by Thorpe, K.
“But…you’ve never taken a sick day,” he says.
“Yeah, well, I guess I finally caught some of Baxter’s crap that’s going around, huh?” Natan walks out. Knight is left standing with his mouth open.
Chapter Thirty
A pissed-off Natan walks down the corridor of Maryland University toward Josh’s office with photocopies in hand. She gets to his open office door and sees Josh sitting at his desk, grading papers. Natan clears her throat. Josh sees her and stands up, confused by her presence. “Agent Natan. What…what are you doing here?” Josh maneuvers around the desk and approaches Natan. The two of them stand in the doorway. “We…we’re not supposed to be seen together…” he says. Natan hands Josh the photocopies. “What’s this?” he asks, flipping through the pages.
Natan’s voice shakes in anger. “What kind of personal agenda have you pulled me into, Professor?”
Josh looks down at the pages. “Moby-Dick? What is this?”
“It’s similar Codes that have been found in the book Moby-Dick. Oh…War and Peace also has codes…but I thought I’d seen enough.” Josh looks shocked. Natan continues, “What? Like you didn’t know.”
“Know what, Agent Natan…that there are opponents to the Bible Code? Where did you get these?” he asks.
“From Dr. Simon Berk,” she retorts sharply.
“You saw Dr. Berk? Why?” Josh doesn’t wait for a reply, “You know that he is one of the leading opponents in the debate over the Bible Code. I don’t know every oppositional view out there, but it’s hard to miss his. You should have asked me before contacting him. This could open a dialogue that…in protecting our confidentiality...we definitely don’t want opened.”
Natan is livid. “Should have asked you? Why didn’t you tell me about these similar codes?”
“I haven’t been focused on opposing views…” Josh says.
Natan cuts him off. “I could lose my job over…” She points to the pages in his hand, “this, Professor…over some forged Bible Code matrix documents…used to further your own agenda.”
Josh is beside himself. “Look, I’m sorry about your job, Agent Natan, truly. But, the matrix documents I showed you are real. I have no hidden agenda. I’ve told you all of the relevant facts that have happened on our end. I’m focusing on what’s happening with us.”
Natan’s face registers his words. “Is that what this is about? Some game you’re playing to establish some connection between…us?” Another professor walks down the hall and sees Natan arguing with Josh.
Josh pulls Natan into his office. Upon entering, Natan kicks a manila envelope that’s lying on the floor. Josh sees the envelope also but continues, “You know, I don’t know what the hell you think you’re inferring here, but I’ll be damned if I’ll be reprimanded in front of my colleagues. What in God’s name is going on with you?”
He bends down to pick up the envelope and opens it. Natan rubs her forehead,
then shakes her head. “That’s just it, isn’t it? God.”
Josh reviews the contents and holds them out in front of Natan. “Was it you?” he accuses.
“Was what me?” she asks tersely.
Josh pushes the pages toward Natan’s face. “Were you the one who took the symbol pages?” Natan grabs the page from Josh and looks at it. Josh continues, “It’s the pages for symbol two. Where are the rest of them, Agent Natan?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Professor. Someone else must have left them there.”
“Did you show them to Dr. Berk? Does he have copies now?” Josh fumes.
“Look, Professor, I met with Dr. Berk because I did my own research on the Bible Code. I wanted to know both sides of what I’m dealing with. The last time I saw the symbols pages,” Natan hands the pages to Josh, “was on the plane with you.”
“Who’s fooling whom here?”
“Believe what you like, Professor. I…I just can’t do this anymore…not with my career at stake.” Natan turns on her heel and leaves, her shoes echoing as she walks down the corridor, fading into the distance.
Alice busies herself with catch-up work in her office when she is interrupted by a knock on the door. Natan pokes her head in. “Are you busy, Alice?” Alice rushes up to her, coaxing Natan inside. “Get in here.”
Natan looks beat. “I need a favor,” she says.
