Amazing .
It wasn't long before they drove by his favorite building in all of Rome ... the Colosseum, built by Vespasian and Titus.
The driver of the taxi looked at Talon through his rearview mirror and spoke in broken English.
"It is big, signore , no? They say it could hold forty-five thousand spectators."
It would have been quite interesting to see all the slaughter that took place there .
The taxi turned onto Via Vittorio Veneto.
Hmm , thought Talon. This is a fine location. His office is not far from the Piazza Barberini. He made a good choice .
The taxi stopped in front of one of Rome's traditional buildings, and Talon got out with a single piece of luggage resembling a guitar case. The bronze sign next to the double-door entry read in large letters:
RELIGIOUS HARMONY INSTITUTE
Dr. Constantine De La Rosa, Founder
Welcome all who love peace and religious unity
Talon noticed that the reception area was crisp and classy but not ostentatious. He thought that De La Rosa was very smart to not look like he was spending all of his donated money on buildings and furniture. He wanted the people to believe that he was out to help the common man and not grow rich himself.
"May I help you, sir?" said the receptionist with a big, warm, and friendly smile. "We're glad you're here today."
They've got her well trained . "Yes, I have an appointment to see Dr. De La Rosa."
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"Thank you, I'll let his assistant know. You may have a seat over there. Feel free to take some brochures about our upcoming World Unity Summit. We will be holding it here in Rome in September."
"Mr. Talon? My name is Gina. I am Dr. De La Rosa's assistant. He will see you now."
Talon followed her down the wide polished-tile hallway and entered a modest waiting area. She knocked and then opened the door to his office.
"Dr. De La Rosa, I would like to present to you Mr. Talon."
De La Rosa was behind a large desk that looked too clean to be the average working CEO's desk.
Talon was immediately struck by his looks as he stood and came around the desk to shake his hand. De La Rosa seemed to have a radiant, sun-browned face. It was devoid of any freckles, moles, or blotches. He was clean-shaven with a strong jaw. His eyes were almond-shaped and had a strange autumn leaf color of reddish brown. He had a high Roman-shaped nose set against black hair peppered with gray above the ears. It gave him a very distinguished look. When he smiled, his teeth were stunningly white and well-formed. There was something about him that made you want to just stare at him.
He looks like Apollo .
De La Rosa reached out his hand to Talon, who put down his case and offered his left hand, his right hand still being bandaged. As Talon shook his hand he could feel the strength of his grip. Even though Talon was a big man, he had to look up to Dr. De La Rosa. He was maybe six foot six and muscular.
Dr. De La Rosa's every movement displayed a commanding presence. His voice was deep and filled with conviction, and his speech had an air of wisdom and knowledge.
"Mr. Talon, it is so nice to meet you. I have heard a great deal about you."
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"Have you?" Talon was always cautious of anyone who knew anything about him. He tried to keep his life a mystery.
"Yes."
De La Rosa hesitated for a brief moment, looking at Talon's right hand.
"Did you have an accident?"
"A little encounter with a baseball bat."
"Team sports can sometimes be dangerous," said De La Rosa with a smile. "You are an important player. You must take care of yourself."
Talon wasn't quite sure how to respond.
"I believe that we have some mutual friends. A group of people called the Seven."
Although Talon was able to control his outward response he felt a tightening of his stomach muscles. The Seven paid him well for his services but he would not consider any of them friends by a long shot.
Talon had never been one for small talk. He jumped right to the point of his visit.
"I have something that I think you will want."
"And what might that be?"
Talon opened the case that he had been carrying.
De La Rosa was curious to see what was inside. His eyes brightened when he saw the Bronze Serpent of Moses. All three pieces had been refitted together and polished to such a degree that the human eye could not tell where any of the seams had been.
"This is marvelous! I was told about this relic, but to handle it in person is indeed an extreme privilege. It will become a most useful symbol in my future work. As you know, in my line of work, credibility is everything. Thank you for your diligence. How did you get all three pieces?"
"The tail and center section were very easy to find. They were held by fools not dedicated enough to protect them. The head section was lost in a deep pit deep in the Pyramid of the Winds. I had to find a
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small man who would descend on a rope into the pit. He finally found it a few inches under the sand."
"And the man in the pit?"
"Unfortunately the rope broke and I was unable to pull him back out of the pit," said Talon with a sinister smile. "Archaeology is a risky business."
"I understand. I trust you have been well compensated for finding the pieces and putting the serpent back together?"
"Yes, the money has already been wired to my Swiss bank account."
"Good. I want to be sure that you are well taken care of. We may have need of your services in the near future. I would like you to be happy."
"I'm always happy to receive money, Dr. De La Rosa."
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FIFTY-TWO
AFTER THE GRAVESIDE service, Bob Wagoner invited everyone to come to the social hall of the Preston Community Church.
