The Pilate Scroll

by M. B. Lewis

  10

  Kadie couldn’t reach Brian in time. The seizure was bad but hitting the ground would be worse. His knees buckled, and his body twisted as he fell to the ground. At the last second, Duke swooped in behind him and caught his shoulders. He held him there for a brief moment, then gently laid him on the ground.

  “Brian? Brian? Are you okay?” Tears welled in her eyes as she brushed his bangs across his forehead. He was the only family she had; she couldn’t lose him. The boy needed his medicine.

  “Is everything all right?” Duke sounded concerned.

  “He’s having a seizure. He’ll be fine. If he’d hurt his head, we’d have a bigger problem.”

  “I’m just glad I was close enough to help.”

  Kadie held Brian in her arms for a few moments, and his eyes blinked open. He sat up, confused, and scanned his surroundings. She’d seen this reaction many times.

  “Brian, are you all right? Do you know where you are?”

  Brian nodded and looked at Kadie. “I am okay.”

  “You need your medicine?” she said.

  “Yes.”

  Kadie rose and gathered her bags. “Let me get him upstairs and give him his Lamictal. I’m sorry.”

  Duke’s forehead scrunched. “It’s not a problem. Is there anything I can do to help?”

  Kadie shook her head as she steered Brian toward the door. “No, we’re fine. Thank you. I’ll get back to you about tomorrow.”

  The two went upstairs to their suite, where Kadie led Brian to his room. She found his medication locked away in the hotel room safe, gave it to him, and put him to bed.

  “What time—are we going to—the Garden Tomb?” he said.

  Hmm. The trip to Jerusalem had already slipped her mind. She didn’t want to go but realized now that she had to.

  “I’ll go find Duke and ask. Will you be okay while I’m gone?”

  Brian nodded. “Teee Veee . . .” He smiled at her in the way that almost always made it impossible for her to say no.

  “All right, but only while I’m gone. When I get back, it goes off.”

  “Okay.”

  She turned on the television in his room as she walked back into the living area. Stuffing the room key into her pocket, she headed downstairs.

  Duke remained where they had left him, halfway through his dinner. He started to stand as she approached, but she stopped him.

  “Please don’t stop on my account,” she said. “I just wondered if the offer for tomorrow still stands?”

  “Of course. I think you’ll like it. I’m sure Brian will.”

  Kadie nodded. “He’s very spiritual. Most people with Down syndrome are.”

  “I know. I have had the opportunity of being a buddy at the Night to Shine a few times. What an amazing experience.”

  Kadie was impressed, though she tried to hide it, that Duke had attended the prom night for people with special needs organized by the Tim Tebow Foundation. What had started off the first year with forty-four churches had grown to almost a thousand.

  “Well, thank you for the offer to join you. You’re so kind.” She thought she saw the gruff pilot blush.

  “What faith are you?” he said.

  Kadie quivered. She knew the question would come eventually. “Brian is a non-denominational churchgoer.” She hesitated, then decided the time had come to put her cards on the table. “I’m not a believer, but I’m willing to go for him.”

  Duke’s eyebrows raised. Yup, he wasn’t expecting that one.

  “Well, I’m glad to see you support him in his faith.”

  “It helps him. He likes to pray, and he loves the stories of Jesus.”

  Duke leaned back in his chair and rubbed his chin as his eyes narrowed. He didn’t merely look at her, though—he studied her, sized her up. And she didn’t like it.

  “What condition does he have?”

  “Huh?” Not the question she expected, given her declaration as a non-believer.

  “His condition. You said he had to have medication earlier.”

  “He has a brain tumor. It’s terminal. The doctors say he has six to twelve months. The tumor causes seizures. He has them from time to time. If he gets too excited or stressed out, it seems to manifest.”

  “Oh. I’m so sorry.”

  Duke struggled with what to say next, and she wasn’t in the mood to discuss Brian’s condition. “Tell me about yourself,” she said.

  “Me?”

