Save Him

by William M. Hayes

  "Take Him before Caiaphas," Annas ordered, speaking in raspy Aramaic to the guards around him.

  Two guards spun Jesus from Annas and led Him away. Outside the room, the two guards with Jesus in their grasp were joined by more guards. The group marched Jesus down two twisting palace corridors that led to a courtyard. In the courtyard, a mob waited around small fires. The guards led Jesus through the gathering. As they did, the crowd started to ignite torches from the scattered fires and followed.

  Outside the palace, the guards roughly escorted Jesus away from where Ray waited with Rydel behind a dense row of chest-high bushes. Adriana, Ben, Jack, and Steve peered over the bushes three feet to the right of Ray. Sal was nowhere to be seen. He was doing what he did best—recon.

  Sal was one of the last to make his way outside. He ran over to where Ray and the others were waiting and stood before Ray. "He's being taken to another man to be charged with blasphemy, Ray."

  They followed the soldiers and the mob until reaching a white stone palace not far away. The stone structure's double doors opened, pouring firelight out from within. The soldiers pushed and dragged the blasphemous man—as the others making up the angry mob were welcomed inside.

  The soldiers and the angry crowd were led by another group of guards into a stone-clad court surrounded by lavish flaming lanterns. Seated at a candlelit table, Caiaphas waited. The forty-year-old man was adorned in a black turban and a flowing black robe. He had black hair, dark eyes, and a salt-and-pepper beard. The guards ordered the gathering mob to stand back as the two soldiers who held onto Jesus walked Him closer to the table where Caiaphas was seated. The guards let go of Jesus. Caiaphas shook his head in disappointment, looking up at Jesus. And then his disposition changed somewhat, knowing what he had to do and the outcome against this man, the one voicing His insane beliefs and the danger it was causing.

  Caiaphas glanced at a line of priests to his right, then took in the crowd before him. He eyed Jesus once more, almost with pity. However, he knew what fate awaited the Nazarene and what must be done. Caiaphas stood up and addressed the crowd in front of him.

  "In the face of God, has this man committed blasphemy?" he shouted.

  The crowd roared.

  Moments later, the guards pushed Jesus through the shouting mob. Ray, Rydel, and the others stood behind the crowd and could see where Jesus was heading. A group of soldiers standing by a torchlit stairway waited to take Him below.

  Ray turned to Adriana. "Tag Him."

  Adriana slid her Smartround gun out from under her cloak and targeted Jesus's back. Before Christ disappeared down the stairs, a blue dot appeared on His tunic as Adriana tagged her target. She slipped her rifle back under her cloak before anyone could notice.

  "He's tagged, Ray."

  "No more waiting to try to get Him alone. It's time."

  __

  Ray stood in front of a door in a torchlit corridor. He gave the door two pounding knocks with his balled-up fist, stepped back, and waited. A large soldier slammed the door open and was joined by an even larger soldier, both standing just inside the door's threshold in full black body armor. Ray stepped back and calmly spoke in English.

  "Sal, Ben…"

  Sal and Ben stood out of sight at opposite sides of the door with the others. The two stepped in front of Ray and shot the soldiers in the neck with sedation rounds.

  "Any more, Steve?"

  To the left of Ray, Steve searched the area around him with his binoculars strapped onto his face, looking for soldiers. He turned to Ray and shook his head.

  "Okay, you’re now the eyes leading us in, Steve. Let's move," Ray ordered. As they moved, Ray tapped Adriana on her shoulder.

  "Anything, A?"

  Adriana studied the slide-out screen on her Smartround gun. "Nothing yet. They must have Him in a room that's seriously walled-in or—"

  Adriana cut her thought short as Jack walked in front of Ray.

  "He wants me to show you something, Ray."

  "What did you say, Jack?"

  "The Son dies."

  Jack grabbed his own head and twisted it around three times in front of Ray—the sound of bones, cartilage, and ligaments breaking and popping echoed throughout the corridor. As Jack's convulsing body fell to the ground, Ray screamed at the others.

  "Move! Move!"

  Ray took hold of Rydel, pushing him along with the other startled members of his Unit away from Jack's lifeless body on the ground.

