Ark Found, page 26
part #2 of Omega Files Adventures Series
He picked his phone up again, but used it to dial his private charter jet service. Another extravagant recurring expenditure he committed to in order to be ready for world travel at a moment’s notice. Although long periods might elapse during which it was not really needed (though still fun), it had already justified itself many times over. After this trip, Daedalus surmised, the private jet charters on standby would seem routine. No, after this, he mused, he’d be able to afford his own space program, never mind private jets. He cleared his throat in preparation to speak to his air charter outfit.
I’m going to Ethiopia.
Chapter 31
St. Mary’s of Zion Church, Axum, Ethiopia
After being dropped off by another taxi about two miles away, at another church, Carter and Jayden had walked here, to the church that Ethiopians claim is the housing place for the Ark of the Covenant.
“Kinda looks like any of the other church in this town,” Jayden observed from behind polarized sunglasses. Before them stood a weathered stone edifice, ornately carved with arches and latticework on the windows, with a large dome on top, itself topped with a towering ornate cross. A trickle of people, a mix of tourists and locals, moved in and out through the holy house’s entrance.
“It does, and inside, no doubt we’ll find the requisite replica of the ark.”
“So you already doubt they have the real ark?” Jayden smiled.
Carter shook his head. “Supposedly the real ark is in there.” He pointed to a smaller concrete building some distance away on the same property that was surrounded by a metal fence painted with the colors of the Ethiopian flag, green, yellow and red. “That’s the Chapel of the Tablet.”
Jayden glanced over at the other building, which had no people coming or going from it. “The tablet? Meaning, the stone tablets that the Ten Commandments are chiseled on?”
“Yep. Thing is, no one’s allowed in there.”
Jayden laughed softly. “Gee, I wonder why not? Could it be because they don’t really have the Ark of the Covenant in there? I mean, has anyone ever seen it?”
Carter held his hands up while gazing at the chapel outbuilding. “No. It’s guarded by a monk appointed for life who is supposedly trained to kill with his bare hands anyone who tries to enter without permission.”
Jayden nodded slowly. “Let me guess. We’re going to have to deal with this guy to get in there, aren’t we?”
Carter looked back to the main church. “Let’s go in there first. See what it’s all about, act like tourists, get the feel of the place.”
They walked up to the entrance and climbed the few broad, stone steps, milling in with the light foot traffic as they filed through the front doors. Sure enough, the inside of this church, although considerably larger than the other one they had visited, was a lot like it in both décor and interior setup. Rows of long, wooden pews in the middle, spacious aisles on the sides, artwork and historic murals on the walls, with a central stage-like setting up front. This was covered in Persian rugs, and on a pedestal in the middle of it all was another life-sized replica of the Ark of the Covenant.
While they strolled leisurely up to the representative ark, Jayden commented how there were a few curtained-off doorways behind the stage and on either side of the church. Carter nodded, but replied in a low voice that they probably wouldn’t find much of interest there. But he knew that as a former SEAL, Jayden had been well-trained to identify and monitor all possible ingress and egress options when inside a building.
They waited their turn among a small gaggle of onlookers to walk up to the ark and stand in front of it. Around them, some people stood in place murmuring words of prayer. Carter and Jayden stayed a respectful amount of time and then strolled away and back into the pews. They took a seat off to the side of one of them near the front.
“It’s going to raise our profile a little,” Carter began, “but I think it’s worth it for us to get a look at the Chapel of the Tablet in daylight.”
Jayden nodded. “I saw a few people walking up to the fence that surrounds it and taking pictures from there. Anyone can do that much, at least.”
“Yeah. I’d really like to get in there, though.”
“How hard can it be?” Jayden wondered. “One guard? Is he even armed? I mean come on, if they were really guarding a priceless treasure, wouldn’t it be more like a Fort Knox around here?”
“Only one way to find out,” Carter said, standing from the pew.
#
They stood in front of the colorful metal fence topped with razor wire and stared through it at the Chapel of the Tablet. The chapel was an unassuming stone, blocky building but for a small dome on top with an ornate cross atop that. The side they faced featured no doors, only windows overlain with heavy iron grates. There wasn’t much to see.
“Let’s take a walk around the outside,” Carter suggested.
They sauntered around the perimeter as if they were tourists chalking off yet another landmark from their To See list, pausing now and then to point out some architectural feature. But in reality the two operators were taking careful mental notes of the entire structure and property, noting all exits, potential exits and other features of possible strategic or tactical interest.
When they had made their way all the way around, they confirmed that there was only one traditional entry point, a doorway covered with a red tapestry, set at the top of a few narrow stone steps. As they stared at the building, pondering how they would gain entrance, a man, presumably an employee, exited from the front and only door.
Carter looked at Jayden. “Should we just ask him if we can have a look?”
Jayden appeared doubtful. “You know what the answer’s going to be, and it would call attention to us. He might remember us later.”
“True, but on the other hand, maybe we get lucky, or maybe he could be persuaded.”
“Your call.”
