Chosen (21 page)

“This afternoon?” A pained expression crossed Ridge’s face as visions of taking Sana to the Seven Arches for a celebration dinner turned to mist.

“Yeah. Right away. What’s wrong, man?”

“Nothing.” Ridge turned and greeted Alexana with a subtle kiss on the cheek. She smiled into his eyes.

“Hi there. Hi, Steve. I’m waiting on two members of my team. I’m hoping they haven’t had second thoughts.”

“Can’t say I’d blame them. Are they crucial to your groundbreaking today?”

“No. One area supervisor and a pottery reader. We have an extra of each of those,” she said, grinning. “But we’re still a skeleton crew. If they’ve decided against working on the project, I’ll need to replace them.” She quickly scanned the Wailing Wall square, hoping to spot her team members. Her radio suddenly crackled to life.

Alexana grabbed it from her hip. “I’m here, Sam,” she said into the receiver, then listened to his voice through the static. “Gotcha. We’ll be there in a second. And—Oh! I just saw Sari and Abu Khadim passing the checkpoint. Just a few more minutes, and we’re on our way.”

After the arrival of her last two team members, Alexana led the group around the El Aksa Mosque. Two hundred yards beyond it, they stopped at a big, orange fluorescent
X
painted on the two-thousand-year-old stones. Behind them stood a small, top-of-the-line crane, a forklift, and two miniature bulldozers.

Ridge smiled at her. “How did you manage to get that crane up here?”

“I told you,” she said brightly, “God is going before me. There’s no way I could get one of those up here without attracting a ton of attention. Fortunately, it’s been stuck up here for months. It was left after the Dome of the Rock’s roof was resurfaced. The owner went bankrupt, and the creditors haven’t arranged for pickup. It was easy enough to arrange rental time. The forklift and mini-bulldozers were airlifted in at two o’clock this morning,” she said, nodding in the direction of the equipment.

“Outstanding, or what?” Sam grinned. He turned to Alexana. “Ready to break ground, Sis?”

She nodded. “Just about. Let’s say a quick prayer.” She grabbed Ridge’s fingers with one hand and trapped Steve’s with the other before he could protest. Around them, the entire team joined in, forming a circle around the
X.
Sam quickly asked God to bless them with safety and wisdom.

With a nod from Alexana, Abe and Kamal spoke to ten men who were waiting with jackhammers, and the ear-jarring digging
began. The men worked for over three hours around the edges of a Herodian stone that measured three feet by six feet. Finally, the clamp of the forklift was attached to the edges of the stone, and it was lifted out easily. The men stepped back to let Alexana and Sam peer into the darkness.

Lying on their stomachs, they let their eyes slowly adjust to the dim lighting. Then Sam let out a whoop of joy that echoed throughout the cavern below. Flashlight beams confirmed that they were right on target, having narrowly missed one of the supporting archways.

Alexana rose and brushed herself off. “Well, Steve, here’s your photo journalist exclusive. You have five minutes to film whatever you can see down there. Ridge, could I speak to you for a moment?” She gently drew him away from the group of workers.

“Pretty exciting day for you, Dr. Roarke,” Ridge acknowledged. “I appreciate the exclusive.”

Alexana looked up at him hopefully. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I need you to hold off on airing it for three days. That will give us time to get down there and see what we’re after, before attracting worldwide attention.”

Ridge eyed her doubtfully. “You really think the media isn’t going to find out this is happening? The whole Temple Mount is closed to nonworshipers. Tourists are furious. Besides, I announced to the world last night that you’d been found, alive and well and as stubbornly set on moving forward as ever.”

“Well, okay, I know chances aren’t good that we’ll remain invisible,” she allowed. “But you and Steve are the only media representatives I’m granting a security pass. If the story breaks, you’ll still have the only inside coverage.”

Ridge gave her a grim smile. “You’re asking me to risk my scoop. Steve and I have to head out to Tel Aviv today on assignment. We’ll be gone for at least twenty-four hours.”