  She giggled. “Yes, silly. You don’t expect me to leave town with a perfect stranger, do you?”

  Duke smiled. “No, I guess not. Well, hello. My name is Duke Ellsworth. I’m a former Air Force pilot who now flies with Q1 Aviation, a military contractor. That’s about it. Now, what about you?”

  “Not so fast, fly-boy. What did you do in the Air Force?”

  “I flew the AC-130J. It’s a special operations bird. We were called Air Commandos.”

  “Air Commandos? Is that like a Delta Force Commando?” A mischievous grin draped across her face.

  “Touché. No, Air Commandos is what we were called. Delta Force would never call themselves Delta Force Commandos.”

  “You guys sound like a bunch of kids.”

  Duke chuckled. “You’re not far off. Anyway, the gunship flew close air support for special operations troops on the ground—a great plane to fly. I guess I flew it a little too much. At least that was what my wife used to tell me.”

  “You’re married?” Kadie noticed his ring finger. It was empty.

  “Was. Now Divorced. She said I spent too much time with my airplanes.”

  “Kids?”

  His eyes started to turn glassy. There was more to this gruff pilot than met the eye. Duke stared at his dinner plate. This was obviously a sore spot; time to help him out. “Princeton.”

  Duke snapped out of his gaze. “Huh?”

  “You asked about me. I graduated from Princeton with a degree in ancient studies. I played volleyball there for three years. After I graduated, I went to Kent State for a Master’s in Latin. That’s where GDI found me. They offered me this opportunity for the summer. It was the perfect job for my application for a faculty position back at Princeton.”

  “Impressive. When do you start?”

  “I haven’t gotten the job yet. If I do, I’ll start in the fall.” She checked her watch. Satisfied that she’d dodged all the pressing issues and didn’t embarrass herself or Duke, it was time to go. “What time do we need to meet in the morning?”

  “How about 9:00 a.m.?”

  “Nine is perfect.” She paused. “You know, I’m only doing this for Brian. I-I don’t believe in this. I believe in science.”

  Duke appeared unfazed. “I understand. I also understand it takes a lot of faith to believe in science.”

  “Faith?” Her brow furrowed, but the corners of her mouth crept upward. Her eyes grew wide in anticipation of how he would link those two together.

  “Hebrews 11:1 . . . Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance of what we do not see.”

  Kadie pursed her lips and squinted; there was more to this man than she originally thought.

  11

  Kadie and Brian met Duke the next morning in the lobby. Duke cleaned up rather nice, she thought. Clean-shaven, fresh clothes—she caught herself nodding as he walked up. When he flashed a broad smile, she realized she had already been smiling wide.

  They greeted each other; then, Duke scanned the lobby. “I hope you don’t mind that I arranged for a driver. It’s a little more than an hour to Jerusalem and will be easier for someone who knows their way around.”

  “That’s fine,” she said.

  “Shotgun!” Brian said. “I got—the front seat.”

  Duke patted him on his back. “You got it, Brian.” He turned to Kadie. “Ready to go?”

  She nodded, and the trio marched through the lobby to the car outside. The driver’s name was Mustafa, a Palestinian living in Israel. Kadie had a few questions
for him regarding the state of Israel and was surprised that the man enjoyed living here, as well as the way the Israeli government treated them. His positive response and attitude were something she’d never seen on the news back in America.

  After a few minutes, Duke broke the silence. “Kadie, I’m curious. How did you get involved with GDI? No offense, but you are kind of young to be with this outfit.”

  “I was very fortunate. They needed a linguist with special skills. Let’s face it. There aren’t that many of us around these days. I guess during their search for someone, the executive vice president for their Science and Technology Division, Doctor Patricia Hastings, reached out to me and made an offer.”

  Duke nodded. “Impressive.”

  “She’s leading the team in Istanbul. That’s who we’re going to link up with. Anyway, they wanted someone fluent in Latin and Aramaic. That’s me.”

