The 13th Enumeration (37 page)

A few minutes later his phone rang, and David’s relieved voice came through the line. “Zane, man am I glad to hear that you’re okay. I need to talk to you. When can we get together?”

“We are driving back to Mr. Neumann’s house right now. How does later tonight sound?”

“Sounds good, Zane. Hey, do you have a place to stay? If you don’t, you can crash here with me. I am at the Crowne Plaza Tel Aviv on Hayarkon Street.”

Zane smiled. “I’d love to. We have a lot of catching up to do, and that will save me from finding a place tonight. How does sevenish sound?”

“See you then, bro.”

Zane put his phone down. It would be good to see David again. Man, how time slipped by. If he was seeing David tonight, he would just give him a copy of his research notes on Daniel 9. He wouldn’t need to e-mail him.

Rachael couldn’t help but hear Zane’s conversation. She wondered if this was the same David
,
Zane had talked about when he told her of the one-handed wheelbarrow trick. To her surprise, she felt a sudden fear when she heard Zane say he would be leaving in a few days. She didn’t know what she was feeling, but she sure didn’t want him to leave. She had found the man she wanted, and she wasn’t afraid to admit it to herself. But what if he didn’t feel the same way? What if he just left without knowing how she felt? She might never see him again.

She had never been an overly sentimental girl, but right now she was feeling emotions she had never felt before. It would be nice to talk to her mother right now and ask her advice.

When Zane ended the call, Rachael sat in silence for several minutes while Zane typed notes in his computer. Finally she couldn’t keep silent any longer, and as nonchalantly as she could, she asked, “So you’ll be heading home soon? You know you are welcome to stay with us as long as you need.”

Zane looked up from his computer and said with a grateful look, “Rachael, thank you, but I can’t impose on you and your father any longer. My friend David—you know, the one I told you about with the one-handed wheelbarrow trick—he’s in Israel on business, and he asked me to stay with him tonight. Since there’s nothing more to do at the Capernaum dig, I think it’s best if I head home. I don’t know exactly what direction my life is going to take right now. I want to continue in the field of archeology, but I can’t always be a volunteer. I’m not sure which direction to turn.” With an embarrassed look, he fell silent.

Rachael looked into his eyes, searching for any recognition there of her feelings for him. She wanted to come right out and tell him to stay here with her, that she wanted him, needed him. But her intuition made her hold her tongue. If Zane Harrison was to be her man, he had to declare himself on his terms. She didn’t want to trick him or trap him. She would wait. Right now, he needed to find his purpose in life. She didn’t want her man to be a rudderless ship on the waters of life. She knew she could find him a job as an archeologist in Israel, after all, her father was the director, but she also knew he needed to earn it by his own efforts. He would have more pride in himself if he was a dogcatcher by his efforts than an archeologist by hers.

Finally, with a warm smile tinged with a measure of sadness, she said, “Zane, I think I understand some of what you feel. Have you considered that you may already have a door opened for you?”

“What do you mean?”

She replied, “Several months ago you set out to write a research paper on one of the most important messianic prophecies of the Scripture. You found, to your surprise and consternation, that you knew less than you thought about this prophecy. Up until today, you basically had no idea how this prophecy applied to the Messiah. Zane, you’ve been given an incredible insight into one of the most important prophecies in the entire Scripture! For all you know, you may have only scratched the surface of where this leads. You’re an archeologist at heart. Maybe the 13
th
Enumeration is your personal dig.”

As Rachael talked, she could see a light of inspiration and acknowledgment spread across his face. Gone was the indecision, embarrassment, and self-doubt, and in their place she could see resolve, purpose . . . and something else.

Reaching for her hand, Zane replied, “Rachael, you always seem to have the right words to encourage and inspire me. You’re a wise woman, Miss Neumann. I will do just that. I will work this dig and uncover its secrets. I will organize the finds, and then, when I have enough facts, I will use them to encourage the faith of others.”

