Transgression

by R. S. Ingermanson

  No answer.

  “Brother Baruch!” Ari shouted. “I have met someone who needs you! Someone who needs care!”

  A moment later, the latch clicked. The door swung slowly open. Brother Baruch stood there, his beard gray with dust, his eyes red and bleary.

  Ari stepped to one side.

  Brother Baruch’s eyes swept past him to Hana, and his face reddened to the color of a brick. “You…need me?”

  “I lied to you and your friends,” Hana said quietly. “I do love you. But I am not worthy—”

  Brother Baruch shot forward and wrapped his long arms around her, muffling any words that might have followed. “My Hana!” he said, and there was no doubt in Ari’s heart that he would do anything, anything for her.

  Ari looked at his watch. Perhaps it would be wise to find something else to do for the next few hours. It was now noon. Rivka would return in time for the evening meal. They would share a joyful supper together with Brother Baruch and Sister Hana.

  In the meantime, Ari knew a market not far from here with several bookstores. Not books, actually—scrolls. Books with pages were not yet invented.

  It did not matter, though. Ari wanted to go investigate. He slipped away from the happy couple and smiled.

  Ari Kazan, you performed a commandment today—a mitzvah. Blessed be HaShem!

  * * *

  Rivka

  In early afternoon, a young man arrived at the house of Gamaliel.

  Rivka recognized him at a distance, and shivered. He was the Temple guard who had nearly arrested her. Was that only two days ago?

  She turned and hurried away up the street, stopping only when the young man entered Gamaliel’s house. Was he one of the forty conspirators intent on assassinating Paul? Or just a friend? What should she do? Try to talk to him? Avoid him?

  This waiting was driving her crazy. She hated standing around. It was much easier to obey God when he said, “Fight!” or “Argue!” or “Sacrifice yourself!” But when he said, “Wait!”—that made things hard. Ari was good at that sort of thing. He was patient. Strong. Stubborn as a two-headed mule.

  Half an hour later, the young Temple guard left Gamaliel’s house, going back the way he had come.

  Rivka might have caught him by running, but she had no idea what she would say to him. She felt she belonged here, waiting for Gamaliel. Waiting. A fate worse than death.

  Time passed slowly. Rivka’s stomach ached. She had eaten little that morning, and nothing at noon. She stood in what little shade she could find, and tried to look as if she were going somewhere whenever anyone approached on the street. This particular neighborhood was not very busy, unfortunately. She could have blended into a crowd, but there was nothing to blend into here, except dust and stones.

  Late in the afternoon, a girl of about ten arrived. Gamaliel’s grandmother Marta spoke to her briefly at the door, then sent her off running. Minutes later, Marta came out again, locked the door behind her, then scurried after the girl.

  Rivka stayed. And worried. What was Dr. West up to? Where was he? What was his physical condition? What was his plan?

  He would try something. He had to, or this whole sorry venture of his would fail. And Dr. West was not the sort of man to give up easily.

  Rivka clenched her fists. She didn’t give up easily either.

  Another half hour passed. The sun hung just above the horizon. A woman hurried up the street, stopped at Gamaliel’s house, unlocked the door, and entered.

  A woman? Not Gamaliel’s relative. According to Marta, he didn’t have any.

  Then who? A girlfriend? No. This woman looked to be in her forties. She was probably old enough to be his mother. And a girlfriend wouldn’t be much entertainment for a man as sick as Gamaliel.

  Rivka batted the possibilities around for half an hour. Should she knock at the door and try her luck with this strange woman? But what if Marta returned? There might be a nasty scene. Some gut instinct told Rivka to wait.

  By now, she felt very hungry. Soon it would get dark, and this street would become unsafe. Her feet ached from standing and walking all day. Was she crazy? Maybe Ari was right. She had gotten fixated on stopping Dr. West, and now she couldn’t let go, even after she had won.

  Just as the sun went down, the door opened. The woman came out, looked left and right, then locked the door and hurried down the street.