  Duke’s jaw dropped. “More impressive.”

  Kadie smiled. “I said I wouldn’t go without Brian, and I had to be back before the fall. She said she really needed me, and GDI was very accommodating. They covered all Brian’s expenses and ensured we had a two-bedroom suite at every location, although the suite in Port Said was dismal compared to the one in Cairo.”

  “But what is GDI doing here?”

  Kadie paused. “I-I can’t say. But I can say it’s my opportunity to change the world.”

  “GDI is changing the world?”

  Her back straightened, and she clasped her hands in front of her, resting them on her lap. “For decades now, mankind has been using bombs and bullets to impose their will on the rest of humanity. GDI is using science and technology to show people there is another way. We don’t have to use violence to get our way.”

  Duke’s brow furrowed. “I didn’t see you guys throwing science and technology at ISIS when they were shooting at you the other night. Your GDI guy used a rifle.”

  “That’s not the same thing. We were attacked.”

  “Precisely. And we responded appropriately. You know, you’re dealing with ideologies that have been in conflict for thousands of years. You’re not going to change their minds with a hug and a smile.”

  Kadie’s sat tight-lipped. She didn’t know what to say. This—this pilot tried to shatter her image of what GDI set out to do. They were here to save the world; she just couldn’t say how. Here she was, yet again, angry at his ill-informed man. But she wasn’t mad at how he treated her. No, she was upset with his opinion. He still believed that violence was necessary to solve problems. She felt there was another way. But GDI used his way to get out of their predicament at the airfield, and she was mad because he pointed it out. Was that, even right?

  After a few more minutes of silence, Duke spoke again. “How . . . how did you realize, at such a young age, that you had this skill for languages?”

  She shifted in her seat. “Mom and Dad were archeologists. I traveled with them once I was old enough. Dad said I caught on to the language wherever we went. I began reading at an early age. Reading things most kids that age didn’t read. So, they encouraged me, and here we are.”

  “Are they retired now?”

  Kadie shook her head and clenched her teeth. She was still angry at her parents for abandoning them. They left a twenty-year-old girl to raise her thirteen-year-old brother. “When I was junior in college, they were killed in a car wreck. Brian was in the car with them. That’s how we discovered his tumor. He kept having headaches after the accident. When they did the MRI, they found a growth around his pituitary gland. He had surgery a year and a half ago, but it’s come back worse.

  “So, Brian came to live with me while I finished off my undergrad degree. It took me a year longer because I had to lower my course load to help him, which caused me to quit the volleyball team. That would have taken way too much time. Brian earned his high-school certificate of completion the same semester I finished graduate school. It worked out, and I wouldn’t change anything.”

  “You’re a good person.”

  “I love my brother. He’s the only family I have left.”

  Duke reached in his back pocket and pulled out a can of Skoal Wintergreen Long-Cut. He opened the lid and pinched a bit between his thumb and forefinger, then tucked it between his lip and gums.

  “That’s disgusting,” Kadie said, her face drooping.

  Duke spit in an empty water bottle. “What can I say? It relaxes me. And dipping is my only vice.”

  Kadie crossed her arms and stuck her chin out. “I’m sure dipping snuff is hardly your only vice.” She turned her body more toward him. “We’ve talked enough about me. Tell me about you. Why are you doing what you’re doing here? Why aren’t you in the airlines? There is a world-wide shortage of pilots, you know.” She had seen numerous reports on television back in the States.

  “When I left the Air Force—” Duke stopped. Kadie sensed something was wrong. He was holding back. He gazed at her, a sadness in his eyes. She felt sorry for him before he ever said anything.

  They sat in silence for a moment before Duke continued. “When I left the Air Force, it just didn’t make sense to go to the airlines. What purpose did it serve? I figured I’ve only got so much time left on this planet, and I might as well spend it helping our troops on the ground in combat.”

  Kadie nodded. “That—that’s so noble.” They rode in silence for a moment, and she shifted her gaze to the passing countryside. There was nothing but rock.

