by David Hunter
~ ~ ~
While the scene of her torture played out Avi's feelings were no less visceral, nor the feeling of terror any less soul-destroying, than those of No'am.
Avi realized by the texts sent and received by the terrorists that there had to be somebody else viewing it remotely. His memory again returning to what was said in the forest about another person, he knew there was somebody else, but had no idea who.
When the feed was cut and his monitor went blank, he forced himself to accept the fact that this was almost certainly the last he would see Mona.
He wondered if she had been informed of the murder of her mother. Told of her mother's death or not, surely there could be no doubt but she would suffer the same fate – most likely sooner than later as there was no real advantage in keeping her alive. The terrorists knew that her value as a hostage was spent. She might be kept alive in the attempt to extort more information from him and whomever the other person is.
Head still aching from earlier worries, now it was even worse. Avi considered more aspirin but decided against it as he was sure the replaying of Mona's torture in his mind wouldn't allow him to keep anything down.
Instantly, he felt guilty that among his first thoughts was that of alleviating his headache. The pain she would feel when she regained consciousness would be indescribable. For her sake, he felt guilty for having this thought too; he hoped she would never regain consciousness. The thought of what other mutilations might be in store for Mona sickened Avi.
He knew that self-recriminations would do nothing to help Mona; or, for that matter, himself. Selfishness or not, he had to do what he could to get back on his emotional and physical feet to do something, anything.
Various scenarios flashed through his thoughts, each intruding on, while none allowing, the previous scenario to completely play itself out. Court martial and its consequences were the least of his worries, though to be sure, a significant concern. There would be time to deal with that later.
Avi knew he had to inform the General immediately, in-person. This was a matter much too sensitive to handle any other way. Gazing out a window he noted that the sun was high in the sky. He had slept through the night and into late afternoon of the day following the successful human trial of The Project.
The General would be taking a few days off after making his initial reports to the Prime Minister. The PM was also at the facility to view the test, so such a report would be brief. Once the results were fully compiled and analyzed, other branches of the military would be brought into play, but not yet. There were yet months of datum to be correlated and reviewed before they would proceed. Thus, other than speaking with the PM this morning, the General would be off with his wife for some well-earned vacation time. He mentioned something about spending some time at a resort in the swank area of Eilat. By now he would already be there. The Americans have a saying of a person "not letting grass grow under their feet." The General was the very personification of this adage.
Knowing there was a Shin Bet liaison officer serving in the General's staff Avi would schedule a meeting with him as soon as possible. He didn't want to blindside the General. First he had to contact the liaison and come clean. Avi accepted that his time as a free man was to last no more than a couple of hours, if that.
Table of Contents
16. I am Become Death
"If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky that would be like the splendor of the Mighty one … I am become Death, the shatterer of worlds." - Bhagavad Gita 11:32
Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
Doctor Bruce Honegger loved his job. Generous pay, excellent benefits but most of all he was able to do what he enjoyed best, solve medical mysteries around the globe.
Now that he was the director of the Center for Disease Control he wasn't able to go out and work in the field as much as he'd have liked, burdened by far more paperwork than anybody could imagine. Yet being the head of the CDC kept his socially ambitious wife happy, making the paperwork tolerable. As long as she was happy, so was he. Besides, much of the bureaucracy-on-wood pulp and computer input he could delegate to others.
As the Director, Dr. Honegger oversaw everything and was able to inject as much, or as little, of his own time and work into a case as he chose. When the first report crossed his desk of a deadly outbreak of what initially appeared to be a hemorrhagic disease affecting an apartment building in Los Angeles, Honegger knew he had to be there himself. Normally the Director doesn't go in-person to help with a medical investigation but this was no normal investigation. Hemorrhagic illnesses such as Ebola simply do not appear out of nowhere in the Northern Hemisphere of the Americas.
He would be working closely with the CIA and Homeland Security due to the very high possibility that this was an attack. "Why attack an apartment building" Honegger wondered "whose residents had no apparent link to government or financial institutions based on initial findings?" The tenants . . . former tenants, would already be undergoing a careful scrutiny of their background by Homeland.
This attack, were it in very fact an attack, made zero sense. "Much more likely," he postulated, "was somebody recently traveled overseas and brought the disease back with them." How such a person could have lived long enough to return home after contracting the illness, then spread it throughout the entire building so rapidly, presented a new mystery. Homeland was also going over any travel of the tenants, contacting family, co-workers and friends.
The apartment building itself was hermetically sealed to the outside world, with investigators inside working in Biohazard suits. The entire neighborhood was under lock-down, resulting in panic spreading throughout the city. Los Angeles seemed prone to rioting, a powder keg ready to explode. Riot police were immediately deployed and the National Guard blocked ingress and egress to the affected area. Area hospitals and clinics were also advised of the situation as soon as the initial diagnosis was made.
Moments after pushing their way into the entryway, maneuvering the body of the Postal Carrier to gain entry the first responders realized too late that they were victims too. All four paramedics presented with symptoms within minutes of arrival - time being calculated from the last call made to state authorities. Whatever the origin of the disease proved to be one thing was certain, it killed with a lethal speed and efficiency that shocked all involved, including Honegger.
When there was no further communication from the first responders after they contacted authorities with observations and their own accelerating symptoms, another team was dispatched under strict orders to remain outside the building and observe what they could through windows. Seeing the paramedics and postal worker on the floor of the entryway, it became obvious this was something air-borne rather than a crazed mass murderer. All were pronounced dead when the Biohazard team arrived.
Authorities determined that people who were not inside the building at the time of the release of the toxin appeared to be safe. Bruce thanked all the Saints above that the hot day appeared to have kept the toxin contained within the building, miraculously.
Beyond this information he knew nothing though he could surmise a few things:
1. The speed of infection – at least when symptoms first present – to the time of death, was unlike anything he had ever seen, making it certain that this was a strain they had never before encountered.