  Rivka waited impatiently. A certainty had formed in her mind. Dr. West did not know where Gamaliel lived, or else he would have come here. Therefore, Gamaliel would play his role. She need only wait, and he would come out. Then she could follow him and see what game Dr. West would play.

  There was only one problem with that. How could Dr. West play games if he didn’t know the other player? What did Dr. West know that she didn’t? What if Dr. West—

  The door of Gamaliel’s house opened. In its frame stood a stocky young man wearing a light cloak. His eyes were closed and he swayed slightly.

  Finally, he drew a deep breath, opened his eyes, and lurched out onto the street.

  Rivka sucked in her breath. The waiting was over. The game was afoot. The pieces were moving. And her teammate looked sick as a dog.

  * * *

  Damien

  Damien drew his right hand out of the cold water. The cold had helped with the swelling. He took another pain pill, checked his watch, and stood up. It was time.

  He rechecked his gun, his spare ammo, his victory cigar. Houston, all systems are go.

  Damien wanted to laugh. Rivka had gotten lucky twice. No, she had made her own luck twice. This time, she would not, because she didn’t know where the battle would be fought.

  What if they held a war and only one side showed up?

  Damien went to the door and stepped out into the darkness. According to his calculations, a week and a half had passed since the new moon. The moon should be halfway up in the sky and giving good light.

  Yes. There it shone. Perfect. Cloudless. Enough light for a marksman to kill at a hundred yards.

  Damien closed the door and locked it. He had expected problems all along. And he had gotten them—double what he feared.

  In the end, persistence paid off. That, and always having a backup.

  Damien fondled the gun in his left hand. Okay, Rivka Meyers, let’s see you top this one.

  Chapter 34

  Ari

  DARK WAS FALLING WHEN ARI arrived back at Brother Baruch’s house. He tried the door and found it locked. He knocked several times.

  Silence.

  Presumably Baruch and Hana had gone to visit someone. But where was Rivka? She had agreed to eat supper with him and Brother Baruch this evening. Much had happened since then. Could Rivka have gone somewhere with Baruch and Hana?

  No, impossible. She would insist on waiting for him.

  Ari glanced at his watch. 7:12 P.M. He was a bit late for an evening meal, but not overly so in a city without clocks.

  Fear slipped a blade into his heart. Possibly, Baruch and Hana had gone somewhere together, forgetting him in their joy. But Rivka should be here. She would have waited for him, unless something had gone wrong.

  What had she told him this morning? He began pacing. Rivka had said something about a certain nephew of Paul. Ari had not really paid attention at the time, and much had happened to drive her words from his mind.

  He remembered the number 9. That was a time. What was supposed to happen at that hour?

  Ari looked up and down the street. The light of the nearly full moon washed the streets in a glittering, metallic light.

  Think, Ari! What did she tell you? Think!

  His memory often played tricks on him. Sometimes he could not remember something for days, and then it blazed into view in his mind’s eye. But he did not have days. He had a couple of hours.

  God of our fathers, help me.

  * * *

  Rivka

  Rivka padded silently after Gamaliel, no more than fifty yards behind him.

&nbs
p; He staggered along, sometimes pausing, leaning against a wall to rest. He seemed oblivious to his surroundings. Not once did he look back.

  They turned left on a broad avenue, retracing the steps Yohanan ben Zakkai had taken with Rivka that morning. This street was wider but more forbidding than the residential district where Gamaliel lived. Here, shops and warehouses jammed together on each side, silent now after the end of the business day.

  The moon provided plenty of light, but Rivka took no comfort. In these deserted streets, she felt exposed. Ari had told her of his encounter with a bandit. If someone attacked her, she had no defense except a good scream. Would anyone hear?

  Gamaliel would, of course, but he couldn’t fight a mouse in his condition. If somebody attacked her, she would be on her own. By now, she felt thoroughly spooked. Every sound behind her caused her skin to crawl. Her muscles tensed up.

  If anyone bothered her—anyone—she would scream blue murder and fight like a tiger.

  Rivka looked behind her. Again, she saw nothing. She shivered, and looked forward to check on Gamaliel.

  Something moved behind Gamaliel in the shadows on the right side, between two large granaries.

  Rivka blinked. Her heart leapt into double-time. Dr. West?

  A cloaked shadow darted out into the street and rushed at Gamaliel from behind.

  Rivka sprinted toward the two men.

  The attacker slammed into Gamaliel. They fell into the street.

  Forty yards. Thirty. Too far!

  At twenty yards, Rivka screamed, “Damien!”

  The man’s head jerked up, and he twisted around to look at her.

  Rivka leapt in the air. She would kick him in the face if she could.

  Then she saw the man’s thin, pinched face, his filthy black beard. In the split second that she realized this was not Dr. West, her foot missed its mark, driving into his shoulder, twisting him further around.

  He screamed.

  Rivka crashed to the ground.

  The stranger rolled in the dust, moaning. Gamaliel lay in the street beside him.

  “Gamaliel! Are you well?” Rivka said.

  Gamaliel slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position. “Who are you? Who is this man? And where is the daimon you were shouting about?”

  “I am a friend of Yohanan ben Zakkai,” Rivka said. “Also a friend of your uncle Saul. HaShem has sent me to make sure you complete your errand.” She pointed at the man who had attacked him, now crawling away. “As for this man, I think he is only a bandit, and perhaps not a daimon as I first thought.”

  Gamaliel nodded wearily.

  “Are you well?” Rivka asked.

  He shook his head. “I am sick, and my knee hurts. But I must speak to my uncle tonight.”

  Rivka stood and extended a hand to help him up.

  He simply stared at her.

  “Can you stand?” she asked.

  He pushed against the ground and grimaced. “Yes.” His face turned pale as he slowly rose to his feet. Most of his weight seemed to rest on his left leg.

  “Can you walk?”

  He took a step forward, and his right leg buckled.

  Rivka caught him before he fell.

  He pulled away from her. “Please. It is not fitting for a woman to touch a man.”

  “It is not fitting for a man to talk to a woman, and yet you have done so,” Rivka said. “Can you walk?”

  “It is only a bruise.” He stepped forward again, and stopped. Sweat formed on his broad forehead.

  Rivka moved to Gamaliel’s side and threw his right arm over her shoulder.

  He tried to pull his arm back. “It is not fitting—”

  “Hush!” she said fiercely. “It is not fitting for your uncle to die at the hands of unrighteous men, but that is what will happen if you do not act now. So walk!”

  Gamaliel walked.

  Rivka groaned inwardly with each step. He stood only a few inches taller than she did, but he was a thick man, powerfully built, heavily muscled.

  Fortunately, they were already fairly close to the Antonia Fortress. Rivka guessed it lay about an eighth of a mile away.

  They walked in silence. With each step, Gamaliel seemed to be strengthening, leaning on her less. Rivka guessed that he had been correct. It was only a deep bruise.

  As they hobbled into the open space near the steps of the fortress, Rivka let go of his right hand and moved away from him. “Go in peace and do your task,” she said. “All generations will remember what you do tonight.”

  Gamaliel stopped for a moment and eyed her pensively. “Shalom, little sister. As the mountains are around Jerusalem, so may the Lord be around you, to bless you and to watch over you.”

  He turned and limped toward the fortress. Rivka waited until he had climbed a dozen steps, pounded at the gate, and been admitted into the complex. There was nothing more she could do. Now she could leave Paul in the hands of HaShem.

  She shivered. The memory of Gamaliel’s blessing warmed her a little. Two fragments of it began running a footrace through her mind. The mountains around Jerusalem. Watch over you.

  Why did that ring a bell?

  Rivka heard a faint noise behind her.

  Before she could move, two strong arms wrapped around her.

  Chapter 35

  Ari

  ARI HUGGED RIVKA TO HIS chest. “I have found you at last!” Blessed be HaShem that she was safe.

