The Masada Complex

better. The Jews will be pacified by the educational flair.”

The rabbi turned the page, finding a map of the Dead Sea area.

“Final stage will be here.” Silver pointed through the open end of the room at the still body of water. “From the lowest land in the whole world a new future shall rise.”

“What’s ProPla?” Rabbi Josh asked.

“Processing plant for the bodies,” Masada said. “He’ll use salt.”

“Acid.” Silver smiled. “Less offensive than smoke stacks, wouldn’t you agree?”

As soon as Elizabeth finished eating, the baby became active, poking her from within until she smiled. It was almost six in the morning, and the kitchen was filling up with men, who gathered around the small TV. The screen showed the podium at the U.S. Senate, where the most junior senator was completing his remarks against Israel.

Senator Mitchum, in a red tie and fresh makeup, took over the podium. “Let me quote the writer Masada El- Tal,” he declared, “who courageously stepped up to the challenge despite her conflicting loyalties.” He held up a copy of Jab Magazine. “She wrote: Only a country founded on the religious sectarianism would feel justified in manipulating the legislative process of a democracy. And only a country that glorifies its sons’ ultimate sacrifice could justify sacrificing its own integrity. And with these wise words,” the senator declared, “I hereby call for a vote on the Fair Aid Act, which will suspend all military aid to, and cooperation with, the State of Israel, pending a full Senate investigation of the events leading to the tragic suicide of our colleague from Arizona-”

An aide tapped his shoulder and whispered in his ear.

Senator Mitchum returned to the microphone. “It seems that new facts have emerged.” He covered the microphone, consulted with someone else, and announced, “We’ll take a brief recess.”

The anchor’s face appeared on the screen. “We go live now from Mount Masada, near the Dead Sea, in Israel.”

The picture changed again, and Professor Silver appeared on the screen.

Elizabeth covered her mouth. The professor was aiming a gun with a silencer at the camera. His glass eye was missing. Behind him was a wall of rough stones. She listened with growing fear as he admitted he had bribed Senator Mahoney as part of a Palestinian plot to take over Israel and exterminate the Jews.

Professor Silver laughed. The two Jews were stricken by shock, especially Rabbi Josh, who resembled a car wreck survivor. “Don’t try anything funny!” Silver held the gun with both hands, shifting its aim constantly. “Now you tell me where I can find the woman who killed my son.”

“Yes, the crazy soldier,” Masada said. “What do you remember?”

“She swung on a steel cable and grabbed my Faddah, then she attacked me.”

“Tall and stringy, with black hair.”

“Yes.”

“Like me?”

Silver felt a chill.

Masada pointed at the low wall at the edge. “Your dear Faddah didn’t even fight. Maybe he preferred death to staying with Papa.”

“No!”

She pulled up her right pant, exposing a brace. “Did you notice when Ness shot me in the knee? Or was your eye hurting too much?”

“You!” He realized she was telling the truth. It was like a string of dominos falling in a row. “That’s why the your brother yelled-”

“Masada!”

It was the rabbi’s voice, and Silver realized he’d focused on her, forgetting the rabbi. As he turned, his finger starting to press the trigger, Rabbi Josh threw the lantern, hitting the gun, which flew over the edge into empty air. The lantern shattered on the floor, and the rabbi leaped forward.

There was one thing Silver was determined to do: Punish Faddah’s killer! He threw himself at Masada. His shoulder rammed her in the chest, propelling her over the edge.

Elizabeth McPherson could not move. Senator Mitchum’s face reappeared on the TV screen. “Well, considering the new information, we will take this matter under advisement. The Fair Aid Act is withdrawn. This session of the United States Senate is adjourned.”

The senator disappeared from the TV screen, replaced by the black reporter in Jerusalem, smiling as circles of yellow-clad Jews danced around him. “The atmosphere in this ancient city,” he yelled over the noise, “is ecstatic. People feel vindicated. Not only was Israel proven innocent of the bribery charges, but a terrible Palestinian plot to destroy the Jewish people has been exposed. Someone here just told me that God has intervened to prevent a second Holocaust. But that, of course, is a matter of faith. Reporting from Jerusalem, this is-”

Someone turned off the TV. Elizabeth saw her father being carried in. Aunt Hamida helped her kneel before him. Father’s hand rested on the scarf covering her shaved head. He mumbled a blessing.

The men carried Hajj Mahfizie from the kitchen. Aunt Hamida helped Elizabeth to her feet and hugged her tightly. “Ah-Salaam, Elzirah.”

“See you soon,” Elizabeth said.

Aunt Hamida started crying and ran from the kitchen.

This was it. She was free to go. Surely the Israelis at the checkpoint could call a taxi for her. She went to the door.

Three men in white coats blocked her way. They grabbed her arms, turned her around, and blindfolded her. She felt her yellow robe being lifted up to her armpits. A heavy pouch was tied around her waist, and the robe was pulled down over it.

Rabbi Josh sprinted forward, but Professor Silver was faster, shoving Masada over the cliff’s edge. The rabbi dropped forward and grabbed her arm just as she went over. At the same time, his body collided with Silver, who stumbled and rolled over the low wall behind Masada.

His chest hit hard against the stones at the edge, but Rabbi Josh managed to hold on to Masada, who quickly grabbed the low wall. The rest of her body hung over the cliff, and Silver somehow stuck his arm into the lower part of the shoulder strap of her backpack, just above her left hip. The top of his head showed behind the small of her back. Far below, the professor’s white cap descended through the air to the distant, rocky bottom.

Rabbi Josh yelled, “Hold on! I’ll pull you up!”

Silver craned his head. “Quick!”

“Get a rock,” Masada said, “and hit this murderer on the head.”

Rabbi Josh wasn’t going to do such a thing. “Come on! Help me pull you up!”

“My hands are slipping.” Masada’s right foot found a small protrusion in the rock. “Cut the plastic cuffs.”

He kept his grip on Masada’s arm with one hand and reached for a shard of glass from the shattered lantern. He cut through the plastic strap, blood from his lacerated palm dripping on Masada’s wrists. Her hands free, she spread them apart, improving her grip on the stones. Her other foot found a toehold.

“Let’s pull you up!”

“Not with this dead weight.” Masada shook her hips against the cliff in brief, jerky motions.

“Stop it!” Silver’s voice was filled with panic. “Don’t!”

Rabbi Josh leaned over the edge, looking down. The emptiness under them made him dizzy. His grip on her arm was getting slippery from the blood. He let go and wiped his hand in the dirt. “Pull! We can do it!”

“My backpack has to come off.”

“No!” Silver yelled from below. “Save us!”

Rabbi Josh held her arms. “Now, Masada. Just pull!”

The men led the blindfolded Elizabeth out of the kitchen, through the hallway to the main door, and out of the mosque. They lifted her into a vehicle and made her lie on her back. The pouch they had tied around her hips was