A half-hour later, Becca was securely communicating over a high-speed Internet connection. She checked the status of the A-Car. It was parked at a SuperNight Motel in Arizona, near the Grand Canyon.
*
Rahmati went to Persia for his weekly meeting with Javan.
“I can’t wait until we can meet in Babylon,” said Rahmati. “The Chinese are making great progress. The fiber should be complete in a few weeks or so. Then, we can start securely collaborating at 300,000 kilometers a second.”
Javan replied, “I agree, that’ll be a great day. Suleiman and Rodina are advancing extraordinarily. We own the military comms of the 5th and 6th Fleet. We were so focused on the benefits of cracking AES; we underestimated the benefits of breaking SHA. Not only does the SHA hack give us the ability to secretly modify log files, but we have all the SYSADMIN passwords. We’re superusers on every DoD and intelligence network. If we wanted, we could change the contents of documents without altering the digital signature. Or we could send fake emails. Or we could spoof the digital certificates of any software company to spread malware.”
Rahmati laughed. “Let’s keep those things in our back pocket. Each of those things might raise the visibility of our attack, if they were discovered. We want to keep Suleiman and Rodina a secret for as long as possible. But can you imagine, we have the ability to modify every classified document in the United States? Unbelievable!”
“Indeed. Just being a superuser lets us work through all the covert programs, without even worrying about AES or public key encryption. It’s a much faster way to get the information. We started with their TOP SECRET programs. Muhammad, we’re in possession of some shocking secrets. American’s would probably impeach the President if we disclosed some of these things.”
Now, Rahmati’s laugh bellowed through the whole office. “That’s just one more knife to use in a street-fight. Whatever we’re paying the Russian cryptographers, we should double it. We can only keep AVICENNA hidden for so long. The Americans may be cowboys, but they’re not dumb. They’ll guess that we have a quantum computer pretty quickly, after we implement the rest of our plan.”
“Yes,” said Javan. “It’s been very instructive reading about the NSA projects. It gives us deep insight into all their SIGINT capabilities. The sheer number of files is massive. We’ve worked only through half of them. Also, we’ve identified more Persians on the American and British payroll. We’re going to use them to plant disinformation, before we take them out. Muhammad, one of my analysts discovered an extremely interesting project. It’s called SWARM. I think you should take a look.”
Rahmati reviewed the file for a long time. “This is fascinating.”
Against numerous naysayers, Muhammad Rahmati had made substantial progress against Daesh in the past six weeks. Iraq was such a basket case since the American’s left 10 years ago, that most pundits predicted the Rahmati Effect would fade.
They prognosticated that the forces that had consumed all other Iraqi governments, would ultimately overcome Rahmati. Iraq would face renewed, centuries-old sectarian violence. The blood of Sunnis, Shias, and Kurds would run red in the streets—once again.
Rahmati couldn’t wait to prove the conventional wisdom wrong. Much of that wisdom came from countries that benefitted from a weak Iraq. They wanted its oil fields, or at least, better oil concessions.
Re-Baathification was indeed playing a critical role in Rahmati’s fight against the Caliphate. While not every Baathist joined Rahmati’s government, enough high ranking ones did. They provided crucial intelligence on Caliphate operations. It was a risky situation for Rahmati, since the Baathists were Sunni.
The Prime Minister was trusting significant responsibilities to former enemies. However, most of the Baathists cared more about power than they cared about religious doctrine. After 15 years, many Baathists were just thankful to walk the halls of power once more. Rahmati also effectively united with the Kurds with promises of support in their efforts to establish an independent state carved from Turkish territory.
Iraqi forces; aided by Shiite militias, Persian special forces, and Russian airpower had driven Daesh from the cities of Ramadi and Tikrit. Next, the Coalition was planning on waging an offensive in Mosul and Fallujah. Daesh forces were fleeing to the Syrian Desert, Libya, or the Sinai. Others were melting away into Europe.
The world was in awe of Rahmati’s progress against the Caliphate.
Regaining control of Iraq’s oil was just as important as pushing Daesh out of populous Iraqi cities. Rahmati was expelling Daesh from Iraqi oil fields and stopping their oil tapping operations. The oil wells were returning to the exclusive control of Iraq. Daesh’s finances were in disarray.
With the oil fields coming under Iraqi control, Rahmati’s financial coffers were finally expanding. He closed a lucrative revenue splitting arrangement with the Kurds, also furthering their alliance. The oil production-rich town of Basra was quickly reestablishing itself as the crown jewel of Iraq. Rahmati sought new foreign investment in the oil fields, offering attractive oil concessions. Babylon’s construction was also proceeding rapidly. The Chinese knew how to build cities quickly.