Anthrax was at the top of his list of possibilities. At the CDC, as well as at a few high-security labs in other countries around the world, lethal strains of various diseases were maintained for study. Such repositories were generally for peaceful purposes but there were some regimes with the goal of engineering bio weapons of mass destruction.
2. Anthrax killed with resolute speed and efficiency. Were this a terrorist attack they should be able to determine the origins by a genetic fingerprint. If no match of the DNA could be identified with known strains maintained by his and other governments, it might prove that genetic manipulation had be
en involved, pointing to a well-organized group with critical financial and scientific support. Should there be an exact match to any government research facility there would have been no genetic manipulation. Yet that would mean a smaller group could be involved which might prove be more difficult to identify and locate.
3. Whatever the agent was, Anthrax or otherwise, is was certainly not indigenous to the affected area. It arrived by either purely innocent, or purely malicious, means. Whichever proved to be the case, the origin and means of transportation had to be identified.
4. The duration of the lifespan of the disease outside of a host had to be ascertained.
5. The means of infection (given the effect on the first responders, air-borne infection was clear, yet there remained other means of infection to be explored) must be identified and quickly.
6. The obvious – can it be treated and how?
7. If this were a terror attack, was this building the intended target? That wasn't directly Honegger's concern but indirectly it would be as, if other locations were also to be targets, the medical community would need to know in advance.
No sooner had Bruce read the report and started to reach some initial conclusions and plan his course of action, largely dictated by long-standing and time proven protocols, than more reports came in. The positions of the bodies and an estimation of their behavior showed that from first contact death happened within minutes, catching victims completely unaware and helpless. It explained calls to emergency services that were incoherent and brief.
This wasn't much of a surprise. The speed at which the disease had proven to be lethally effective was a known factor. Once contracted the infected would be incapacitated within just moments. The victims didn't have a chance, never seeing it for what it was until it was already too late.
Though apparently airborne the infectious agent had somehow been limited to this apartment building. The first responders contracted the illness but surrounding buildings for now appeared unaffected. It was discovered that a rolling electrical black out blanketed the area around the time the bio agent was released, incapacitating the air conditioners viewed from nearly every window. There could be no doubt that the loss of electricity saved the city from a much higher death toll.
To their credit the team sent to observe from the outside ordered all electric power, water, and gas to the entire block be cut off before power was restored to the neighborhood. Another small mercy was that the apartment complex was a stand-alone building, in no way physically connected with any periphery structures beyond underground pipes and conduits for utilities.
Panic was swelling into surrounding neighborhoods with conspiracy theories swirling in the streets, fed by some of the less-than-ethical media outlets. Twenty-four-hour cable channels of talking heads, and armchair doctor bloggers, were a constant source of fuel to the fire of public fears. Honegger found himself slightly relieved that the outbreak occurred in a mostly "white" area. Otherwise, the added strain of those claiming racial cleansing or other outrageous racially based conspiracy would certainly ignite even larger riots.
Phone lines were jammed, especially those to hospitals, police stations, even television and radio stations. Messages were being relayed to the public to stay in their homes, not using phones unless necessary so that lines would be open for emergencies. They were also told that FEMA was posting advice and notifications on a special page at fema.org/LA.
Moments after the announcement of the web page, due to the amount of online traffic from around the world, FEMA's servers crashed, causing further panic in the city. There were reports of looting and one grocery store employee being shot as he tried to lock the doors of the store against mobs cleaning out food and supplies from the shelves.
Ignoring appeals to stay home unless absolutely necessary, churches, mosques and synagogues were filling with people praying. He surmised that many of them were probably praying to a God that they largely ignored or forgot when times were good. An Atheist himself, Bruce felt no shame acknowledging the fact that people tend to be religious only when faced with crisis. Once things leveled out and people felt in "control" of their lives again, God was put back in a drawer only to be appealed to once more when the next life crisis emerged. This was a simple and obvious fact, especially among the middle- and upper classes of American society.
"Kathy, would you book me a flight to LAX – departure as soon as possible?" Dr. Honegger always kept two suitcases at the ready in his office for emergency travel. They were enough to last him three days, he could always purchase any additional items he required should his stay be extended. A frugal man from his days of borderline poverty in medical school he packed only what was necessary, never bringing what wasn't required. His style of clothing was plain, his favorite shirts worn thin from use. Bruce wouldn't even consider purchasing a new shirt until somebody commented on the gently used appearance of the one he was wearing. Seeing no need for brand names such as Yves St. Laurent, Bruce favored substance over style; both in people as well as clothing.
His wife was altogether another story. She would't be caught dead in last year's styles. Every outfit had matching shoes and purses. No outfit would be worn twice within a thirty-day period. Many adorned her body but once. The folks at the Salvation Army loved her. Bruce suspected it likely that some of her donations never saw the shelf of a store. Then again, he was suspicious of just about everything and everybody. A researcher, a medical detective really, this wasn't an altogether bad quality. It irked his wife but his income met with her favor so she learned to accept the good with the bad. In their college years they were happy eating noodles in broth. He knew she would continue to appreciate him, independent of money and social status; though the latter two didn't hurt!
"The ticket has already been booked. Be on the helicopter pad by 3:00 to be at the airport on time. Takeoff for LA is scheduled for 3:30. On the ground in LA, you'll be conveyed to your hotel by military transport."
"Thank you, Kathy." His personal assistant was so efficient and on top of things that she nearly always had accomplished a task, such as this, before he even asked. Not a believer in Extra-Sensory Perception or any of that other psychic nonsense, Kathy did nonetheless give him pause with her uncanny skills. Had he taken the time to get to know her better Dr. Honegger would be surprised to learn that at home she was nearly as unorganized as one could be. Much like the pipes in a plumber's home are the last to be fixed, or a chef who's around food all day doesn't want to make dinner for his own family. Kathy was a laissez-faire sort at home but nothing escaped her attentions at work.
Having been his assistant for most of his career Bruce knew one thing that he even admitted to her, he'd never have become the CDC Director without her. Her immediate thought on hearing this was, "Tell me something I don't already know!" It remained an unspoken thought.
