by K. B. Kofoed
Back in college, Jim and Dan had been called the twins by some of their friends because they were so much alike in their attitudes and interests. Now, seeing his twin react altogether differently about the ark project, Jim realized how much he was being consumed by it. Of course Dan hadn’t heard the voice. Though he fully believed that Jim had heard it and it may even have been from a ‘real’ external source, Dan still hadn’t heard it for himself. Without that kind of consensus Dan could never fully empathize.
It didn’t matter. Dan had done enough. Now it was up to Jim, and for the moment all that meant was coming to grips with the ark through his writing. Jim opened the document stored on his computer’s hard drive and began to type.
#
Unfortunately Dan’s advice came too late.
John and Gene met the next Saturday, and neither of them wanted Jim on hand. His disappearance after John had gone to the trouble of arranging things with Suzie and Arlene was hard for John to overlook. He’d taken Jim to be an free spirited liberal like Gene, and he had been sure that an afternoon romp and a girly sandwich would help make Jim a member of his family.
Gene knew when he arrived at John’s house that the girls weren’t there. If they had been, Arlene’s red MG would have been in its usual parking place, but the guest lot was empty. He even wondered if John was there.
Fostia had been killed three years before he met John, and it had been at least that long since he’d been with a woman. His busy routine as an editor of three trade magazines wasn’t conducive to meeting women, and he’d almost forgotten how anyway. Then he met John and everything changed.
John worked for the law firm that represented Gene’s publisher. After a lengthy lawsuit that John had won and saved Gene’s job, they had become friends. After that Gene’s life and his sex life changed radically.
John’s power and charm were a magnet for women and he thought nothing of sharing them. From Gene’s viewpoint John was the greatest guy on the planet. Understandable since John had given Gene the run of his property, a steady source of women, close friendship, and a chance to realize a lifelong dream.
At first John never asked for anything in return, but it wasn’t long before that changed.
Originally, rebuilding the Ark of the Covenant was Gene’s idea. Over the years it had been his muse. Instead of going out to eat or attending occasional parties Gene would spend his spare time researching the ark. He even flew once to Ethiopia for a vacation with the express purpose of visiting the city of Axum. There, legend has it, the lost Ark of the Covenant is kept in a temple.
Gene carried Jim’s drawings with him, and when a stroke of fortune found him close to the fabled site of the Lost Ark, he spent a few days trying to find access to the priest called the Guardian. Finally, on the last day of his vacation, he caught sight of a procession of priests headed to the temple. Realizing this was his only chance to get the priest to verify what the ark looked like, he followed the procession through the streets of Axum. It was a slow dusty trek before he found a moment to confront the high priest.
A group of sheep stopped the procession at an intersection and the high priest stood alone, patiently watching the herder shoo his flock out of his way.
Gene caught his attention and tried to ask the man about the ark. The priest stared at him, his squinting dark eyes examining Gene’s features like an X-ray machine. The priest said something and shook his head slowly and sadly, but Gene didn’t understand the language. In desperation he pulled Jim’s drawings from a satchel and waved them under the priest’s nose. The man looked at the drawing for a moment. Then, with shouts from his followers urging him onward, the priest moved on, giving Gene no indication of whether the drawings were accurate or not. He’d tried to follow, but hundreds of hands pushed him away and he was left standing in a dusty nameless street surrounded by begging children.
After that, the ark became a far deeper obsession. Gene called it his hobby, but he rarely discussed it with anyone. At every opportunity Gene continued his research, but over the years Gene never got any closer to the truth about the ark.
He learned that lots of people were interested in the ark. Many claimed to know where it was located. Some said it was still under the ancient walls of the city of Jerusalem. Some claimed it was hidden in a secret cavern under the spot where Christ had died on the cross. There was a lot about it on the Internet. Of course there had been a few attempts to rebuild it by religiosos of one kind or another.
Gene had seen it all, but he always went back to Jim’s drawings. Finally he realized that Jim had found the key to how the ark may indeed have been an instrument of great power. The long trail looking for answers led him back to where his search began: to Jim. When he finally did go back, Jim had provided him an explanation by way of Dan Slater of how the ark worked. Strange that an agnostic artist in Philly should provide more answers than the guardian of the ark itself.
Now all that was moot.
John seemed to be in a bad mood. The June first deadline was only a few days away and his father was playing games. John had been trying to jog away his anxiety doing laps around his estate.
He arrived at the house in the woods at the same moment Gene pulled up in his BMW.
John’s gray sweatsuit was stained with perspiration and he wore a Yankees cap and sunglasses. John rested a tired arm on Gene’s shoulder as they entered the house. “You look pale, old friend,” he said. “Are you okay?”
“Sure, John. I was kind of ... Is Arlene going to be here?”
“Not today, ol’buddy,” said John. “We need to talk.”
“I didn’t invite Jim,” said Gene. “Did you?”
“Nawww,” said John.
“Why not?” asked Gene. “If this is business ...”
“I guess I didn’t want old Jimbo around this time because I don’t want any hassles, big or little.” said John, hovering over the model of the ark in his rec room. “Jim’s always got a bug up his ass about something.”
