He looked back at Mina, deadly serious. She saw his blank eyes, without an ounce of humanity left in them. This man was a calculating machine, who would stop at nothing to get the information he wanted. He’d spoken of Liat in the past tense. Had they murdered her? She knew nothing. Mina hadn’t told her a word. She couldn’t keep up this charade any longer.
‘I sent it by special military courier to a hotel in Safed.’
‘Which hotel?’ Oberon asked matter-of-factly.
‘Central Merkazi’, she answered.
He turned to Natasha. ‘Call the hotel. Ask if Miss Osman has a reservation there and if they’ve received a package for her.’
‘Yes sir.’
‘So, Mina, have you deciphered that delightful tablet?’ Oberon asked.
‘I… I just translated it’ she stuttered.
‘And?’
‘And it’s a version of the flood in the Gilgamesh’s Epic, the eleventh tablet.’
‘That’s it?’
‘Yes. Should there be something else?’
‘I’m the one asking questions, Miss Osman,’ he replied icily.
Natasha returned, and whispered something into Oberon’s ear. He smiled and turned to Mina.
‘Well Mina, I’m sorry we need to part at this point in time. It would have been a pleasure to know you more… intimately.’
He paused. Then, savouring every word, he added, ‘Too bad, really. Had I been less pressed for time, we might have discussed the myth of the sacred tablets of Nineveh that enable their possessors to predict natural disasters.’
‘Tablets? There is more than one?’
‘Oh yes my dear.’ He paused. ‘I’m not in the habit of blabbering away, but as you will not be talking much in the foreseeable future…the myth and purpose of this sacred tablet is described on an ancient Chinese oracle bone I have in my modest collection. I’m told it dates back to 1500 BC and refers to a stone tablet from the land in the West between two mighty rivers, the text of which was copied onto four clay tablets that were sent East and West… and you seem to have stumbled upon the only surviving one, and quite evidently the original one. As the Epic of Gilgamesh runs on twelve tablets, one might call your stone tablet from Mosul the “13th Tablet”. All in all, thank you very much.’
He nodded at the two men and then shot a meaningful look at Natasha. They brought Mina to her feet and forced her down the stairs, back onto the platform. Stepping up behind her, one of the men knocked her unconscious, while the other prepared a large canvas sack, which they filled with heavy rocks. While they worked, Natasha scanned the location to make sure there were no witnesses. The men slipped Mina into the sack and tied it up. They then loaded it onto the tender. Before long they were out in the open sea.
Natasha was looking through her binoculars, and from afar saw the two men throw the sack into the dark waters. No-one would ever find her body. Oberon looked at her inquisitively. She nodded back to confirm the men had done their job. He relaxed visibly and picked up his champagne flute.
‘I think we should finish this excellent and rather rare champagne.’
‘Yes sir,’ she said, sitting down next to him, ‘It would be a shame to waste it.’
‘Well, that’s all sorted. My guests should arrive soon. Take the day off tomorrow, then make your way to Safed with your men and pick up the tablet. Call me when you’ve got it.’
Natasha seemed thoughtful.
‘What’s on your mind?’ Oberon asked, putting his hand on her knee.
‘I was wondering how the girl managed to send mail through a special military courier.’
‘She’s a resourceful one,’ he answered, as if he were talking about his clever golden retriever.
‘Was, sir.’
‘Of course, was.’
‘Should I cancel the standing order to her account?’
‘No, keep it running. It’s a great alibi. Had I planned to murder this delightful creature, would I still be paying her?’
He smiled as he thought about the bright young woman he had just disposed of. ‘Perhaps I shouldn’t have been in such a hurry. Maybe she knew more than she let on.’ His doubts lingered, but only for a moment. He glanced at Natasha as she crossed her legs. She knew that look well and rose slowly from her chair. Turning around to face him she unbuttoned her top. She was not wearing any underwear. She pulled a silver clasp from her head and let her blond hair sweep over her bare shoulders and breasts. He watched her, breathing heavily as she walked around the table. He sat back in his chair and held her eye as she leant down and gripped him by his tie. She brought her face close to his, and slipped the tip of her tongue between his lips. He grabbed her from behind, trying to pull her down. She held him at a distance while she slowly slipped out of her skirt. He was overcome with desire for his deadly assassin. Leaving her thigh-length boots on, she stepped forward and straddled him. She moaned gently as she sank into his passionate embrace.
