Shiva (69 page)

“
Where are they going?
”
Emily asked, pointing to the map of Israel. The last
-
known trajectory of Vanderwalt
’
s plane showed them heading northeast of Jerusalem.

No matter how long Bunny stared at the screen, it made no sense. Unless
,
of course
,
they were shooting for Syria. Which made even less sense.

Jerusalem, now Jerusalem had made sense. Where else do you go if you
’
ve got the next
M
essiah? The city was rich in religious history. That is what made it such a political hot potato. The Jews, Christians
,
and Muslims all claimed the ancient city for their own.

In addition
,
the area under the Temple Mount had never been excavated due to political tension between the three religious groups. Who knew what was under there? So Vanderwalt
should
be heading to Jerusalem. He could visit the site of Christ
’
s crucifixion. He could visit the Wailing Wall. He could visit half a dozen historic sites, yet he
had flown
past them all.

Why?

Unfortunately
,
she was the one tasked with the question. Bunny laid aside the
“
shoulds
”
and
“
wouldn
’
t it make more senses.
”
She went back to her roots. Ancient civilization for a thousand.

Jerusalem had been the capital of Israel for millennia.

Wait.

It wasn
’
t the
first
capital.

“
Bring up an ancient map,
”
Bunny asked Stark. The tech complied
,
even though he looked confused.
“
Now overlay the flight path.
”

“
I
’
m not sure what
—
”

“
Do it.
”

There it was
—
Shiloh. Israel
’
s first capital. Now it was just a small village out in the middle of nowhere.

“
That
’
s it,
”
Bunny stated.
“
That is where they are headed.
”

“
Why?
”
Prenner asked.

“
I don
’
t know
why
,
”
Bunny admitted.
“
I just know that Shiloh is the only place they
could
be going.
”

“
Damn, she
’
s right,
”
Stark added.
“
Vanderwalt is making their descent.
”

Bunny looked to Prenner.
“
So how about we figure out how to tell Rebecca and the others before they get all the way to Jerusalem?
”

They all looked to the sat phone that perched on the desk. Bunny snatched it up
and dialed, but got the same response she
’
d gotten all evening. Nothing.

Stark
’
s mother sighed.
“
Think outside the box, son. Think big. Think
wide
.
”

The tech smiled and gave his mother a high five.
“
You know it.
”

“
Going to share?
”
Prenner asked.

“
Nope.
”

* * *

Yet again, Lopez hit a pothole in the road a tad too fast and nearly popped Rebecca and Brandt out of the back of the truck. Seriously
,
this truck ride was more traumatic than the last few rides
,
and that included volcanic eruptions, a sideway
s
bump of the airport wall, and
a
crash
land
ing into the Congo. Her kidneys were never going to forgive her.

They were passing through the town of Ramia, heading due east for Jerusalem. Less than an hour out, Rebecca tried to rest but couldn
’
t. Too much was at stake. And Jerusalem was a large city. She could only assume Vanderwalt would head for the old city, but she couldn
’
t take any chances
.
S
he had to turn the history of the biblical city over and over again.

Finally
,
Lopez slowed as they reached the heart of Ramia. For so late in the evening
,
there were a lot of people out. Mainly gawking at the sky and the fiery display off in the Mediterranean. Stores were still open, accommodating the crowd
,
she supposed.

She
had gone
back to her contemplations when Davidson banged the side of his fist against the truck
’
s back window. He was saying something, gesticulating to the people on the sidewalk, but Rebecca had no idea what he meant.

“
They are all checking their phones,
”
Brandt said next to her.

He was right. Every single person was looking to
his or her
cell
phone. But why?

Then they passed an electronics store. Each and every television, computer screen
,
and tablet flashed one word.
“
Shiloh.
”

Shiloh?

Lopez picked up speed as they headed out of the town center. He was about to get onto the 1-Freeway headed east to Jerusalem. Rebecca pounded on the window.

“
No! Go north!
”
s
he shouted.
“
Take the
Six
-Interchange.
”

Apparently
,
they were having as much trouble hearing her as she had hearing them.

