orange fly-fishing shirt. His eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep as he twirled the ends of his immense handlebar moustache and scanned the room for any sign of a reluctant participant. Everyone had to perform their part seamlessly or the plan would collapse.
“This will be what we in the military call a multipronged assault,” Moshe began, pointing at the screen. “What this means to a civilian is that many of you will be going in different directions at different times in different vehicles. Our goal here is to create as much confusion as possible for anyone who might be watching us or trying to intercept the Devil’s Bible before Leo and John can deliver it to the Vatican. In order to do this, we will be sending several of you out in groups of two, all heading for Rome. One couple will be racing up the coast in one of the Carmela’s speedboats to the harbor at Fiumicino on the outskirts of Rome, while the others will be in different cars on separate highways heading toward the city. All of you will be carrying a backpack identical to John’s when you leave this boat so that anyone who might be watching won’t know which one of us has the book. It’s a version of the old shell game.”
The group began to experience a hybrid mixture of emotions, a subtle crossover between fear and excitement. Those gathered together in the salon looked at one another in anticipation as Moshe finished his part of the briefing and handed off to Lev.
Wearing his usual khaki shorts and white shirt with the top two buttons undone, Lev rose from his seat and stood barefoot in front of the group. He took a sip from his coffee and paused to clear his throat. “The real Devil’s Bible will, of course, be with John and Leo. They will be departing in the helicopter with Nava before dawn while we are still at sea. The rest of you will leave the boat after we dock and head out from the harbor in rental cars as a diversion. The helicopter will drop Leo and John off in the countryside on the outskirts of Portenza, this village here.” Lev pointed to a map on the screen with a red laser pointer.
“The helicopter will then return to the yacht while Leo and John walk into town and catch the morning train to Rome. Moshe and Alon will drive one of the rental cars to the same village and stand by outside the train station as a backup until Leo and John catch their train. If there are no problems, they will return to the Carmela, where they will board the helicopter and fly to the airport outside Rome with Nava. Moshe and Alon will then take a rented van and drive from the airport to the train station where they will meet Leo and John.”
“Why not just fly Leo and John right to the Vatican?” Ariella asked. The others all shook their heads in agreement and waited for an explanation.
Moshe moved in next to Lev and continued. “This plan requires diversion and confusion in order for it to work. These people are smart, and they probably know we’re in the area. We will be launching the helicopter right before we enter the harbor when the sun is just starting to rise. All of the lights will be turned off to make it look like we are being secretive about it. If they’re watching, they will naturally assume that the helicopter is en route to the Vatican and tell their people watching the highways and train stations to head for Rome. This will provide a window of opportunity for Leo and John to board their train unobserved. Then, after all the cars race away and the helicopter returns to the yacht, they’ll be totally confused.”
“Wow,” John said. “You guys think of everything.”
“Military scenarios are like a big chess game,” Moshe continued. “Every move requires a counter move, and you must be constantly at least five steps ahead of your opponent. Lev and Ariella will remain aboard the Carmela in the operations center to coordinate communications and send help if needed. After we know that Leo and John are safely on the train en route to the city, the yacht will leave the harbor at Maratea and head north to Rome. That will create yet another distraction to anyone watching.”
A young voice spoke up from the back of the room. “Will we be using our cell phones?”
“No cell phones,” Lev said. “Your backpacks will contain secure radios and satellite phones to contact the yacht and stay in touch with each other. It’s important that all of you stay in communication with the yacht as you drive to Rome using different highways. Even though we have ways to track you, we need to have voice communication with you at all times until you meet up with the yacht when she docks at Fiumicino Harbor, about thirty miles west of the city.”
Lev took another sip of coffee and scanned the room. “Are there any more questions?”
No one spoke.
“Ok, then, let’s get going.”
Everyone filed outside to finish their coffee and watch the horizon for the coming of the sun. In the early morning darkness, they could hear the sound of the helicopter’s engines come to life up on the top deck.
John approached Ariella and stood in front of her with his backpack slung over his shoulder. She bit her lip, trying to avoid the tears she knew were close. John saw through the ruse and held her tightly. “Don’t worry. I always feel safe when Leo’s around for some reason. I think it’s safe to say we have God on our side.”
She nodded her head and put on a brave smile as she had done in the past when she bid farewell to others who were leaving on missions to defend those they loved. Kissing her gently on the cheek, John turned away and climbed the exterior stairs to the helipad.
John saw that Leo was already strapped in and climbed onboard with his evil burden. All lights had been extinguished throughout the boat, and Nava had intentionally left the flashing red strobes of the helicopter turned off.
The yacht was now nothing more than a black hole in the sea as the rotor blades spun faster and Nava pulled back on the controls, slowly lifting up and away from the Carmela as the yacht passed beneath them in the darkness below. As soon as the chopper had departed, the captain ordered all the lights switched back on. The Carmela’s outline was now illuminated as she made her turn toward the small harbor situated under tall cliffs that hugged the shore.
On a narrow road that skirted the cliffs above, a small car was parked at a scenic overlook. Two men had been watching the progress of the yacht through binoculars as it moved north along the coast. Earlier, they had seen the lights of the boat suddenly go out, causing them to lose sight of her. Panicking, they scanned the darkness, unable to see anything until their eyes adjusted enough to see the shape of the boat in the dim moonlight. They had watched with curious interest for several minutes until the lights came back on.
They cursed as one of the men dialed a number on his cell phone while the other continued to watch the yacht turn into the channel leading to the harbor. Suddenly, the man observing the yacht shouted and grabbed the shoulder of the man speaking on the cell phone. Looking skyward, he pointed excitedly to the dark, dragonfly-like shape of a helicopter highlighted by the moon as it passed over the coast before disappearing behind the hills.
A row of rental cars reserved by Moshe through a third party in Italy was lined up along the dock next to the Carmela. By now, the glow of the impending sunrise could be seen over the distant hills as the yacht rocked gently against the lines that secured her to the dock. Activity erupted on the boat as two backpack-toting staff members ran out onto the main deck and clamored over the side down some nylon webbing into one of the yacht’s speedboats. The small boat’s powerful motor roared to life before it raced away past the breakwater at the harbor entrance and headed north along the coast toward Rome.
At the same time, four other staff members carrying identical backpacks bolted from the main deck and ran down the gangplank onto the dock. They jumped into two small white rental cars and sped away from the harbor in opposite directions. They were followed by four more backpack-toting members of Lev’s staff who also raced away in white rental cars. They would be taking roads leading away to the east before turning north toward Rome. Then, Daniel and Sarah and Moshe and Alon, all raced away from the harbor in two different cars, heading in two different directions.
A group of curious locals stood along the dock watching with amused stares as the scene unfolded around them. One of them turned to another and wondered aloud why all those people wanted off that boat in such a hurry. They all laughed before turning their attention back to their work of mending torn fishing nets.
As soon as all the vehicles were away, the helicopter returned and circled to land on the helipad. Nava jumped out and purposely left the chopper’s doors open so that anyone watching could see that the helicopter was empty. Now, everyone left onboard the yacht could only wait for Moshe and Alon to call and let them know that Leo and John had made it safely onto the train.
Standing on the cliffs above, the two men watching stood motionless. They were completely dumbfounded by the scene. At least a dozen people had sped away with identical backpacks in identical cars heading in different directions. Then, the helicopter had returned to the yacht with no one onboard except for the pilot.