"Will you be back, Dr. Honegger, in time for my daughter's Bat Mitzvah?" Kathy maintained a strict formality with him at all times, though she insisted on informality in return. Bruce couldn't understand why.
"I hope so but if I'm not her gift is . . ."
"In your credenza, left side." There really just might be something to psychics after all.
Reports streamed to Honegger's computer throughout the day. Much of the information overlapped when from different sources: military, FEMA, Los Angeles CDC, and etcetera. A clearer picture of the total devastation in the apartment building emerged.
Honegger also kept his finger on the pulse of local and national media outlets. As panic tightened its grip a growing number of thugs took to the streets looting shops, burning cars, and city buses. Riot police moved in with rubber bullets. When that didn't work tear gas and batons were employed. Scenes of the police clashing with youth appeared to ratchet up the violence and civil unrest to new and more dangerous levels. Reports of rapes and several shootings were reported. By the time Honegger went to the roof to access the helipad the death toll from mob group violence exceeded that of the tenan
ts of the apartment building in question.
"Welcome sir, wheels up in five minutes." The pilot, appearing anxious, felt it best to not inquire as to their safety once in L.A. Honegger encountered the same looks of anxiety on the other two doctors from the CDC also traveling with him.
Somehow, somebody "who remains anonymous because he did not have authority to speak with the media" reported to the press that people in the apartment building, including the first responders, died of what appeared to be "some type of a possible neuro toxin." The reporters, at the very end of the story, would add that they had not yet been able to confirm this information. Covering their collective legal butts.
"We'll be landing on the tarmac in five minutes. The CDC jet is out of the hangar, prepared for immediate take-off once all passengers and luggage are secured." Honegger wondered why announcements in airplanes and helicopters had a crackling effect on the speaker systems, forcing one to strain to understand the message.
Paparazzi were gathered in a huddled group at the airport but kept behind a security fence separating the private modes of transportation from the public. As if from multiple serpentine heads of a single Medusa, they at once shouted questions at the doctors debarking the helicopter. With barely a glance in their direction all of the doctors boarded the jet. The door was pulled up and secured as the doctors hurriedly took their seats, buckling in as the jet lurched forward to begin taxiing maneuvers for takeoff.
Had Honegger not been among this group of doctors he knew so well, one of the other doctors, very accomplished with an ego to match, would have welcomed the opportunity to gain media attention. This doctor fancied himself a ladies' man, blithely unaware that the female employees at the CDC who had to work with him found his self-serving, egocentric personality repulsive. More amazingly he was average looking, at best. Some people really do have magic mirrors. Well, he was one of the very best – sometimes you just have to accept the ego that sometimes accompanies the brains.
Talk en route was held to a minimum. As Honegger received updates to his tablet so did his associates – in this matter there would be no compartmentalizing of duties and information. They would have to work seamlessly together to identify what they were dealing with, who "Patient Zero" was, the method of infection – among dozens of other variables, all as yet unknown.
A strong Jet Stream headwind added nearly 30 minutes to their estimated time of arrival. One of the conference rooms of the hotel was secured as a staging area for the various governmental agencies to interface. The security at the hotel, now devoid of any paying guests, was impressive. Windows on all operational floors, such as the conference room, were blacked-out and each room of each floor, even ducts for the ventilation system, would be constantly scanned for illicit audio-visual devices. A free press in a free society was a double-edged sword.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm scheduled to brief the President in less than an hour. Let's get down to business." Honegger saw no point in wasting precious time.
Table of Contents
17. As a Dream
". . . the time passed away with us, and also our lives passed away like as it were unto us a dream..." - Book of Mormon, Jacob 7:26
Somewhere in the Negev Desert, State of Israel
Rachael Siwel went to the clinic at the facility to visit with Jeff. From their first meeting she knew that they would be friends at the start. For his part, Jeff found Dr. Siwel warm and engaging while maintaining a professional, strictly ethical distance. This was something he noticed and appreciated, given their commitment to their respective spouses.
Her visit was as a friend, as well as to officially assess Stauffenberg's mental and emotional health. Jeff knew and understood both motives. He was grateful for each.
"Nice to see you up and smiling. Your color looks good, how does your leg feel?"
"A little sore but no worse for the wear. I've been remembering dreams about my childhood, fire ants and all, while wounded and convalescing in Virginia. It's funny what the mind can do. I've been assured that I'm to be discharged later today. Pending your assessment."
She felt her face grow warm. Feeling guilty for doing her job, this was a first. She felt as if she were judge and jury. Irrational but there it was nonetheless. Jeff laughed at her flicker of discomfort, instantly setting her at ease.
"Well, since you brought it up, no sense in beating around the bush! Physical healing and dreams of fire ants aside, how do you feel mentally?"
"Really, I'm fine. Eager to get out of here."
"I understand that. Tell me, do you find yourself tired, confused as to the date or year, or having bad dreams – anything of that nature?"
"No, my sleep cycle is normal. I find myself sometimes a little tired during the day. I've noticed that it seems to happen shortly after receiving pain medication and the tired feeling wears off within two hours of taking my meds."
"That's to be expected. So your sleep cycle is normal, but how soundly do you sleep?"
"Once I finally get to sleep, I sleep quite well. I find it difficult to shut off my thoughts – I lay in bed a few hours before finally going to sleep. The sheer magnitude of what we have accomplished, and my part in it, rarely leaves my thoughts for long."
"Tell me, now that you've returned, how do you feel about being back in this time frame? Any disorientation, including physical balance, does anything seem out of place?" The last part of the final question was as much for other researchers as for her assessment. Being the person sent back in time, then returned to his own, Jeff would be the person most uniquely aware of small changes that might elude everyone else.
"You know Rachael, that is what surprises me most. I didn't really know what to expect – both in the 19th century and returning to our own. What surprises me most is that being back seems so ordinary. I thought I would feel somehow out-of-place but in some ways it's as if my time, the weeks for me in the 19th century was more a fantasy now than a reality. Seriously, were it not for the fact that I find myself back in the facility, with a bullet wound to my leg and what remains of a blackened eye, I might have easily thought it all to be a dream."
