The Secret Chapel

leaders. Crossing the other names was one word: chosen.

Leo had to physically steady himself. Morelli had specifically told Leo that he had been named in the Bible code as a leader, but here for the first time, he saw his name actually encoded in God’s book. Lev turned to him and clasped the priest on the shoulder.

“You can’t get much more specific than that, Father.”

“What does the phrase ‘they will give it to God’ mean?” Ariella asked.

“I believe it means that five who will enter Satan’s domain will be tasked by God to actually take something that belongs to the Devil and give it to God,” Lev said.

“How do you go about giving something to God?” Moshe asked. The others nodded in his direction, everyone thinking the same thing.

John felt a chill run up his spine. “And how do you take something from Satan? It seems like every time we find an answer, another question pops up.”

Like the humidity from the sea air that flowed through the windows upstairs and crept down the stairway to mix with the cool, air-conditioned environment of the command center, an uneasy silence descended on the group.

Lev put his hand on John’s shoulder. “We still have a lot of sorting out to do. I think this would be a good time to settle down and try to find some more answers. One thing I know for sure; soon we will be heading out into the wilderness of the Negev Desert.”

Chapter 16

Leo awoke with a start. He had been dreaming. In the dream, he had seen a dark storm coming over the desert, and the word chosen echoed through his mind. He looked around at the stark white walls of the room in an effort to get his bearings before lifting himself up to see the ocean through the open shutters of the bedroom window. He was on the coast of Israel. He was in Lev’s villa. Memories of the events of the past few days were coming back to him as the fog of a long sleep began to clear. What would today bring?

Moving slowly, Leo headed straight for the shower and adjusted the water as hot as he could stand it. He placed himself directly under the spray while the green-tinted glass doors fogged up around him. His taut muscles relaxed, and he could feel the pores in his skin begin to pop open.

A knock at the door interrupted the state of pure bliss he was feeling under the pounding stream.

“I’m in the shower.”

The door opened. “I know,” John said. “I could hear it outside. It’s really steamy in here.”

“You’re starting to test my patience. I take back everything nice I said about you.”

“You’ve been saying nice things about me?”

“Not anymore.”

“Everyone’s at breakfast, and Lev wants to speak with you. I’ll meet you downstairs.”

Leo finished lathering up and let the steaming water rinse the soap from his body. When he finally felt half way alive, he stepped out onto the moist tiles of the bathroom floor and grabbed a towel.

Another knock at the door. This is ridiculous. “What?”

Lev’s voice echoed from the other side of the door. “Just throw your swimming trunks on, Father. We can swim a few laps together before breakfast. We’ll eat outside by the pool.”

Do they always eat outside here at the villa? “I’ll be right down.” Swimming a few laps actually appealed to the priest. He usually worked out daily, but exercise had fallen to the bottom of his priority list over the past week.

Walking out into the sunshine, Leo stood at the edge of the pool before diving in and swimming down over the bottom. The cool water felt good against his skin in contrast to the hot water of the shower. He felt invigorated as he surfaced and began to swim the length of the pool. The rhythmic strokes increased his heart rate, causing the tension to melt away as the endorphins kicked in. Lev was still slogging away in the next lane when Leo finished his brief but fast-paced workout and climbed from the water. Drying his hair, he joined John at the outdoor bar and helped himself to some eggs and orange juice.

John spread some cherry preserves on his toast and asked the cook for some more coffee. “This place is like a resort. I could get used to living here.”

Leo nodded in agreement. “Lev wasn’t kidding when he said he lived comfortably. I wanted to speak with you before we talk to him this morning, John.”

“What’s up?”

“I think we need to leave for the desert soon, today if possible. I have a feeling there is a time element to all of this. We’ve got to move quickly if we want to locate whatever it is we were sent here to find.”

“I agree. A few more days of this, and we’ll never want to leave.”

Lev bypassed a towel and let the water drip from his body as he left the pool to join Leo and John. “What a great way to start the day. Maybe after we’re finished with our work in the desert, we can all go on holiday together on my yacht.”

John rolled his eyes. “You have a yacht?”

“Technically, it belongs to the company my family left to me.” He laughed and flicked some water off his tan belly. “But I’m the only one who’s allowed to use it.”

Leo raised an eyebrow and fixed Lev with a practiced questioning stare. It was a talent he had acquired through years of listening to student’s excuses as to why their term papers were late. It was becoming obvious that Lev was very wealthy, but Leo could see that most of his money went to taking care of others and trying to do God’s work here on earth. “I thought you said you lived comfortably but not lavishly.”

Lev gave Leo a conspiratorial wink as a staff member walked up and shoved a cup of coffee in his hand. He paused to gaze out over the dunes at the sparkling sea while breathing in the aroma of the coffee and taking his first sip. “Have you two thought about your next move?”

“We were just discussing leaving for the desert as soon as possible,” Leo said. “We have the coordinates provided by the Bible code now, and I think today would be a good time to head out there.”

“You’re probably right. I was going to talk to you about how you wanted to proceed. Might as well just jump in and go for it. If you don’t mind, I’d like some of my people to go with you. This is still a dangerous country, and running around out in the desert without backup is a recipe for disaster.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Leo said. The realization that he had no idea about how to proceed was slowly dawning on him. “What do you have in mind?”

“We talked among ourselves last night after you went to bed. What we’re actually doing here is attempting to mount a major archaeological project in a matter of days. We’re going to need all the help we can get. Whatever is out there in the desert won’t reveal itself easily. I’m sending Alon and Ariella with you, along with some staff members from the villa as support personnel. That should get you started while I finish getting the rest of the expedition together here and join up with you in a few days.”

Leo finished his juice and set his glass down on the bar. “That’s more than generous, Lev. Father Morelli knew what he was doing when he sent us to you. Is there anything John and I can do to get things rolling?”

“You can grab some of those pastries over there. The vehicles are already out front waiting for you.”

John threw a look of surprise in Lev’s direction. “Wow, you don’t waste any time, Professor.”

Leo climbed off the bar stool and smiled at Lev. “Why do you always seem to be one step ahead of us?”

“My motives are not entirely selfless, Father. I’m just as interested as you are to see what’s out there. It’s going to take all of us working together to see this through. Go get ready, and I’ll meet you out front.”

After dressing and grabbing their backpacks, Leo and John stepped through the large front doors of the villa to the sight of several sand-colored vehicles of various shapes and sizes. A new Land Rover was at the head of the convoy, followed by two large four-wheel-drive military-looking trucks and a large out-of-place-looking vehicle that resembled a motor home. Lev was busy consulting with Alon and Ariella next to the strange looking vehicle, while staff members from the villa loaded boxes of equipment into the trucks.

Leo walked over to the motor home and admired the polished silver exterior before peering up the stairwell