As Zane talked, Rachael could see he was grasping the importance of the information they had uncovered. He continued, “You know, we live in a day of so-called higher critics who question the credibility of passages like Matthew 1 and Daniel 9. This new information will provide a new basis to challenge those critics and encourage believers to have faith in the biblical record. Faith that in fact Jesus
did
come in the ‘fullness of time’ according to the plan of YHWH, a plan that even the cycles of the moon have testified to for thousands of years.”

His eyes shining now, he said with simple honesty, “Rachael Neumann, when I return home, I will miss your words of encouragement, your wisdom, and not least of all, your company.”

“Zane, I feel the same when I’m with you. I will miss you as well. Just remember, I’m only a phone call or an e-mail away. Let’s keep in touch.” With an off-kilter smile and a forced, roguish tone of voice, she said, “I’ve grown fond of you, Mr. Harrison.”

As if receiving an inspiration, Zane said in a louder voice with a twinkle in his eye, “Mr. Neumann, I would like to ask your permission to take your daughter out to dinner tomorrow evening, if you don’t mind.”

Jacob Neumann, a gleam in his own eye, glanced back at Zane through the rearview mirror and said, “Mr. Harrison, you have my permission as well as my blessing.”

Zane turned to a smiling and surprised Rachael and asked, “Rachael, would you do me the honor of accompanying me to dinner tomorrow evening?”

With a look Jacob had learned to love in Rachael’s mother’s eyes, she replied, “Zane, I would love to.”

Both of them were quiet then with just a touch of innocent embarrassment. Jacob Neumann smiled to himself. These two would find their way. He could see that right now—both strong young people with gentle hearts.
Bless them, Father,
he prayed silently.
Bless them.

Chapter 76

Tel Aviv, Israel

Anton Ramirez, disguised as a deliveryman, entered the back door of the bakery. He quickly made his way up to the living quarters of Kadeem Malouf, the Baker. All of the staff was gone for the day except a clerk up front.

Anton Ramirez found the Baker reading in the living room of his apartment over the bakery. As he entered, the Baker started to rise and with an indignant voice asked, “Who are you, and what do you want?”

With a sadistic smile, Anton Ramirez replied, “I want to know everything, Mr. Malouf—everything. If you cooperate, I might make your death painless. If you do not, you will suffer greatly.” Pulling a knife from his belt, Anton indicated that Kadeem should sit back down. “Mr. Malouf, let me explain the situation to you. I do not have much time, and I want to know where you sent Capsule 13. Tsk, tsk . . . do not act surprised. The Mossad has been watching you for several months already. They have been intercepting the little messages you have been forwarding. Now tell me the destination of Capsule 13.”

Kadeem Malouf was terrified. He didn’t want to be a martyr.
Sure it felt good to tell himself he was part of a great cause, but h
e was just doing this for the money, really. He remained silent, irrationally hoping the man in front of him would just go away.

Finally, Anton Ramirez removed a small role of duct tape from his jacket and said in a disgusted tone, “I can see you will need some convincing.” From his other pocket he removed a ratcheting PVC pipe cutter.

“Do you know what this is?” he asked as he showed the Baker the pipe cutter. Kadeem shook his head no. Anton pulled a chair from the table. Taking the pipe cutter, he put the curved mouth of it over one of the chair’s round wooden supports, twice as large as his thumb. He then proceeded to squeeze the handle click by click by click until he had severed the wooden support from the chair. The Baker watched the demonstration with macabre fascination, sweat beading on his forehead. When Anton finished, he turned to the Baker and said, “I will start with your little toe, and we will work our way to your fingers.”

The Baker no longer hesitated. He told everything he knew about Capsule 13. When he had finished, Anton Ramirez took the duct tape and covered Kadeem’s mouth.

Down below, the salesclerk heard the scuffing and pounding up above. Looking up to the ceiling, she wondered what Malouf was up to. He normally didn’t make any noise. He must have dropped something, she thought. Without further consideration, she turned back to her magazine, not knowing she would be looking for new employment the next day.