Alexana looked away and sighed. “I need this, Ridge. I let you in because I knew I could trust you.”

“All right, all right.” He raised his hands in defeat. “No low blows, please. We’ll film our story and leave it at headquarters. If someone else somehow gets onto the story, Jack will air our coverage. Deal?”

She smiled at him gratefully. “Thanks, Ridge. I want this handled right. Just think, after a few more days, you’ll have prizewinning footage to accompany the story; right now it’s just a vision.”

“Fine, fine. You don’t have to sell me. This is your gig, and I’m here by special invitation.” Grinning, Alexana turned away. Ridge shook his head as she returned to the team to discuss their next move. “See you tomorrow, love of my life,” he mused, wondering about a woman who could persuade him to delay a story of worldwide importance yet again.

A
lexana and Ridge saw little of each another as the days sped by. Ridge’s plans for a romantic dinner never materialized as Alexana worked sixteen hours a day to keep things moving and appease all involved. Ridge himself was called to do a report on the 1967 Six-Day War at Golan Heights and the temptation for the Syrians to do battle again. From there, he and Steve were sent to Gaza to do a story on Palestinians who crossed Israeli borders for work.

Ridge and Steve managed to return to the Haram three days later. As they eagerly compiled their story, Ridge prayed that no one would scoop them. He knew the word would travel fast.

He was right. Before long, the team’s work below the Temple Mount had made both the national and international news. Crews from the three primary U.S. networks and stations around the world stood outside the Haram entryway. Like birds of prey, they waited to speak with Alexana or anyone else they could get their hands on. They cast Ridge and Steve envious looks as the men showed their passes and threw smug smiles over their shoulders before entering the work site each day.

Although they immensely enjoyed their notoriety and special privileges, by day nine Ridge could not wait any longer to show their
inside footage. “Please, Alexana. Let us air what we’ve got,” he urged. “It won’t be long until someone sneaks in here after paying some guard off. Let’s do it right.”

Alexana placed her hands on her hips and looked at the ground, considering his words.

Ridge studied her. “You look fabulous,” he whispered so only she could hear. Alexana looked at him in surprise. “I know, I know. You’re into business right now. But every time I see you, I can think of nothing but personal matters. Like making you my wife.” He grinned as a slow blush crept above her crisp white collar, obvious even beneath her rich tan.

“Business, McIntyre. Business for now,” she said firmly, doing her best to hide a smile. “Let’s go get Steve and shoot your final footage for the opening segment. I think I have just the thing for you today.”

Ridge followed her to the hole in the Temple Mount floor, where it had been widened. A metal ramp—studded for traction—led down to the cavern far beneath them. Alexana spoke with Sam, then, tossing Ridge a wide grin, disappeared down the ramp. He followed, motioning for Steve to get everything on tape.

With one eye glued to his camera, Steve switched on the lamp as the natural lighting faded. Deeper and deeper they descended. Ten feet, twenty, thirty. Ridge sucked in his breath as they reached bottom, forty feet below the surface.

There a waterfall of light cascaded downward, and they were so deep that the sounds of men talking above were muffled. Dust pervaded the light, giving it the appearance of a physically tangible beam. Archway after archway spanned overhead, creating a magnificent wall of support.

Steve lowered his camera and simply stared. “It’s like stepping back in time,” he said reverently.

Alexana smiled like a proud parent. “We’re directly behind the Triple Gate, which the priests used to enter the temple. They probably used these caverns to store oils, wine, flour … anything they might have used in religious ceremonies.”

She gestured for the two men to follow her deeper into the section of supporting arches, then stopped at the base of one column. Steve filmed while Alexana pointed out tiny holes at the corner, then she moved on to show them identical marks on another column. “From Crusader times,” she supplied. “They attached metal rings to which they could tie their camels or precious horses.”

They moved farther east. “Here, there are thirteen rows of vaults, thirty feet high, with eighty-eight piers. The temple once stood on the Haram foundation, forty feet above us.” She looked into the camera. “Here,” she said, pointing out a large stone at the base of the nearest pier, “are Herodian stones easily identified by their masonry technique and dimensions.”

