getting the Ark out of Malta,’ she hissed in his ear.
‘I suspect you’re right.’
‘The harlot is right,’ MacFarlane said, overhearing the exchange. ‘Not only is my mission ordained by the Almighty, but God is acting through me. How else do you explain that after three thousand years the Ark of the Covenant has been reclaimed?’ His eyes sparkling with an inner fire, he smiled, confirming C?dmon’s suspicions that Stanford MacFarlane was quite mad, the man suffering from a full-blown messiah complex.
‘Yeah, well, I wouldn’t be measuring for the drapes just yet,’ Edie taunted. ‘If you think for one second that the good, sane, decent people of the world will stand by and let you and your misguided followers start the next world war, think again.’
‘God spoke through the prophet Ezekiel, his will made known to mankind. I will see to it that his orders are carried out.’
‘There is no greater sacrilege than to take upon one’s shoulders the mantle of God,’ C?dmon said quietly. ‘Men like you not only diminish the human spirit, you diminish the very nature of God.’
‘Soon enough you and your whore will learn what comes of sleeping with the devil,’ MacFarlane retorted. Then, pointing an accusing finger, ‘“But evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” Gallagher, take them away!’
A bald-headed underling, automatic pistol held capably in his right hand, stepped towards them.
‘At least we bought ourselves a little bit of time,’ Edie whispered.
C?dmon glanced at the lights in the bay. ‘Yes, but what of the rest of the world? For them the doomsday clock still ticks.’
89
‘ “… if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity.”’ As he spoke, Gallagher motioned Edie and C?dmon to take a seat on a nearby slab of limestone.
C?dmon plonked down on the raised stone. ‘I’ve had enough apocalyptic rambling to last a lifetime.’
Wordlessly, Edie sat next to him, while approximately a hundred yards away she could see MacFarlane and his crew piling into the military-style truck. The same truck into which they’d earlier loaded the Ark of the Covenant. She assumed the plan was to drive the truck to the shore and then transport the Ark out to the yacht via a small boat.
From there it would be plain sailing. All the way to Israel.
That thought enraged and terrified her all at once. But it was an impotent rage. And an equally impotent fear. There was nothing she or C?dmon could do to stop the ancient prophecies from being fulfilled. With the End Times hanging over them, the voice of reason had become eerily silent. Instead, she’d reverted to being the terrified child who had feared the death and destruction that was part and parcel of God’s wrath.
‘C?dmon, I’m afraid. I don’t want it to end. Not the world. Not any of it,’ she murmured lamely, unable to put her feelings into words. At least not words that made any sense.
He placed an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to him. ‘As the Irish are fond of saying, “At least we had the day.”’ Edie guessed that he was speaking of their lovemaking onboard the ferry.
Knowing they didn’t have much time, she took her fill of him. The thick red hair. The lean rangy physique. The beautiful blue eyes. The relationship over before it ever began.
‘I’ve given it a lot of thought and I’ve decided that it’s more than mere physical lust,’ she informed him, speaking in a low whisper.
‘Do I detect a deathbed confession?’
‘You know, gallows humour has always eluded me.’
‘Then perhaps we need to get off the scaffold and shine some light.’
‘Yeah, but —’ She stopped, suddenly realizing what C?dmon was alluding to.
C?dmon had said that it could temporarily blind a man.
Edie surreptitiously placed her hand over her jacket pocket. The pen-like device was still there. In all of the pandemonium no one had thought to search her for weapons.
‘Be ready,’ she whispered in a hushed voice, certain that when the time came C?dmon would know what to do.
A few seconds later Gallagher reached into his breast pocket and removed a crumpled pack of Marlboros. Next he patted the front of his cargo pants, searching for a match. Or a lighter. It didn’t much matter but it gave Edie the opportunity to slide her hand into her jacket pocket, all the while praying their captor’s gaze didn’t land on her slow-moving hand.
Her fingers wrapped around the laser. Quickly, she found the small power switch — in the same place where you’d expect to find the clip on a fountain pen. She removed the pen from her pocket.
Gallagher’s head suddenly swivelled in her direction.
‘Hey, bitch! What the hell are you doing?’
‘Bringing you to Jesus!’ she retorted, aiming what she hoped was the ‘business end’ of the laser at Gallagher’s face.
A thin ray of green light immediately stabbed out, hitting Gallagher first in one eye then the other. Instinctively he raised his arm to shield his eyes.
‘Quick! Turn it off!’ C?dmon hissed, snatching her by the forearm to get her attention. The abrupt motion caused the laser beam to shoot heavenwards, making it seem as though the thin green light actually touched the marmalade moon hovering thousands of miles above the earth.
Edie switched it off.
Like a striking viper, C?dmon lunged forward, his right hand whipping out, his fingers wrapping round the barrel of Gallagher’s gun. One quick strong twist and the gun was out of the other man’s grip. The pistol now in his possession, C?dmon used it to bludgeon Gallagher’s bald skull. An instant later, he went limp. Grabbing him by the scruff of the neck, C?dmon unclipped Gallagher’s mobile from his belt and lugged him behind the slab of limestone. Out of sight. Edie scanned the area, terrified that the scuffle, which had lasted only a few seconds, had been observed.
Mercifully, there was no alarm. In the distance MacFarlane’s men continued clambering into the back of the truck.
‘Is he…?’ She jutted her chin at the man sprawled on the other side of the limestone slab.
C?dmon tersely shook his head. ‘But pray the bastard doesn’t wake up any time soon.’
Taking her by the elbow, C?dmon headed towards the truck. Not only did they keep to the shadows, but they kept down, crouching as they moved.
About fifty yards from the truck, C?dmon yanked her behind a scraggy clump of dead vegetation.
‘Our objective, our
‘Do you think we’ve actually got a chance?’
‘So long as our escape goes undetected, their success is not a
‘If they find Gallagher, they’re gonna turn on us like a pack of wolves.’
Still holding her by the chin, C?dmon stared at her. Taking a deep breath, he said, ‘The bloodletting, if it comes, will be extensive. And pitiless.’
90
‘I don’t know about you, sir, but I can’t wait to blow the Dome of the Rock to kingdom come.’ Fully recovered