  "Go!" Ray shouted. They all finally did, running away. Ray stepped closer to Jack's body and reached out to check for a pulse he knew was no longer there. Jack's eyes snapped open and changed color—burning blue eyes now stared up at Ray. Head completely turned around—a foreign voice came out of Jack. A deep voice, sounding as though it was coming out of a vast canyon.

  "I thought my display at the city entrance would suffice, Raymond. Apparently not. So…now you understand, because of Jack here, that you, and the ones with you, will die making any attempt to save the Son." The blue eyes vanished, turned off like a desk lamp. Ray staggered away from Jack's lifeless gaze and ran, soon catching up with Rydel and the others as they all reached the torchlit stairway that had led them down into the corridor. Ray stopped on the first step, searching above with his Smartround gun. He motioned for the others to stay where they were and slowly walked up the stairs with his gun leading the way. After a moment, Ray's footsteps echoed back down, and he wearily sat on the last step. He placed his gun across his knees.

  "Everybody take a knee."

  Rydel remained standing as the rest of the Unit dropped to one knee. Ray stared at the ground for what seemed like hours to his depleted Unit. He then lifted his head.

  "Who wants to abort?" Ray asked.

  It was quiet for almost one minute, and then Adriana spoke. "He took down one of ours—now I know we're doing the right thing here, Ray. Why would the Other do that to Jack? Maybe it's scared that we might succeed, right?"

  Ray slowly looked over the faces of Ben, Sal, and Steve as the three nodded, agreeing with what Adriana had said.

  "It just warned me that our lives are in danger if we do this," Ray said to Rydel and the rest staring at him.

  Sal shrugged his shoulders. "Wow, like that's news to us. Name one mission where our lives haven't been in danger, Ray. Big fucking whoop-dee-doo."

  Ray couldn't help but smile for a second at Sal's assessment of where they found themselves now. But then his mind flashed back to Jack, dead on the ground where they left him, and the smile was gone. "Okay then, let's do what we were sent back here to do."

  Steve strapped his binoculars back on and led them away from the staircase, back through the twisting underground passageways ahead. They walked silently for ten minutes without any sign of another person—the underground passageways all deserted. Behind Steve, Adriana came to a sudden stop, looking down at her gun.

  "Wait, I got Him." Looking up from her gun, she turned to Steve, his binoculars now off his face. "To the right, Steve."

  "Where?"

  Adriana joined Steve and, at a brisk jog with her gun pointed out, turned to her right, using the flashlight on her gun to illuminate the path. She led Steve toward, and then through, a barely lit passageway Steve had overlooked.

  Ray and the others followed Steve and Adriana, walking cautiously down the dark pathway with the light from Adriana's gun leading the way. They crept into what seemed to be an even darker area with faint torchlight flickering ahead. Moving at a slow, calculated pace, they could make out two soldiers standing outside an open cell door with their heads craned inside, laughing sporadically to each other at what they saw inside the cell. Ray whispered in Steve's ear for him to watch over Rydel and then waved his gun for Adriana, Ben, and Sal to follow him. The four silently reached the soldiers and hovered inches away from their backs. Ben and Sal raised their Smartround guns, almost touching the neck of each soldier in front of them. The two looked at Ray, and he nodded for them to take the soldi
ers down lightly. Each soldier received a new black blemish on the back of his neck, fired from Ben's and Sal's Smartround guns. Before the soldiers fell facedown inside the cell, Adriana, Ben, and Sal reached out and dragged them away.

  With the two soldiers gone, Ray moved closer to get a look inside the open cell door, joined by Adriana, Ben, and then Sal. The four looked inside and could see a temple guard in his black armor standing off to the side. In front of the temple guard, a Roman soldier stood wearing just his red tunic and baldric—no body armor. Below the Roman soldier, Jesus knelt, hunched over and facing the floor of the cell, sweat and blood-soaked wisps of hair sticking to His face. Looking at Jesus on the ground, the Roman soldier spoke to Him in Greek.