A few hours later, a man standing on a small boat in the darkness of the harbour made a phone call.
‘Master… she went on the yacht but it’s back in the harbour, and she hasn’t returned. We believe she was disposed of by Wheatley.’
‘That would be very unfortunate. Keep watching Wheatley and his men.’
Chapter 16
December 9th, 2004
Mina woke up shivering. In a daze, she looked around and thought she saw metal walls. ‘Where the hell am I?’ She tried sitting up, but she was zipped up in a sleeping bag, and covered with a pile of duvets. Her head felt like it had been pumped up with pressurised air, but it was nothing compared to the pain she felt on the left side of her face and at the base of her skull. Her whole body ached. In the dim light she could make out the figure of Jack looking at her.
‘Hi Mina.’
‘Jack? Where am I?’
‘You’re safe. Take these, and drink some water.’ She took the proffered tablets and swallowed them as told, then finished the whole glass in a bid to cool her aching throat.
‘You’re in the back of my van. Stay still. You almost died of hypothermia.’ He stroked her face and smiled at her.
‘I’m in your van? In Mosul?’ She felt nauseous, and tired beyond belief.
‘No. We’re in Tel Aviv. Sleep Mina. I’ll watch over you.’
She dropped back onto the floor of the van and fell into a deep sleep. Jack watched her and thought about the past few hours. He’d been waiting in the water for two hours by the tender while Mina was on the yacht. Powerless to prevent it, he had watched her being beaten up by Natasha and bided his time. When they put her in a sack, he knew the time to act had come. He hooked his belt to the tender and was towed along until Oberon’s men stopped, far away from the yacht. He swiftly detached himself as soon as they had slung Mina into the sea and turned the boat around to return to the yacht. He plunged after her. The water was icy cold but he was wearing a full scuba diving outfit he had rented that afternoon. He had a powerful torch but could hardly see a few feet ahead. A seasoned diver, he knew that if he did not find her in the next few moments, it would be too late. Suddenly he could make out the shape of the sack, dropping fast into the murky abyss. He reached out but missed it. He plunged further down, thrusting himself down as hard as he could, and caught it by the cord. He pulled out his knife from his ankle sheath and cut through the length of the sack, yanking Mina out and bringing her back to the surface in a few kicks. Placing his mask over her face, Jack made her breathe his oxygen, and tried to resuscitate her, but despite coughing up some water, she was still unconscious. He knew he would have to swim very quickly to the harbour, before hypothermia set in, which worried him more than anything else. He was furious for not anticipating Wheatley’s sadistic streak and how far he was prepared to go. Jack would make him pay for every bruise on her beautiful face.
‘Morning Mina,’ said Jack, offering her a warm drink, as she sat up sluggishly.
She looked at him with blank eyes, then, remembering frag
ments, her hands started twitching, she felt a long shiver shooting through her spine, and suddenly burst into an uncontrollable flood of tears. Jack held her in his arms. She cried for a long time while he slowly explained what had happened and how he had saved her.
She finally took a sip of coffee from the Styrofoam cup, grimacing from the pain in her jaw, and looked up at him.
‘Thank you Jack. Thanks for everything… but what were you doing there? What are you doing here?’
Jack looked down, feeling uncomfortable. ‘I’ve been following you since you left Iraq.’
‘Why?’
‘Well, I was worried about you, and obviously with a good reason. That bastard Wheatley had you thrown into the open sea, tied up in a sack. Had I not been there, we wouldn’t be talking right now.’
‘Don’t think I’m being ungrateful here, but I can’t possibly,’ she swallowed hard, and tears sprung to her eyes again, ‘…I can’t possibly explain how much I need you to be honest with me right now.’
‘What do you mean Mina?’
