S7: Holy War

I don't think Moshe, Sherry, or Fatima realized it, but we avoided the things we had recovered from our last trip. Too many painful memories, I suspect. I thought about it a lot before telling them I was going to start working on them, and they could join me if they wanted.

They left me alone for about a month, until I called them together, telling them it was important. They were surprised when I took them outside, for a quiet walk in the country. We'd got about a mile before they couldn't restrain themselves any more. Moshe stopped in the middle of the path, blocking me.

"Alright, what have you got? I've never seen you like this, so it must be big."

I looked at them, seeing the interest evident. "I wanted to be as far away from prying eyes and ears before I said anything. What I'm about to tell you is big. HUGE. When it comes out it will create a shitstorm of epic proportions. We always joke that someday we'll find something that will change the history of the world. When we carried those scrolls and books home, we did."

I had their interest now. Moshe arched an eyebrow and told me to stop being a drama queen and tell them what I'd found.

I was so paranoid I wouldn't say it, handing them a note, written in Latin, that hit the highlights.

Their reaction to the note was written all over their faces.

"Are you sure?"

"As positive as I can be without more intensive testing and research. I'm asking for your help. You guys are the only ones I trust, if I brought in somebody new and it leaked what we had, it could get really hairy. I don't want your answer right now, I need you to think about it. And please, when you talk about it with each other, make sure no one can overhear you."

There was a bit more discussion, and we walked back to the labs, each lost in our own thoughts.

...

I had lunch the next day with Teddy, at his club, insisting on a private room. He knew I had something important, he could see the tells that I gave out when I got excited. After an excellent lunch he ordered a brandy, and when it was served and the door was shut, he leaned back and grinned.

"All right, spill it. Whatever you have must be huge, I haven't seen you this excited since we first put the team together."

He stopped smiling when I told him, aware of the import of the things I had found, before he grinned.

"Well, well. It looks like we're all about to be famous, whether we want it or not. By all means, carry on. I assume everyone else is on board?"

"They haven't given me their answers yet. But you know they will all want to be involved, after all, how many times does an opportunity like this fall into your lap?"

He frowned. "We're going to have to update security. We'll be refitting your lab immediately. Can't be too careful, now can we?"

"Not in the least."

Of course, every one was on board. and anxious to start. We went painstakingly slow, and for a group like us, that meant glaciers moved faster.

We worked on nothing else for the next three months, only stopping when exhaustion forced us to rest. It was nothing to hear a gasp from one of us, and then have an intense discussion on what had been revealed. The knowledge made my head ache at times. I would often wake in the middle of the night, wondering if we should just stop, and let it go, but then I would think how I would react if I found out someone was deliberately keeping something this important from the public. I decided to carry on, and let history decide if I did the right thing.

The security upgrade was done as quietly as possible, but it was state of the art, the most advanced technology available, and I knew the technicians would have to wonder what was so valuable. As a cover, Teddy had all the workrooms upgraded, but none were anywhere near as advanced as ours.

What was all the fuss about? The scrolls were written and collected by Matthias, the Disciple chosen to replace Judas. Seems he was a little bitter about being chosen by the casting of lots, instead of on his own merits. In one of the letters he saved, he asked Bartholomew if both candidates were qualified, why was only one chosen? Shouldn't they be recruiting all the qualified people they could to carry the message of Jesus forward?

In another saved letter, there was an entreaty from Jesus to Simon, urging him to be more circumspect when dealing with the authorities of the places they traveled through.

Simon had been a Zealot before joining Jesus, and old feelings died hard, apparently. It seemed he thought overthrowing governments and replacing them with one of their own was still a good idea. The thought of reading something that was supposed to be written by Jesus made even an agnostic like me shiver.

Also in the urn was the gospel of Mary Magdalene, and notes about the dynamics of the Disciples after Jesus died, stating her disappointment with the others for ousting her from their movement, and a letter to Matthias speculating that Judas had been set up and poisoned, and that was why there were rumors about him swelling to the point of bursting.

