Authors: Carolyn McCray
“
Got them!
”
Stark announced bringing up a live feed of Vanderwalt
’
s groups pulling up to the one and only site of interest of the
present-day
Shiloh.
“
Should we try to contact Brandt?
”
Stark asked. Alarms blared as red lights flashed again. Firewall number nine had just gone down.
“
Mom?
”
The woman furiously typed.
“
This isn
’
t a hacker
.
T
his is a team of hackers. We
’
ve got a full
-
on daisy-chained siege going on.
”
Bunny wasn
’
t quite sure what that meant, only that it was bad. Super bad. She patted Stark on the back.
“
Don
’
t worry about Rebecca. She
’
ll figure out where she needs to go. Help shore up our last firewall.
”
Bunny glanced up to the screen showing Brandt and the others entering Shiloh. They
’
d made great time
—
Lopez was driving
,
after all. But Vanderwalt had over an hour lead time.
Could they catch up to Vakasa in time?
* * *
Brandt helped lift Rebecca from the back of the truck and to the ground outside of what looked like a tabernacle, a Jewish holy place once used to worship in the open desert. Only
,
it wasn
’
t created as a tent
,
but fashioned out of wood. While it seemed to be a fairly accurate replica of the biblical
T
abernacle of Moses, it didn
’
t exactly look like the site to unveil a messiah.
“
You sure about this?
”
Brandt asked.
“
You
’
re the one that didn
’
t want to hear about my reasoning,
”
Rebecca chided.
Okay, at the time, getting bounced around in the back of truck, all he wanted to do was meditate on materializing a thick steak and a cold beer. And not Bud Light
,
either. No, he wanted a dark lager. A beer you had to chew. He wanted to imagine their life after this mess. When the only thing they had to worry about was who was going to take out the garbage and how he was going to keep his sisters from giving Vakasa a makeover.
Now
,
though? His eyes flickered over to the other cars parked in the dirt lot next to the synagogue. Vanderwalt certainly seemed to think this was the right spot as well. For what, Brandt had no idea. He gave the nod for the men to do a sweep around the building. It seemed dark and deserted, but they knew better.
What the hell was Vanderwalt up to? He doubted
,
even with Rebecca
’
s extensive knowledge,
that she would know
. Otherwise
,
she would have volunteered that information. Normally
,
he would have let the situation play itself out. Only
,
there was nothing normal about this situation. And there was a little girl who thought he was Thor. He couldn
’
t disappoint her.
As the men assembled in front of the
T
abernacle, Brandt realized they didn
’
t have time for show
-
and
-
tell. They were going in blind
,
then.
“
Boss?
”
Davidson asked
,
the question clear. There was no cover. None. The synagogue was perched on a hillside. It was the highest point for miles. And given this was eastern Israel
,
there were no trees. Not even a tall shrub.
And they were a man down. Granted
,
it was Talli, but still a man down.
“
We all go in,
”
Brandt decided.
Lopez pocketed the truck keys and raised his rifle.
Brandt gave the nod.
Time to find a little girl and kick Vanderwalt
’
s pasty
-
white ass.
* * *
Rebecca fell into line with the men. At the head was Levont. The men
’
s flashlights crisscrossed the synagogue. While it looked like a tabernacle from the outside, the inside was just a small house of worship not unlike any other synagogue. The pews, the alcoves, the bema where the Torah was read during ceremonies.
Then the ark
,
which held the sacred scrolls.
The synagogue was one large open room. With no one in it.
It took the men a few more seconds to clear the space, but empty it was.
Brandt looked to her.
“
Well?
”
She didn
’
t have a clear answer for him. This was the place, Rebecca was sure of it. This synagogue had been built in exactly the site of the
first
Jewish
T
abernacle. It had served as the sacred gathering place for Jews for centuries. Excavations around the area had confirmed religious activity in the region for millennia.
This had been the first
Shekinah
. The term that Nori had spoken as her last word on earth and the word etched into the back of the monk
’
s artifacts.
Shekinah
translated as the place or the dwelling of God. It could be used in just about any synagogue or temple
.
H
owever
,
it was normally used to refer to the First Temple.
