The Didymus Contingency (20 page)

Lowering Matthew’s arm, Jesus addressed the crowd, “I did tell you, but you did not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep.”

Jesus began walking around the crowd. He continued, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me.”

A man in the crowd flinched as Jesus took hold of his face, looked him in the eyes and said, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.”

Jesus let go of the man and walked back toward Matthew and Peter. “My father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.”

Jesus, now standing next to Matthew, turned and faced the crowd directly and said, “The Father and I...are one.”

The crowd exploded. Someone yelled, “He claims to be the Father! He speaks the words of demons!”

The honest man bent down to the ground and picked up a loose stone. “Let’s show him what becomes of blasphemers! Stone him!”

The crowd shouted with agreement and searched the ground for stones to hurl. Matthew and Peter pursed their lips and tightened their muscles, bracing for the inevitable. Judas walked backward slowly, past David and Tom, and shuffled away toward the temple. His exit went unnoticed as everyone’s attention was on the angry horde. The crowd, now armed with stones, paused, waiting for someone to throw the first stone.

David leaned over to Tom and whispered, “Be ready, this might be a close shave.”

Jesus addressed the crowd, showing no fear, “I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”

The honest man stepped forward, “Not for your miracles, for your blasphemy! I wasn’t sure, but now I know. A mere man is claiming to be God the Father himself!”

“Is it not written in your law, ‘I have said…’?”

Tom whispered to David as Jesus addressed the crowd, “Why do I get the feeling you know what’s going to happen?”

“I’ve read the book, remember?”

“Well then, what’s going to happen?”

“I don’t know.”

“But you just said, ‘I read the book.’”

“All the Bible says about this moment in time is, “He escaped their grasp.”

“That could mean anything.”

“Well, be ready for anything.”

“Great.”

Tom looked back toward Jesus, who was finishing his statement to the crowd, “...that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”

Jesus turned and walked toward Tom and David, seemingly secure in the fact that he made his point to the crowd that was now analyzing his words.

“That could have gone worse,” Tom said to Jesus.

“How fast are you, Tom?” Jesus asked.

“What? Why?” Tom was dumbfounded by the right field question.

“Run…” Jesus said through his lips, without moving his jaw.

“What?” Tom’s brow wrinkled with suspicion.

Jesus leaned in. “My time has yet to come. Run!”

“Stone him!” yelled a man from the crowd.

All at once, the crowd raised the hands full of rocks to the sky, prepared to pelt the blasphemous Jesus. Like an Olympic runner on the starting line, Jesus was off and up to speed in seconds; Tom and David ran right behind him.

With each step forward pushing David faster and faster, he realized he was in the best shape of his life. Before, he couldn’t have run ten feet at this speed without having a heart attack. The feeling of health and vigor spurred him on even faster and he sped past Tom and Jesus.

The crowd quickly made their way around Peter and Matthew, who only received a few bumps and bruises for their efforts. They pursued Jesus, Tom and David toward the temple, toward the crowded and busy Court of the Gentiles.

*   *   *   *   *

David, Tom and Jesus bowled through the Court of the Gentiles at full speed. Dove feathers burst into the air as the captive birds flapped their wings in a panic, brought on by the noise of Tom running into a moneychanger’s table, spilling coins everywhere and inciting a near riot of looting. The ensuing chaos bought some distance between them and the stone-wielding crowd, but the lead would not last long.

Jesus led the way into the Court of the Women, beneath a sign in Greek, which read:
No foreigner is allowed within the balustrades and embankment about the sanctuary. Whoever is caught will be personally responsible for his ensuing death.

Tom swallowed hard as he ran beneath and read the sign, which he had never noticed before, as he couldn’t previously read Greek. Could he pass as an ancient Jew? He wasn’t sure. He didn’t believe in God the Father. He didn’t know all the ancient Jewish traditions. He wasn’t even from this time! Crap! Tom felt like they were dooming themselves.

