“What about the meteorite theory?” Hunter wanted to know.
“We could not rule that out,” Lazzlo admitted. “The consensus at the Defense Ministry, however, was that the projectile was intentionally created to resemble a meteorite in its composition as a means of disguising its true, design. Nevertheless, we've been unable to discover any traces of a cannon or other delivery system that would explain the phenomenon better than the meteorite theory. When we determined that the Negev explosion was, at worst, a random attack and not an invasion, we changed the focus of our concern.
“In light of the subject matter of the experiments, Shaul Tamin was desperate to prevent a leak. His priority became damage control. At the time, we believed all physical evidence and any compromising records had been destroyed in the explosion. All the scientists involved were dead-with the exception of Mrs. Leveque and a few lower-level lab assistants who knew little and were easily intimidated into silence.
“Everything appeared so neatly contained, and then suddenly you broke with that survivor story. At first, Tamin resisted the idea that one of the test subjects might have escaped the blast. But later, when your Japanese witnesses positively identified Jeza as the survivor, he had no choice but to take action.
“Tamin viewed Jeza's survival as both a liability and an opportunity. While she posed a threat as living proof of his experiments, she also presented Tamin with the prospects of recovering the priceless Leveque microchips she carried inside her. The last chips of their kind in existence. Their value for medical applications, alone, was astronomical-military uses notwithstanding. Tamin intended to recover them, whatever it took.
“And then came your bombshell. Your
“We've had our suspicions,” Hunter acknowledged, sarcastically.
Lazzlo nodded contritely and moved onward. “After your report, the microchips were considered secondary. Tamin was desperate for his political survival and simply wanted Jeza out of the way. But of course, by that time she'd become too much an international icon.
“As you know, Tamin's outrageous proposal to take Jeza into ‘protective custody’ was a disaster, causing demonstrations all over Israel and the world. The Ben-Miriam government was coming under intense political pressure from many influential Jews, both here and abroad, who subscribed to the belief of Jeza as Messiah. The numbers in the Knesset Calling for Tamin's resignation were rising and Tamin's political base was dwindling.
“And then, miraculously, it looked as if our problems had vanished. Jeza fled the country and the threat appeared to be subsiding. The respite was short-lived, of course. After her fearful pronouncement at the second Mormon convocation, the flood of millenarian extremists began anew. Radicals on both sides of the Jeza issue poured into Jerusalem, anticipating the return of Jeza and/or Christ, and the fulfillment of the Judgment Day prophecies.
“Israel was hemorrhaging again. I and another in the high command decided to take drastic steps to defuse the nightmare Tamin had brought down upon our country. Covertly, we leaked the Leveque diary to the Vatican in the hopes that the unholy truth about Jeza's microchip implants and secret military entanglements would discredit her to the world. Yet with her incredible performance at the Vatican, she was able to easily defeat our tactics.
“And then suddenly, with Israel already stretched beyond its limits, Jeza reappeared in Jerusalem. The IDF could not hope to deal with the emergency for long, despite assistance from many international agencies, including the U.N. We knew something decisive had to be done. The attitude became, ‘Jeza or Israel.’ We could no longer coexist.”
Feldman saw an apparent contradiction. “I don't understand. Then why, when Jeza returned, did you provide her with such protection? With all the fierce, anti-Jeza sentiment that had developed by that time, I should think Tamin and Goene would have opted to simply step back and let the Gogs destroy her. Instead, you surrounded the Old City with troops and protected her.”
“The situation was much more complicated than that,” Lazzlo explained. “For one thing, if we hadn't taken action to control the opposing factions, the resulting civil war would have ravaged the Holy City and every sacred shrine within it. Religiously and politically, the IDF couldn't allow that to happen. But more importantly, we couldn't afford to have any
Feldman's stomach soured at the image of the cold, calculating mentality behind this scheme. But his desire to know the entire truth overrode his revulsion.
“The solution arrived at,” Lazzlo continued, “was to position the IDF as champions of peace. The IDF would protect the prophetess and begin separating the two warring factions, to the best of its abilities. But the idea was to be
“The IDF would defend the Messiah from any and all sects that might pose political problems for Israel should Jeza come to harm at their hands. Meanwhile, the IDF-specifically, my former Department of Intelligence Operations-would identify the sects and conspiracies that best fit our purposes. Ideally, those with Arabic origins. Once we selected the appropriate conspiracies, it was simply a matter of allowing one to succeed. Indeed, there were many ingenious plots uncovered.”
“I assume that's why you were so accommodating in allowing Jeza's Good Friday sermon-to facilitate an assassination attempt?”
“Exactly,” Lazzlo admitted. “Even to the point of providing a blast shield and an evacuation helicopter so it would appear we had done everything reasonable to protect the Messiah. Good-faith efforts to reduce any internal or international recriminations.”
“You knew”-Feldman was restraining himself, but the veins in his neck betrayed his anger-”that a professional sniper would have no problem striking Jeza when she finally emerged from behind the screen. That's why you were so careful to keep the media off the stage and to clear the rooftops for him.”
“And to enlist you and Mr. Hunter as witnesses,” Lazzlo added.
Feldman was stunned at this revelation. “We were a part of the plot?” he blurted out, incredulously.
The shame in Lazzlo's face was apparent. “We went to the additional length of having the assassin furnished with a WNN jacket so you couldn't possibly miss him. We knew when and at what gate he would be entering the Old City. When he presented his falsified credentials, he was informed that it was mandatory that he wear a media identification jacket and we supplied him with one of WNN's. He was even escorted to his position directly in front of you to ensure he'd be completely conspicuous.”
“So the gunman was a Muslim Gog?” Feldman wanted to know.
“No,” Lazzlo said “Although at first we were concentrating on several Arab extremist groups, in the final analysis, we settled on a Mafia operation.”
“Mafia?” Feldman was puzzled.
“Yes. One of the plots we uncovered had direct Mafia ties. Probably a reprisal for Jeza's Secret Archives revelations about the Vatican-Finia C.C. scandal. At any rate, the Mafia's scheme proved simpler and more ingenious than any of the others. The camera-rifle was perfect. And we were able to assemble an extensive file on the sniper-a man with a record of success and a reputation for sharpshooting accuracy. His MO was always to fire several rounds to the upper torso in rapid succession, resulting in fatal wounds to the heart and lungs. That was perfect for our purposes because, of course, Tamin and Goene did not want the neurochips damaged, if at all possible.”
“And you wanted us to witness, if not record, all of this so that the gunman could be arrested, identified and convicted,” Feldman concluded for Lazzlo. “With an obvious trail and documented Mafia ties, the IDF would be entirely in the clear.”
“Precisely. Security personnel were positioned to arrest the assassin in short order. We had all his escape routes cut off. However, you nearly upset our plan single-handedly, Mr. Feldman. No one anticipated your inhuman leaping abilities. If that first shot had not been perfect-”
Lazzlo paused and his face clouded as darkly as those of his companions.
Feldman had heard enough. Not bothering to mask his anguish and disgust, he rose stiffly to his feet. “I'd like to see Jeza, one last time,” he requested.
“Certainly,” Lazzlo allowed. “But I must caution you, we do not have much time. Immediately afterward, if you will bear with me, we have just a few more things of some importance to discuss.”
Feldman agreed.
