Authors: Al Ruksenas
Colonel Mahmoud responded with friendly, dismissive humor.
Within the hour they were flying in an Mi 8 turbo helicopter with Egyptian Air Force markings towards the coordinates.
The terrain below them was desolate and foreboding. Stretches of hilly sand were interrupted by craggy stone outcrops suggesting mountain ranges covered by the desert. As they flew in an easterly direction from Aswan in line with the discovered helicopter, the desert began to give way to a preponderance of gray mountainous terrain surrounded by vast islands of sand where the wall of mountains could not hold back the desert winds piling hills of sand at their feet.
The officers peered with keen interest through the windows of the cargo area when the pilot announced that they were nearing the location of the coordinates. They were somewhere north of the Administrative Zone claimed by both Egypt and Sudan.
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This is absolutely desolate,” observed Major Lee. “Who could live around here?”
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No one,” Colonel Mahmoud declared above the din of the turbo engines and whirling blades. “There are ancient caravan routes through some areas and nomadic herdsmen pass by. The only settlements are Berenice and Bir Shalatayn, both on the Red Sea farther east.”
Among the irregular outcroppings below them, Colonel Jones glimpsed something at the end of a mountain canyon ahead. It looked man
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made and jutted out of one of the mountain faces.
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Look there!” he exclaimed pointing.
The officers looked out the port side while the pilot turned the helicopter to starboard, so that the edifice could be seen clearly through the side windows.
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Exactly where the coordinates showed,” Colonel Caine said.
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They knew exactly where they were going,” Colonel Jones asserted.
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What is it?” Major Lee asked. “It’s built right out of the mountain. Like some fortress.”
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It is most likely a monastery,” Colonel Mahmound said. “There were numbers of them through the centuries built on caravan routes.
For prayer and protection. Most are ruins now.”
The pilot flew a wide circle high above the edifice.
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It looks pretty impressive. Way out here and all,” Colonel Jones said.
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Isolated monasteries in the wilderness were not unusual,” Colonel Mahmoud replied. “Members of the early Christian church, vying for ascendancy, valued hermits above all else. They claimed to be closest to God by discarding all things material—awaiting the imminent end of the world. The more ascetic, the more authority they claimed. Later—for obvious reasons—they disappeared.”
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Obvious reasons?” wondered Major Lee.
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Of course,” Colonel Mahmoud replied. “They renounced all carnal pleasures. So they left no heirs to carry on their beliefs.”
Major Lee nodded with a grin.
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For someone who follows the Prophet, you seem versed in Christian history,” Colonel Caine observed.
The Egyptian Colonel smiled. “I took my studies at Cambridge.” He let the phrase linger with the Americans.
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You know, Muhammad was driven out of Mecca and spent several years in a desert cave. That is where he received his divine revelations. As you know his inspired teachings eventually prevailed. By the time of his death in the year Six hundred thirty
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two, the entire Arabian Peninsula professed Islam,” Colonel Mahmoud proudly declared.
The American officers kept looking at the awesome structure rising seamlessly out of the mountainous outcrop as the pilot slowly circled the site.
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So, we gather that isolated redoubts scattered in the desert are not extraordinary,” Colonel Jones said.
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They have been here since antiquity,” Colonel Mahmoud replied. “Most are abandoned. Remember these coordinates were written more than sixty years ago.”
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I see,” Colonel Caine said with ironic emphasis squinting towards a barricaded courtyard in the distance below. “Except for this one.”
The officers suddenly strained to see where Caine was pointing. The structure was washed out by the sun and momentarily blended with its surroundings due to the angle of the circling helicopter. Seconds later, with sunlight behind them, the observers caught a glimpse of several figures scurrying from the courtyard into a doorway.
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Hermits?” asked Major Lee.
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Herders. Nomads. Possibly holy men on retreat. I daresay it is too isolated for permanent habitation.” Colonel Mahmoud looked at the pilot who had turned towards him from the cockpit and motioned a falling dial with his finger.
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In any event, gentlemen, we must return if we don’t want to test the desert by walking.”
The Mi 8 veered westwardly toward the helicopter in the sand and Aswan beyond. Colonel Caine gazed at the jagged, sandy outcrops below them and soon lost sight of the edifice, which melted into the receding rugged mountaintops.
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We hear there are stories circulating in the desert,” Colonel Caine said pensively. “Stories of devil cults in the wilderness.”
Mohamed Abdel Mahmoud laughed. “We are not superstitious, are we, Colonel? Of course there are stories. All kinds of stories. That is the legacy of desolate places. Stories are told by the campfire. They grow with each telling.”
Colonel Jones and Major Lee shifted their attention to the conversation.
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Most stories have some truth at the core.”
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That may be,” Colonel Mahmoud replied. “There is the Malektaus. It is much misunderstood. Many claim they are devil worshipers. Although believers—mainly a sect of Kurds in Iraq—say they worship a fallen angel who redeemed himself.”
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Yes, so we’ve heard. I’m talking about real devil worshippers, invoking diabolical forces and acting on them.”
Colonel Mahmoud laughed again. “As you know, Colonel, many people in this part of the world say that America is the ‘Great Satan’.”
Caine did not reply, but remembered the words etched in the bulkhead of the fallen helicopter—“Curse on Ame—.” It had to be a warning, he thought. Final revenge for some betrayal that befell the unfortunate flyer.
