"We don't know either, but we plan to find out. We can't overlook any leads or details at this point. There's too much at stake. We've set up a meeting with Dr. Lehman tomorrow. He'll be out in the field doing some drilling. Are you up for it?"
"That's why I'm here."
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SIXTY-THREE
IT WAS MIDMORNING when Abrams and Murphy turned onto the dirt road in their battered pickup truck. They had chosen that vehicle so as not to attract attention to their visit.
Soon the road started to zigzag up a small mountain. As they topped the ridge, they could see a well-drilling rig in the valley below. One man was on the rig, and two others were standing by a white pickup truck. In another ten minutes they were at the site.
Abrams was the first to speak, introducing himself and Murphy. Dr. Lehman greeted them, then introduced Kasib Tahir, who was in charge of the well drilling, and Zahid Yaman, on the well-drilling truck.
Dr. Lehman looked at Murphy "I've heard your name before. Aren't you an archaeologist?"
"Yes, sir. And I've also read some of your work on geology."
Soon the men got down to business.
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"A friend of ours mentioned that you may have made an unusual geological discovery of some kind," Abrams said.
"Yes, I think I have," Lehman replied. "When the earthquake occurred, I happened to be in Tel Aviv. I immediately drove to Eilat, where the Geophysical Institute of Israel has an earthquake station drilled into Mount Amram, north of the city. It is drilled into Precambrian granite porphyry and rhyolitic quartz porphyry. The sensor is installed in a special casing in a locked vault. The readings were most interesting. I then hired a well-drilling rig to take core samples of the earth movement along the fault line."
Lehman turned and pointed. "You can see that we've already drilled three other core samples in the valley."
"But it looks like you've discovered oil," Murphy observed.
"That's just it. We have. And there shouldn't be oil in this area."
"How can that be? Is that a result of the earthquake?" Murphy asked.
"I believe it is, Dr. Murphy. Let me try to explain. Surrounding the entire Arabian Peninsula is the Arabian tectonic plate. This includes the countries of Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Yemen, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, and Israel. Actually, it splits Israel in half right here in the Jordan Valley."
"Yes, I'm aware of that. It's part of the Great Rift Valley geological fault system that joins the African tectonic plate. It follows the Jordan River, which flows southward through the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea."
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"That's correct," Lehman said. "To the northeast it splits Iran from Iraq along the base of the Lugros Mountains in Iran. That is where the Eurasian plate joins. Directly north is the Alpide belt, one of three major seismic belts of earth. It stretches from its western terminus in the Atlantic Ocean, through the Iberian Peninsula and the northern Mediterranean Sea. It crosses over through Turkey, Armenia, northern Iran, the Himalayas, and finally down through Burma to the East Indies. It is estimated that eighteen percent of all earthquakes occur along the Alpide belt."
"Excuse me, Doctors," Abrams broke in. "I would appreciate it if you could explain in lay terms. I am not a geologist. What's all of this talk about?"
Murphy spoke up. "Levi, imagine an oval line drawn around the Arabian Peninsula. Sort of like an egg with the large part down and the small part up. Now imagine a jagged fracture line moving east and west from one side of the oval to the other. Or a horizontal crack in the top part of the egg. The recent quake in the Syrian desert caused a fracture from the Jordan Valley where we are ... all the way over to the Persian Gulf."
"That's a good illustration," Lehman said. "The Syrian desert earthquake was not just a surface quake. It was a deep quake. By that I mean it created a crack in the earth's surface at least twenty-five miles deep. And the energy and power created by the quake would be equal to all the explosives used during World War II combined--including the atomic bombs."
"I'm impressed," Abrams said.
Lehman continued. "To the best of my knowledge, the
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crack runs a moderately jagged line between the thirty-second and thirty-third parallels. That is from below the Sea of Galilee, across the Syrian desert toward Babylon, and then dropping down toward the gulf. I believe that oil from Iraq and the Persian Gulf region is seeping into this crack. That's why we're discovering oil in an area where there should be no oil."
"What are you smiling at, Levi?" Murphy asked.
"Michael, I find the thought of Israel being able to tap into Iraqi oil fields a little ironic."
Talon crawled forward and carefully lifted his head between two rocks. He focused his binoculars on the valley below. Slowly he scanned the valley from the three capped wells to the well-drilling rig.
One on the rig and four by the white truck. Dr. Murphy, I've had just about enough of you and your friend Abrams. It is time to end this game.
Abrams's smiled disappeared. He became quite serious as he asked, "Dr. Lehman, how many people have you talked with about your theory?"
"Let me see." Lehman looked thoughtful. "I talked with a young lady named Gabrielle, both of you, and of course the well drillers. No one else as yet. We've been too busy drilling and taking core samples."
"That's great," Abrams said, relieved. "I think that this information needs to be handled very carefully. If the news media got ahold of it... it could forment an absolute
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uproar in the Arab world. It could lay the groundwork for war."
"Oh, excuse me," Lehman continued. "There was one other person. It was later in the afternoon after I talked with Gabrielle. He was a man in his mid-forties, with a mustache and a slight English accent. However, I don't think he was from Great Britain or Australia."