The few women that were in the Court of the Women paid little attention to Jesus, David and Tom, as they had slowed to a casual walk before entering the open court. The three made their way across the courtyard and up the curved flight of fifteen stairs that lead to the Nicanor Gate. They paused at the gate.

“This is a dead end,” said Tom.

“Through these gates is the house of my Father, who can never die.”

“It’s just an expression,” Tom said.

“And you say I speak in riddles,” Jesus replied.

David rolled his eyes, pulled open the large bronze door and shoved the two men inside. They were now in a narrow hall, which was empty at this time of day and led to the Court of Israel. There was a lower wall on either side, maybe ten feet tall. Tom ran to the wall and attempted to jump to the top. His hands struck the wall a foot below the top. David and Jesus ran to help him up as the voices of an approaching, outraged posse began to echo through the closed doors of the Nicanor Gate.

“We’re not going to make it,” said David, wondering exactly how Jesus was going to escape the crowd’s grasp. Could the Bible be wrong? None of the book’s authors were present—maybe they got the secondhand story wrong?

“Give me your hand,” came the voice of Judas.

Everyone looked up. Judas was on top of the wall, thrusting his arm down. In all the excitement, they had completely forgotten about Judas! Tom wasted no time and locked wrists with Judas. He was quickly hoisted to the top of the wall. Tom and Judas both threw their arms down and Jesus and David were quickly pulled up and over, just as the Nicanor Gate burst open.

The four watched from above as their pursuers rushed through the hallway and filled the Court of Israel like water streaming out of a spilled bucket. The noise attracted the attention of Levites standing guard in the next courtyard, the Court of the Priests. Four Levites, dressed in pointed hats and robes that contained pockets large enough to hold books of the law, entered the Court of Israel. These men were only slightly physically imposing, but carried all the authority of God when it came to defending the temple. They could and would kill, should a crime against the temple be committed. And the crowd knew it. To continue in their effort would be suicide. Granted, they could have overpowered the Levites, but doing so would mean certain death under Jewish law and would be an unforgivable crime against God Himself.

The mob skidded to a stop in front of the Levites, who didn’t have to say a word. Every good Jew knew that the Levites would kill in defense of the Temple if need be. Roman law forbade murder, even in defense of the temple, but crimes such as these were often overlooked. One by one, the people dropped their stones, fell silent and shuffled back out of the Court of Israel.

Jesus, David, Judas and Tom watched as the crowd dissipated. Now safe, they all relaxed and laughed with nervous tension.

“I fear Jerusalem may be too dangerous for us now,” Jesus said.

“Not as long as we have Judas around to pull us out of trouble,” Tom said, as he smacked Judas on the back. “Good job.”

Judas smiled. He had overcome the piercing fear that caused him to flee in the first place, and he had saved his friends’ lives. He was changing for the better. He could feel it. No longer would fear control his life. Brave. Reliable. Proud. These were the words Judas would use to describe himself from now on. He was sure people would see him differently; treat him differently.

Things were finally looking brighter for Judas.

—FIFTEEN—

Building

2005

5:32 A.M.

Arizona

Sally woke up with a start and nearly flung herself onto the rugged industrial floor. Her eyes stung and her mouth was stale, sticky with paste-like saliva. With her nerves shot and her mind distracted by the events of the past days, one hour of sleep was all she could manage. The sleep was welcome but the fact that she had awakened on her own was very disappointing. She had given orders to be wakened should Tom, David or Roberts return. But she was alone in the room and no one had come to give her good news, which meant the worst possible news. Something had gone wrong in the past. It had been hours since Captain Robert’s left the present. Had he succeeded, Roberts would have returned to within an hour of his departure. She knew he was either dead or had gone rogue. And she knew what that meant for Tom and David.

Sally stood and stretched. Her back ached. The sturdy loveseat in her office wasn’t designed with comfortable snoozing in mind. Her cream-colored office was expansive, meagerly decorated and full of space, but had become cluttered overnight. Sally spent most of the previous evening riffling through schematics, studying notes and memorizing the functions of the watch, which she now knew to be more intricate then anyone had previously conceived. If only David knew what she knew now. Then again, maybe he did.