Alice motions to a chair. “Come in…sit down.” Natan sits. Alice continues, “I’ve been trying to get in touch with you.” Alice notices Natan’s stressed, tired eyes. Natan runs both of her hands through her hair as she hunches over in the chair. Alice touches Natan’s forehead with the back of her hand. “You look terrible, Kate.”
“Thanks,” Natan retorts. Alice looks concerned. Natan tries to ease her mind. “I’m okay. I’ve just had a non-refundable headache for the past couple of days.”
“I heard about what happened with Baxter,” Alice broaches the topic.
“I’m sure you did,” Natan replies.
“What do you need, Kate? I mean…is there anything I can do?”
“Yeah,” Natan replies. “I need a security check…a full one.”
Alice smirks. “I meant…like chicken soup or a soda, but if work is what you want, then…” Natan is silent. “Who’s the victim?” Alice inquires.
Natan asks, “Can you run a check for me on a Josh Sails? He’s a professor at the Maryland University.”
“This is the guy you picked up in Mexico, right?”
“Yeah,” Natan replies.
“Why do you need this?” Alice probes.
“I just do.” Natan shoots Alice a don’t ask look.
Alice relents to her friend. “No problem. But…you know I’m really worried about you, Kate.”
“I’m okay…”
“Katherine…”
“I’m okay, Alice. I’m just…I don’t know what I am, actually.” Alice listens. “I’m not myself…I don’t feel like me lately.”
Alice starts to speak. Natan waves her away. “Never mind. I’ll be fine.” Natan changes the subject. “When do you think you’ll have it?”
Alice concedes, “A few hours.”
Natan holds Alice’s stare. “Thanks. I owe you another one.”
“It’s all right. Your total’s up to thirty-seven now.” Natan tries to smile. Alice rubs Natan’s shoulder. “Just take care of yourself, will ya? Go home…rest. I’ll get this to you as soon as I get it.”
Natan nods her head yes. “I need to know the truth.” Alice realizes the importance of her request.
Chapter Thirty-one
Natan stands in her pajamas in front of her bathroom sink and mirror. She hears the heartbeat again and begins rubbing her forehead as she peers into the mirror. Natan turns on the water and splashes her face again and again. A pool of water forms in the sink. She stares into the water, captivated at the Mayan symbols reflected back at her. Am I going crazy? Natan rubs her eyes and looks again. The symbols are gone. Is someone trying to tell me something? Natan peers into the water further and sees a flash.
Natan watches a young Josh; his mom, Evalyn; and Dad, Jack, as they all sit in their modest, mid-size home at a dinner table with Geographic Planet magazines scattered amidst their empty dinner plates. The Sails never kept up with the Joneses even though they had the means. Evalyn knew better.
Josh pushes his plate out of the way to pick up a magazine. “Mom, why do you like reading these?”
“Well…because they keep me connected to my old job and, more importantly, they teach me about different people, Josh,” his mother answers.
“But, why do you want to know about other people, Mom?”
Evalyn smiles. “That’s what anthropologists do. And also, it helps me to be a better person.”
“But, how do these,” Josh points to one magazine, “help you be a better person?”
“Well…learning about others teaches us tolerance, honey. Everyone is different, but we’re all the same too.” Evalyn picks up t
he magazine Josh pointed to, which has a photo of an African tribesman in ancient tribal dress on the cover. She continues, “Here. Look at this picture, Josh, and tell me what you see.”
Jack interjects, “When are you gonna teach the boy about economics, Evalyn?”
Evalyn lovingly responds to her husband, “I’ll leave that to you, Dr. Sails.” She then focuses her attention back on Josh. “What do you see, Josh?”
“I…I see a man wearing funny makeup and clothes, Mom.”
“Look again, Josh.”
“I see a man…with…”
Evalyn interrupts him. “Okay stop. You have the right answer.”
“But, all I said was I see a man,” her son replies.
“That’s all you’re supposed to see, Josh. That’s the point.”