She waved one arm upward. “There, you can see the smaller stones that represent the rebuilding undertaken during the Crusader period. This arch system supported the entire southeastern end of the temple. With the Royal Portico right above us at one point, you can see why they were vital. The rest of the temple is founded upon bedrock. When earthquakes occur through this region, this section rocks and rolls more than anywhere else on the mount.” She smiled as Ridge and Steve looked nervously upward.

“What?” Ridge asked defensively, catching her look. “So I don’t want tons of the Haram coming down on me. Does that make me a coward, or smart?”

Alexana looked at him with laughing eyes, but moved on, continuing their tour without comment.

Alexana’s jubilant mood soon came to an end. Abraham and Kamal had reached a deadlock in their debate about how to best fortify the arches and subterranean structure. The team could not move forward until the construction engineers gave them direction. The impasse dragged on for days.

By the end of the week, Abraham and Kamal refused to even speak to one another. Frustrated, Alexana paced back and forth, wringing her hands.

“You need a break,” Ridge said. “Let me take you to dinner.”

“Where?” she asked.

“My treat, my surprise,” he said mischievously.

His tone helped ease Alexana’s irritation. Perhaps a romantic excursion was exactly what she needed. “Sounds good,” she agreed, smoothing back her hair. “Please take me far, far away.”

“Can we make it a night?”

She looked at him pointedly, a question on her face.

He held his hands up in a gesture of innocence. “Separate rooms, separate rooms.”

Her look softened. “That’d be wonderful. Can you at least tell me what to pack?”

“Casual, comfortable clothes,” Ridge said mysteriously. “Think layers.”

“Okay,” she said hesitantly. “Pick me up at seven?”

“I’ll be there.”

At seven-thirty that night, Alexana forced herself to stop pacing and sat down to wait. She had been looking forward to spending time with Ridge. How could he be late when he had made such a big deal about their getaway?

The old black phone rang, disturbing the quiet of the apartment. Instinctively knowing it was Ridge, she reluctantly picked it up.

“Alexana, it’s Ridge,” he said, sorrow evident in his voice. The line crackled, and he sounded half a world away.

“Where are you?”

“I’m on a plane to Egypt. Someone just tried to assassinate the prime minister. They missed. But I’m going there to do a live report.”

“Oh,” Alexana said quietly. Both were silent for several moments. Then she began, brokenly, “Is this how it will be for the rest of our lives? Barely seeing each another or separated by nations?”

“Alexana, isn’t that a little melodramatic? I know it’s been crazy, that our time has been rushed. But it won’t be this way all the time.” He paused, then said with conviction: “I’ll change jobs if it comes right down to it.”

Alexana gasped, stunned by his words. “You’d do that for me?”

“And only for you.” Even from a distance, the warmth in his tone sent a slow blush up her neck.

“How can you be so sure?” she faltered. “How can you talk about tossing aside your career, as if you don’t care?”

Over the line, she heard Ridge sigh. “Look, I can’t talk much longer. But hear me, Alexana Roarke: I’m in love with you. No career is more important than you are to me. That is my pledge to you. I’ve found the most wonderful woman in the world, and I’m not going to let anything come between us.”

She struggled to find words. No man had ever made her such a priority. No man had ever made her feel so treasured.

“I love you, Ridge,” she said, passion evident in her voice. “Come home in one piece.”

“Rain check on whisking you away?”

“After what you just said, Ridge, no rain check is needed.”

F
or several days Ridge and Steve covered the events in Cairo, where rioting had broken out in the streets. Following these demonstrations, a key White House correspondent went into the hospital for emergency surgery, and CNN headquarters temporarily assigned Ridge to Washington to cover a meeting between the Syrian president and North American leaders.

On the TWA flight to America, Ridge plugged in his portable computer and modem. After keying in the word
Jerusalem
to check up on events at the Temple Mount, he grew pale as he read an exasperatingly short report filed by the UPI news service: