see it in the Norse myths, the adventures of Greek and Roman heroes and demigods, the Indian Mahabharata, and even folk stories like the tales of King Arthur and his knights of the round table.”
Hunter raised an eyebrow. “Well, Dr Curzon, you don’t disappoint. You clearly call it as you see it.” He eyed her carefully. “I like that.”
“But surely the Ark of the Covenant existed?” Prince pressed her.
Ava hesitated. There was a knack to finding the right balance with every audience. In her experience, discussing the Bible in the context of scholarship and science often proved a flammable mix.
“For those who believe in the Bible … ,” she began, but was cut short by Hunter.
“It’s okay,” he interrupted, “just give it to us straight.”
Ava nodded. “The Ark is attested many times in the Bible. In my view it, or something very like it, almost certainly existed. But we cannot be confident how, when, or where it was created, or what its purpose was.”
All of the people around the table were listening intently. Prince was making detailed notes.
“What did it do?” Hunter asked, tapping his fingers thoughtfully on the table. “I mean, what was it for?”
“Again, we only have the Bible for guidance,” Ava answered. “The Book of Exodus says the Hebrews used the Ark as a strongbox to carry the stones engraved with the Ten Commandments. They also put in it a pot of manna, the miraculous food that fell from the heavens as they crossed the desert. Another part of the Bible says that it also contained the ceremonial staff of Aaron, the first high priest, Moses’s brother.” Ava paused. “It was essentially their tribal treasure chest, a coffer containing key symbols of their cultural identity.”
“That’s it?” Ferguson asked. “Then why was it was so sacred, if it was just a decorated carrying case?”
Ava nodded. “There’s more. The lid was called the Mercy Seat. Yahweh, the Hebrews’ god, told them he would meet with them there, above the lid, between the wings of the cherubim, in order to give them his instructions. That’s why it was thought to possess divine power, and why the Hebrews carried it into battle with them,” Ava paused. “As a divine object, access to it was strictly controlled. According to the Bible, on one occasion Yahweh killed fifty thousand and seventy people just for looking at it.”
Prince shifted in her seat.
“And it was kept in King Solomon’s Temple, right?” Hunter asked after a pause.
“Later,” Ava nodded. “If the Bible is correct, it was built around 1290 bc. At first, the wandering Hebrews kept it in a tent called the Tabernacle, which they pitched whenever they stayed anywhere for a period. But once King David had conquered Jerusalem and the Hebrews ceased to be a nomadic tribe, his son Solomon completed the first solid Temple around 957 bc and placed the Ark in it as its most sacred treasure.”
“What happened?” Prince asked. “What became of it?”
Ava took a sip of the water Hunter passed her. “The Ark disappeared from history’s pages in 597 bc, when the armies of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon razed Jerusalem to the ground in one of the most cataclysmic events ever to befall the Hebrews.”
“Babylon?” Prince frowned. “Wasn’t that in Mesopotamia or somewhere near there?”
“Mesopotamia is modern Iraq,” Ava confirmed. “Babylon is about fifty miles south of Baghdad.”
A silence fell across the table.
Ava had no idea what she had just said, or why the three of them were staring at her.
Hunter spoke next, this time slowly and deliberately, wrinkling his brow as he directed the question at her carefully.
“So, Dr Curzon, are you telling us that a long time ago an Iraqi warlord sacked Jerusalem and took away the Hebrews’ most sacred religious object—their god’s throne?”
Ava was beginning to feel the strain of not knowing what this was about. “The Bible says Nebuchadnezzar razed Jerusalem and carried off all but the poorest people from the southern kingdom of Judah. He took them to Babylon, where they lived undisturbed, but in exile. Before leaving, he torched the Jerusalem Temple and melted down its great pillars and other bronze objects, and carried off all the booty to Babylon. There’s no specific record of what happened to the Ark, but Nebuchadnezzar looted everything of monetary or propaganda value—and the Ark must have been top of his list.”
She took another sip of the water. “But there are other legends, too. Contradictory ones. Like the Ark being kept in the Jerusalem Temple on a mechanical apparatus for lowering to safety into a subterranean tunnel system if ever danger loomed.”
There was another long pause.
Too long.
Ava was keenly aware the atmosphere in the room was becoming increasingly charged by the moment.
“If you don’t mind me asking,” she turned to Hunter. “Why are you so interested in the Ark’s history and this model?”
Hunter pursed his lips, interlacing his fingers. Fixing her with his grey eyes, he took a deep breath and sat forward in his chair. “Let’s just say this is now a military priority, and something we all need to learn about real quick.”
Ava could feel her palms growing moist.
Had she heard right?
She bunched her hands into fists under the table, and dug her nails into the flesh of her palms. She was barely aware of asking the next question. She heard her voice, as if from a distance. “Where did this model come from?”
Hunter looked over at Prince. After a pause, the tall woman nodded slowly.
He turned back to Ava, placing his huge hands flat onto the table in front of him. “Dr Curzon, this is not a model in a museum. It’s a photograph, taken this morning by a hostile party in a warehouse in Kazakhstan. It comes to us with an assurance that it’s the real Ark of the Covenant, and with certain very serious political demands.”
Ava heard his words, but had trouble processing them. It was as if he was talking in slow motion.
Her mind whirred.
Was this some kind of elaborate hoax?
When she spoke, her voice was hoarse and cracked. She addressed the question to the whole table. “Are you telling me you believe this might really be the genuine Ark of the Covenant?”
Hunter fixed her with a hard stare and exhaled deeply. When he spoke, it was in a low and quiet voice. “That, Dr Curzon, is precisely what you’re going to tell us. The hostile party has said we can send an independent expert to verify the artefact. You just got the job. Major Ferguson here will go with you as your technical assistant.”
Ava’s head span.
“Your plane leaves for Kazakhstan in forty minutes.” Hunter got up to leave. “Ms Prince will see you are provided with everything you need for your trip.”
A thousand questions flooded Ava’s mind.
“General, I’ll need lab conditions to examine the artefact—special lighting, tools and chemicals, photographic equipment … .”
Hunter waved his hand dismissively as he opened the door for her. “I’m afraid none of that will be possible. You’ll be fully briefed on arrival in Astana. I believe you already know Peter DeVere. He’ll be joining you there, and he’ll fill you in.”
Despite the reassuring tone in Hunter’s voice, the effect the name had on Ava was anything but comforting. As she heard the words, she felt as if she had just been punched hard in the stomach.
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