or end debate prior to a vote. Perhaps the single greatest power held by the Alternates, though it was seldom used, was the right to address the Security Council at any time on behalf of the agency they chaired if they felt the circumstances warranted, even if it meant interrupting other proceedings. Moore's agency was the World Peace Organization, which included the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Lebanon, the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan, and the U.N.'s other ground, air, and naval peacekeeping forces. In the past, the position had been one of considerable prestige and power, but since there had been no major wars for nearly five years, it proved to be of little consequence to a man as ambitious as Moore. Unfortunately for Hansen, this left Moore with plenty of time to pursue other goals, including lobbying other members against Hansen's positions. So far, Moore had been unable to mount any sizable opposition to Hansen in either the Security Council or the General Assembly, but if he succeeded in putting together a coalition of the farming nations to oppose the agricultural distribution measures, he could make real trouble.
'It seems that there should be some way to handle this guy other than just ignoring him while he goes on sniping at me,' Hansen said.
'Perhaps you could convince the French president to replace him with someone more agreeable. That worked a few years back with the ambassador from Mexico,' Decker offered.
'Yeah, and with the Ambassador from Mali,' Hansen added.
'Oh? I didn't know that we were involved in that.'
'Well, actually I had Jack Redmond handle that one for me.' Decker made a mental note of this fact for what it might be worth in the future. 'The problem,' Hansen continued, 'is that Moore is far too popular among the French people to be so easily deposed.'
'What about Ambassador Heineman?' Decker asked, referring to the Ambassador from Germany who represented Europe as Primary on the Security Council and who was loyal to Hansen. As the Primary from Europe, Heineman carried considerable clout with the nations in his region, including France.
'I think Ambassador Heineman is well aware of my feelings about Moore, but I suppose I could take advantage of our trip to Pakistan this weekend to approach him directly on the matter.' As the representative from one of the major food-producing regions, Heineman was one of the three Security Council members accompanying Hansen on his visit to Pakistan.
'Maybe Jack could come up with something that Ambassador Heineman could use to convince Moore to see things your way,' Decker suggested.
'Find a weak spot and then apply a little pressure, you mean?'
'Yes, sir. And Jack is the best person I know to find out what and where those weak spots are.'
Secretary-General Hansen liked the idea. 'Take that up with Jack when you see him in Rome,' Hansen said.
Monday, July 1, 2019 – Rome
Decker's plane from Frankfurt arrived the next morning at the Leonardo da Vinci Airport in Fiumicino, just southwest of Rome. Having been warned about pickpockets and luggage thieves in and around Rome, Decker held tightly to his briefcase and carry-on luggage as he scanned the crowd for any sign of Christopher Goodman, who was to meet him there. As Director of Public Affairs for the United Nations, Decker had access to all of the U.N.'s small fleet of private jets, but whenever possible he chose to fly on commercial aircraft. 'Much safer,' he told anyone who asked.
From behind a group of Italian businessmen Decker saw a hand waving and then Christopher emerged and hurried toward him. 'Welcome to Rome,' Christopher said as he gave Decker a hug. 'How was your trip?'
'Fine. Fine.'
'Do you have luggage?'
'Just this,' Decker answered, lifting his briefcase and a large piece of carry-on luggage from his side.
'Great. We can get started on your tour of Rome right away. You've never been to Rome before, have you?'
'No. The closest I came was in '78 when I was in Turin and Milan.'
'Well, I think you're really going to like it.'
'I have no doubt of that.'
As they moved through the crowds to the exit, Decker noticed that several people seemed to be pointing at them, and as they waited on the curb for the limo, several cars nearly collided when a very attractive young woman suddenly stopped her car to stare at them. Christopher ignored the woman's curious gape but Decker couldn't help but remark. 'I think she thought she knew you,' he told Christopher, as they got in the limo.
'Shall we start with the Colosseum?' Christopher asked, taking no notice of Decker's comment. 'I'm afraid all the museums are closed on Monday except the Vatican, but there's still more than enough to see to fill the rest of the day.
'Roma, non basta una vita!' Decker answered in Italian, meaning 'For Rome, one life is not enough.'
'I didn't know you knew Italian,' Christopher remarked.
'You just heard every word I know,' Decker confessed. 'The stewardess taught it to me.' Christopher smiled. Answering his earlier question, Decker added, 'Whatever you say. You're the tour guide. There is one thing I want to see that may not be on the usual list of must-see places.'
'What's that?' asked Christopher.
'The Arch of Titus.'
'Oh sure. It's at the Forum, near the Colosseum. We can start there if you like.'
'Great,' Decker said. 'Actually, I think you'll find it more interesting than you realize.'
The Triumphal Arch of Titus rose imposingly against the backdrop of the Colosseum, barely scarred by the twenty centuries that had passed since it was constructed to commemorate the successful campaign against Jerusalem by Titus. Decker scanned the carved images in the arch and quickly found what he was looking for. 'Here it is,' he said. Christopher looked at the carving over Decker's shoulder. The scene depicted the spoils of war being taken from the conquered city of Jerusalem.
'Okay. Now will you tell me what this is all about?' 'Sure,' answered Decker. 'I don't know if I ever mentioned Joshua Rosen to you.' Christopher's face gave no indication that he recognized the name. 'Well, he was a man, a scientist actually, whom I knew years ago. We met on the Turin expedition.' Christopher's ears perked up. 'Later he moved to Israel and I did a story on him. Anyway, when Tom Donafin and I were in Israel, just before we were taken hostage, Joshua Rosen gave us a tour of some of the sites in Jerusalem, one of which was the Wailing Wall – that's what they used to call the western wall of the old Jewish temple before the Palestinians blew it up and the Jews built the new Temple.' Christopher nodded, indicating his familiarity with the recent history of the Jewish Temple. 'Well, while we were there, Joshua told us about the Ark of the Covenant and gave his theory on what had happened to it. I'll have to tell you all about it some time. But anyway, the point of the story is that he told us about the Arch of Titus and this carving. Titus was the commander of the Roman forces that pillaged and destroyed Jerusalem in 70 A.D.'
'Yes, I know. I prophesied that before the crucifixion,' interjected Christopher.
'You never told me you remembered that!'
'Don't get too excited,' Christopher answered. 'I don't remember it. I read about it in the Bible.'
'Oh,' said Decker. 'Well, anyway, as you can see, the carving is intricately detailed. Despite its age, you can clearly make out the items being taken from Jerusalem.' Christopher looked more closely.
'Yeah, I see that. It's really well preserved.'
Christopher didn't seem to be getting the point. 'Don't you see?' Decker asked. 'The Ark of the Covenant is not among the treasures shown in the carving.'
'I'm sorry, Decker. I don't get it. So what?'
Decker suddenly realized that there was a lot he had not explained. 'I'm sorry. I guess I need to give you some more details, but the reason for the interest has to do with the Shroud of Turin. Joshua Rosen had a fascinating theory involving the Ark of the Covenant that would explain why the original carbon 14 dating of the Shroud showed it to be only about a thousand years old.' Decker proceeded to tell Christopher the whole story of the Ark as it had been told to him and Tom Donafin by Joshua Rosen.