'Yes, but one that may let destiny slip past unanswered, and ignore an opportunity that would restore Russia to its rightful place as a world power.'
'You speak of opportunity. But there is no such opportunity unless your General Serov is successful in regaining control of the Israeli strategic defense.'
'True enough,' Khromchenkov admitted. 'If he does not, then the alternate recommendation will not be made and there is nothing lost. And yet, if he does succeed… we must be ready to act.'
Cherov considered Khromchenkov's comment. 'I will think on it,' he said finally.
Tel Aviv (11:40 a.m. Israel/Moscow, 4:40 a.m. New York)
In the Off-Site Facility the members of Colonel White's team took turns sleeping. It might be days or even weeks before they would see the outside again. Joel was munching on a bag of Tapu potato chips in front of a computer console, and Scott had just stretched out on a cot to rest when something unexpected happened.
'What the hell?' Joel said under his breath. 'Colonel White,' he called, requesting the team leader's presence.
Colonel White downed the rest of a cup of coffee and walked over to where Joel was sitting. 'What's up?' he asked.
Joel moved closer to the console and was studying the computer monitor. 'A bad reading, I hope. The master icon for the defense grid just went red.'
Colonel White took one look and didn't like what he saw. 'Danny, get over here quick,' he yelled to one of the two female members of the team.
Danielle Metzger was the one person, other than White, with the most experience in the Off-Site Facility, but unlike the Colonel her work had all been hands-on. She knew the facility inside and out. 'SHIT!!' she yelled, in uncharacteristic fashion. The noise woke the three team members who were sleeping. 'Quick,' Metzger shouted, taking command of the situation, 'everybody, we've got a problem!!'
'Tell me what's going on,' White ordered.
'We've lost control,' Metzger responded, as she ran a series of diagnostics to be sure that the readings were correct.
'What the hell happened?' several voices said at once.
Danielle continued working, madly trying to reestablish control. 'Damn!' she said, finally, realizing this was not simply a faulty reading. 'Colonel, it appears that somehow the Russians have taken control of all defensive capabilities.'
'Can we get them back?' he asked, terrified of what her answer might be.
'I don't know, sir. I… '
'Wait a second,' Joel interrupted. 'We still have control of our offensive forces. How could we lose one but not the other? Could this just be an aberration in the system?'
Like the others, Scott Rosen was studying the situation, trying to get some idea of what went wrong and what could be done to correct it. It was he who answered Joel's question. 'It's not an aberration,' he replied. 'I can't explain how they did it but I can explain what they've done. The fibre optics used for communication between the various sites in the offensive and defensive systems go through both the Strategic Defense Control Facility and the Off-Site Facility. For logistics reasons, control communications of missile silos go first through this facility and then to the SDCF; defensive control communications go first through the SDCF and then to this facility.'
'Damn!' Joel said. 'What damn fool decided to do that?!'
'Dr. Brown,' answered Danielle Metzger. 'But he couldn't have predicted that we'd ever be in a situation like this,' she continued, becoming a little defensive on behalf of the late doctor who had been her mentor.
Scott continued his explanation. 'Somehow they must have discovered that Sensor Facility 14 was a counterfeit facility and traced its input/output cables
'So can we get control back or not?' Colonel White asked, reasserting his authority. There was a long silent pause.
'I don't think so,' Scott answered finally. 'I think they may have cut the cables.'
In all the confusion and disarray, no one noticed the faint sound of the radio in the background as it monitored the continuous loop of the words of the prophet Joel. Nor did they notice at first when the loop abruptly stopped and was replaced by another voice. It was the low, rich, and measured voice of Rabbi Saul Cohen. As the room fell silent for a moment, the familiar voice registered in Joel Felsberg's ears. At first he ignored it, but then suddenly he recognized it. 'That's my sister's rabbi,' he announced, surprising the others, who were trying to figure a way out of the present predicament. 'What's going on up there? Why have they shut off the loop?' he asked as he turned the sound up enough to be heard clearly.
'Cohen? That son of a bitch!' Scott Rosen said, temporarily distracted from the more pressing subject at hand by his intense hatred for the rabbi. Scott was only too familiar with Cohen's powerful voice. Once, when he stayed overnight at his parents' house, Scott was awakened in the morning by that same voice as it joined with his parents and a few others in singing songs proclaiming Yeshua (Jesus) as the Jewish Messiah. It took all the forbearance he could muster to refrain from going into the kitchen and slugging the rabbi, and still he would have, had it not been for his mother, Liana Rosen. It was one thing for individual citizens of Israel like his parents to believe in Yeshua, but it was something else altogether for a rabbi, an Hasidic rabbi at that, to believe it. More recently – before their deaths in the Disaster – Scott's parents had spent every spare moment with Cohen on some mysterious project. Several times Joshua, Liana, and Cohen had disappeared for weeks, leaving only a note to indicate their expected date of return.
'All the earth has seen what has been done here today,' Cohen said over the radio. 'But you, oh Israel, have not glorified God. Instead you have congratulated yourselves for destroying your enemy. You have glorified yourself and now you have falsely used the words of the prophet Joel to suit your own needs. 'These words must not be used as a rallying cry for my people,' says the Lord. These are the words of the son of Satan, who will rally his evil forces to destroy you in the day of the Lord that is coming. Nevertheless, the Lord, your God is a patient and merciful God. Hear now the words of the prophet Ezekiel for the enemy of my people Israel:
I will execute judgment upon him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and his troops and on the many nations with him… On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the nations with you. I will give you as food to all kinds of carrion birds and wild animals.
You will fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord… and they will know that I am theLordP
'Today, oh Israel, today you shall behold the power and wrath of God! Here, oh Israel, is your true battle cry. 'Behold the hand of God! Behold the hand of God!''
New York (4:55 a.m. New York, 11:55 a.m. Israel/Moscow)
Even in his sleep, Decker's mind was filled with the events of the day. Suddenly he was awakened as a scream of pure terror erupted from Christopher's room. Decker found the boy covered in sweat and trembling in fear. 'What's wrong?!' Decker shouted, his own heart racing to match Christopher's.
Christopher sat up straight in bed and seemed unsure of his surroundings. As he looked around, the disorientation was slow to leave him. Finally, Decker saw a look of recognition in his eyes.
'I'm sorry,' Christopher said. 'I'm okay now. It was… just a dream.' Decker had been a father long enough to recognize when a child was attempting to be brave. Christopher was visibly shaken and Decker wasn't about to just leave him alone.
'Was it the crucifixion dream again?' Decker asked.
'No, no,' Christopher answered. 'Nothing like that.'
'Well, why don't you tell me about it.'
Christopher seemed a little reluctant but Decker insisted. 'It was really just a dumb dream,' Christopher said, apologetically. 'I've had the same dream before.' Decker didn't budge. 'Okay,' Christopher said, giving in to Decker's insistence. 'The dream has a weird feeling about it. It seems almost ancient, but at the same time it's clear and fresh. When the dream starts, I'm in a room with huge curtains hanging all around me. The curtains are