  "Pilate sent me here to make sure they don't kill you yet, Messiah of the Jews." The Roman soldier hooked a look back to the temple guard behind him and smiled. "The Jew-Messiah is filthy. I will bathe him appropriately for taking me away from my evening whore."

  At the cell's entrance, a red light flashed on the top of Ray's Smartround gun that he now pointed inside the cell. Ray looked over his shoulder to see Steve standing with Rydel about thirty feet away. Steve held his hand up at Ray, signaling that they were about to have company. Ray placed a hand on Adriana's shoulder, and then Ben's, drawing them away from the cell's entrance, quietly speaking to the two.

  "You two get back to Steve and Rydel—soldiers are on the way." The two turned and ran back to where Rydel and Steve were standing. Ray stepped closer to Sal, who was still looking inside the cell, and tapped him on his arm. "Sal, soldiers are on the way. Take these two down lightly, and help our Lord to His feet."

  Ray turned away and was gone, running fast to join up with the others so he could assist in taking down the approaching soldiers. After watching Ray run away, Sal's attention was drawn back to the cell, the sound of trickling water coming from within. Sal leaned his head further inside, watching as the Roman soldier urinated into a bowl a few feet away from Jesus, who was still on His knees. Finished, the Roman soldier stomped his way over to Jesus with the bowl and lifted it over the head of Christ. The temple guard in the cell took a step toward the Roman, looking as if he was about to say something to stop whatever the soldier intended to do. But before the guard could speak, Sal walked into the cell, making his presence known, the hood of his cloak covering his face. The two turned and faced Sal, neither of them looking surprised. The soldier barked out an order to Sal in Greek.

  "Leave the wine on the floor."

  "Move away from Him. Now!"

  The Roman soldier and the temple guard looked at each other, confused, not understanding the words Sal had spoken in English.

  "Put that bowl down!" Sal screamed at the Roman soldier, again in English. Not choosing his Smartround rifle, Sal slipped out his Beretta M9 from under his cloak—the same type of gun Ray chose for his missions—and aimed the weapon at the Roman soldier.

  The soldier began to laugh, pointing at Sal's gun with his free hand. The temple guard just looked on, at a loss. Why is this man holding the small black object as if it were a threat, the temple guard thought. The Roman soldier stepped closer to Sal, removing his sword from his baldric. He pointed the tip of the blade toward Sal's face.

  "And what do you intend to do with that little thing?" the Roman asked Sal in Greek.

  __

  The four waited, each on one knee, using a curve in the corridor for cover. It was time: Ray, Adriana, Ben, and Steve began taking out the approaching soldiers lightly and silently using their Smartround guns—the six soldiers dropping one by one. Each soldier looked at the man next to him falling to the ground.

  Ray was the first to rise to his feet, but then the sound of gunfire jolted them. Ray took off, sprinting around the corner of the corridor where Rydel had been told to stay put. He grabbed Rydel and ran back toward the cell, followed by Adriana, Ben, and Steve.

  At the entrance to Christ's cell, Ray abruptly stopped and motioned for the three behind him to watch over Rydel. A voice screaming in pain wailed from inside the cell. Ray stepped inside, and the first thing he saw was one of the soldiers on his knees holding his arm, screaming at the three missing fingers on his hand. The other man stared wide-eyed at the mauled Roman soldier. Ray shot the two with sedation rounds, and they dropped to the ground, falling on their sides. Sal stood awestruck at the sight of Jesus. Ray grabbed Sal by the shoulders and spun him around.

  "Why the hell did you use your gun?"

  "He was about to do something to Him, Ray. I—I got angry."

  Ray looked down at Jesus on the ground and then at the wounded Roman, shouting out for Adriana as he did. "Adriana, get in here!" Adriana walked inside the cell and came to a stop in front of Ray.

  "Wrap up the soldier's hand, A—you have two minutes. Just make sure he doesn't bleed to death."

  Adriana knelt beside the Roman, a man with not much of a hand left for her to work on.

  "Sal."

  Sal didn't respond to Ray. He stared at the ground, shaking his head. Ray moved closer and gave Sal a gentle slap on his left cheek. "Look at me, Sal."

  Sal lifted his head.