“Well,” said Gene, “I can understand how he feels. We always seem to be forgetting to tell him about our decisions.”
“I have to go to my Dad on this one,” said John. “Who else do we know that has the key to Fort Knox?”
“What’s happened?”
“Ol’ dad paid me a visit a few days ago.”
“Unannounced?” asked Gene.
“Out of the blue,” said John, pulling his sweatshirt off and throwing it on a chair. “Seems Daddy has to keep the gold under his thumb.”
Gene had no idea what John was suggesting.
“The gold will be shipped to Los Alamos.”
“So they can manufacture...?” Gene tried to sort out what he was hearing. “But if we’re going to put it together here ...”
“You’re not getting it, Gene,” said John. “It isn’t going to be built here.”
“At Los Alamos?” Gene asked in disbelief.
“Right. Can you go down there with me this weekend?”
Gene remembered that he had to close out a special issue of one of his magazines that week and would most likely be working into Saturday. “I don’t think so. Not this weekend. What does he want us to come down there for?”
“A meeting,” said John.
“Can’t we conference by phone, say, on Sunday? I can probably make it on Sunday.”
John shot him an angry look. “He wants us THERE.”
“I can’t just drop my magazines,” said Gene. “Why not ask Jim?”
John shook his head. “Are you kidding? Jim?”
Gene described his phone call with Jim and pointed out that Jim seemed to be the man with the answers. John disagreed. “He’s an artist, Gene? What possible expertise can he provide?”
“He’s an artist. That’s right. Remember it was artists who built the original ark. Besides...”
“Yes?” said John. “Besides ...?”
Gene was pleased that he could make a pitch for Jim. He didn’t have a clue how Jim m
ight feel about going to Los Alamos or even if he could go, but he barreled ahead with his suggestion, partly to placate John and partly to placate his own conscience. “Jim has always been the one with the intuition. He divined the configuration of the cherubim. No one else ever did.”
“That’s quite a recommendation, Gene,” said John. “Jim should put it on his resume.”
“All I know is that it was Jim who came up with the key to this whole thing, the twin parabola.”
John nodded. “So you keep telling me.”
“My father said that he wanted you and me to join him at Los Alamos, Gene,” said John. He leaned over the table without looking at Gene and fiddled with the miniature tent that covered the tabernacle. “All your points are well taken, but the man in charge of the gold must be humored for the moment. I don’t want someone throwing a shoe in the works. I need an expert on this thing and it has to be you, Gene. You’ve done the legwork. You went to Ethiopia. You have a collection of literature on the ark that rivals most folks’ entire book collection. You’re the man, Gene. Do it for me.”
Gene felt like he was being blackmailed, though no threats were made. “This is the biggest issue of the year, John. I’ll lose my job if I walk away from its closing.”
“You won’t lose your job, Gene,” said John as he fiddled with the Tent of Meeting. “I told you, my friend. You’re the man!”
John turned on the lights above the table.
The tent automatically raised to the ceiling, revealing the ark with its tiny electric bulb. “My Dad tells me that his people are very interested in our work. The guy in Ft. Knox, General Sharkey or something, has stipulated that a few of his people be on hand for the initial planning and construction.” John looked at Gene. “Are you getting this?”
Gene nodded. “I’m hearing you, John,” he said in a quiet voice.
John leaned against the edge of the table. The fake dirt that surrounded the miniature complex crunched under his weight. “This is the most important meeting, Gene,” he said. “We can bring Jim in on it later -- when he can’t cause any real damage. But for now, especially now, I need you to be there. I can’t answer all the questions myself.”
John looked deeply into Gene’s eyes. His expression was like an innocent child’s, begging for a favor. “Come on Gene,” he said, “I can count on you, can’t I?”
RUMORS OF WARS
Jim couldn’t have gone to Los Alamos anyway. He and Lou got the commission to do all the promotion materials for Philadelphia’s Super Sunday, a celebration of autumn that occurs every October. Since the city needed everything finished by the end of July, they had their work cut out for them.
After his meeting with John, Gene felt compelled to contact Jim, at least to let him know that he’d spoken to John Wilcox on his behalf. Jim told Gene how much he appreciated his support, but after he hung up he looked at Lou sadly. “I think I’ve been wiped out of the ark project. I have the feeling that the next I hear of it will be on the news.”
“Good,” said Lou. “We need your mind here. This is going to be a bitch of a summer.”
Two thousand miles away, in Santa Fe, Gene Henson, John Wilcox and his father met at the Wilcox mansion for the first of several meetings before the commencement of the ark project.
#
A month later, Jim and Lou had learned to trust one another again. The city project took all their time and attention. By their original estimate they both expected it to take two months for them to get a handle on the workload, but as July neared, Jim and Lou were surprisingly out from under all their major deadlines and even finding time for one or two pleasant summer barbecues in Havertown.
The ark, for the time being, was on a back burner. Still, every now and again, Jim would wonder what was happening with Gene and the project.
One Sunday, Jim decided to put in some hours on his computer. Filing, mostly.