  She squirmed and giggled. “Ari, what’s gotten into you?”

  Wondering the same thing himself, he loosened his grip a little. “I was worried about you, Rivka. Do you know what time it is? It is dangerous out here after dark.”

  “Big girls aren’t afraid of the dark,” she said lightly. “And besides, it doesn’t matter what happens to me now. I’ve done my duty.”

  He held her at arm’s length. Had she been playing Wonder Woman again? “What have you been up to? Who was that young man with you?”

  “That,” Rivka said in a mock dramatic voice, “was the nephew of Renegade Saul. I told you about him, remember? He came here tonight to save his uncle’s life.”

  Ari narrowed his eyes. “And you wished to make sure he did his job?”

  “He was sick as a dog, and then some creep attacked him.” She gazed toward the Antonia. “If I hadn’t helped him out, he would never have made it.”

  “Well, congratulations.” Ari felt sick to his stomach. Great, Rivka. You have just ensured twenty centuries of persecution for our people by the followers of That Man.

  Rivka seemed not to notice. Her eyes focused on something far away.

  “Rivka, I must tell you about Baruch and Hana. You will never believe it.”

  “What happened. Did they elope?”

  Ari jabbed her playfully. “As a matter of fact, I believe they did.”

  “What?” Her head spun around to stare at him. “You’re joking.”

  “No joke. It was truly bizarre. This morning, some friends of Brother Baruch and Sister Miryam found out that Hana is a zonah.” Ari told her the whole story.

  By the time he finished, Rivka’s eyes glittered with happiness. “Ari, you did a wonderful thing! Weren’t you worried about interfering with history and all that?”

  He shrugged. “I have told you my theory already. We cannot interfere with history. The fact that we are here means we are history.”

  She studied him for a long moment. “We really can’t go back, can we?”

  He shook his head, took a deep breath. Finish it, Ari. Do it now, or do it never. If Baruch had the courage to ask, and Hana had the courage to answer, you can, too.

  “We are trapped here, Rivka. You stayed to finish a task. I stayed...for you.” His eyes locked on hers. “I want you to be my wife. Will you…marry me?”

  Rivka stared at him for a moment. Then she burst into tears.

  * * *

  Rivka

  Rivka had never felt so confused in her life. Here she was, trapped in a doomed city, cut off
from her old life, living among her own people, and yet a foreigner. Only one man in all the world would ever come close to understanding her. He was kind, gentle, and humorous. He put up with her moods and her sass. And yet he had made it perfectly clear that he didn’t understand the one thing most important to her. He couldn’t tolerate her religion. And he had sworn never to follow That Man.

  What would life be like with such a man as Ari?

  And suddenly, she couldn’t see anything, and he must think she was a terrible fool to be crying at a time like this, but who cared what he thought anyway?

  And the answer was that she cared. She cared what he thought of her. She liked him—had always liked him—but she had thought there was no danger of falling in love with him because he was off-limits.

  And now?

  Now he was the only man left in-limits. And she did care about him, though she had been trying so hard not to.

  She felt Ari’s arms around her, and she hugged him.

  “I am sorry,” he said. “I did not mean to ambush you like that. It was—”

  “Wait!” Rivka pushed him away and stared up at him. “Say that again, Ari.”

  His eyes showed puzzlement. “I am sorry, Rivka. I should have waited a little before I—”

  “No, the other thing!” Rivka wiped her eyes with her sleeve. “Ambush. You didn’t mean to ambush me.”

  “Yes, it was too sudden, and I am sorry—”

  “It’s okay, Ari! But I just thought of something.” She suddenly felt light-headed with fear. “Dr. West! I’ve been wondering all day where he is. He didn’t show up where he was supposed to be.”

  Ari’s eyes probed hers. “That depends entirely on who does the supposing. Don’t you think it is time—”

  “I guessed wrong. And look how high the moon is, and how bright. It’s perfect for an ambush.”