chosen witnesses.
His own death had been a bit trickier to choreograph.
Jacob knew that Pierre Borgia was out for revenge and that his own public appearance would flush his quarry into the open. What he didn’t know was that Ennis Chaney was the former secretary of state’s real target, or that Lilith would show up at Manny’s funeral. Fortunately, the nexus had given him a chance to intercept the bullet, his Kevlar nanofiber body armor absorbing the projectile’s impact, the explosive blood bags hidden beneath his jacket fooling everyone, even Rabbi Steinberg and the physician, who were in on the plot.
Even Lilith.
With both twins safely ‘dead,’ Jacob could pursue more advanced training with GOLDEN FLEECE while Manny disappeared into the anonymity he had always yearned for.
Rabbi Steinberg was close to a young couple from his old congregation in Philadelphia. Gene and Sylvia Agler were good people who had never been blessed with children. After several meetings, they agreed to ‘adopt’ Immanuel and adhere to the strict guidelines of the covert arrangement.
GOLDEN FLEECE arranged the falsified birth certificate and school records, their operatives creating a completely fabricated childhood, down to sports awards and home movies. Gene Agler was given a principal’s job in another state, the couple a new home.
The burden was then on Dominique. Having already lost her soul mate, Mick, she was now being asked to break apart the rest of her family.
And so she made the ultimate sacrifice so that Manny could be free.
Hollywood Beach, Florida 9:17 p.m.
Small waves lap relentlessly upon the deserted beach, tickling Samuel Agler’s bare feet. He stares out at the dark ocean, its wave tops illuminated by the reflection of the three-quarter moon.
The sound of the surf soothes his restless soul.
‘Thought I’d find you out here.’
Sam turns to face his surrogate father. Gene Agler is in his late fifties, his curly black hair graying around his ears, his six-foot frame stooping at the shoulders.
‘Mind if I join you?’
Sam pats the sand next to him.
‘You feeling okay?’
‘Guess so.’
‘Everything all right between you and Lauren?’
‘Fine.’ Sam watches a hermit crab scamper up the beach. ‘My real mother… she’s in town. She wants me to travel with her tomorrow.’
‘I know. She called me last week.’
‘Why didn’t you say anything?’
‘Didn’t think it was my place.’
‘It’s not right what she does, waltzing in unannounced, turning my life inside out.’
Gene picks up a fragment of shell and tosses it at an incoming wave. ‘Try to understand, it’s been very hard for her. She’s led a lonely life.’
Sam lies back on his elbows, the sound of surf deadening in his ears. ‘Dad… I’m thinking about quitting football.’
‘Well, now that is a pretty big decision. What brought this on?’
‘My teammates. They think I’m sandbagging it.’
‘Maybe you’ve spoiled them.’
‘Selfish bastards… all they care about is themselves. These guys’re supposed to be my friends.’
‘There are all sorts of friends. Some inoculate us against pain, others walk out the minute there’s trouble. It doesn’t necessarily make them bad people, it just means they were probably never really good friends to begin with.’
Sam gazes at the stars. Says nothing.
‘Are you thinking about turning pro, or are you intending on quitting football altogether?’
‘Quitting, I guess.’ The stars blur. Sam pinches away tears. ‘It’s
… complicated. I… I don’t think I can compete at the same level anymore.’
‘Because of one off game?’
‘Dad, I can’t… I just can’t do it anymore.’
‘Well, you know what? I’m glad.’
‘You are?’
‘Sure. For someone sitting on top of the world, you don’t seem very happy.’
‘They’ll label me a quitter.’
‘Who cares? As long as you know it’s not true.’
‘A lot of people will be very upset.’
‘Yes, the world will certainly be disappointed, but the sun should still rise, and the birds will still sing, so how bad can it be?’
‘I feel like I’m letting everyone down. Maybe I should just suck it up and deal with it?’
‘Maybe it’s time you asked yourself why you’re playing football?’
Sam looks up. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Do you remember Rabbi Steinberg’s sermon on Tikkun Olam and Tikkun Midot?’
‘Not really.’ Sam grins. ‘Sorry. Guess I didn’t make a very good Jew either, huh?’
Gene ignores the remark. ‘ Tikkun Olam means to mend the outside world. Tikkun Midot deals with acts of internal healing. Tikkun Midot is a self-awareness that enables you to reach beyond the natural and instinctive, past the reflexive and knee-jerk responses, in order to refine the soul. It means we have recognized the need to turn our lives in a better direction.’
‘I thought I was going in the right direction.’
‘Success and prosperity doesn’t necessarily equate to living a good life. Something’s obviously bothering you about your future. Whether you choose to play football or not should be your decision, not your peers’. You can’t allow your friends to make their agenda yours. I think Philip Roth expressed it best when he wrote, “The human stain that touches all that we do is inescapable.” Do you understand?’
‘All but that last part.’
‘What Roth was saying is that placing great faith in human beings is not only impossible, it’s downright foolish. Everything we touch as humans is stained. Roth saw modern man falling into the same rut as Abraham- creating and serving lesser gods-false idols that neither redeem nor save us.’
‘What does any of that have to do with me?’
‘Think about it, Samuel. Look at what you’ve become. You were born the false idol, a mythical twin worshiped by the masses. You successfully escaped to a different identity, but like some insecure Hollywood actor, you still covet the spotlight. It’s like you’re afraid to let go, afraid to disappoint. None of this attention is real, son. Fame is fleeting. The only thing that counts is what’s on the inside.’
Gene looks up at the moon. ‘You know, I’ll never forget the night you and your brother were born. Such a crazy time. Sylvia and I watched the whole thing on TV. There must have been ten thousand people surrounding the hospital. Rabbi Steinberg told me the air literally seemed charged with electricity. And everyone inside-the doctors and nurses, President Chaney, all those nosey reporters and the armed guards-all were anticipating this wondrous miracle. Your poor mother, she was exhausted and in pain, but she hung in there, refusing any drugs… so afraid it might affect the birth. Anyway, the blessed event happened, and they finally showed footage of your mother holding you in her arms. I remember looking at you, so innocent, wrapped up in that tiny blanket, and I thought to myself-this is a special child, a gift from God, but from here on out, it’s downhill all the way. Because how on Earth could any child, or any adult for that matter, live up to the expectations humanity seemed to be placing on you and your brother?’
Sam sits up. ‘It always played with Jake’s head-all those crazy expectations. I think he was trying to become something everyone wanted him to be. Somewhere along the line, he just lost it mentally.’
‘And isn’t that the reason you wanted out of that life, to escape all that craziness?’
‘Yes.’