There was also a fragment of the Gospel of Judas, which was nothing like what had been discovered earlier.

There were a few copies of letters from other lesser known disciples who had returned to their old occupations after the death of Jesus, all with an undertone of bitterness that they had been excluded from having a more active role in moving Christianity forward.

All the scrolls were written in the first hundred years after the death and resurrection of Jesus, by a priest who claimed they were copied from the originals. Some of the originals were also in the urn, in very fragile condition. I doubted they would survive unrolling. There was also a full copy written in the fourth century by a priest named Brother Joshua, with a note from him stating that he did them in secret, away from his fellow priests, because he thought they would be destroyed and he would be tossed out of the church as a heretic. His copies were in Latin, with notes on occasion when he wondered if he'd gotten the translations right.

Teddy cautioned us that when the scrolls were published it would be a good idea if we were all on vacation in parts unknown for a few weeks.

"The Catholic Church is going to have a conniption fit when this hits, along with most of the Christians of the world. Expect to be very unpopular for a long while."

I had been thinking about this a lot. Maybe I had been influenced by too many movies casting the Catholic Church in a bad light, but I knew enough from a historical standpoint they could be quite ruthless if the situation called for it. We had scanned and indexed all the scrolls, including the ones we hadn't examined yet, and we could work off those without harming the originals.

I made a suggestion to Teddy, that upon reflection, he agreed with. I broke the news to Sherry and Fatima.

"Sherry, I think you're long overdue for a visit home, don't you? I'm sure the prince and the rest of your family would love to see you."

Fatima froze, a look of terror in her eyes. When they married, they tried to keep it secret for their own protection, but one of her nieces paid a

visit on her way to France for her annual shopping spree, hoping they would accompany her. They were delighted to see her, until they caught her staring at their rings.

She surprised them by smiling. "I'm offended. My favorite aunt, and she doesn't even invite me to her wedding. I'll never forgive you."

After they were assured she was all right with their lifestyle, they agreed to go with her. Like any woman needed an excuse to shop. They even brought a few things for themselves, including matching lingerie. One of the attendant servants, however, was not pleased, and announced it to everyone she knew when they returned home. The Prince sent for her, and expressed his displeasure for broadcasting the private affairs of his family. She disappeared, and her family never saw her again. The message was loud and clear. Private affairs of the royal family were not fodder for gossip.

When the radicals found out, they called for a public stoning of both. The Prince met with them, but there was no middle ground. It ended with the radicals being escorted out of the country, and told never to return. ISIS had a field day, and used it as evidence that the royal family had slipped into decadence under the influence of western devils. One attack occurred, and the Prince did what he promised me years ago, and launched a personal Jihad against them. After dozens died, an uneasy truce was reached. Leave the royal family out of their wars and never enter the country, and they would be left alone.

Still didn't stop some radical priest to do a Youtube rant once in a while. The girls found themselves with bodyguards, and wisely never objected.

I quickly put their fears to rest. "I don't really expect you to go, but if anyone asks, that's where you're headed. You will fly to another airport, board another private jet, and head to your real destination. Along the way, I want you to drop some packages off. Don't tell me where, and don't tell me who receives them, just make sure they are safe. Your original jet will fly to your country, where the Prince will visit it for a few hours. It will then take off and return here, after stopping to pick you up. You will not discuss the whereabouts of the packages to anyone, especially me. Do you understand?"

They did.

Despite our security, word started leaking out. I suspected it was one of the technicians who installed our security system. He was overly interested in what was so valuable, even wandered over to my table. Everything was locked up securely, the only thing on the table with a notepad, with random words scribbled in Latin. It was a habit I had developed early, using key words to remember whole sections, or to research the subject further. Apparently he read Latin.

Teddy came to see me, telling me of his suspicions and concerns. I was really glad we had moved the documents, and that neither Teddy or myself knew exactly where they were. Nixon was right, always have plausible deniability.

I knew we had serious trouble when I heard someone yell my name, someone I didn't recognize.