Anton Ramirez quietly closed the door behind him as he left the bakery ten minutes later, a satisfied smile on his face. Next, he headed to Efran Finkelstein’s apartment. He had to clean up that loose end before he left for Dubai. He knew that after they found the Baker they would suspect he was going after Efran, but he had already checked out the apartment building, and it would not take more than a few minutes to take care of the archeologist. Efran had a tracking device on him, so the Mossad would not be watching him as closely as they had the Baker. He didn’t need to interview Efran because they already knew everything he had told the Mossad.

Anton entered the apartment building, disguised as an old man with gray hair and a cane. Several minutes later, he exited the building and walked several blocks to his rental car. On the way to the airport, he removed his disguise. Parking his car in the long-term parking area, he removed his business suit and luggage from the trunk and entered the airport terminal.

He had two hours until his flight, so he bought several papers and sat in the VIP lounge to read them.

Chapter 77
 

Jerusalem, Israel

By the time they reached the Neumanns’ house, it was almost five p.m. Zane thanked Mr. Neumann and Rachael for their hospitality, and Rachael accompanied him back out to his car. Zane paused at the door, and Rachael stood a little apart, hesitant, as if she wanted to say something more—or maybe she wanted him to say something; Zane wasn’t sure. Finally, he said, “I’ll see you about six then?”

“I am looking forward to it,” she replied. With a mischievous smile and warm light in her eyes, she continued, “You know, you’ve held me in your arms on at least two occasions. We’ve worked, ridden, half-drowned, climbed, and hiked together. We’ve also been chased, shot at, and threatened. Going out to dinner with you on a date almost seems boring. This may take some getting used to!”

Zane gave a hearty laugh and replied, “You know, if it’s too boring for you, we could just skip it altogether.”

“No, Mr. Harrison, that won’t be necessary. I am interested to see how you handle yourself when it does not involve work or a life-threatening situation.”

“Okay, then, Miss Neumann,” Zane replied in mock formality. “I look forward to the privilege of your presence tomorrow evening at six.” Getting into his car, he headed for Tel Aviv.

* * *

Several seconds after Zane knocked, David opened the door of his room and welcomed him in. “Zane, man, it is good to see you, bro!”

“Likewise, David—it’s been too long.” They gave each other a manly hug, and Zane carried his bags in as David closed the door behind him.

“Have I got a story for you,” Zane said as he set the bags down. “You won’t believe what has happened to me over the past couple of days.”

David laughed. “Actually, Zane, I would believe you. I watched you and Rachael appear out of nowhere at the Capernaum dig and then shoot your little green laser at the guys who were chasing you.”

Zane interrupted with an incredulous look on his face. “How in the world did you see all that?”

David laughed again. “I was watching you on one of the UAV spy planes the Mossad has. You see, I was sent over here as a liaison for the FBI. We currently have an investigation underway into a worldwide terrorist network which is using a version of Sam’s encryption software to communicate.”

“You mean, Sam is involved in this too?”

“Well, sort of. Someone modified his software and has been using it to communicate with other members of a terror network. I really can’t tell you any more about the investigation other than that one of the people on your dig is part of the network.”

Zane scowled. “No guess who that is . . . the man nearly killed me when he hit me with that crowbar!”

For the next hour, Zane told David about the events leading up to the chase. Then he opened his laptop and showed David his notes on what Rachael and he had discovered regarding Matthew 1 and the seventy weeks prophecy. David sat wide-eyed as Zane explained.

Finally, Zane asked, “So what do you think? Can you believe it—a code hidden right there in the first chapter of the first book of the New Testament for over two thousand years!”

David, an awed look on his face, replied, “Zane, this is incredible. Can you give me a copy of this? I’d like to study it some more myself. Have you sent this to Sam yet? I am sure he would like to see it as well.”