The one that Solomon
had
built, moving his people
’
s capital from Shiloh to Jerusalem. Exploring under the Temple Mount would bring all the threads of this mystery together. Unfortunately
,
all she was left with was a handful of frayed ends.
One of them being that
Shekinah
was the
feminine
version of the word. Many scholars argued that the ancient Hebrews chose the word to reflect the duality of God. To bring the feminine element into their religion. That the temple was the womb
,
so to speak
,
for their faith.
What if it was for an entirely different reason? What if it had always been meant to bring forth a woman savior?
“
Rebecca?
”
Brandt urged.
She brought her mind to the present puzzle to solve.
Where had Vanderwalt and the others vanished?
* * *
Davidson checked out the door as Rebecca answered.
“
Solomon had an affair with the
q
ueen of Sheba,
”
she announced.
Not even Davidson knew where she was going with that one.
“
And that
’
s important because?
”
Brandt asked.
Rebecca walked up to the bema, checking up and down the length of the wooden pedestal.
“
They had a son,
”
she said as she moved onto the ark.
“
And
legend
has it
,
Solomon gave him the Ark of the Covenant.
”
“
What?
”
Brandt said.
She nodded vigorously.
“
I know
,
right? Solomon supposedly gave away the Jews
’
most precious artifact. Just that fact alone helped keep the Ethiopian royalty in power until the
nineteen seventies
.
”
Opening the side of the ark, Rebecca sorted through the scrolls.
“
Anyway, right about that time is when he turned his back on the priests and started building a whole swath of temples. Many in Shiloh.
”
“
Great history lesson, babe, but I need
—
”
“
I think…
”
Rebecca blurted out
,
then stalled. Davidson had seen it before. It was when her analytical brain worked faster than her interpretive brain. She was on
to something. To prove his theory, Rebecca stroked the side of a papyrus roll
,
a smile slowly spreading.
“
I think those other temples were just to keep his wives happy. But I think he built in Shiloh to cover his true ambition.
”
They all waited as she sat cross
-
legged on the floor, reading through the scroll she had picked. But she just kept reading. Her eyes sliding across the ancient Hebrew words. Davidson didn
’
t think she was actually comprehending the information. He guessed that she was just letting the language roll over her, allowing her to sink into the mind of Solomon. She could probably feel the dust in her throat. The feel of coarse cotton upon her skin.
Davidson had been raised amongst antiquity. So much so that he felt that he
’
d almost walked alongside Mary and Peter. But never had he felt as close as Rebecca seemed to be to Solomon right now. He did not envy her. Davidson
’
s scars were a constant reminder of the price one paid for getting too close to the past.
“
Babe?
”
Brandt prompted.
Rebecca
’
s eyes were still unfocused as she set the scroll down beside her. Rising, she laid a hand upon the top of the ark. On top of the winged angels.
“
I think Sheba convinced Solomon to open the covenant,
”
she said
,
sounding miles off.
“
I think he read what I read.
”
She paused
,
letting her finger run down the course of the gilded wing.
“
I think he decided to build a new temple. A temple to the new
M
essiah.
”
“
Great.
”
Brandt announced.
“
Where?
”
Rebecca seemed startled by the question as she shook off the trance she
’
d been
under
.
“
Oh, I have no idea.
”
CHAPTER 27
═══════════
═══════
Undisclosed Location
2
:26
a
.
m
.
(
EST
)
“
What is taking them so long?
”
Bunny asked as she stared at the screen that showed the
T
abernacle. The boring, nothing happening
T
abernacle. Just a few lights shown through the windows and that was it. For over half an hour.
She didn
’
t expect Stark or his mom to answer
.
T
hey were hella hard at work trying to keep the hackers out. Bunny turned to Prenner.
“
Well?
”
The man
’
s chiseled jaw worked up and down as he studied the screens.
“
Vanderwalt clearly went in but didn
’
t come out. Brandt is betting on Rebecca following in his footsteps.
”
Bunny had already figured that out, but how long would Brandt stay? When
would
you finally give up? When
would
Rebecca
’
s skill and Lopez
’
s luck run out? And they couldn
’
t give any aid. With the violent eruptions and aftershocks from the Mediterranean, even if Vakasa produced micro-tremors again
,
they wouldn
’
t be able to see them amongst the jittering needle of the seismograph.