"What about your time there? How did that feel for you?"
"Well there were a few cultural and several linguistic adjustments that I had to make and yet, after a couple of hours or so if interacting with people, it was almost as if I had always been there. Well, not that I belonged per se but it didn't feel unnatural in the least."
"We thought that might be the case. Our museums and many period television programs and movies depict the 19th century fairly well. Additionally their use of English was fairly consistent with modern usage – for the most part the differences would be technology-specific. Some words for daily house goods and clothing would be a little different but let's face it – women's clothing and fashions are often a whole different language for men in any age!" Rachael hoped injecting some humor into the conversation would relax Jeff, seem less like an interrogation.
"On returning here I did have one dream which awoke me cold. I dreamed that I killed the wrong person, was caught and escorted to a scaffold to be hanged." Jeff appeared a little shaken as he recounted this.
"Some strange dreams usually the product of unbidden memories when awake, are to be expected. Even without this experience you – we all – have had strange dreams. I wouldn't read too much into it. Should they persist, or you begin to feel anxiety, you should tell me. Otherwise, this is both natural and to be expected. Well, at least we think so." Dr. Siwel went on, "As you are the first person to experience time travel – let alone a dangerous mission while doing so – we have no benchmarks for comparison. For that matter, as long as there are no long-term negative impacts in your life or relationships, you are the benchmark. As you can imagine, we'll be monitoring you pretty much the rest of your life. Just because things are going well now is no guarantee that you will not have psychological or physical complications at some time in the future. Now, if you begin to see unicorns in
the room with you while you're wide awake, be sure to let me know!"
Both laughed. Then a silence settled on the room, that comfortable silence of communication unspoken that neither person seemed eager to terminate. Finally, Jeff spoke again, almost a whisper while staring at the ground.
"You know, Rachael, I have never had a problem killing a known enemy to my country, now helping your country as well, or even an enemy to humanity in general. There was a time when the enemy was known – usually wearing a uniform or some kind of insignia. You should know that though I have no regrets killing Martin McGlothlin two things about this are bothering me. Really, I wish I could speak with either my wife or one of my church leaders about it, as it's deeply personal and impacting how I feel about my actions. I realize I can't, so I hope you meant it when you said I could tell you anything. I know you wouldn't judge me, at least not intentionally, but I'm asking you now to do just that."
"I'm here Jeff, and I have nowhere else I need to be for at least a couple of hours."
"Well, you know I'm not a person of many words, so I hope it won't take that long!"
He continued, "I don't feel even the slightest ambiguity about The Project. I'm fully aware what's at stake. Believe me; I had no problem taking McGlothlin out of play. I know the world – then and now – is better without him. My concerns that I just can't shake are two-fold:"
"First: Before, when I have killed it was done in a very cut-and-dry way. It was almost like I could compartmentalize my thoughts, take life without feeling – or at least without dwelling on my feelings after. This seems different. I was a personal witness to the atrocities McGlothlin inflicted on others, including his own wife and children. I need to know what became of his family. Did their lives improve, or worsen due to my actions? Were the slaves blamed for his murder and suffer consequences, or did the note I left behind exonerate them and his family? I need to know I didn't make matters worse for those people who were already so steeped in sadness and pain. That's not all of this first worry or better stated, 'concern.'"
Jeff went on to explain. "We know that future generations spawned by this odious man also were rife with people equally heinous and cancers to society. The world is better without them. Yet, among his descendants were good and honorable people. Who knows but that somebody who was yet to be born might have been the person to find a cure for diseases currently considered hopeless? In my theology, all people are literal spirit children of God, our common father. I firmly believe that we all come to this mortal life to gain a physical body and have learning experiences that are unique to mortality. So I know they will be born. Here the age-old Nature vs. Nurture argument comes into play. Will these people who would have been good now be born to families where they are abused themselves, leading a totally different life? Or will their inherent goodness remain strong and help them to become the person they could be. Vice-versa, will his descendants who were racists and criminals still be so when they are born, or maybe they will then be born into good and loving homes and grow up to be exemplary contributors to society? I know I can't but I wish I could address this issue with my Bishop. Perhaps there just is no answer – no scripture or belief system from any religion or philosophy in the world quite covers this."
"My other concern was that I actually enjoyed killing Martin. I killed him quickly, not that he deserved a quick and fairly painless death. Having seen for myself what a truly horrible person he was, how he loved to terrorize and abuse the helpless and weak, I found killing him to be a pleasure. I have to admit, that really worries me more than anything else. I know it was a large group of people, independent of me, to identify and target him for elimination as this first step of The Project. I'm glad for that. Still, the fact that I felt no qualms about being his executioner, I didn't think myself capable of such a thing. Before when I've taken out enemy combatants it was at a distance, with a sniper's bullet or a remote bomb. This was up close and personal, yet it didn't bother me as I feel it ought to have." Jeff finished, appearing a little relieved to have confessed his feelings to another person.
"I am unqualified to address your first concern. As you concluded, correctly I think, no holy book of any faith community covers what we are doing here. For me to attempt any speculation as to the feelings of deity regarding would be an exercise in futility, not to mention a high degree of arrogance. But I do have to add, the God I believe in would want us to use all within our power to protect the innocent. I have no doubt that you feel the same."
"As to your second concern, it is certainly valid. You are free to review the records on the outside, as well as our Temporally Shielded Room records to see what became of McGlothlin's wife and daughters. You are also certainly free to review the original and then altered history of any other person or persons you wish. I do hope the new history will bear-out the fact that you did his wife and daughters a charitable kindness. Even if their lives did nonetheless turn out to be difficult, even tragic – keep in mind that with him alive throughout most of their lives, that would have been the same situation anyway if not worse. Ultimately, while Martin's death was certainly a good thing - it could not have made matters worse for his family. I would like to know what you find."
