never have gotten that vital information out to the Knesset.”
“Unfortunately,” Lazzlo recovered his composure, “the lives of many good people have been lost on ad sides.”
“That's very true, Commander.” Feldman found his opening. “And now, don't you think it's time, at last, to close the book on all this senseless tragedy?”
“Yes,” Lazzlo agreed. “That's the reason why I asked you here again. There's one thing more I need you to document before I'm finished. After which, I'm prepared to-to surrender.”
There was a spiritless look about the commander that made Feldman uncomfortable.
“Please, come with me,” Lazzlo directed, and led them once more to the vault room. He stopped, instructed the sentries to stand aside, and then motioned Feldman and Hunter through the large metal door, which was standing ajar.
Peering into the dimness of the vault, his heart palpitating, Feldman was not entirely surprised to find the room empty. Jeza's body was gone. There was nothing inside but the table upon which she had lain and the sheets that had covered her.
Feeling short of breath, Feldman stepped back out of the room and searched the commander's face carefully with his eyes. “Where is she?” he asked in an uncertain voice.
“I don't know,” Lazzlo replied softly. “We've checked the hospital, thoroughly. She's not here.”
“Did anyone witness her Resurrection?” Hunter asked. “Or actually see her alive?”
“No,” Lazzlo admitted. “No one was present when it happened, and no one's actually seen Her. This time, unfortunately, I haven't any conclusive evidence. But I do have something rather interesting to show you.” He pointed up to the corners of the ceiling where two security cameras watched with unblinking eyes.
Feldman's eyebrows arched with aroused interest.
They returned to Lazzlo's office where two video monitors were set up.
“I have for you the two separate views from each of the security cameras in the room,” Lazzlo explained and started both tapes. Two pictures of a draped female form dissolved up in surreal black and white-the same image from opposite angles, one on each monitor.
“You'll notice,” Lazzlo pointed to the lower left corner of the two screens, “each tape has a date and time code so that you can tell exactly when events occur.”
The date and time showed “4.23.00, 3:17:24.”
Lazzlo then advanced both tapes together and the time jumped rapidly ahead. He slowed the speed to normal at 5:14:30, advising, “Now, watch closely.”
At exactly 5:14:54, there was a brilliant flash in the room, blinding the cameras and creating a lasting white- out on the screen. Meanwhile, the time clock ticked slowly onward. Finally, at 5:15:46, the camera lenses cleared and a normal picture resumed. Only the image had changed. The sheets on the table were thrown back, the door was ajar, Jeza was gone.
“Is there any audio with this?” Feldman inquired.
“No,” Lazzlo replied. “These are standard security cameras.”
Lazzlo replayed the tapes, slowing the motion to further emphasize the last frame before the image was obliterated by the light “From this angle,” he pointed to one monitor, “you can see the door. You'll note that it appears secured. The flash of light begins
The reporters were well aware of this point.
When the tape had played through again, Feldman shot a questioning look at his partner.
Hunter frowned, shaking his head numbly, “Well, it can't have been a power surge; the time clocks function continually throughout the entire sequence. The disturbance, whatever it was, had to have been some sort of intense light.”
Both Feldman and Hunter fed quiet.
Finally, Feldman broke the silence. “When did you first notice her missing, Commander?”
“Not until about twenty minutes past the hour,” Lazzlo told him. “A wing of the hospital had been breached by the anti-Jeza factions, and we poured all our spare man-power into it, eventually turning them back. I had to pull our guards from the morgue and surrounding halls and evacuate Cardinal Litti to the east wing.
“When my soldiers returned, Jeza's body was gone and the room was just as you saw it. We touched nothing and the guards were immediately reposted in front of the door.”
“Wait a minute!” Hunter interrupted. “If the hospital was penetrated, isn't it possible someone got in here and stole the body?”
“I can't say that it's not possible,” Lazzlo admitted. “But to my knowledge, no one got through our defenses. Even assuming we were penetrated, they would have had to pass our lines one more time to escape. A difficult enough feat without the burden of carrying a body with them. And then, there's still the matter of the disturbance of light in the security tapes.”
“If somebody did get in,” Feldman suggested, “maybe he was able to open the door to Jeza's room an undetectable amount, insert a bright light-”
“Yes, there are other explanations,” Lazzlo broke in, looking at Feldman as if there weren't. “Regardless, I ask that you and your associate document all the evidence you find here before others that come after me destroy or distort the truth, intentionally or otherwise. You have credibility with the public. They'll trust whatever data you collect. I also want you to take possession of the two security tapes.”
“Of course,” Feldman agreed.
While Lazzlo collected the tapes and Hunter took video of the morgue vault, Feldman stepped away into his own space, retracing the events of the past few days. He could not come to grips with the circumstances. Shaking his head, engulfed in the confusion of things profoundly unfathomable, be finally tabled his thoughts and returned to the situation at hand.
“Commander,” he said, accepting the tapes from Lazzlo, “what can we do to assist you in your negotiations with the government?”
Lazzlo regarded Feldman with a rueful smile of resignation. “There's nothing more you can do for me now, my friend. My fate's already decided. I must face the consequences of my actions.” He sighed heavily. “It no longer matters. I was too late to ask for the Messiah's absolution. The authorities can do what they wish with my mortal body, it's a higher authority that concerns me.”
“I guess you know that Tamin and Goene have disappeared?” Feldman mentioned.
“They haven't disappeared,” Lazzlo stated matter-of-factly. “The administration just doesn't know where to look for them.”
“And you do?” Hunter stopped his videotaping and walked over to Lazzlo.
“I have a very good idea. Goene and Tamin have likely headed to the southern Negev. Goene knows that territory extremely well and he has access to military caches of vehicles and supplies stockpiled in the desert. They'll abandon their helicopter and try a land escape into Egypt tonight, after which they'll have no difficulty smuggling themselves to France or Spain.”
“Goddammit,” Hunter barked, slamming the desk with his palm, his face red with insistence. “I'm not about to let those two bastards get away scot-free! I want you to show me on a map exactly where they are, Commander.”
“It may be over for you, pal, but it sure as hell ain't over for me!” He locked adamant eyes on his partner. “I'm trading the commander's info to the Israelis for a seat on the bus. I'm gonna be there when they bring those sons of bitches down!”
Feldman returned the cameraman's gaze, frowning. In ad their time together, he'd never seen Hunter so unrelentingly hate-filled. So unwaveringly resolute. After a long pause, Feldman sighed and turned to Lazzlo. “Commander, do you still want me to assist with negotiations for the transfer of power here?” He purposefully avoided the term “surrender.”
“I trust no one else.”
Feldman turned back to the stubborn cameraman, shaking his head. “I've got a bad feeling about this, Breck.” He sighed again. “Okay, pack up your camera, we're heading for the Negev.”
