The Brotherhood Conspiracy
Read The Brotherhood Conspiracy Online
Authors: Terry Brennan
“Terry Brennan meticulously crafts stories of intrigue and action. His ability to weave archaeological and historical detail into a riveting plotline is simply amazing. Both
The Sacred Cipher
and
The Brotherhood Conspiracy
could step off the front page of any newspaper tomorrow. You’ll find them captivating!”
—M
IKE
D
ELLOSSO
,
author of
Fearless
and
Frantic
“
The Brotherhood Conspiracy
weaves a beautifully intricate web of intrigue and suspense. Painstakingly researched with powerful characters, it takes the reader on an exciting and thought-provoking adventure. Brennan brilliantly meshes an internal struggle of faith with an epic story about a world on the brink.”
—D
AVID
E. S
TEVENS
,
former Navy commander and F-18 fighter pilot, author of
Resurrect
The Brotherhood Conspiracy: A Novel
© 2013 by Terry Brennan
Published by Kregel Publications, a division of Kregel, Inc., P.O. Box 2607, Grand Rapids, MI 49501.
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Published in association with the literary agency of WordServe Literary Group, Ltd., 10152 S. Knoll Circle, Highlands Ranch, CO 80130.
www.wordserveliterary.com
.
Scriptures quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.
TM
Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
www.zondervan.com
Apocrypha quotations from the Good News Translation [with Apocrypha]—Second Edition, copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by permission.
Qur’anic quotations from
The Holy Qur’an
, translated by M. H. Shakir.
http://hemaidy.zoomshare.com/files/english-quran-shakir-wb.pdf
.
To my sisters, Pat and Kathie;
And to my brother, Butch—
your years were much too short.
CONTENTS
There is no greater partner, encourager, editor than my best friend and wife, Andrea, who not only lived
with
me through the trials, tribulations, and occasional joys of writing this book, but who also walked with me over the four long years it took to bring this sequel to completion. Sweetie, I couldn’t have done it without you.
I owe a large debt of gratitude to our daughter, Meghan, who is a deft editor but, more importantly, helped me keep my female characters real and relevant to twenty-first-century women. Thank you also to her husband, Azizi, who was supportive of Meg’s time, and to our son, Matt, for his encouragement.
Thank you to the great team at Kregel Publications, and particularly my editor, Dawn Anderson, whose probing questions always drive me nuts (what do you mean,
motivation
?) but always make the work so much better. Miranda and Cat—you are missed. And thanks to Greg Johnson and the team at WordServe Literary who have supported me from the beginning.
Without the Stephen Schwarzman Humanities and Social Sciences Library on Bryant Park in New York City, many of the pages in this book would be blank. Breathtakingly beautiful in its style and scope, if it’s not in the NYC “main” library, it probably doesn’t exist.
I can’t forget those who helped me get started: Marlene Bagnell, Wanda Dyson, Kathryn Mackel, Angela Hunt, and Nancy Rue. Thanks for giving me a good foundation—and hope. And to Mike Dellosso, Tim Shoemaker, and Adam Blumer—other writers who offered encouragement and support along the way.
Lastly, to my “guys”—Fred, James, Michael, and Mike—who regularly put up with my anxiety and insecurity but always impart wisdom; and to Michael O’Neill, who more than once helped me understand how to be a better man.
The team that discovered the Third Temple of God
hidden under the Temple Mount:
Tom Bohannon.
Executive director of the Bowery Mission in New York City; former investigative reporter.
Joe Rodriguez.
Curator of the Periodicals Room in the New York Library’s “main” building on Bryant Park; married to Deirdre, Tom Bohannon’s sister.
“Sammy” Rizzo.
Director of the book storage and retrieval system in the Humanities and Social Sciences Library on Bryant Park at 42nd Street in New York City; colleague of Joe Rodriguez; a small person, a tad over four feet tall.
Dr. Richard Johnson Sr.
Managing director of the Collector’s Club in Manhattan; former chair of the Antiquities College at Columbia University; fellow of the British Museum.
Abu Gherazim.
Foreign minister of the Palestinian Authority; a moderate Muslim leader.
Annie Bohannon.
Tom’s wife of thirty years; photographer.
Avram Levin.
Commander of the Aleph Reconnaissance Center in Jerusalem; known to his men as “the Hawk.”
Baqir al-Musawi.
President of Syria.
Bill Cartwright.
Director of the Central Intelligence Agency; President Whitestone’s longtime friend and accountability partner.
Brandon McDonough.
Provost of Trinity College, Dublin; expert in biblical archaeology and Richard Johnson’s boss at the British Museum.
Chaim Shomsky.
Chief of staff to the prime minister of Israel.
David Posner.
Deputy director of Mossad, Israel’s international intelligence and special operations agency.
Eliazar Baruk.
Prime minister of Israel; lives in Tel Aviv.
Holy One, or Effendi.
Old man of the desert; reclusive leader of the Prophet’s Guard.
Jonathan Whitestone.
President of the United States; Republican; evangelical Christian, from the state of Texas.
Kallie Nolan.
Masters candidate in biblical archaeology; friend of Sammy Rizzo; assisted the team in finding the Temple.
King Abbudin.
Ruler of Saudi Arabia, sixth of the Saudi kings.
Leonidas.
Informer, selling secret intelligence to radical Islamists.
Levi Sharp.
Director of Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security force.
Lukas Painter.
Director of Mossad, Israel’s relentless and feared international intelligence agency.
Mehdi Essaghir.
President of Iran.
Moishe Orhlon.
Israeli defense minister.
Ronald Fineman.
Messianic rabbi and custodian of Jeremiah’s Grotto.