The Last Day

105

Mount of the Ascension, Jerusalem, Israel 10:11 A.M., Tuesday, April 18, 2000

Arriving as promised for his morning visit, a troubled Cardinal Litti could not contain his anxieties.

“Something's in the air, my friends,” he began, his voice heavy with concern. “The Messiah sent me to the Israelis with a special request. She wants permission to broadcast a public speech at the courtyard of the Wailing Wall this Friday afternoon.”

Feldman and Hunter exchanged confirming glances.

“What did the Israelis say?” Feldman wanted to know.

“I met with a Commander David Lazzlo,” Litti explained. “He said he'd get back with me later today, but he indicated the IDF might allow us to hold the assembly as long as we agree to a quid pro quo. Jeza would have to require our followers to lay down their weapons and forgo any further violence. But that's a nonissue since she's been appealing for that all along, anyway.”

Feldman looked perplexed. “I don't get it. Letting Jeza make a public appearance in the middle of this powder keg is insane. It'll only lead to bloodshed. Why would the Israelis risk it?”

“Jeza is safe as long as she remains behind the walls of the Old City,” Litti pointed out. “Her support is solid inside. Outside, the IDF has completely secured the walls. And, thankfully, most of the truly militant extremists have been removed to internment camps in Afula now.”

“So what's the purpose of the speech, anyway?” Feldman asked.

“Jeza Won't say.” Litti sighed. “Just that, once again, She has Her Father's unfinished business to attend to.”

Feldman considered this for a moment “Alphonse, I don't have to tell you what day Friday is.”

Litti's furtive eyes answered for him.

Feldman gripped the cardinal's forearm. “We're concerned about her safety, too. And we have an idea. A plan to rescue her.”

Litti looked up at Feldman questioningly.

Grinning, Hunter stole Feldman's news. “WNN is talking with the Israelis right now about a plan to get the both of you out of here. The Israelis would like nothing better than to defuse this time bomb. And with your help, maybe we can pluck the two of you off to someplace where it's a little more stable.”

The cardinal wagged his head at them. “You don't understand: There is no hiding from what's coming. It's not just Jeza's safety I'm concerned about.”

Feldman and Hunter's excitement abated.

“Do you remember”-Litti alternated back and forth between the two newsmen-”how Jeza escaped Her attackers Palm Sunday morning?”

Both men nodded.

“She fled through the Golden Gate. And do you remember the prophecy about the Golden Gate?” The cardinal answered their blank stares. “It's foretold that in the Last Days, the Messiah will enter the Old City by way of the Golden Gate. This will be another final sign of the imminent Judgment.”

Dimly, Feldman recalled hearing this somewhere, and his stomach knotted.

“Until the earthquake,” Litti elaborated, “the great Golden Gate had been sealed up for centuries. The Muslims had walled it up as insurance against the scriptural warning. But Jeza has defied them all. She's fulfilled another Last Prophecy.”

“And you think Friday is D-Day?” Hunter asked.

“What more appropriate day for the Lord to return than on the anniversary of His death?” Litti reasoned.

Even Hunter's tanned complexion paled at this notion.

“Is there anything else that draws you to that conclusion, Cardinal?” Feldman questioned.

“Only in how I interpret the Messiah's mood,” he added. “She's even more pensive and sad of late. She eats little and devotes an inordinate amount of Her teaching to eschatological themes.”

“Scato-?” Hunter tried.

“Eschatological, Breck,” Feldman finished for him. “Judgment Day stuff.”

Hunter blinked.

Feldman's face took on a grave cast. He reached over and touched the sleeve of the cardinal's cassock. “Alphonse? Will she leave with us if you ask her to?”

“No, Jon, I'm afraid not,” he replied with resignation. “She's determined to make Her appearance Friday, and I dare not interfere with Her in that regard. She follows the Father's will.”

Feldman's shoulders slumped and his brow wrinkled in frustration. After a moment's thought he brightened slightly. “Well then, will she leave after her appearance?”

“I don't know.”

“Here's what I propose,” Feldman said. “We get the Israelis to provide a helicopter at the site, on standby, ready to lift off. Immediately after her speech-or at the first sign of trouble-we bundle the two of you aboard and get you the hell out of there. Agreed?”

Perhaps a trifle more comforted, Litti looked over at his earnest young friend. “It's such a blessing sometimes not to believe,” he said, and patted Feldman's arm. “Agreed. And I can only pray that you're right and I'm wrong. But if not, I pray instead that we'll all be chosen to join the Lord in paradise together.”

Hunter smiled dourly and extended his hand. “Well, Padre, just in case I don't make the short list, it was nice knowing you. You're the only religious dude I ever liked.”

Litti took the big man's hand and gave Hunter a fatherly smile. “It's never too late to repent, my boy. I think God would be proud to have you on his side.”

106

Mount of the Ascension, Jerusalem, Israel 8:44 A.M., Thursday, April 20, 2000

The phone rang. It was Sullivan.

“Good news, Jon. They've reinstated our visas.”

“Yes!” Feldman shouted, setting aside the New Testament he'd been leafing through for clues to Jeza's plans.

“They're letting a limited number of us back into Jerusalem, but they're not releasing our office headquarters yet,” Sullivan qualified. “I have visas for you and Hunter, and I'll be leaving for Jerusalem with Arnie, Cissy and team one shortly.”

“Excellent.”

“The Israelis are also allowing Jeza to make her public address,” he added. “It's set for two-thirty, Friday afternoon. They're erecting a large platform for her now near the north end of the East Wall, and they're shielding it from all sides with blastproof glass for protection.”

“Good. What about the helicopter?”

“The Ministry of Defense has agreed to provide an army helicopter on standby to evacuate Jeza and the cardinal after the speech, or in the event of an emergency. They'll place it as close as feasible to the stage and fly the two of them directly to Cairo, assuming Jeza's willing to go. We've made arrangements for the U.N. to take custody of them in Cairo with the hopes of getting asylum in Switzerland.”

“And you've arranged for Hunter and me to be with her for the speech and evacuation?”

“Well, not exactly. The IDF doesn't want us-especially you-involved in the operation. They want to handle the entire mission themselves. And the Israelis aren't permitting any media on the stage or in the helicopter. In fact, we don't even have access privileges to the Old City at this time.”

“I don't like the sound of that, Nigel,” Feldman fretted. “Having the IDF involved makes me edgy. Goene's chief of staff now and he's hardly better than the Gogs. I've got a bad feeling about this.”