A little before noon, Gene called. “Hi Gene,” Jim said with delight. “Good to hear your voice. What’s going on?”
“I just got back from ...” began Gene.
“Well, Jim,” he began again. “I just wanted to call to see how you’re doing. Everything okay?”
“Up to my ass in work,” said Jim. “That’s why I’m in town on a Sunday. Did Kas tell you I was here?”
“No,” said Gene, “I guess I forgot what day it was.”
Jim laughed, but he began to wonder what was going on. Gene sounded different.
“What’s the matter, Gene?” he asked. “You sound ... I don’t know ...”
“How badly do you want to follow through on the ark thing?” Gene asked abruptly.
Jim didn’t know how to answer the question. “I’m not sure what you mean. Pretty bad, I guess.”
“What if it meant cutting everyone out. I mean, not talking about it to anyone?”
Jim thought for a moment. “I wish I had an idea of what you’re talking about. It’s hard to answer questions like that.”
Gene realized that he’d talked himself into a hole. “Look,” he said. “I want to talk to you but not here, not like this, on the phone.”
Frustration welled up in Jim. He hated to say it but had no choice. “I can’t leave town for a while, Gene. Lou and I are ...”
“Shit,” said Gene. “I’m in a bind here. I can’t ... I’m sworn to secrecy on this matter but ...”
“You’re sworn to secrecy?” said Jim. “To who?”
“This is complicated, Jim,” said Gene. “I can’t say, except if you’re really interested in following through on the project with us, you’ll have to make some big concessions. You’ll have to swear to keep everything secret.”
Jim started to bristle a bit. “I’m getting weirded out by this, Gene. Why don’t you just tell me what’s been going on?”
“Let me call you back,” said Gene.
When he hung up the phone Jim’s anxiety over the ark project returned full force. He’d been free of it for quite a while and it felt good. Now it was growing back like an organism, attaching itself to his mind. He turned off his Macintosh and left the studio for a walk. The exercise might help.
Jim walked toward South Street, but it was crowded with Sunday shoppers, so he headed east toward the Delaware River. He ended up sitting on a pier watching the traffic on the river. It had gotten quite warm and the Delaware was dotted with small boats, some with sails, wandering aimlessly past the docks. He sat for what seemed to be a long time. Soon he was sharing the dock with a small flock of sea gulls watching him for a handout. A group of black children on inline skates roared by, chasing the gulls away.
Jim decided to go back to work. After all, that’s why he was in town on Sunday. When he returned to the studio, however, he was in no better shape. He turned on his computer and spent the next hour fruitlessly trying to involve himself in the Super Sunday project, but it was no use. Eventually he went home.
Kas, Stephie and her collie greeted Jim as he pulled into his driveway.
“We were just headed out for a picnic at Newlin’s Mill,” said Kas. “Wanna come?”
Jim gave his wife a big hug. “That’s a great idea.”
It had been a long time since Jim had gone on an outing with his family and it felt good. He and Kas set out the food while Stephie and Woolsey cavorted in the lush grass field next to the picnic tables. After they ate the three of them played Frisbee with Woolsey in the middle barking furiously. Eventually the puppy got exhausted and laid down in the cool grass and watched.
Jim came close to forgetting Gene’s call, but not entirely. Sitting next to Kas and watching his daughter happily at play with her dog, the memory of his conversation that day with Gene came back to haunt him. Finally he mentioned it to his wife.
“I knew it,” said Kas. “I knew something chased you away from your work.”
Jim was disappointed that she’d detected his anxiety in spite of his extreme effort to suppress it.
“Damn, Kas,” he said. “You must be p
sychic or something. I can never hide anything from you.”
“That’s because you’re so transparent.”
“Shit.”
“That’s okay,” said Kas. “That’s something I love about you. Your sincerity. What did Gene say that upset you so much?”
“He went and opened that old can of worms again, without even trying.” He told her the details of Gene’s mysterious call.
“It sounds like John is pulling in the reins on Gene. My guess is that it’s gotten out of their hands. Just wait to see what happens,” she said. “He’ll be in touch again.”
Kas was right. Gene called that night. “I guess it’s only fair that I tell you the facts – straight out,” he said. “If you decide to come on board ...”
Jim exploded. “Come on board?” he shouted. “This is my project as much as it is yours. Now you’re acting as if I’m an outsider.”
“Calm down, Jim,” said Gene. “I told you that getting the gold would change everything.”
Jim relented. “I know, but you really hit a nerve.”
“I’m apparently breaking all the rules by even discussing this with you, and I want you to know that I am in your camp. Unfortunately I’m the only one, and apparently I’m not indispensable either. “
“I thought you were all chummy with John.”
“Yeah, well, John’s a good friend,” said Gene.
Finally, even though he spoke only in vague terms, Gene got the essential facts across.
Jim couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Are you suggesting that our ark project wasn’t a business agreement after all? If that’s true, then what was that paperwork we signed?”
“A deception,” said Gene. “The government has got their hands all over this thing.”
“And who let that happen?”
“I can’t say any more. Unless ...”