Brandt rose up, leaned through the driver
’
s
side window into the cab of the truck
,
and pulled the wheel to the left.

Well, that did the trick
,
as they cut across two lanes of traffic and hit the on
-
ramp at an angle.

Lopez corrected their skid and off to Shiloh they were.

* * *

The shark thrashed away from the plane as Frellan
’
s diver sent an electric shock through it
s
snout. Bull sharks were determined, but not
that
determined. The diver waved the survivors away from the side emergency door, then used a handheld hydraulic expander to pop open the hatch.

Taking a deep breath from the waning oxygen mask, Frellan pushed off the seat and was helped out by the diver. As sharks circled, swishing their strong tails in frustration, his small group made their way to the surface.

Breaking water, Frellan could not help but gasp. The world was redone. Molten lava shown brightly in the night as four new volcanoes rose proudly from the sea. The sky was completely obscured by the ashen clouds roiling overhead.

Hooked up to a harness, Frellan and the others were brought aboard a marine helicopter
,
which was having a bit of trouble staying in the air as winds ripped across the open sea. Once aboard, he reached
out
a hand to Monnie.

“
Ye of little faith.
”

She did not retort. She simply bowed her head as she made her way to her seat.

Benedicto
,
though
,
clapped Frellan on the shoulder.
“
It does all seem a bit Biblical
,
does it not?
”
When Frellan didn
’
t answer
,
the priest chuckled.
“
Quite the time to be a religious zealot!
”

Frellan did not grace the man with a response
.
H
e only looked across to Mikhal. They seemed to have reached an understanding
o
n the plane. With a single flicker of his eyes, Frellan marked the priest for death.

Once the girl was found, Frellan would be rid of them all.

* * *

“
Got
‘
em!
”
Stark cried out, bringing into focus a satellite image of the truck. He then brought up another five shots of Brandt
’
s team heading north.

“
Where did you get those?
”
Emily asked.

“
Um? In this part of the world? We
’
ve got enough satellites tasked to the region to have a sat-link smorgasbord.
”

To prove his point, Stark brought up another half dozen images of Brandt and the others take the turn away from Jerusalem to Shiloh. So Stark taking
over
the
airwaves
had
worked.

“
So what is Vanderwalt
’
s end game?
”
Prenner asked.

“
No idea,
”
Stark said.
“
But they landed in a small regional airport just ten miles outside of Shiloh.
”

“
Again,
”
Emily stated
,
“
w
hy Shiloh?
”

Bunny had been sorting through that as well.
“
Well, Shiloh was the first capital of ancient Israel.
”

“
I thought Jerusalem was?
”
Prenner asked.

She shook her head.
“
Nope
,
it was Shiloh for
three hundred
years before King Solomon built the First Temple in Jerusalem.
”

“
Even so, I don
’
t get it,
”
Emily stated
.
“
Why take Vakasa to the old capital? Why not Jerusalem? There is just so much more history there.
”

As Bunny geared up, Stark flipped through several stills of Vanderwalt. The group got into several cars and headed out.
“
You want history? Did you know that there were over one hundred and forty
-
seven legends about King Solomon?
”

Clearly
,
this group did not.

“
Lost
‘
em
,
”
Stark said, working the multiple satellite feeds.

While he tried to pick up Vanderwalt again, Bunny continued.
“
I think the single most incredible thing about King Solomon is in how high a regard we hold him,
”
Bunny hurried on.
“
Sure
,
he seemed wise
—
the whole
‘
cut the baby in half
’
thing and he built the
t
emple
—
but he had over seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines
,
and let
’
s face it
,
some of the exploits are pretty weird.
”

“
Bunny,
”
Emily said
,
unconsciously touching the cross around her neck. Amazing how open-minded people could be until you brought your point too close to home.

“
Besides being able to fly and control demons,
”
Bunny explained,
“
t
he part that affects us is the fact that
,
later in life
,
he seemed to have a crisis of faith. He began building temples for his many, many, many wives. Foreign gods. Pagan gods.
”