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We need to visit the site,” Caine wondered aloud.
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I’m afraid it would be complicated,” Colonel Mahmoud replied.
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I am content to think that the flyers were simply looking for some strategic outpost in the height of the Cold War. As you know this area at the time was swept by warfare, revolution, military intervention and political posturing by both East and West,” the Egyptian Colonel recited.
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Unfortunate fallout from World War Two,” Colonel Caine agreed.
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It lingers to this day, I’m afraid.”
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That’s why we have to see that place,” Colonel Caine pressed. “We’ve established that the flight was in November of Nineteen fifty
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eight. As you know, Colonel,” he flattered, “the Mi 6 was still in experimental stages at that time.”
The Egyptian Colonel nodded as if he knew.
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It was more than a routine reconnaissance mission to have that craft shipped here all the way from Russia for such a flight.”
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The proverbial camel’s nose in the tent,” Colonel Mahmoud replied laughingly.
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First an overflight, now a visit.” The Egyptian Colonel heaved a deep breath. “Very well. Due to my commitments with our joint maneuvers, I cannot spare time or resources. I can requisition a helicopter, perhaps this helicopter. But you will be on your own. And for a short time only. As far as I know you are analyzing the Mi 6 found in the desert. Can you manage?”
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Certainly,” Caine replied with questioning looks from Colonel Jones and Major Lee.
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Your persistence is persuasive,” Colonel Mahmoud acknowledged grudgingly. “It’s making me doubt the obvious.”
The helicopter flew over the wreckage site and landed a short time later at a military airfield at Aswan.
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I am ordering the pilot and craft to be at your disposal for twenty
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four hours,” Colonel Mahmoud said when they alighted. “I am also dispatching several soldiers.”
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Thanks, we could use the extra manpower.”
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Only to guard the helicopter.”
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I see,” Caine replied. “In that case, can you arrange one more thing?”
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What is that?”
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Can you arrange a secure line to Washington?”
The Egyptian Colonel looked at Caine with a sense of relief. “Now, that is an easy one.”
He pointed near a hangar where an American Humvee, modified as a communications vehicle, stood with a tall dish antenna dominating its cargo bed.
A short time later Colonel Caine was conferring with General William Bradley. He reported their progress and said there were possible new developments. He did not elaborate, but requested that General Bradley personally and secretly make arrangements with Mustafa Ali Hammad in Beirut to meet them at Aswan as soon as possible.
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So the terrorist connection on Jeannie is bearing some fruit?” General Bradley’s voice sounded enthusiastic over the line. “Some new developments through Egypt?”
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There are some new developments, sir.” Colonel Caine responded indirectly. He did not want to frustrate his General further by associating the etched words “Curse on Ame—” into the occultist scenarios he had propounded. He would save that for their return, hopefully with even more information. Persistence in that theory just now might risk curtailment of their mission.
To his relief, he heard General Bradley’s voice assure: “I’ll see what I can do.”
Chapter 43
The sun was disappearing over desert ridges west of the Aswan airbase when a Gulfstream G500 landed near a control tower. Its fuselage was painted gray and a small insignia on the business jet’s tail read “United States Air Force.” Colonel Caine and his small entourage walked briskly towards it as the cabin door opened into a stepped ramp.
Mustafa Ali Hammad, dressed in a khaki safari shirt and matching pants hurried down the stairs followed by his cousin, Aida, who wore an olive colored campaign shirt and matching slacks. Both wore sidearms. Behind them came two armed men dressed in camouflage fatigues and carrying back packs.
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I would normally not have come,” Hammad said with outstretched hand to Colonel Caine. “Let this be proof that women in our culture have much more influence than you give credit for.” He glanced with a smirk towards Aida who threw back her head dismissively, as if dodging his words.
Colonel Garrison Jones smiled briefly in her direction as the group exchanged cursory introductions.
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Your General Bradley urged that I come. It’s in your vain search here for your missing woman.” Hammad looked skeptically at Colonel Caine and the officers next to him. “I, myself, first thought this was an elaborate matchmaking scheme. Especially when my cousin insisted I inquire if your bronze companion is with you.”
He glanced playfully at Aida, as he continued, “When General Bradley said Colonel Jones is with you, I could not refuse his request.” Hammad smiled broadly at his cousin who was giving him a stern return glare. “It was a short, uneventful trip, so we thought we would take some respite from our burdens in Beirut.”
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I’m glad you can join us,” Colonel Caine said and went straight to the point: “We came upon a remote structure in the mountains—a monastery or something.” He refrained from giving details. “Our Egyptian contacts are preoccupied with joint maneuvers, but gave us some leeway in exploring it.”
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This is more than archeological curiosity,” Mustafa Ali Hammad declared and inquired in the same breath.
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We’re following up on all angles,” Colonel Jones interjected. “Including your own.”
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My own?”
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What you told us last time we met in Beirut. Malevolent cults in the desert,” Colonel Caine reminded.
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I am surprised,” the shadowy militia leader replied. “These are not the kind of things that superpowers waste their time on.” Ham
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mad paused thoughtfully. “But then, perhaps I’m not surprised. We have heard about the tragedies falling upon a number of your government elite. Unexplained accidents. Technology fails to find answers.”