Sally dressed quickly, though not in her typical power suit and high heels. She finished the knot on her black running shoes, tightened the belt on her skin-hugging, charcoal pants and straightened her raven hued turtleneck, which showed the curves of her body in a way no one at LightTech had ever seen. She felt silly, dressing like this, like some kind of spy or ninja, black from head to toe, but she knew the main lights would be out for another hour and she would need to be stealthy if she was going to make it in and out of George’s office in one piece.

Sally tied a black scarf around her mouth, nose and then forehead. She looked in the mirror. Her reflection looked like an obsidian sculpture, whose eyes had been colored with a burning brown paint. Ridiculous. She strapped a dark backpack to her shoulders, peeked out her office door and crept out into the dark hallway.

It was a ten-minute trek from Sally’s office on the lower level to George’s office, five floors up. She couldn’t use the elevator; there was an armed doorman, even at this time of night. She could have easily walked past him and ordered him to leave his position, but she hoped anonymity would allow her to keep her job, and her life, when this was all over.

She broke a sweat by the fifth floor. She ran every day and she was in perfect shape, but the nervous tension gripping her muscles made every movement a struggle. It was exhausting. She crept to the stairwell door. George’s office was just down the hall, but Sally knew this would be the most difficult portion of her covert operation. George, ever the paranoid, had two guards posted outside his office at all times. But Sally knew George wasn’t just being paranoid, he was being cautious. No one puts two armed guards outside a room unless they have something inside to protect. This is why Sally believed the office would contain the robot insects Jake had so proudly described. She would steal the little bugs and make it look like corporate espionage. They had plenty of tough competition that wouldn’t be above such a stunt. Hell, even LightTech had engaged in theft and espionage before.

Security was impregnable from the outside in. Getting into the LightTech facility was pretty much impossible. But once inside, security was lax. Though from Sally’s perspective, security was downright impervious. She peered down the hallway.
Damn
. The guards were wide-awake and ready for action. She felt sure she could outrun Chuck, the chubbier of the two guards but the other man, Sean, looked to be in Herculean shape. Probably took his job too seriously. He might be a problem. The only weapon Sally had brought was a five-year-old stun gun she took when she went running, and it could only fire once.

The sound of approaching footsteps from the right caught her attention and Sally quickly and silently closed the hallway door so that only a sliver of space remained to peer through. She glanced at her watch.
Damn again!
The building would be flooded with employees in a half hour. She ducked back as a body moved past the door, toward George’s office and the guards.

Sally watched through the small opening. It was Jake...and he was waving the guards away.

“Chuck, Sean, you guys can take off. Go get a coffee or something. I’ll only be a few minutes,” Jake said.

Chuck looked confused. “But Director Dwight ordered us to stay until he—”

“Yes, yes, but who delivered the order?” Jake asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, technically, you did, sir.”

Sean crossed his buff arms, trying to look like an authority figure and said, “Sir, may I remind you that it’s against regulations to—”

“And now I’m telling you to go. Consider it an executive order. Take a walk. Come back in a few minutes. I won’t be long.”

“But—”

“Now,” Jake insisted with a cold gaze.

“Yes, sir,” Chuck said. “But just for a few minutes.”

Chuck and Sean turned and headed toward the opposite end of the hallway, away from Sally.
Thank you, Jake!
Sally was thrilled by Jake’s advantageous appearance, but wasn’t thrilled with how he so easily issued orders with executive power. What else could Jake be doing without LightTech knowledge? Jake entered the office and the door slowly moved toward the closed position. This was Sally’s chance! The two guards were nearing the end of the hallway, which turned left, but if she waited, the door might close and lock. She had to risk it.

Sally opened the door and breezed into the hallway, mixing with the shadows and moving like a cat. The guards didn’t hear or sense a thing as they rounded the corner and disappeared into the adjacent hallway.