"As to your personal feelings about killing him, I respect that. These feelings, you may want to know, were in your psychological profile as you were being considered for your role in The Project. It was critical that we had somebody with field experience in assassination but also somebody who did not relish and enjoy his job. He had to be somebody who could kill quickly and effectively – but not sadistically or to satisfy some sociopath flaw in his psyche. The fact that you have these feelings, and have been able to verbalize them to me, assures me that you are a good man who has done a difficult thing and, in so doing, protected the innocent. Do you understand and accept this?"
"Certainly. Logically I know it to be correct. I knew then, and know now, that it had to be done. I think once I know what became of his family and the others on the property I may feel better."
"There is something else I wanted to raise with you Jeff. The Project, now moved from theory to reality, is impacting all of us. The greatest impact is on you. You were selected because of your military expertise, linguistic aptitude, and scientific background. More than that we needed a born-and-raised American to execute – poor choice of words, sorry – to initiate and carry out the first mission."
"Execute is as good and honest a word as any, Rachael. No need to tip-toe around me."
"Thank you. We believe that your experience and the fact that you returned – physical wound notwithstanding – no worse for the wear bodes well. We know that emotionally you have handled the shift from present-to past-to present again without any evident damage to your psyche. That you may have concerns about your actions and their consequences to others is to be expected, any feeling human would. That you are mentally and emotionally stable – as expected given your psych profile – bodes well. It is now a near certainty that you can experience time travel without any lasting negative results. I must add here that while it isn't known how many times you would be able to shift through time without physical or psychological problems, it now appears that at least two or three times should be possible for you. Perhaps more."
She continued, "Thus, the leadership of The Project feel it safer to send you back again for the second and final, most crucial, history-changing mission. It is felt that to send somebody back who is completely inexperienced would be to add a needless unknown element into an equation that we know otherwise works. This means that we would need you in a few months – or less if possible – to step into the past again and carry out the mission for which The Project was conceived in the first place."
"Other than being an American, with military training, thus ideally suited to go to 19th century America, you were also selected because of your wife and children."
"Come again? What do they have to do with it?"
"It's simple, really. There was p
recedent in another field altogether. The first man selected to have an artificial heart transplant was very near death with no other options. As you might reason, many people fit that description. What made this man special were his faith and strong family bonds. His name was Barney Clark, a retired dentist. You'll be interested to know that one of the considerations was that family support to that first experiment was critical. Like you, Mr. Clark was a faithful Mormon with a strong and loving wife and children surrounding him. While expected to live just a few days, Clark survived 112 days after that pioneering surgery in 1982. Since then, others have had the surgery while awaiting human heart transplants. It was Mr. Clark, a man of great faith and a strong, supportive, loving family that made it possible."
"In many ways you are like Mr. Clark, Jeff. Your faith, your desire to serve humanity, the support of your wife, combined with other required attributes made you our prime candidate. We know how difficult it has been to be away from your wife and children for so long, even more difficult still to have to use deceptive measures when you contact them. Because we must ask you to continue with us, we would like to bring your wife in on what is really going on. We wish to invite your family to live here in Israel for the next year or so. Your children would be kept in the dark as to your real job. We feel it is best for you – and therefore for the success of The Project itself – to have your family here with your wife knowing, at least to a certain degree, of your work with our government. She would know that it is work approved by your own government, though even they are not aware of the full and exact nature of The Project."
"Wow, Rachael, this is a great deal all at once. How much would I be able to tell her? For that matter, how would I even begin to tell her?"
"Yes it is and I'm sorry. Though we can now go back in time, where the present is concerned, time is not on our side. We must move as quickly as possible. To do that, we need to know you are with us the entire way. This would include having your family here for your sake, and for our sake as well. The success or failure of The Project may well depend on you. As a matter of course we are researching other possibilities as we speak. All things considered, you remain our best hope. I don't mean to lay this on you but the truth is you may be our only hope for a successful outcome."
"My wife, Lynn, will eventually accept this situation, I'm certain. She won't be happy that I have deceived her all this time. I know that she'll be resistant to moving away from her family for any length of time – let alone to another country. Though intelligent and skilled in many areas of learning, acquiring a new language is not her forte. I realize she could get by just fine in English alone here but no knowledge of Hebrew will cripple her socially."
"We are already making plans to avoid as much culture and language shock as possible. There are plenty of American businessmen and women here with their families. With the Mormon university here, she and your children may be allowed some contact with your church, which we know is important to all of you. For you to stay here, and all of you to live openly here and be part of the small Mormon community, we would have to create a cover – something already in the works. We just need to know if this is something you would be able to accept, your wife and children as well. We know your children are college age and ready to move out of the house and be on their own but we feel that for security reasons they need to be here, too. Your family can be much more easily protected here than there. They'll be able to go to college here, courtesy of the government, and live in flats with their own roommates."
"I think Brian and Samantha would miss their friends though see this as an adventure. As I said before, I know Lynn would eventually come around – but I don't know that this is something she'd actually want. I won't pressure her into it."
"Well, think about it. You are well enough to travel, I believe. We will be sending you back to Colorado for well-deserved rest and to spend time with your family. Bring it up as casually as possible. We'll continue to have Mossad agents keep a watch over your family, even while you are there. I can't possibly emphasize enough your integral part in The Project, how important it is for you to maintain safety and security protocols. Being back in America and the familiar surroundings of home and society may make you feel safe – don't be lulled into a false sense of security. If word of The Project and your part in it ever got out you and your family would be in imminent and lethal danger."
"Oh, I won't. In some ways none of this seems real – as I said before, it's like I was in a dream. The potential danger to my family isn't lost on me. Here in the facility I have always felt safe. Outside, especially in my more familiar surroundings back home, I think I'll feel that my family is constantly exposed."
"That is good. Even the agents assigned to you can't foresee and protect you from every possible hostile. Rely on instinct. Observe every safety precaution that you can. I would caution you, though, to not keep looking over your shoulder - in other words don't do or say anything that would draw attention to yourself."
"I feel like you're not telling me something."