Murphy and Abrams looked at each other.
"He said that he was just a traveler visiting the Holy Land. He asked me what we were doing. I told him we were drilling core samples to see the extent of the earthquake. Then Kasib yelled from the well-drilling rig that they had hit oil. The man and I went over to the rig to see what all the excitement was about. He may have overheard our conversation and my discussing the theory with Kasib. I don't know for sure. We were too excited. If fact, I remember that later, I turned around to look for him but he was gone. He seemed very friendly. I'm sure that he won't tell anyone."
"Tell me, Dr. Lehman," Murphy said. "Was the man wearing gloves despite the heat?"
When Lehman said yes, Murphy and Abrams both raised their eyebrows. Talon!
Abrams spent some time with Lehman discussing the importance of his discovery and how it could negatively affect the political status between the Israelis and the Arabs. After Lehman promised that he would speak to no one until his theory could be proven valid, Abrams and Murphy headed back to Et Taiyiba.
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It was late in the afternoon when Dr. Lehman saw a weather-beaten Land Rover driving over the ridge and heading for the valley.
More visitors I We've certainly been busy today.
As the Land Rover pulled to a stop, Dr. Lehman walked toward it. He recognized the Holy Land traveler with a mustache and smiled. "Hello, there. I didn't know you were still in the area."
Talon shook his hand and asked, "How is your work coming along?"
"We're doing fine. By the way, did you share news of our discovery with anyone?"
"No. Why do you ask?"
"I'd appreciate it if you could keep it to yourself. We aren't sure of the extent of our find yet. We wouldn't want to create a stir that might give some false hopes or cause political problems. I'm sure that you understand the importance of that."
"Oh, yes. I understand far more than you know! I promise to keep it a secret between you and me. In fact, the fewer people who know, the better it is."
I agree.
br /> "I'm glad that you do. I think that it would be good to narrow the number of people who know even further."
"What? I don't understand." Lehman looked puzzled.
Talon reached forward, grabbed Dr. Lehman's right arm, and spun him. At the same time he circled his right forearm under the doctor's chin, pressing against his throat. Pulling Lehman toward him, Talon increased the pressure on his neck as he whispered, "No one will find out about your little discovery, Dr. Lehman. It will be our secret."
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Lehman's eyes were wide in shock and disbelief. He tried to claw at Talon's arm, but it was like an iron vice choking off his breath. The last thing he saw was Kasib climbing off the well-drilling rig and running to his aid.
Talon saw him too. He finished off Lehman with a quick twist. There was a slight cracking sound and Lehman fell to the ground. Talon then made a fist with one finger and hit it into the palm of his left hand.
Kasib was about ten feet away when the falcon hit him. He was completely blindsided. The bird gouged his right eye and ripped the flesh of his cheek as Kasib screamed in pain. Both hands came up to his injured eye as he staggered. Then, with a flapping and fluttering, the bird severed Kasib's jugular vein. He went down to his knees choking on his own blood, then falling face forward in the dust.
Zahid had seen what happened. He grabbed a wrench as he ran toward Talon. At least he could defend himself and take revenge for the savage murders.
Talon could sense the man's determination. He pounded his fist twice into his hand. Zahid glanced from the man to the sky, where, from the left, he caught a glimpse of a falcon. He swung the wrench with both hands like a baseball bat.
The wrench caught the falcon full in the chest. There was no scream, just a thud and feathers flying everywhere. Talon, shocked, shouted as he saw one of his pretties explode in front of him.
The second falcon was not far behind the first one in its attack. However, Zahid's turn to strike the first falcon made the second one miss its mark. It barely ripped open
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the scalp on the back of the man's head. Zahid was twisting and turning and waving his arms as the bird came at him a second time. Zahid's arm hit the bird's wing, breaking it. The falcon's talons ripped at his chest.
Man and bird fell to the ground in a heap. Zahid rolled onto the bird and crushed it, then picked it up by the legs and began to beat it on the ground in a frenzy.
Talon, horrified at the loss of his birds, walked up behind Zahid and shot him in the back of the head.
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SIXTY-FOUR
MURPHY AND ABRAMS MET for breakfast and to make plans for the day.
"You know, Michael, I had a hard time going to sleep last night. I kept thinking about Dr. Lehman's discovery. It could easily become a catalyst for sparking war against Israel."
"Funny you should mention it. I had the same worry. If Dr. Lehman is correct about Israel being able to get Arab oil, there's going to be big-time trouble."
"It certainly won't help the problem of anti-Semitism."
"I think that's putting it mildly, Levi. I was just reading an article put out by the U.S. State Department. It talked about the seminar on anti-Semitism put on by the United Nations, the Global Anti-Semitism Review Act signed by the president, and the comments of the Swiss Observatory of Religions in Lausanne."
"Why were you reading that, Michael?"
