, trust the sheikh, don’t necessarily trust anyone else who’s working with him. But you know the drill, so to speak, about digging in strange lands.”
Now, two days later, Murphy sat across from the sheikh, waiting for him to explain in his sometimes tortured English why the two of them made such an “interesting couple.” The trip could not have gone more smoothly. The sheikh’s main adviser, Saif Nahavi, had made all of the travel arrangements, and al-Khaliq’s wealth and diplomatic status had eased all bureaucratic hurdles.
Of course, as Laura had pointed out, “Murphy, your trips are always a lot like prison, a whole lot easier getting in than getting yourself out.”
Certainly, Murphy had a lot to be thankful for due to the
sheikh’s generosity, and he wanted to live up to his part of Levi’s bargain by counseling al-Khaliq about any and all aspects of his apparent interest in Christianity However, his many trips to the Mideast had taught him that he must wait for the sheikh to bring up the discussion of such a sensitive topic in his own way. If he broached it at all.
“Professor Murphy, you are a Christian man who comes to my Muslim land in search of something that has been lost for centuries, something you feel is still vital today. I am a man who has every modern possession tenfold, but I feel I am seeking something even more ancient, more simple than you seek in your journey here.”
“Sheikh, I respect your courage in your search. Are there questions you have?”
“So many questions, Murphy, but it is enough for me to meet you and help a man of your faith. In my position, as long as I stay here in the land of my ancestors, and despite all I can afford to do, I do not have the freedom that you enjoy, you who come here with your hat in hand.”
Murphy had to suppress a laugh once again at the sheikh’s unintentional knack for the embarrassing phrase.
“Let me just say, Sheikh, that I am at your service at any time of the night or day. I am indebted to you for your generosity toward my work and on such short notice. But after tonight, I realize that I am doubly blessed, because you have reminded me of how lucky I am to be an American and to be free to pursue any religion I wish.”
“It is I who must be thanking you, Murphy. Someday perhaps we will be able to discuss many things in your land.”
“Are you sure we must wait for that time, Sheikh? I’m
sure we do not have time tonight for all of your questions, but how about giving me the two that are of greatest concern at this time?”
The sheikh smiled. “I see, Professor, that you are good at your digging. All right. Tell me, what do you see as the main difference between Allah and your God? Many people think they are the same.”
Murphy sat forward. “There are several similarities. We believe our God is the creator of all things, and you agree. But we also believe in a triune God, one God made up of three divine personalities who have individual works. He is a merciful heavenly Father and sovereign sustainer of the universe who loved mankind so much, He gave His only Son to die on the cross for our sins so that we can have eternal life. He sends His Holy Spirit into our hearts to create a new spirit in us and lead us through life.”
The sheikh sighed. “There is so much to try to understand. My second big question is, what would I have to do if I wanted to become a Christian?”
“According to the Bible, a person becomes a Christian by believing that Jesus Christ is not only the Son of God who died for the sins of the world, but that He rose again on the third day and will save all who call on Him by faith.”
“That is all? It seems too easy, too simple.”
Murphy nodded. “Yes, it does. That is one reason so many people miss it. But the truth is, it was not easy for Him to die one of the most excruciating deaths in history. As you know, Sheikh, those of your faith believe He was simply a good man, a teacher, or even a prophet. But Jesus was much more than that. The fact that He then rose from the dead shows that God
the Father was pleased with His sacrifice and is willing to save all who call on Him by faith.”
The sheikh looked tired. Murphy gently added, “Sheikh, what I have explained tonight is a matter of the heart. In the quiet of your own thoughts you can call out to the Father in the name of the Son, and the Holy Spirit will save you and give you eternal life.”
“Thank you, Professor Murphy, for not squeezing me on this.” Murphy winced again at the torturing of the language. “And thank you for your answers to my questions.”
“You are welcome, Sheikh. I will pray that you make your decision soon. One thing I would ask: When you do, please drop me a note and inform me. Here is my card. You can reach me by phone or e-mail.”
“Fine. Now you must get your rest, Professor. Tomorrow, my aide, Saif, will escort you through my land and see that you return to your land—with as little interference as possible.”
An hour after the sheikh had retired and half an hour after Murphy had turned out his reading light in the guest quarters, the sheikh’s right-hand man, Saif Nahavi, slipped unnoticed to the marketplace. It appeared that he was securing last-minute supplies for the Murphys’ excursion the next morning.
As Nahavi passed an electronics store that was closed, a low voice called out, “Nahavi. Behzad. Do not turn around. Just look in the window.”
Nahavi did as instructed. Behzad spoke from the darkness of the recessed doorway of the store. “Are you ready for tomorrow?”
“Yes. The regular driver has already taken ill. You, Behzad, will be our last-minute replacement driver. It will be just the Murphys and me. They are traveling light, to say the least.”
“And what are they seeking?”
“I do not know what Murphy is hunting in our country. I have to believe that because he has been so secretive, it must be worth a lot of money.”
“It had better be.” Behzad’s cold tone was not one to be dismissed lightly.
“Do not doubt me, Behzad. We have never worked together, despite all the times you have tried to convince me to use my position with the sheikh to steal things for you to sell on the black market. But I know value, and whatever the Murphys will find tomorrow will be worth a fortune. Plus, there is the not-insignificant matter of my gambling debts, which this month have finally gone beyond what I can free from the sheikh.”