‘I mean, who follows someone to a different country because they’re worried for them? Don’t lie to me. I’ve been beaten up and almost murdered by people I trusted, and Liat… they murdered her.’ Mina was racked by sobs.
‘Mina, listen to me! Your friend Liat is in a sorry state, but she’s not dead. I took her to a hospital and she’s recovering. They told me she’ll be OK in a few weeks.’
A wave of relief washed over Mina.
‘She’s alive?’ she stuttered, ‘Oh thank you Jack, thank you. I have to see her, I need to explain.’
‘No, Mina. I convinced her not to talk about what happened, as it would be too dangerous to do so right now.’
They both remained silent for what seemed like an eternity. Mina stroked Jack’s hand, ‘I’m sorry I said the things I did in Mosul. I didn’t mean them.’
‘Yes you did. I’m sorry I lied to you.’
She looked at him inquisitively.
‘The reason I followed you was that I couldn’t make out if you were a player or a victim back in Iraq. As I said to you, those men in your flat were serious mercs.’
‘Mercs?’
‘Mercenaries… and there you were, half-Iraqi, half-American, beautiful, clever, apparently out of place in that university, involved with mercs and off to Israel.’
‘Beautiful?’ She arched an eyebrow. He smiled.
‘Well, very sexy too, but that wouldn’t be a prerequisite to be a spy.’
‘Why don’t you tell me everything, from the beginning.’
‘Alright, here goes. I knew from your last email…’
‘What? You went through my email?’
‘I’m sorry. I promise never to do it again.’
‘You promise?’ she asked him.
‘Yes. Can I continue? I thought you were a spy then.’
‘OK. Go on.’
‘So I followed you to Amman and then to Tel Aviv. I booked a room in the same hotel under an assumed name…I have a number of passports. Anyway, the information I had gathered on Oberon Wheatley warranted some serious concern. I needed to check the hotel and its immediate surroundings. One of my contacts told me that Wheatley’s private yacht was anchored in the harbour marina and that usually meant that he was aboard. I thought it was a strange coincidence that you should both be here at the same time. So when he suddenly showed up at your interview, I knew the whole thing was a trap.
‘How did you know he was there?’
‘I placed a bug in your handbag.’
‘Oh man, you’re in so much trouble. This story is getting worse by the minute.’
Jack pretended not to have heard her and continued talking, ‘the harbour was under surveillance, especially the area around Wheatley’s yacht. I would either have to make contact with you directly or find a way to approach the yacht without raising suspicion, which would be difficult. If the surviving attacker at your flat in Mosul worked for Oberon, he’d recognise me immediately. I can’t tell you how anxious I was waiting all night for your drunken return after you left to party with your friend. I was worried that your enemies had decided to act before the interview, so I was pretty relieved to see you stagger into your room at last. To tell you the truth, I did think to myself then, ‘here I am, in Israel, trying to protect a woman I hardly know from people I know even less about. I must be mad.’ Then again, I guess that’s part of the reason I joined the army, and never completely left it… to be in a position to protect and defend beautiful women in peril!’ Jack grinned.
‘How very gallant of you!’
‘Besides, I’ve been known in the past to thrive on danger. Anyway, after your interview, while you paced on the terrace without a care in the world, I was fuming back in my room. The listening device I’d placed in your handbag had picked up your entire conversation. You’d fallen into Wheatley’s lap. I knew you’d never leave his yacht alive; I was absolutely sure of it. The obvious thing to do was to meet you in your room and tell you it was a trap. But, as things stood between us, you’d almost certainly not believe me. I’d also have had to explain why I’d followed you and bugged your bag.’
‘Yup.’
‘It all came down to bad timing. Had I met you before the interview I might have been able to warn you, but it was too late. So I stuck to my original plan. I got some scuba gear, hid by the yacht and waited for them to… well you know the rest.’
‘Listen, I don’t know why Wheatley tried to kill you, but if you want my help, I need to know everything.’
‘I agree.’