Carter had a feeling about the man as he observed him, that he was in a congenial mood, whistling as he walked. He turned to Jayden. “Why use brute force when you can just sweet-talk your way in, right? I think it’s worth a try.”
They walked over to the front of the fence, where the employee—he didn’t look like a guard, but more like he performed a custodial or maintenance role, with a large key ring full of keys and a tool belt on. Taking a quick look around, Carter was satisfied that no one else was within earshot of the conversation that was about to take place.
“Excuse me, sir?” he called over to the man through the fence. An African in his fifties, he glanced over at them but did not stop walking as he strode up to the only gate in the fence, which was locked. He removed a key from his ring while Carter and Jayden walked over to him outside the fence.
“I’m sorry, but the Chapel is closed to the public,” he said in good English, barely looking up at them. “The church is that building, there.”
“Yes, we know,” Carter said. “We were just wondering if you could tell us, is the Ark of the Covenant really inside there?”
The man clicked open the gate, apparently in no fear of the strangers whatsoever even though they were inquiring as to off-limits areas. Evidently it was something he was used to from casual visitors. He barely batted an eye as he answered, “Of course it is!”
“Can we please see it, just for a second?” Carter asked.
“No, I’m sorry but it is closed to the public at all times, and under professional guard twenty-four-seven. Only the Guardian of the Ark can decide to let anyone see it.”
“Could you introduce us to the Guardian?” Carter asked.
The gatekeeper shook his head, still smiling as if he’d answered all of these questions many times before. “No, he only meets with religious leaders. I myself am forbidden to see it, and I have worked here for years! Perhaps if you were the Pope I might be able to arrange a meeting, otherwise, I am sorry.” He pulled open the gate and stepped outside of it, next to Carter and Jayden.
“We are good people, and we respect your country,” Jayden said.
“The man smiled and nodded at him. “It is good to hear that.”
Jayden began to recite from memory: “Until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned, everywhere is war. And until there are no longer first-class and second-class citizens of any nation, until the colour of a man's skin is of no more significance than the colour of his eyes.”
The African’s eyes widened and he burst into friendly laughter. “You know Haile Selassie, our great former king! That is from his famous speech!”
Even Carter appeared surprised.
Jayden smiled sheepishly. “I know it from the Bob Marley song. By the way, I love your country’s flag and the whole Rastafarian theme everywhere,” he said, nodding to the painted fence.
Again, the gatekeeper smiled. “Ah yes, and an excellent song it is! You know that Bob visited our country one time, in 1978, probably before you were born,” he finished with another laugh.
“So in the spirit of One Love,” Jayden said, “is there any way we could have just a few seconds’ look inside, so we can tell our friends back home that we’ve laid eyes on the true ark?” Jayden did his best to make his gaze as from-the-heart and natural as possible. And the employee did make eye contact with him while continuing to smile. But again he shook his head.
“I am very sorry, but the answer can only be no. No one is allowed in there, not even if you were Bob Marley himself would I be able to let you in there, my friends. I do hope you understand.”
At this Jayden could only nod. He had tried. But Carter had one more ace up his sleeve.
He held up some cash bills, blocking any view of them from the church with his body. “Maybe if we could not even actually go inside, but just have a look through the door for five seconds? Five seconds!” Carter pleaded, gesturing with the bills, not a trivial amount.
The smile disappeared from the worker’s face as he eyed the money. “Please put that away. We could both get into a lot of trouble. I am sorry but the answer is still no. I will forget I saw that,” he said, eyeing the bills as Carter stuffed them back into his pocket. The employee closed the gate and turned the key in the lock until it clicked. “Now please return to the main church. Enjoy the rest of your stay in our country.” He glanced down at the pocket where Carter had stashed the bills and frowned one more time before walking away in the direction of the church.
“We better go,” Carter admitted in defeat. They walked back out to the front of the main church in full view of everyone, including the employee. From there, they hailed a cab and got in, giving the driver the name of one of the larger hotels they’d seen in town. Carter knew it was within walking distance of others, and they would be booking a room at one of the others so that even the driver wouldn’t know where they were staying. It probably made no difference, Carter knew, but at the same time it was a simple enough step to take to provide a modicum of security, and Carter and Jayden had found out the hard way that it was good to stay in the habit of being discreet when in this line of work.
During the cab ride back into town, they avoided any talk of their objectives, but made small talk about where they might eat that night, how hot it was out, the kind that any tourist might make. After being dropped off at the Sheraton and paying the fare with a tip that was generous, but again, not overly memorable, they walked into the lobby and had a drink at the hotel bar. The idea was to stay just long enough to be able to throw off the driver, or anyone else who might be observing them, before relocating to the hotel where they would actually be staying the night.
“Besides, Jayden said, a beer sounds just about perfect right now.” But there were a fair number of patrons bellied up, and the soft reggae music playing in the bar didn’t leave them with confidence that it would drown out their words, and so again, tactical talk would have to wait. They enjoyed their extra-large St. George Ambers, left cash on the bar and then walked out back onto the sidewalk.