Natan blinks herself back into her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Water droplets gently drip down her face. This can’t be real. She closes her eyes and sees another flash.
Natan finds herself in the darkness of night in a dimly lit parking lot in front of an empty warehouse. She hears a shot ring out. Natan sees herself as she lies motionless on the ground. Josh rushes up to her, yelling for help, “Oh my God! Somebody.” Natan’s eyes are half open. She sees Josh kneeling over her…an immense light surrounds him. Josh leans in to the wounded Natan. “It’s going to be all right. You’re going to be all right, Agent Natan.” Natan watches herself as she struggles to reach out her hand to Josh.
Josh whispers, “You’re gonna be okay…I promise.” Natan’s hand starts to become limp. Josh picks it up and puts her hand in his. “You can trust me. Stay with me, Agent Natan.”
Inside the confines of her bathroom, Natan is jerked back to reality by a ringing
phone. Startled, she looks at herself in the mirror for one final moment. The phone rings again as Natan rushes from the bathroom into her living room to answer it. “Hello.”
Alice is on the other end of the line, sitting at her desk in her office at the N.S.A.
“Kate.”
“Alice. Did you find anything?”
“I did. I sent you a fax over an hour ago. Didn’t you receive it?”
Natan looks over in the direction of her office area on the other side of the room. “Let me check.” With phone in hand, Natan makes her way to the fax machine. Natan sees that the pages were received. “Yeah…I got ‘em.” She picks up the pages and begins flipping through them.
Alice continues, “It’s definitely interesting reading. It’s no wonder the N.S.A. opened a case on this guy.”
“What’d you mean?” Natan replies.
“It’s all in the report…hey, how are you feeling?”
Natan is half-listening. “I’m better.”
“Listen, Kate, I don’t want to bog you down…with everything else you’ve got on your plate right now…but just know that we need to have a serious discussion soon, okay?” Natan is engrossed in the pages, offering no reply. Alice continues, “Kate, did you hear me?”
“Yeah, Alice, sorry. We’ll talk soon. I need to review this. Thanks again for helping me on this.”
“You know I can help you with more if you let me in. Promise me you’ll make time with me a priority soon, Kate.”
“Alice, I appreciate the offer of help. You know I tell you when I need something.”
“And…” Alice wants a commitment.
“And, I promise I’ll make time soon.”
“Take care of yourself, Kate.”
“I will. Thanks again. Night, Alice.”
“Good night.” Alice hangs up the phone, cupping her hands together under her chin. This can’t wait any longer.
Chapter Thirty-two
Josh waits in his parked car in the familiar meeting place, the parking garage.
His hands grip the steering wheel tightly. The passenger door opens and he jerks with surprise. With bag in hand, Natan slides into the passenger seat. “I didn’t mean to startle you,” she apologizes.
“It’s okay. I didn’t think you would show,” he confides.
“I told you I would and I do what I say, Professor.”
Josh continues, “Listen…I just want to say I’m sorry, I know that you had nothing to do with the disappearance of my bag…”
Natan puts up her hands. “I appreciate that, Professor…but before we discuss anything further, I have to ask you something and I need you to be completely honest with me.” Natan reaches into her bag and hands Josh some papers.
The top page reads “Complete Security Check for Josh Sails.”
“I would have thought you would have checked me out after day one,” he replies.
“Yeah, well…at least I know why the N.S.A. is investigating you for smuggling now.”
Josh holds his left thumb in his left four fingers out of sight from Natan. “I’ve never smuggled anything, Agent Natan…at least not with intention, anyway.”
Natan probes, “You didn’t buy a rare New Guinean artifact on the black market…one that was stolen from a London museum with the largest African collection, and then try to bring it back into the States?”
Josh shifts uncomfortably. “It was a pottery shard and I bought it from a friend. I didn’t know about the museum burglary at the time.” Natan shakes her head. Josh continues, “It was almost fifteen years ago…I was still in undergrad.”