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"Well, you know that I believe we're living in the last days before the return of Christ. The Bible indicates that in the last days, there will be an increase in animosity toward Israel. Even the Swiss Observatory of Religions acknowledges that there's been an increase in anti-Semitism during the last decade. Over thirty European countries have indicated that there's been a rise in vandalism and desecration of Jewish cemeteries and fire bombings of synagogues. There is also an increase in racist publications against the Jews and a new anti-Semitism in Britain and other countries. This is especially seen in the Arab newspapers like Al Manar , and on Arab news networks like Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya. Hate language against Israel is on the rise. This is one of the reasons that I believe that we are moving toward God's final Judgment Day."
"You know, Michael, I love the United States and believe in what it stands for... but I must confess that I sense the same thing in America. There are a lot of stereotypes, cartoons, and caricatures about Jews."
"I don't like to admit it, but you're right, Levi. Anti-Semitism has deep roots in the United States. I think they revolve around four concepts. Many people think that the Jewish community has clandestine control of the government, the media, international business, and the financial world. There is a growing criticism of Israeli policies... especially against the Palestinians. The growing worldwide Muslim population has strong feelings against Jews. This is a continuation of the long-standing conflict between Arab nations and Israel going all the way back to Abraham. And there has been a-growing criticism of the United States over globalization that spills over onto Israel.
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This sort of visceral anti-Americanism is affecting many countries around the world. The Jews in general are identified with America, and many people also have a prejudicial dislike for Jews as a race."
"That's a good way to put it, Michael. An ancient Arab proverb says, 'My enemy's enemy is my friend.' I know that many Arab countries make friends with anyone who is against the United States or Israel. We are not only being condemned for our policies but for who we are as people."
"I don't have any easy answers for a very complex problem, Levi. I'm just glad we're friends. All I do know for sure is that this has been a problem in the past and it seems to be on the rise today. Dr. Lehman's discovery of oil only adds to the mix."
Talon looked into the rearview mirror of the Land Rover as he drove through the narrow streets. He watched with anticipation. Come on. Come on. I know you're there.
Then he saw the front end of the old green van as it rounded the corner behind him.
You're keeping a good distance ... but you need to learn to be more subtle. They just don't make spies like they used to.
He smiled to himself and continued until he reached the outskirts of Et Taiyiba. He drove along a deserted street of what looked to be abandoned buildings. He then pulled up in front of an old two-story warehouse with a storefront. On either side of the weather-beaten double doors were large display windows containing a few decaying mannequins.
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Four Arabs stood outside of the double doors, deep in conversation and gesturing widely.
They stopped talking and straightened when Talon pulled up and got out of the Land Rover. His very presence seemed to command attention. They acknowledged him with slight nods, no smiles or handshakes. Obviously they were all frightened of him.
One of the Arabs climbed into the Land Rover and parked it around the corner, then returned to the group.
Murphy laughed as Abrams's cell phone began to play the theme from the movie Exodus.
Abrams spoke quickly into the phone. "Set lookouts on all of the entrances and exits. We'll be there shortly.
"That was Uri," he told Murphy. "He's followed the man with the mustache to an old warehouse section of Et Taiyiba. There he met four. Arabs, and they went into a storefront building. Isaac, Judah, and Gabrielle are with Uri. I think this could be our final showdown with Talon and his crew. I can't wait to put him behind bars! I've never seen anyone who loves to kill as much as he does."
Soon Abrams and Murphy pulled up behind a green van. They got out of their old pickup and entered the back of the van. Abrams introduced Murphy to Uri, then asked, "Has anyone come out since you called?"
"No. The building has a set of double front doors, a side door, and a back door. Isaac, Judah, and Gabrielle are watching them. No one has left."
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"Do you have an extra gun?"
"Of course. What kind would you like?"
"Give one of the automatics to Dr.
Murphy. We all need to be armed."
They approached the storefront carefully and glanced in. Some natural light from the street penetrated the building. They could see no movement or lights inside.
"They must be in the back," Abrams said. "Uri, radio Isaac, Judah, and Gabrielle and tell them to remain in position unless called for backup. Tell them to stay put even if they hear shots. We don't want anyone to escape. Especially the man with the mustache. He's very cunning, so be alert."
Abrams tried the front door; it was locked. Uri handed Abrams a set of lock picks, and in moments the door was unlocked.
"Pretty cool," Murphy exclaimed.
"Tricks of the trade," Abrams said modestly.
Stepping inside, they paused and listened. They could hear no sounds. With guns drawn, they headed toward a door behind an old dusty counter. They opened it carefully. When no shots greeted them, they stepped cautiously into the warehouse. Rows of shelving filled with cardboard boxes lined the room. Wooden crates were stacked in the aisles. A window in the back let in some light.
Abrams whispered, "Michael, you go down the right aisle. Uri, you go down the left. I'll take the center. Be careful and stay alert. Remember that they could be hiding behind the crates. No talking."
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Murphy had moved forward about thirty feet when he heard a slight sound coming from behind a crate up ahead. He approached carefully and quietly. Was his archenemy, Talon, behind the crate, or one of the other terrorists? He had to be ready!
He had just started around the edge of the crate when there was a yowl and a cat ran across his feet. Murphy was so startled, he almost pulled the trigger.
Well, that's one more reason to hate cats. You either love them or hate them ... there's no neutral ground.