“You’re doing it to save your pathetic life.”
Murdock had to agree. “Yeah, well—”
“Give me Yahweh.”
“I can’t. It’s my only leverage.”
For now, thought Johnston. There was no way Murdock was going to live once all information was gleaned. After that, the man was as good as dead regardless of whatever good faith deal he thought he had arranged. Murdock was simply buying time. For the most part, death was the panacea for all problems, the unwritten rule for those who have no chance of redemption in the eyes of the government. Murdock was a doomed man, and both men knew it.
“Have it your way, Murdock. If the pope dies—”
“Yeah-yeah, I know, so does the man who wields the secret. You already told me.”
Johnston exited the room and met Shari waiting in the hallway.
“I know why you made me leave,” she said.
“Really?”
“There’s truth in what he said, isn’t there?”
“About what?”
“About his concern of being taken out because he knows about the involvement of our government in this situation, and perhaps that information getting out to the world community.”
Johnston sighed. “Shari, the man has a viable fear because of the Force Elite. He sees this one organization and now all of a sudden the government is loaded with them. Don’t start looking in shadows for something that’s not there.”
“I looked in one shadow and found the Force Elite.”
“Yes, you did. And you did a fine job on this, believe me. You really made this agency shine. But don’t take the yammering of one insurgent and start believing that there are assassins hiding around every corner.”
“Then why did you make me leave?”
“I told you, so I could reason with him and assure him of his safety.”
“And you couldn’t do that while I was standing there?”
“Shari, you shot the man’s leg off! You think I can make a promise like that with you standing two feet away from him?”
Shari wasn’t convinced, but decided to drop it nonetheless. Deep inside she knew the truth — Murdock was as good as dead. All of a sudden she wasn’t so sure she wanted to be part of a government entity. Johnston picked up on this.
“Look,” he said, “it’s a big government in a big land with big responsibilities, okay? It’s not perfect and sometimes things have to be adjusted right, wrong or indifferent, and sometimes against moral idealizations. It may not be ideal; Shari, but you, I or any citizen in this country wouldn’t give it up knowing this is probably the best government in the world. And yes, the Force Elite is apparently active. And we’ll get to the bottom of that, but you have to understand that things like this will happen, and when they do, we’ll correct it.”
“And by correcting it, you mean by erasing somebody?”
“Of course. You know that something like the Force Elite can’t get out. But if you’re talking about Murdock, yes. What he knows could prove costly to this government and you know it. So again, yes. His erasure will come in the form of a lifetime sentence in solitary confinement in a federal pen until the day he dies,” he lied, and started to walk down the hallway with Shari in tow.
“Sir?”
He turned to her. “What?”
“Are you going to have Murdock killed?”
Johnston’s features didn’t flinch. “Absolutely not.”
He’s no different than those involved on either side, she considered. As far as she was concerned, they all shared the same core.
Without saying anything more, Shari exited through the door at the opposite end of the hallway.
CHAPTER FIFTY
Below the Vault within the archdiocese where the temperature is naturally cool, Kimball laid the body of Nehemiah onto a rectangular marbled block, a slab every bit as cold and immovable as the body that lay upon it. Kimball placed one hand on Nehemiah’s heart and the other over Nehemiah’s forehead. Closing his eyes and bowing his head, Kimball moved his lips wordlessly as he recited prayer after prayer from words of his own choosing. Twice, when his cell phone rang, he continued with prayer, refusing to acknowledge the call, even though he knew it was Shari.
Nehemiah’s body lay stiff. The fabric on his legs glistened with blood beneath the pool of feeble lighting. His throat was horribly slashed and his eyes pale.
Behind Kimball on stainless steel gurneys lay the bodies of the Force Elite, their tactical masks removed, their faces also carrying identical expressionless stares. Kimball recognized none of them.
Each would be given a proper burial provided by Cardinal Medeiros under covert conditions. Nehemiah, on the other hand, would be flown back to the Vatican and given a stately sacrament by the Society of Seven, then be interred within the catacombs beneath the City.
When the phone rang a third time he answered. “Yes?”
“Kimball, I’ve been trying to call you,” said Shari.
“I’m in the prep chamber with Nehemiah,” he told her. Silence followed.
“I’m sorry,” she finally said. “It can’t be easy.”
“It never is. So what did you find out?” Kimball moved away from Nehemiah and closer to the gurneys, hardly acknowledging the bodies.
“Murdock gave us two names involved with the cause. This will hopefully lead us to the top officials involved.”
“Did he tell you where the pope was?”
“No. He says the only one who truly knows the location is a man going by the name of Yahweh. Apparently he’s the one spearheading the cause.”
“Did he tell you who this Yahweh is?”
“No. Murdock won’t give us any more information unless he has a guarantee by the government that his life won’t be placed in jeopardy.”
“Does he have a guarantee?”
“It was given to him by my director, and I’m sure the attorney general will—”
“He’s a dead man,” Kimball interjected. “He knows it and he’s just playing for time.”
Shari knew he was right. Murdock was a desperate man playing whatever hand he had to prolong the inevitable. If he had given up the identity of Yahweh, then he would have conveniently disappeared. “We’ll find him,” she told Kimball. “We’ll find Yahweh.”
“Shari, we’re running out of time. Whoever this guy is, then we better find him fast. And if Yahweh also happens to be Obadiah, then forget about it. We’ll never find him.”
The thought never occurred to Shari that Yahweh and Obadiah could be one and the same. Obadiah didn’t have the credentials to motivate or recruit the backing of members from Capitol Hill. It had to be somebody with a strong and influential presence, somebody of top ranking. “I don’t think so,” she said, and told him why.
“Well, I hope you’re right. But if we’re going to find the pope in time, we’ll need to know who Yahweh is as soon as possible.”
“Trust me, Kimball. The director’s working on it.”
“So long as he doesn’t drag his feet.”
Shari smiled. “Knowing Larry the way I do… he’s not.”
George Pappandopolous was perfecting the length of his tie tying when his phone rang. “Yeah?”
“Have you heard?”
Pappandopolous immediately recognized Yahweh’s voice. His tone took on a more respectful manner. “Heard what?”
“Omega Team has been eliminated and Judas is in the hands of hostiles, alive.”
Pappandopolous remained silent; he knew what would come next.