"The women of the church have prepared a luncheon for all of you. We know some of you have traveled a great distance to honor the memory of Paul. And we count it a privilege to provide food and a place for you to visit with one another. They should be ready to serve you in about fifteen minutes."
Murphy was standing toward the end of the lunch line when Summer Van Doren approached. She was wearing a tailored black pantsuit, which was enhanced by her beautiful blond hair.
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"I saw how broken up Shari was at the funeral. I understand that she and Paul had been going together for quite some time and then went through a period of separation. How is she doing?"
"It's been hard on her. She really has no family close by for support. The church members have been quite kind."
"Do you think it would be all right if I asked her to come to my place for the weekend? At least she wouldn't be alone. We could talk and do some girl things together."
"I think that would be wonderful. I know that Shari would be open to that. She's had a tough time. She hardly left Paul's side because she didn't want him to be alone. She's got to be exhausted."
Murphy's cell phone began to go off.
"Excuse me," said Murphy as he stepped out of line to get some privacy.
"Murphy here."
"Michael, this is Levi."
"Where are you calling from?"
"I'm in Tel Aviv. I just got the word about Paul Wallach and the attack on Shari. How is she holding up?"
"The shock of him dying has finally settled in. Besides being half scared to death by Talon, I think she'll do okay. She is a very strong person and has a firm faith in God."
"Please tell her I'm thinking about her."
"I'll pass that on for you."
"About another matter, I have finally received permission from the Israeli government to explore the Temple of Dagon at the original Ashdod site."
"That's great."
"I'm sorry for the delay. There has been a lot of red tape because of the murder of Moshe Pearlman. Investigators locked up the murder site while they tried to figure out what happened. They scoured the ar
ea for any evidence. All they could find were a few tire tracks."
"Did you go to the site?"
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"Yes, I did."
"What's there? Can you see much of the temple?"
"Not really, Michael. There are only a couple of stone walls and several mounds of dirt."
"That's it?"
"As far as I can see. I don't know why anyone would come to this location. Do you still want to come?"
Murphy thought for a moment. It sounded like a lost cause, but his gut told him to go and see for himself. "Yes. There must be something there that everyone is missing. I'll schedule a plane flight and let you know when I'm coming. Can you send me some digital photographs of the site?"
"I'll e-mail them to you tomorrow. I'll look forward to seeing you. By the way, did you ever get in contact with Methuselah?"
"As a matter of fact, I did. I met with him twice, and it wasn't easy getting past his six bodyguards. If he hadn't given the okay, I never would have gotten near him. There's no question that he is quite eccentric. He'll talk freely with you for a while and then he just shuts down the conversation and walks away."
"It sounds like he likes to be in control."
"There's no question about that. He did provide some new information, however. Talon is not acting alone. He's employed by a group of people known as the Seven. Have you ever heard of them?"
"No, I've never heard them mentioned before. I'll check into it for you. Maybe someone else with the Mossad has information on them. Did you get any other information about them?"
"Nothing else was mentioned other than the fact that Methuselah hates them and is trying to get revenge on them for killing his family."
"We never did get any leads on who was responsible for the Israeli plane crash that killed his family and the up-and-coming Israeli leaders. If he believes it is this same group, I'm sure that our intelligence people will want to hear about it. I'll let you know what we find out. In the meantime, you be careful."
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Murphy stepped back into line with Summer.
"It was my friend Levi. We were discussing an upcoming expedition."
"Is it the one you mentioned to me about the Temple of Dagon?"
"Yes. I'll be leaving shortly for Israel."
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Not really ... other than being a friend to Shari while I'm gone."
"No problem with that. It'll be fun to get to know her better. Don't worry about her. I'll make sure she's okay."
There was a warmth in Summer's deep blue eyes and her gentle smile that stirred something inside of Murphy.
She is one amazing lady .
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FIFTY-THREE
MURPHY ALWAYS CHOSE an aisle seat when traveling by plane. In case of an emergency, he didn't like the idea of being boxed in. He also hated to climb over people or make them move if he wanted to go to the restroom or simply stretch a little on a long flight. Sitting in the same seat for ten to twelve hours was not his idea of fun.
He was standing in the aisle when the flight attendant walked by. "Excuse me, miss. How much longer before we arrive in Israel?" She paused and looked at her watch. "About another five hours, sir." Murphy stifled a groan and thought, People who like to travel just haven't traveled enough .
He sat down and began to piece together the events that had been occurring. The Seven had used Talon to sabotage his efforts to discover
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Noah's Ark. They had stymied him in his efforts to ascertain information from Dr. Harley B. Anderson about the birth of some boy. They had ordered the death of Laura, Stephanie Kovacks, and Shane Barrington. Isis, Shari, Vern Peterson the helicopter pilot, Levi Abrams, and he had narrowly escaped death at the hands of Talon or his hired men. Many other people like Paul Wallach had inadvertently stepped into the line of fire. But the question remained: What was the extent of the Seven's dark plans?