"You'll find out soon enough, best from me. It appears a building in Los Angeles has been attacked. We know it is the same strains of Ebola and Anthrax that are to be used against Jews."
"When did this happen?"
"We learned about it from the American Center for Disease Control. A sample of each was sent to us for study. We were able to confirm both. The Defense Minister and Prime Minster are considering giving the American government information we have on the diseases and the terrorists but are concerned that they may take action before we can implement the final phase of The Project. If they do, the terrorists would most likely strike prematurely – before we are ready. Should that happen the Israeli people would be decimated – as well as countless numbers of people around the world. The consensus is that it's a risk we can't take."
"I can't believe this. I thought we had months remaining."
"We believe the attack was most likely an accidental release of one of the bio agents. At this point it remains an isolated incident."
"Is there a casualty report?"
"From what we have learned, every person known to be in the building at the time, residents and visitors, have all died. What's unnerving is that a postal carrier was in the entryway – just inside the building but also separated from the lobby by another set of doors. He can only have been there but a few minutes, at most, as it has been confirmed that mail was only delivered into two resident boxes that were then closed and locked. The door to a third box was open but remaining mail in his bag confirms that he had yet to fill it. The fact that he was unable to put mail into the third box indicates that he succumbed to death within minutes from time of exposure."
"Who discovered this and were there fatalities outside the building?"
"From what the Americans have found, there were no casualties outside of the building itself. A resident returning home after work – she works a night shift – was unable to open the front doors to the building. Annoyed that it was blocked she peered in through the window to locate the obstruction. Seeing the body of the postal worker on the ground she called emergency services. Had he not been blocking the door she would have been another victim."
"Does my government know that this is part of the greater conspiracy and is related to The Project?"
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18. In the Multitude of Counselors
"Where no counsel is, the people fall, but in the multitude of counselors there is safety - Holy Bible, Proverbs 11:14 (Motto of the "Mossad")
Jerusalem, State of Israel
Efraim brought to the attention of his immediate superior certain irreconcilable discrepancies in Avi's international travel report, versus the report submitted by his Mossad shadows when he left the State of Israel on vacation.
A high-level analyst, Efraim's report and footnoted concerns were then forwarded to his superior, finally landing on the desk of the Mossad Chief, Isser Shiloah. Efraim's report coincided wi
th that of an analyst in the Shin Bet who had detected similar discrepancies with local trips reported by No'am.
Though the discrepancies in the latter's report were more difficult to discern, the pattern of the two men was clearly similar.
Comparing their reports with those of the Shin Bet operatives assigned to protect them, it became evident that Avi and No'am never eluded their shadows at the same time. It was evident that each man was most likely meeting the same person or persons by the very fact that they had not yet ditched their security detail at the same time. It was unclear if they were aware of each other outside of The Project itself.
In short order a discernible, and damning, pattern of evasive maneuvering was established between the two men. How they were able to elude their Shin Bet - and Avi's out-of-country Mossad - shadows wasn't yet clear but it certainly was impressive. Not trained in espionage, it became apparent to Isser that they must have been coached – he ordered additional and heavier counter-espionage measures be taken not only on them, but additionally throughout the entire Project. Counter-espionage measures were to be made slightly more obvious, not so much so that the employees of The Project would be concerned – or even notice – rather so that agents of hostile governments would take note of the change and know that Israel was on the alert.
The two directors of Israeli Intelligence jointly reached the conclusion that, while the terrorists were certainly approved – if not fully sponsored – by their respective governments, they did not believe that any of the three governments involved; the PLO/Hamas, Egypt, and Iran, were directly involved. The directors agreed that while their governments almost certainly gave tacit approval, it was doubtful that any of the governments knew the full scope.
Just as hostile countries in the Middle East had failed to eradicate Israel largely due to infighting, with each hostile country wanting bragging rights by being the one to wipe out Israel without having to share fame with others, the same could be said of terror organizations within these countries.
The most obvious and closest example is the PLO that was fractured with infighting between the Hamas and Fatah factions. Yet another case was the fighting between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims – especially within Israel's northern neighbor, Lebanon.
The Hezbollah, headquartered in Lebanon and comprised of Shi'ite Muslims, was teaming up with the Syrian military to fight the Sunni Muslim minority rebels. This wasn't going over well in Lebanon with both religious factions in her population. There had even been murders of Shi'ite men in prayer by Sunni locals because of the aid Hezbollah was giving al Fiyed's government in Syria.
Isser was well aware of the terrorists' attacks planned on the State of Israel and global Jewish targets, he being one of the few people with knowledge of the full scope of The Project. That there was a connection between No'am and Avi and the terrorists' plans was clear, but how deeply it went and how much they were involved wasn't yet apparent.
To arrest and interrogate them prematurely would alert the enemy as to how much the Israeli government already knew. On the other hand damage control was required to minimize information being leaked to the enemy.
Knowing where each man was going when they gave their Shin Bet shadows the slip was critical to finding their handlers. Avi and No'am had to be traceable without suspecting anything.
To this end a radioisotope, Barium-133, was slipped into their food by operatives in the cafeteria of each of their respective facility locations. This enabled highly sensitive hand-held devices to track them within a couple of city blocks.
In each of their homes outside the Project facilities a similar device was inserted inside the walls to signal an alert as they entered or exited, assuring they would not be able to slip away undetected.
As a further precaution, Barium isotope trackers were placed within the walls at the points of ingress and egress of each of the two locations of Project buildings where No'am and Avi worked.
In the weeks leading to the first landing of The Project, a more precise picture presented itself. Isser remained dumbfounded that one person was able to slip through the tests administered to weed out potential risks to The Project at the very onset. The fact that two were able to work such a deception was unacceptable. Heads would roll; Isser knowing his might well be the first on the chopping block.
The Mossad made sure that their successes were "leaked" to the world media – or at least the assumption of a successful Mossad operation was broadcast. Failures were rarely leaked but, when they were, it was to ultimately benefit the Mossad. Between the nature of The Project and the enormity of the success of the enemy, this was one failure that never would see the light of day.