"Jake! Hey Jake!"

A quick glance confirmed I didn't know him, so I kept walking. He rushed to catch up with me.

"Jake! Hold up for a second, will you?" He said this while gripping my arm. I looked down pointedly, and he let go.

I examined his face, and reaffirmed the fact that I'd never met this man.

"Jake, is there somewhere close we can go to talk? It's freezing out here. I only need a few minutes of your time."

"Do I know you?"

"No, I'm..."

"Someone I have no interest in talking to. And just to clarify, I haven't gone by Jake in years. I never really liked it, and I go by Pete now. You need to do a little better job on your intel. Have a pleasant trip back to where you came from."

I strode off, leaving him with his mouth hanging open. I'd only gone a few steps when I heard him rushing up. The man just didn't learn, grabbing my arm more firmly, spinning me this time. I clamped my hand over his, rolling my body and dragging him along until he lost his balance and fell. His scarf came open, exposing his clerical collar.

"You're a little too free with your hands there, Padre. Now, go away, before I have this nice policeman escort you to the local goal for assaulting me."

He looked up, seeing the campus security guard coming towards us. He'd been standing just inside the building we were passing for warmth, and witnessed the whole thing.

"Please, Ja..er, Pete. Just a moment of your time. It is vitally important."

By then the policeman was there. I helped the priest up. "Let me think about it for a bit. All right, I've made a decision. No. If you want to speak to me you have to go through my boss. I'm sure you know who that is. Have a peasant day, now."

I walked away as he called out for me. I called Teddy immediately. I could almost hear the glee in his voice. "Well, they've heard rumors, then. Let the games begin."

...

Two days later a formal request was made, and after making them wait a week, Teddy granted it.

So one blustery winter afternoon Teddy, Moshe, and I were sitting at a table in a private room at his club with a Bishop of the Catholic Church.

Teddy made small talk, smoozing with ease, then asked what the meeting was about.

"It, um, has come to our attention you may have something that belongs to the Church. This is a formal request to turn it over to us."

Teddy would have handled it better, but I stepped in. "All right, just what specifically do you think we have, and what claim does your religion have on it?"

The Bishop looked uncomfortable. "Please, understand, information like what you have could take years to examine and interpret. It would be better if it were taken to the Vatican, housed in the archives until we can understand it better."

"By interpret, I take that to mean you're going to take it and bury it, never to see the light of day again. Tell you what, we'll give them to you on the condition that my team comes along and continues our own research. I'd love to get a crack at the stuff you've got stored in your archives, maybe we could take a peek now and then, what do you say?"

The Bishop was unsettled and a little angry by then.

"That is the most foolish proposition I've ever heard! You're not qualified to interpret those scrolls, they belong in the hands of true scholars."

That little statement sent Moshe off. "What you really mean is you're too afraid to let someone with an objective opinion anywhere near them. Also, for your information, Pete here is considered one of the top three researchers of that time and area. I'm one of the others, and the senior woman on our team rounds out the trio. So then, you have the three most foremost people in our field working on them, and you don't think we're qualified? Seriously? What's really going on here, Bishop? You seem awfully nervous about all of this. It makes me think perhaps there's something in those scrolls you don't want anyone to see. We've only worked on perhaps a third of them, who knows what we'll find? I'll tell you. Everyone. We'll make it our mission."

Teddy interjected. "Boys, boys, calm down. I'm sure the good Bishop has his reasons. But he hasn't made a formal request yet, and when he does, I'm afraid I'll just have to refuse, and tie it up in world courts for the next several decades if he pushes his agenda."

He turned to the Bishop. "Well, Henry, you made your pitch. Go tell the Vatican it didn't fly. And Henry, tell them to be really careful about how they proceed, understand? This doesn't have to be nasty."

"Very well, Teddy. But you know it's not over. The Church has ways of getting what it wants. We'll just take another path."

"Is that a declaration of war?"

"No, just intent."