“Hotel Aksum is right up the street,” Carter said as they began to walk. Not long after and they were taking an elevator up to the fifth floor after booking a room for the night. Jayden tossed his backpack on the floor and immediately checked the mini-fridge.
“Bummer, not pre-stocked.”
“Probably a good thing,” Carter said, “Because we’re going to have a busy night.”
Jayden eyed him suspiciously. “Infiltrate the chapel?”
Carter nodded slowly. “I want to take a look in there. It won’t be that hard.”
“There will be a guard in there,” Jayden said. But they both knew that was no real obstacle for them, two seasoned naval warriors. “To make things as easy as possible, we should pick up a pair of wire cutters at a hardware store.”
Carter frowned. Even if they paid cash, they’d be seen doing that.
“Either that or we lug a blanket all the way there,” Jayden said, eyeing the beds, “and throw it over the top of the razor wire so we can climb over.”
“No, it could be traced back to this hotel after we leave it behind. Even though we’re booked on fake names, there’s no need to establish any connections.”
Jayden perked up. “We could buy one of those general tool kits that has everything, including a wire cutters, so it’s not like we’re buying only that, which is way more suspicious.”
Carter nodded. “Good idea. We’d better get going. We’ll pick up some tools, maybe a flashlight or two, get some dinner in town. Then late night tonight…”
“Go time!” Jayden was excited. While he picked up his backpack and took out the things he needed for the trip into town, Carter checked the hotel drawers. It was an old travel habit he’d developed, since one never knew what was left behind, or even had had been left on purpose. The desk drawer had the requisite Holy Bible, and he was about to close the drawer again when he reconsidered. He picked up the book, thinking it could possibly come in handy since the ark stories, both that of the Covenant and of Noah, were biblical in origin.
“Let’s go, dude, I’m hungry!” Jayden called from the doorway. Carter put the Bible in his backpack so he wouldn’t forget it later and headed for the door.
Chapter 32
Midnight in the town of Axum brought a darkness that was not quite as complete as what they had experienced high on Mt. Ararat or in Iran, but still lacking light pollution much more than the typical western city. After being dropped off by a cab at a nearby hotel, they walked a mile or so to the Church of St. Mary of Zion. It was closed at this hour, which Carter and Jayden considered both good and bad. Good, because it meant there would be fewer witnesses around to observe their activities. Bad, because they had no excuse to be here and no one else to blend in with.
They made a beeline for the side of the Chapel of the Tablet that faced away from the main church, since there was no road facing that side. When they reached the fence there, Jayden removed the new clippers he’d purchased in town from his pack while Carter kept a careful watch. The fence had crossbars so that Jayden was able to climb up high enough without a hand from Carter to reach the razor wire with the clippers. These were thick, circular steel coils, not simple barbed wire strands, and it took some doing, and a couple of minor nicks that drew blood from Jayden’s hands, even through the pair of work gloves he wore for the task. But he cut through one entire section, and from there they were able to pull it off to the side and tangle it into the fence itself so that there was a razor-free section in the middle.
Over this they climbed, Jayden first, since he was already up there. He dropped with barely a sound to the Chapel grounds and scouted their surroundings while Carter made the climb over. Once inside the fence, they ran to the side of the chapel so that they would at least be partially hidden from view by the building. They made their way slowly around the chapel to the side with the only door. Earlier that day they had noticed it was open behind the red curtain, and the curtain was still there now, but they were about to find out if they locked the door at night.
“You’d think with one of the most precious artifacts of all time that they’d lock the place up at night,” Jayden had said earlier, and Carter agreed that seemed to make sense. Except that this was Africa, this was Axum, Ethiopia, the church with the Ark of the Covenant, and here nothing made sense.
“It’s open,” Carter whispered after pulling the curtain back and poking his head around the corner. He chalked it up to the reality that they had a guard inside at all times, and maybe the fact that as a place reputed to hold the most sacred of religious objects, perhaps they felt people, including criminals, would be inclined to leave it alone, such was the power of the Ark. Or maybe they just forgot? But Carter doubted they got that lucky.
From his brief glimpse inside he couldn’t see much, because there was a partition only a few feet in from the doorway that blocked all view of the rest of the interior. He slipped past the curtain, waving for Jayden to follow. Once inside the doorway, they were shielded from outside view by the curtain and from inside view by the partition. Now they faced whatever awaited them inside, namely the Guardian of the Ark.
Where was he? They could hear nothing to indicate the presence of another human. Using hand signals, Carter indicated for Jayden to take the left side while he took the right. Peering around the edges of the partition, they both took in the view of the inside at the same time.
#
After hours of uneventful surveillance, Daedalus almost missed it. He had been staring at his smartphone screen while parked in his rental car, an economy sedan that wouldn’t attract much attention on its own, out in front of the Church of St. Mary of Zion when he happened to look up in time to see two dark-clad figures disappearing behind the doorway curtain of the church. How silly to leave the church open all night when it supposedly safeguards such a powerful treasure, Daedalus thought. Ridiculous! It must be just another fake, no different than every other church in this town, the Greek antiquities dealer thought. The Ark of the Covenant, hah!