Isser had frequent contact with his counterpart at Shin Bet to coordinate their efforts and monitor the situation with Avi and No'am. When Mona returned to Iran they already had a thick dossier of all of her movements and contacts within Israel, Europe, Turkey, and Iran.
Though not quite as radical as her sister, she was nonetheless the far more dangerous of the two. Isser and the Shin Bet chief, Meir Halevi, knew what lay in store for Mona on this – her final return trip to Iran.
Due to their ability to track No'am and Avi, their knowledge of Mona led them straight to her cell of operatives within the State of Israel. The local cell was soon linked up the chain to confirm the information they had on the hierarchy in Iran, Egypt, and the West Bank.
With deep-cover Mossad operatives established in Egypt and the West Bank, they were amassing information on enemy sleeper agents in several countries.
The scope of the terror operation was breathtaking in its boldness and size. Isser and Meir both knew that the very size of what was being planned would bring with it errors, small and large, due to the human equation.
This was simple psychology. The more people involved with something secretive in nature, the more likely mistakes would happen. Errors would occur either out of ignorance, jealousy, moral ambiguity, a breakdown in lines of communication, and divisions of loyalties - especially where different nationalities were involved. Sometimes sleeper agents living among their targets began to befriend and identify with the target more than their mission, a kind of reverse Stockholm Syndrome.
When the accident happened in the apartment building in Los Angeles, the terror organization went into a frenzy of activity in an attempt to cover their tracks, instructing the remaining sleeper agents in Los Angeles to go "dark."
With the city in chaos and all telephone communication – cell and landlines – jammed, combined with transportation traffic in a state of gridlock, it was impossible to reach everybody. The very size and global nature of the planned terror attack was its own Achilles Heel.
Israeli intelligence enjoyed a strong partnership with the American intelligence communities, assuring information flowing between the two countries. Neither country was under the illusion that the other offered 100% of everything available. Indeed, neither could, as too much information would reveal sources and methods which would put ongoing operations in jeopardy along with the identities and lives of the agents themselves.
Yet enough information was shared between the two countries to form an alliance against common enemies, a reliable partnership that transcended the personalities of whomever was leading the Knesset and occupying the White House.
The American Centers for Disease Control and it's counterpart within the State of Israel were also sharing information regarding the bio weapon in the Los Angeles apartment building.
What was unclear at the present was how this accident would affect the timeline of the terrorists. Would the terror leadership panic and go-for-broke with attacks being imminent, or would they delay to give themselves time to regroup?
Between the two leaders of the terror group, Ghasem and Abd, Ghasem was the more analytic and likely to keep a cool head. If he prevailed the known timeline for the intended strike date, still a few months away, would remain unchanged. Despite his dominant hand commanding personality it would
be imprudent to discount Abd.
Though his psychological profile showed him to generally be deferential to Ghasem, he had his moments when he acted on his own. Highly intelligent and not given to emotional outbursts or undue fear, Abd's psychological profile indicated that under stress he would be more likely to make decisions and act unilaterally, if communication with Ghasem were cut off for any reason.
In a "normal" war, there were signs of imminent attack between countries: A higher-than-usual amount of medical supplies were stored in hospitals and clinics. There would be more "chatter" in and between military and governmental communications. Food supplies and distribution lines were reinforced. There would be more than usual vehicular traffic to and from military and government headquarters, with lights in the offices remaining on throughout the days and nights leading up to the attack. Troops and military equipment would manifest a shift from typical deployment. These, and other signs, signaled an impending military offensive.
When the enemy does not wear a standard military uniform, and is working outside a government-sanctioned operation the signs of pending attack are less obvious, but they can be spotted under close scrutiny.
The key now lies in movements of the leadership, communication "chatter" including subtle messages encoded in website pages, as well as monitoring changes in sleeper cells that are known to the American and Israeli security services agencies. As important as these signs were, it was also vital to monitor the transfer of money to and from financial institutions, charities, and a host of other methods used for laundering the funds required for the financing of local and global terrorists activities.
A special department was established several years ago to monitor financial and Internet activities of known terrorist organizations and individuals. The Internet had become a critical tool to terrorist organization, planning, and communications. Not only were websites monitored, social networking sites were "data mined" and aggregated to identify users and profiles operated by terrorists. It was universal that a single terrorist would use a number of login IDs and social network profiles to accomplish his or her goals.
It was agreed to limit, for now, certain details about the terror operation and the Israeli response that would be provided to their American counterparts. Other governments would have to be eventually notified, certainly, but for now a limited flow of information would minimize the risk of the terrorists finding out that the United States and Israeli governments knew of the plot, and were piecing together a picture of the global reach of the planned attacks.
Once everything was exposed to the bright light of day the Russians and Chinese would register formal complaints about being kept out of the loop on this, though neither government would press too hard as both would accept that there was a need for temporary intelligence containment.
The reaction of other nations would be more vehement. Considering many of the nations sitting on the Security Counsel were terror-sponsoring states and/or countries with a documented pattern of human rights abuses, their petitions and grievances would largely be ignored.
When the time was right the leadership of both NATO and the UN would be informed simultaneously, along with leaders of countries whose populations were being targeted.
With the Barium tag and shadows tracking movements as well as the accumulation of all verbal, handwritten, electronic communications to and from No'am and Avi each, the last weeks, painted a clear picture of their motives. For No'am it was misguided love only. With Avi it started as similarly ill-fated love that recently included a damning financial transaction.
They also were able to concisely define the extent of the information passed to the enemy through Mona and her handlers. Because the terror leaders had recruited two people, each one of the leading personnel of The Project, a great deal of scientific and military information was in their hands.
Though the terrorists would have a good idea of the function of The Project itself, they didn't posses the scientific resources to fully understand it – though the implications would have been immediately apparent to them.
The military information would have been more readily useful to them, but not so useful as to give them the means to put a dent in The Project short of killing those involved or moving their own timeline radically ahead. The terrorists were simply not yet in a position physically or strategically for full implementation. It would yet be months before they were, just as it would yet be a few months before The Project could safely move forward with their own final phase.