I grinned as I got up. "Well, good luck with that. As far as I know, you haven't had an Inquisitor in a few centuries, and the Church itself helped murder all the Knights Templar. A little tidbit here for you to consider. You try coming at us through our families, and it will go very, very badly for you. This is a promise."

The Bishop smirked and started to say something, but Teddy put his hand on an arm. "Careful, Henry, you really don't want to anger these people. They're a little more than they seem."

"They're researchers!"

Moshe grinned. "You keep thinking that, Bishop. It'll keep the nightmares away."

...

Moshe and I shared a cab back to the campus.

"What do you think is going to happen now?"

I nodded to the driver and spoke in general tones. "Oh, they'll keep trying, it's in their nature. They're one of the biggest, richest, and oldest groups in the world. Enormous power is at their fingertips. If it gets sticky we go to Plan B, agreed?"

"Agreed. Your name is the one they will see, so be careful."

I nodded, seeing the truth in the statement. Walking in to my flat, I dug out the Makarovs, hidden away all this time. I cleaned them carefully, loading them with fresh rounds. I also took out my Ismali dagger, checking the edge. I wouldn't carry the weapons since technically I wasn't supposed to have them. The boys in the agencies knew about them, we had spent time together on one of Teddies' estates that had an informal firing range. They even fired them, impressed with their accuracy.

When we first got back from our last trip, I was going to send them home, but Teddy told me to keep them handy. One just never knew. As far as I know, Moshe still had his weapons, Sherry still had her pistol, and Fatima had claimed the cut down shotgun for her own.

Teddy stepped up security, guards increased in numbers and the frequency of their patrols. It didn't matter, two months later there was a break in. These guys were ultimate professionals with state of the art equipment. They went in through the roof, removing a section so quietly the guards never heard it. The roof was wired, and they had spliced everything to read normal. These guys were ultimate professionals.

Moshe and I started taking turns sleeping in the lab on random nights, just to make us feel better. Besides the scrolls we were working on, there were eight urns that remained to be opened.

This particular night was one I chose to sleep in the lab, on a sofa I had dragged to a corner. They were so quiet I might have slept through the whole thing if one hadn't sneezed. I peeked over the sofa. Three men, in tactical gear, with night vision goggles on. They moved cautiously over to the urns, trying to decide which to take first, when I flipped on the lights, blinding them. They clawed at their masks as I yelled out for them to be still. I hadn't seen any weapons, and was surprised when they fumbled with their pistols. One was quicker than the others and got a shot off in my general direction.

I had borrowed Fatima's shotgun, and I cut loose, aiming for their legs because of the vests. When the buckshot hit two went down screaming. The other shot back, the bullets too close for comfort. I gave him three rounds in the chest and helmet before he dropped.

Dropping the shotgun, I pulled my pistols off the sideboard where I had put them, and started screaming for them to put their hands up. One was down and immobile, and the other two were too busy trying not to bleed out to obey me. I had triggered the alarm and opened the doors remotely, and thirty seconds later security burst through the door.

There were a tense few minutes when I refused to drop my weapons, but luckily the security captain recognized me. In forty-five minutes, Moshe, Teddy, and the girls were there, along with the police and three ambulances.

Two were dead. One was hit almost point blank in the groin, and the arteries in both legs were punctured beyond closing. The one I shot in the chest and face died when one of the buckshot managed to make it through the lining of his mask at his neck, lodging on his spine and severing a vein. He literally drowned in his own blood. I'd hit the third lower down and he survived, although his kneecaps were shattered.

Naturally, my weapons were seized and I was taken to the police station. Before they got to question me Heath showed up, waved his credentials around, cited National Security, and escorted me home. Heath was from the British equivalent of Homeland Security, and was one of the first to make contact after our ill fated trip, to access if there was a chance any of it would follow us home. He knew Maddy, slightly, and it eased the way into a casual friendship.

Teddy, Moshe, and the girls showed up, and Heath asked if they needed to be here. I told him definitely, then explained the whole situation to him. He paled at the implications. "Surely you don't think the Church has anything to do with it, do you?"