  "I fucked up big time, didn't I, Ray?"

  Ray shot a look over his shoulder at Adriana, busy bandaging the hand of the sedated Roman. He then slapped Sal gently on his right cheek.

  "Let's get going."

  "Okay, Ray."

  __

  John and Todd reached a gateway leading into Jerusalem and entered the dark city, scattered torches lighting the way inside. The two walked through the streets that had—in most areas—shut down for the night. As they walked deeper into the dark city, Todd turned to John Adams by his side.

  "Anything, sir?"

  With his head down, John focused on his Smartround gun's slide-out screen, not trying to hide the rifle anymore, pointing the gun straight ahead.

  "No. Make sure the tracking is off on your gun."

  "Already done. Where do we start?"

  Firelight ahead outlined a cluster of men gathered outside a stone home, drinking from goblets. The colonel pointed out the group of men to Todd. "Guess it doesn't matter, coming into contact with the people of this time now. What we need to do is stop Rydel from saving this man. So let's go over there and ask if they know anything more about Jesus being arrested than the man we met on the way here knew."

  John and Todd put their translators on, concealed them, and made their way over to the men.

  The two reached the men, taking in the language through their translators, the men debating a passionate topic in Aramaic. John stood behind the group and spoke their language through his translator.

  "Do any of you know where they are keeping the man named Jesus? He has been arrested tonight."

  The men all turned their heads, their glassy eyes on John and Todd. The men started to laugh. A heavyset man with drooping eyes and a mangled tunic half-smiled at the others with him who were laughing. The heavyset man slurred out a response to John.

  "Arrested! Arrested for what—preaching?"

  The man's face dropped, and he sobered up quickly, looking past John and Todd. John and Todd noticed the man's sudden mood swing and looked over their shoulders. Two temple guards stood behind them. The two guards, one standing almost seven feet tall and the other a normal stature, shared a look.

  "Followers of Jesus," the tall man said.

  The smaller soldier pointed his sword at John and Todd and yelled, "You two, come with us!"

  Todd reached for his Smartround gun under his cloak. John turned off his translator furtively while quickly gesturing that he would follow. He removed Todd's right earbud while patting him on the shoulder, speaking to Todd under his breath in English.

  "Wait. Let them take us. Turn off your translator."

  The two guards led John and Todd through the city, closing in on a citadel. Once inside, they passed scattered temple guard units eyeing their procession with nods and pointed fingers of curiosity. At the top of a b
eige stone staircase, the two soldiers pushed John and Todd forward, forcing them to walk down the stairs. As the guards followed the two, John held up two fingers at Todd. John and Todd took two more steps down, spun around with their Smartround guns drawn, and shot each man in the neck with a sedation Smartround. The guards dropped to their knees and started tumbling down the stairs until John reached out and grabbed them, supporting the two guards with his arms, pinning them against the staircase wall.

  "Get the rounds out of their necks!"

  Todd rushed over and removed the smartrounds from the neck of each guard. John slammed an S-7 needle into each soldier. He gripped onto the soldier he supported with his left arm and let the other soldier fall down the steps. John put his translator back in place and waited for his words to morph into Aramaic:

  "Where is the Nazarene?"

  __

  Inside the cell with Jesus, Ray stood over Adriana bandaging the Roman's hand. When she finished, she stood up and nodded.

  "Join up with the rest, A."

  Adriana started to walk away. Then she stopped, staring at Jesus on the floor, fixated.

  "Back in the game, Adriana. Come on."

  Adriana snapped out of her fixation on Jesus and exited the cell without a word or another glance back. Now alone with Christ, Ray stepped closer and took a knee by Jesus's side. Beaten, with blood-matted hair covering His face, Jesus lifted His head, staring up at Ray with one eye open, one eye bloodied and shut. As Ray adjusted and spoke to Jesus through his cloth-covered translator, the Aramaic translation of his words began to amplify for Jesus to hear.

  "We came to save you."

  Jesus raised His battered face up a little more to face Ray.

  "My Father in Heaven will save me." Jesus's voice was hoarse, and as the words translated back, Ray shook his head.

  "No…for some reason, He will not."