Premature action on the part of The Project could have disastrous implications for the State of Israel. It would be a disaster, for example, to kill ancestors of the two terrorist leaders, Abd El-Monem Abou and Ghasem Suleimani, only to have some important event altered – for example – Israel's historic peace treaty with Egypt. Granted, the relationship had been significantly strained since the Muslim Brotherhood took control of the Egyptian government. Then the first elected president of Egypt - a Muslim Brotherhood supporter - was overthrown, easing the partnership once more. Even a strained relationship was better than non-existent. Even now the Egyptian government was brokering a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.
Abd's grandfather was a good friend to Nassar, the man who made peace with Israel that has lasted, albeit at times tenuously, to this day. The interplay with Ghasem and the Iranian leadership had been much less significant but even the slightest overlooked detail, the slightest miscalculation, could bring disaster in its wake.
Isser and Meir agreed it was now time to bring the two men in for a full debriefing. At the same time The Project in all locations would go into full lock-down for the duration. Over time additional food and other supplies had been quietly stored so that each of The Project locations would be self-sufficient for as much as a year. All three locations already had their own self-contained electricity supply, as well as underground reserves of water. Water purification systems were also online should they be required.
Additional personnel: medical, security, maintenance, genealogists, historians, and etcetera, were placed in critical positions. They were brought in, very slowly and cautiously, over a period of months so that each facility of The Project would be functioning 24/7, three shifts each day. For the duration all would be expected to work six days a week with alternating days off. The lock-down would be a physical and mental challenge but there was now no alternative.
No'am Abrams, the head of the facility for space-time singularities and quantum entanglement as well as temporal shielding had been replaced, though he didn't know it yet. A genius and the top of his field, his work and that of his team had proven successful. Some adjustments and improvements were needed, but at this stage replacing him with one of his assistants who had been with The Project the entire time wasn't an issue. Meir smiled when he thought of all the people in the world who felt they were irreplaceable and how graveyards were filled with people who also considered themselves to be impossible to replace.
General Dan Ashkelon, who they confirmed had no idea of Avi's actions, would have to be informed and Avi removed from the General Staff of the Tzahal. Ashkelon's health was faltering; he was well beyond the years he should have retired. His contribution to The Project was incalculable, the crowning achievement for his career. A good friend to both Isser and Meir, they dreaded having to tell him about Avi who they knew he considered as a son. He would have to be told before Avi was brought in.
They knew the General was enjoying a few well-earned days of vacation with his wife and a few of his grandchildren. He would already have been informed, and Avi and No'am brought in, but they would not consider cutting short these few days of rest and relaxation. The last time Ashkelon's wife spoke with Meir she mentioned how weak and tired her husband had grown over the past couple of years, how he had a pallor to his skin that worried her. Meir shared this with Isser – both were already worried about the advanced age and failing health of their friend. They realized this was probably his last truly fr
ee and enjoyable time; not interrupting it was their final, silent, gift to their old friend.
Meir was in his office, contemplating the initial success of The Project as well as the significance of the security breaches now tasked to him, when his phone alerted him to an incoming call from the operative watching No'am, "I am sorry to interrupt you sir. I'm the agent assigned to monitor No'am at his kibbutz . . ."
Table of Contents
19. Life for a Life
"And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life . . ." - Holy Bible, Deuteronomy 19:21
Kibbutz David Ben-Yisrael, State of Israel
No'am sat still in his room the rest of the day. Evening drew, the bright sunlight of a hot June day giving way to the warm golden glow of sunset, finally the dark of night enveloping his room.
Unable to bring any more tears of grief, his eyes now were dry and feeling like sandpaper as he lay back in bed. He barely registered the smell of dried vomit and bile that had crusted onto the stubble of his three-day-old beard.
Images of Mona and her torture could not be scrubbed from his thoughts. His thoughts would at times wander elsewhere, only to be snapped back to her. He thought of their happy days of hiking around the country, to her joy at his achievements, to his amazement that his physical limitations never seemed to even register with her, not even the disfigurement.
He never expected to marry, to have a family, to have those things in life that most people take for granted. He had never even kissed a girl before Mona. Early in life No'am accepted the fact that what he had in great abundance intellectually would have to compensate for those things he lacked in body and social skills.
By his late teenage years he truly accepted this and learned to find happiness in his studies, his work, and the three friends he had since grade school. As he rose to positions of prominence in the scientific field others latched on to his lab coat, feigning friendship, something he allowed so as to have at least a similitude of a social life but he was never fooled.
Childhood was difficult for him with few friends, no birthday parties – No'am remembered inviting other children to his birthday parties only to have nobody show. When he was six his parents suggested they celebrate his birthday by going somewhere special on vacation. For him, this was an improvement. He could now look forward to his birthday rather than dread it, spending the day crying. He never received a birthday party invitation, or any invitation for that matter, until his fifth year in school when he made a new friend at a kibbutz into which his family had moved the year earlier.
It was with this friend that he formed a friendship that soon included two other boys, friendships which proved to be binding for life and genuine – for these friendships had bonded before the "light" turned on in his head and he found mathematics and the sciences to be to him what breathing air was to others.
Though a mad and ill-fated grasping of Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle earlier in the day failed to help him understand the meaning of the events surrounding Mona's torture, he nonetheless felt a certain familiar calm within the certainty of math and nature itself, at least in the macro world.
He also realized that the calm he now felt was resolve, knowing what would come next for him for he knew with absolute certainty that she was by now dead – and there was nothing he could do to help her but there was something he could do to help himself find relief from this bottomless anguish. "Sweet, heroic Mona – how could I have allowed this to happen to you?"
Turning on the light in his room No'am found a pen, a piece of lined paper and began to write. He couldn't allow himself to look at his computer – the instrument through which he bore witness to the brutalizing of the only woman who loved him. No, that wasn't true, his mom loved him too. Mona was the only woman in the world to be in love with him.