The Last Day

Goene wasn't ready to concede his position. “Lazzlo, you saw the broadcast. The woman on that stage spoke a dozen foreign languages. Fluently. With perfect accents. How could someone born yesterday, quite literally, accomplish such a feat?”

Lazzlo leveled his gaze at Goene and replied in an even voice. “Easily. If the infusion process was successful.”

There was a dead stillness, and then Zerim folded his hands, placed them on the table in front of him and bowed his head. “Alleza. Ben. Did either of you see anything in those containment vessels that would rule out the possibility that this Messiah might be one of the test subjects?”

Goene looked long and hard at David Lazzlo. “No,” he said softly.

And Benjamin Roth concurred.

“Then we have no choice,” Zerim declared. “As soon as it can be arranged, I want this Messiah person located and discreetly transported to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem for immediate X-ray. Alleza, you take charge of this operation and make damn sure it's carried out in absolute secrecy. Obviously, with all the media attention and publicity this woman is receiving, you must take great pains to acquire her quietly. If you find she's one of the enhanced subjects, you will hold her in confinement until further directions from Defense Minister Tamin.”

A tired Mosha Zerim pushed back his chair and rose. The others rose with him.

“You can rely on me,” Goene answered.

Zerim took some relief in knowing that there was no more efficient or capable a soldier.

“One more thing, Mosha.” Benjamin Roth raised a last, disturbing issue. “If this Messiah does prove to be one of our enhanced subjects, she carries the only Leveque neurochips in existence. The technology is priceless, to say the least. Recovering the microchips would help offset some of the staggering toll we're suffering from the loss of the institute.”

Zerim acknowledged the point and they filed out of the room.

The last to leave, Lazzlo placed his hand on the shoulder of Benjamin Roth in front of him and the older officer turned. “Tell me, Benjamin,” Lazzlo asked. “Can these microchips be removed without seriously injuring or killing their host?”

Roth stared into the earnest eyes of his subordinate. “I don't know, David.” His face grew troubled. “I honestly don't know.”

36

WNN headquarters, Jerusalem, Israel 9:46 A.M., Tuesday, January 11, 2000

A disgruntled former Samaritan underling named Thomas Brannan contacted Feldman's office with privileged information to offer. A good piece of intelligence these days would quickly go to the highest bidder, and WNN had cultivated a reputation for top dollar, promptly paid. But surprisingly, in this instance, the ill-at-ease, disheveled Samaritan that Feldman confronted wasn't interested in money. This was a moral issue with him.

“It's all a sham, Mr. Feldman,” the anguished man cried. “The Messiah's gone.”

Feldman was stunned.

“She's been gone since the Friday after Her sermon. They had Her locked in a room, kept away from everyone. No windows, always guarded. And then they go in Friday morning to give Her breakfast and She's disappeared. Not a trace. They don't know how She got out. The security camera shows She didn't come through the door. I think She was brokenhearted at all the greed and evil, Mr. Feldman. I think She just gave up on all of us and went back to heaven.”

“Tell me, Mr. Brannan,” Feldman asked, “did you spend any time with the Messiah? Talk with her? Get to know her at all? What's she like?”

The man looked up and his eyes seemed to enter another world. “Oh, Mr. Feldman, She was wonderful. Incredible. No two ways about it, She was divine. Heavenly! But no, I didn't get to talk with Her or even see Her much-mostly just in passin’ as they took Her here and there. But She was so beautiful. Her skin just glowed. Mostly, though, it was what She did when She looked at you!

“This one time, the most special one, I really got close to Her. She was bein’ brought down the hall to the van for Her Sermon at the Mount, and I saw Her comin’ and I knelt down and She looked over at me as She passed by, and She looked right through me, Mr. Feldman. Her eyes bore straight into my heart and She laid open my soul, wide and naked and defenseless. And in that split second, She purged me clean, I swear to God. I was tremblin’ and weak and scared and full of bliss, all at the same time.

“After She disappeared, they tried to cover things up. They said not to tell anyone. That She'd come back. That She'd told Reverend Fischer to carry on for Her. And then they changed that story and said She was still here, but invisible, and only the Reverend was worthy enough to see Her. I'm just so afraid I won't see Her again. I swear, I'd soon die to be with Her if She's gone back to heaven. I'd soon die!”

“Mr. Brannan, what can you tell me about the Messiah video that was taped the night of the earthquake? Were you there? Is it genuine?”

“Yes sir, I was there. But I didn't see who took the video, and I didn't even see the Messiah. I was back in the crowd under an awning just tryin’ to survive the storm, you know? But I seen the video, and it looks exactly like what was goin’ on there. And I can tell you, I was standin’ on those old temple steps earlier in the day with my friends, and there was no crack in the ground then. I felt the earthquake and I felt the lightning. The next day when I come back, there's the crack runnin’ from the well to the top of the steps. It was real, all right.”

“Where was Reverend Fischer when all this was going on?”

“The Reverend Fischer wasn't even in Bethlehem at the time, Mr. Feldman. He was stayin’ in a hotel suite in Jerusalem, watchin’ you on TV. ‘Cause the phone lines were out, they had to come up and get him the next day to tell him what was goin’ on. That's when the video turned up and Reverend Fischer moved his things down to the Star Hotel.”

“So he knew about the video before we aired it?”

“Oh yes. We all saw it, but the Reverend kept control of it.”

“Do you have any idea where WNN's copy came from?”

“No sir.”

“Wasn't the Reverend upset when he saw our bootleg copy?”

“I really don't know. Nothin’ much was ever said about it, as I recall.”

Feldman had video statements taken and Thomas Brannan departed with what appeared to be a somewhat lighter heart. Feldman felt a little stirring in his heart, as well. Perhaps when these new revelations hit the air, the Reverend Fischer might finally be provoked into a long-overdue interview.

37

WNN headquarters, Jerusalem, Israel 1:17 P.M., Thursday, January 13, 2000

Once Feldman broke his story on the Messiah's escape from the Samaritans, reports of Messiah sightings began popping up all over Israel. In Nazareth at a synagogue. In Cana at a wedding. On the Sea of Galilee — walking on the water, to be sure. Sometimes appearing in more than one location at the same time. It was said that the Messiah would surface somewhere, preach to a small gathering until it became a large gathering, and then simply disappear again. Only to resurface somewhere else.

And everywhere, miracles. Lots of miracles. Sight restored, lameness cured, sins forgiven. Feldman put little stock in any of this. Most of the incidents he'd investigated proved considerably less than credible.

“Hey, Hunter, maybe she could give you a brain,” Cissy sneered across the table during the morning meeting.