“I just want to know why you did it, Professor, before I continue on with this…biblical Easter egg hunt. Before I jeopardize my position at the N.S.A. completely, I need the truth.”
“I understand.” He takes a deep breath and continues. “It…it was supposed to be a gift for my mother. My mom was an anthropologist. My dad is a doctor, retired now. While she has an affinity for artifacts, he loves puzzles and numbers. I guess if you look at the parental equation, it makes sense that I’m their son.”
“Are we talking about your brief history of crime here or about your life story?”
“I’m getting there. You want the truth…then you need to know everything about this.” Natan nods. Josh continues, “Anyway, my mom had just had a stroke and nothing seemed to be helping. I felt lost. I wanted to see her passion, her joy return. Before the stroke, my mother was a remarkable woman…a woman of value and depth. Her spirit could stun a room quiet. And then…after it happened…it was a time when I never saw her more hollow in her life. I felt that I needed to fix it…to fix her.”
Josh’s memory leads him to central London where he stands with a friend across the street from the Big Ben clock. The friend holds a box that he hands to Josh. Josh continues his story for Natan. “A friend of mine in London said he had come across an artifact that was for sale. I flew there, leaving my mother for three days so that I could check it out and make the purchase. If it was what he said it was…it was going to be the cure.”
Josh opens the box from his friend, pulling out an African pottery shard. He
smiles. He confides to Natan, “My mother loved most artifacts, but she had a special
affinity for African ones.” Josh remembers putting the artifact back in the box, reaching into his pocket for a check, and handing his friend the payment.
He continues, “I bought it without realizing what happened. I made a mistake.” Natan listens intently, drifting for a moment to her memory of Josh’s mother with a younger Josh at the dinner table. Josh continues his story, “As you know, they confiscated it as soon as I returned to Boston and my mother never received it. She knew nothing of the ordeal and still doesn’t. My dad and I kept it from her. I was charged with one count of purchasing stolen property and one count of smuggling. I plea bargained out. My sentence was that I had to spend a year in Mexico teaching math to underprivileged kids. And I only got that because through his medical practice, my dad knew a young political star on the rise with strong connections in D.C.”
Natan interrupts, “Congressman Bradshaw…”
“Yeah. Kent used some of his connections and they made it possible for me to list the e
ntire thing as “volunteer service” so that it wouldn’t affect my career.”
“This Bradshaw fellow sure lays it on the line for you, doesn’t he?” Natan affirms.
“He’s a good guy…and I feel just terrible about his current situation. That’s why I asked you for help,” Josh replies.
“Whatever happened with your mother, Professor?”
Josh tears up. “She came back on her own…I shouldn’t have doubted her.” He composes himself. “Well, Agent Natan, you now know about the two dishonest things I’ve done in my life.”
“Two?” she asks.
“Trespassing in Mexico was the second,” he concedes.
Natan looks at Josh, realizing that she has the truth she wants. “Right. Any other secrets I should know about before we plunge further?”
“Yeah…you could have just asked me, Agent Natan. I would have told you.”
“Why didn’t you offer me this information in the beginning?” she asks.
“What about you?” he offers.
“What about me?” she replies.
Josh probes, “And you shared all of the skeletons in your closet in the short time we’ve known one another? What about your secrets?”
“I see your point. Trust is a funny thing, isn’t it?” Natan replies.
“It sure is.” Josh flashes back to sitting at his computer, pages of binary code
information strewn around him. She can’t know. The words echo in his mind.
Inside the car Josh hands the pages back to Natan. She takes them. “You can
keep these. Now, can you please tell me what’s going on with this situation with Dr. Berk? Why, even after finding the Boston matrix information, did you feel the need to explore this?” he says.
“It’s complicated,” Natan replies. Josh waits for an answer. Natan continues, “I’m grappling with all that is going on here, Professor. I already told you…I did some research online and found some information about his work. I went to see him to learn more.
“And?” he asks.