  Rock. That’s what this country was—rock. Tan-colored rock against a cerulean sky. It had been carved away over the centuries, the excavation evident. An occasional tree sprouted up out of the crags in the rock, but a forest was nowhere in sight. Occasionally, in the distance, they could see buildings bunched together. As they traveled further into the wilderness, a Bedouin would appear wandering in the distance with a camel or a donkey. Fascinating—thirty minutes outside the city, people still lived like they did two-thousand years ago. Except with satellite TV.

  Kadie could see why Brian liked this man. She was starting to like him, too. “You certainly impressed Brian with your flying skills. It was exciting how you zoomed in there so fast with all your lights out and no lights on at the runway. We didn’t even see you until the last minute before you landed. It was amazing that all that was coordinated in a matter of hours, and you arrived when you did.”

  “A matter of hours?” Duke looked confused at her comment, then spit in the empty bottle. “That pickup had been planned for three days.”

  12

  Jerusalem, Israel

  On the road to the Garden Tomb

  * * *

  Three days? What? How could he have known he was coming for three days?

  “Duke, that doesn’t add up,” Kadie said.

  “What doesn’t?”

  She bit her lower lip as she mulled over the new information. “We were only told that night we were leaving. And it was because ISIS was targeting us.” Kadie went on to tell him about Samuel’s murder, her chase through the streets of Port Said, and the rapid departure from the hotel that morning.

  Duke looked at her matter-of-factly. “I don’t know what to tell you. The pickup was coordinated between the CEOs. My boss and your boss are apparently buddies. Mac and I were scheduled to rotate home, so they had us fly the King-Air to pick your team up at the airfield and fly you to Istanbul. We were supposed to fly it back to the States after that.

  “We checked with military intelligence before we left Iraq. They suspected that someone occupied the airfield, but they never mentioned ISIS. The only reports of ISIS in Egypt were passive.”

  “Passive?”

  “Yeah. Mild protests, waving a flag in front of a news camera, recruiting—that kind of stuff. But there weren’t any reports of any violence on their part.”

  Kadie stared out the window without speaking for several minutes. How could they have known?

  “How much longer—Kadie?” Brian broke the awkward silence as he climbed around
on his knees, looking backward.

  “Brian, buckle back in,” she said.

  Mustafa, the driver, was saying something in Arabic, pointing at his seatbelt. The volume and tone of his voice indicated he was upset.

  “I’m sorry, Mustafa. He gets a little excited sometimes. How much longer before we get there?” She knew they had another thirty minutes, at least according to the GPS on her phone.

  “Thirty to forty minutes,” the driver replied.

  “I can—not wait,” Brian said.

  Kadie sat back, frustrated. “This is a long ride for a fairytale,” she said under her breath.

  Duke leaned toward her. “Come again?”

  “I go to great lengths to support his fairytale endeavors. We might as well be going to Disney World.”

  The two spoke in hushed tones so that Brian couldn’t hear them in the front.

  “So, you’re saying God is a fairytale?”

  “In my opinion, yes. I deal in facts. There is no scientific evidence that God exists.”

  “There’s no scientific evidence that says He doesn’t exist either.”

  “Sure, there is. Haven’t you ever heard of the big bang theory?”

  “Yeah, one of my favorite old TV shows,” Duke said with a grin.

  “Funny. You’re afraid of admitting the theory of evolution is what created all this. You people would rather believe in some old man in the sky who does magic tricks to keep you in check. The idea that life on earth began with a small amoeba that turned into a slug and crawled out of the sea and started life as we know it, scares you.”

  “I thought you said you deal in facts?”

  Kadie tensed. “I do.”

  “But the two main concepts you just named, evolution and the big bang, are theories. You said that yourself.”

  “So?”

  “So, a theory is basically someone’s opinion, right? Surrounded by what they consider evidence, but it’s not proven. It’s just a theory based on information they’re choosing to recognize, right?”