His thoughts turned to Methuselah. Why had he wanted Murphy to discover the Temple of Dagon? How would it really damage the Seven even if Murphy were able to retrieve the Golden Jar of Manna and Aaron's Rod? Unable to solve that riddle, Murphy began to think about his recent experiences with J. B. Sonstad and Madame Estelle and the demons.
Evil seems to be increasing and the Seven are right in the middle of it .
Eventually Murphy dozed off and fell into a restless sleep.
The cabin speakers startled Murphy.
"Please stow away your tray tables ... straighten your seat backs ... and be sure that your seat belts are securely fastened. We are on our final decent to the airport. We should be arriving in about twenty minutes. You may want to adjust your watches; the time in Israel is now seven thirty-two A.M."
Murphy was glad the trip was over. His large body was crying to get out of the cramped seat. Someone out of the Spanish Inquisition must have designed these things .
The plane tipped slightly to the right and he could see the tall buildings of Tel Aviv-Yafo, the largest city and major commercial center in Israel. It had become one of the most modern cities in the Middle East. As they descended lower, he saw the many rows of modern apartment buildings that lined the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It had been several years since he was last in Tel Aviv.
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Levi Abrams met Murphy just inside the terminal. He had on a big smile when he saw him. They embraced and patted each other on the back.
"How was your flight?"
"Long, as usual. I'm glad to get my feet on the ground."
"Give me your passport. I'll get you through customs without having to stand in line."
"I do like your style, Levi."
"Michael, I know you've had a long trip and are a little tired. Do you want to get a motel and rest a little bit, or are you game to move on toward Ashdod?"
"Let's get some breakfast and then drive on to Ashdod. I feel like time is of the essence."
"Do you have some more information about something that's going to happen?"
"No. I just have a gut feeling that this is an important expedition. Have you discovered any information about the Seven?"
"No one has ever heard of them. There's absolutely no record of their existence. Are you sure Methuselah isn't just playing games with you?"
Murphy had considered that possibility. "I doubt it. Not this time."
"Well, I've assigned another Mossad operative to watch the Temple of Dagon site. His name is Gideon. He's observing the area from a distance. He's a good man who knows how to stay out of sight."
It did not take Murphy and Levi long to go through customs. Almost everyone knew Levi, and those who did not recognized the identification of the Mossad.
"Better order a big breakfast, Michael. There are no fast-food restaurants where we're going."
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FIFTY-FOUR
THE TRIP SOUTH from Tel Aviv to modern Ashdod took about thirty minutes. From there Levi and Murphy headed east about four miles to the site of the Temple of Dagon.
"What do you think is going on, Michael?"
"I'm not sure, Levi. It all started when we began searching for the Bronze Serpent of Moses. You know, the one that was broken into three pieces. We found a manuscript written by a Chaldean priest named Dakkuri that mentioned the Bronze Serpent. This led us to a map that described a place called the Horns of the Ox. Laura had an uncanny ability to read and understand maps, some sort of an intuitive sense of geological transformation through time."
Levi was listening intently.
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"We eventually discovered a cave that was filled with ancient clay amphora jars. They're the kind that are bulbous in shape with two handles that stick out like ears from their narrow necks."
Levi nodded his head in acknowledgment.
"Laura found one that had been sealed with a plug made out of wax. We took out the plug and found a coarsely woven cloth. Wrapped inside of it was a preserved piece of cast bronze about twelve inches long and tw
o inches in diameter. It was tapered like a snake at one end and broken off at the other. It took us a while, but we eventually discovered it was the tail end of the Bronze Serpent of Moses."
"What an incredible find!"
"Yes, we could hardly believe that we found something so ancient and so meaningful to us. We were so excited we could hardly contain ourselves. I thought we'd both need sedatives to calm down."
"I would have been excited, too. What did you do with it?"
"We took it back to the Parchments of Freedom Foundation."
Levi had a strange look on his face. "Did you find any other sections of the Serpent?"
"Yes, we did. It was Isis McDonald that helped discover it. It was found in the town of Tar-Qasir, south of Babylon. We discovered a way into the sewers that ran under the city The middle piece was being worshiped by a group of cultists. We retrieved the middle section at the risk of our lives."
"What happened with the middle section?"
Murphy was beginning to wonder why Levi was asking all of the questions.
"The middle section eventually made its way to the American University in Cairo. It is under the care of Fasial Shadid, a professor of ancient culture and ancient writings, and his assistant Nassar Abdoo."
Levi continued with his questioning. "And that's the end of the story?"
"Not quite. The tail section was stolen ... twice."
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"Twice?"
"Yes. It was housed at the Parchments of Freedom Foundation. One day Isis's assistant, Fiona Carter, decided that she would clean up Isis's office. She came back to the Foundation and found two dead guards. They had been killed by falcons. She then searched the storage area where valuable antiques were kept. The tail end of the Serpent had been stolen."
"That's the first time. And the second?"