Mina leaned on Jack’s shoulder and started telling him about the meaning and importance of the tablet and how Oberon was desperate to get his hands on it. She suddenly sat up in anguish, ‘I actually told him where the tablet is. I sent it by courier to a hotel in Safed. We need to get there now or all of it will have been for nothing.’
‘But we have an advantage.’ Jack answered, grinning.
‘What do you mean?’
‘He thinks you’re dead. You know, Mina, I feel I’m on a strange quest in foreign lands, just like the good book says.’
She looked at him, quizzically. ‘The good book?’
‘The Bible, silly! Solid Baptist upbringing. Difficult to shake off.’
She smiled at him. He seemed to think for a second and suddenly burst out laughing.
‘Are you alright Jack?’
‘Yeah. Yes. I was just thinking about Jonah. You know how he left Nineveh, went to Yafo, and ended up in the sea.’
‘Yes?’
‘Well, it just occurred to me that I’m your whale in the story.’
She saw herself leaving Mosul, travelling to Tel Aviv and being thrown off a boat into the sea. They both laughed hysterically.
‘OK. After I’ve returned the wet suit and diving gear, I think we should get going. I looked up the best way to get to Safed. It’s a two and a half hour journey by car. You’ll have all the time in the world to fill me in on background information. Also,’ he added, ‘I managed to salvage your suitcase from your hotel room. Get changed, and let’s go.’
As they were driving out of Tel Aviv, Mina checked herself in the mirror and was shocked at her appearance.
‘The bruising looks terrible!’
‘Don’t worry. The anti-inflammatory cream should reduce the swelling.’
She really hoped he was right: even speaking was painful. As she looked out at the landscape unfolding beyond the large windscreen, it occurred to her that she could just let the tablet quest go. She had survived her ordeal. She was alive against all odds. But no, she craved justice for what Oberon had done to her and Liat out of greed. For the first time in her life she longed to make someone else suffer.
‘Are you OK? You look like you’re about to murder someone.’
She did not reply, but Jack knew exactly what she was thinking.
‘We’re going due north into the mountains of Upper Galilee. Mina, I think it’s a good time
to assess our situation,’ he said, changing lanes. ‘One, you found a mysterious stone tablet hidden within a clay casing. Two, what you translated didn’t make much sense to you. Three, as soon as the word got out about the little you did translate, Wheatley gets hold of you and Liat in order to steal the tablet.’
‘On the yacht, just before they knocked me out…’ Mina faltered, ‘Wheatley mentioned an ancient Chinese oracle bone that listed…’
‘Excuse me?’ said Jack, interrupting her, ‘what the hell is an oracle bone?’
‘I am not really sure. All I know is that the oracle bone script is the oldest form of Chinese writing. They were used to predict events in imperial China, that’s why they are called oracle bones’.
‘Right’, said Jack, ‘so what’s engraved on Wheatley’s doggy bone?’
‘According to Wheatley, it lists a stone tablet ‘from the land in the West between two mighty rivers’, and four clay copies which were sent to the four corners of the world. He said this tablet enabled their owner to make accurate predictions.’
‘Hmm I see. From what I gathered about Wheatley’s line of business, I assume it would have to do with weather forecasting.’
‘Yes, and I now wonder if it doesn’t specifically have to do with flood forecasting.’
‘Why?’
‘The tablet I found… it’s a version of Noah’s story.
Jack raised his eyebrows.
‘A good Bible student like you should remember the story of Noah.’ Mina continued, ironically.
‘Yes of course, something about a flood and a pretty big boat as I recall?’
‘Right. The world of men has become evil and God is displeased. He finds only one righteous man.’
‘Noah.’
‘Yes, and He entrusts him with the future of mankind, animals and plants. Noah builds an ark and the flood destroys everything. For many days and nights the waters do not recede. Eventually the rain stops and Noah sends out a dove to see if there is land in the vicinity. The bird returns with an olive branch in its beak, proving that the waters are receding, and the cargo on Noah’s ark is safe. God decides to make a covenant with Noah never to destroy humanity again, and produces a rainbow as a sign of it.’
The 13th Tablet Page 12