Rahmati continued to leverage social media to further his personal brand and advance his ultra-popular message. He used A-Tube and Snapchat to detail the highlights of his strengthening government. The PM live-streamed and Snapchatted his walks in the streets of Baghdad, his interactions with Iraqi citizens, and Babylon’s progress. His social media team developed custom filters for Snapchat and generated memes for other social platforms. The filter that made everyone look like Rahmati went viral.
*
Responding to a text, General Shields hastily arrived at Defense Innovations. He stepped into the SWARM Op Center. “What’s going on?”
“As I’ve been tracking Josh Adler and Becca Roberts, I noticed some anomalies,” replied the SWARM analyst. He pointed to his computer monitor. “Look at this. They’re staying at a SuperNight Motel every evening, as they make their way across the country. I’ve been looking carefully at all the sensors from the A-Car, just to see if anything jumped out at me.
“It’s clear the car is driving autonomously across the US. So that’s the first thing I noticed. Wouldn’t they want to drive manually, at least some of the time? Their A-Car does have the steering wheel option.”
General Shields laughed. “Well, they are getting married. They’re probably just really enjoying each other’s company—in the back seat.”
The analyst smiled. “Maybe, but there’s more. Check out this graph. The tire pressure in this A-Car never changes. I mean, due to friction from the road, it varies when they drive. But study these readings. They’re measurements of the tires in the morning, when they’re cold. Now, look at the pressure readings when the car begins the day’s journey. There’s no variance. No one is getting into or out of this car.”
“Do the doors open?”
“Yes, but they can be remotely opened and closed.”
“Ok,” replied the General. “Go on.”
“They do check in, check out, and make payments using Becca’s credit card. But this is interesting. Becca is a SuperNight Star Member. She’s not getting any points for her stay.”
“Maybe she didn’t give them the card number? Or, maybe the rewards are batch processed?”
“No, they have it. And, I examined other people that are Star Members. Look at this.” The analyst depressed the keyboard to switch to another application. “When guests check out; immediately, their points are updated. It works the same way for every Star Member. SuperNight’s Star Member system is real-time.
“At the same time, Becca and Josh’s personal SIGINT leads me to believe they’re in the car. There are messages to friends and family that talk about their journey’s current scenery and real-time micro-weather. Josh talks to his dad about the NFL playoffs and Super Bowl. Becca did tell her best friend that they’re considering elopement. Their SIGINT makes it hard to bel
ieve that they aren’t in the A-Car.”
“What about the phone’s cameras or the A-Car’s voice recognition system?” asked the General.
“Becca must have disabled all of them, because they’re unavailable to us.”
“Ok,” replied Shields. “Let’s get eyes on the car. Where are they?”
“They’ve just parked in a lot at the Grand Canyon. I assume they’re taking a tour from there.”
“Get the FBI on this. Tell them to tail the car. If they ask, show them the FISA warrant,” ordered the General. Shields texted Samantha.
*
Hours later, in the waning light of the Grand Canyon’s purple dusk, an FBI agent arrived at the A-Car.
The G-man called the Op Center. “There’s no sign of anyone.”
“I’m going to remotely open the trunk,” replied the analyst.
The trunk popped open, revealing Becca and Josh’s luggage. Their cell phones were in the interior. “These A-Cars are cool,” exclaimed the agent. He searched a little longer and then returned to his vehicle.
After a while, the A-Car’s ignition system engaged.
“I’m going to follow the car,” said the agent.
Nucleus Corporation’s flagship model SUV drove back to the Grand Canyon SuperNight. It parked. The gull wing doors spread open for a few seconds and then closed.
“Damn it!” yelled General Shields. “They sure as hell didn’t elope.” Samantha never responded to Shields’ text.
*
Becca’s looked at her A-Car monitoring app. She saw the notification. Someone remotely accessed the A-Car’s trunk. Now, the A-Car was parked in the SuperNight lot. She activated the A-Car’s exterior camera system. Then she saw him. Becca could spot an FBI agent from a mile away.
Chapter 34 – A Copper Scroll
11:35 a.m., Tuesday, February 2, 2021 – Jerusalem, Israel
City of David
Professor McMillan threw his woolen, felt fedora on the ground.
“Bloody hell, Josh. We’ve been digging through limestone and dolomite for 23 days straight. The tunnel is now a little over 425 feet long. We’re almost half-way to your geo-marker. We may be ahead of schedule, but we’ve found nothing.
“No artifacts, no hint of any other shafts—nothing. There’s not been one iota of evidence to indicate that there’s anything down here, let alone the Ark. If we were on the right path, I’d have expected to find something by now…a shard of pottery, a coin, something man-made.”
Josh nodded his head. “I know it’s disappointing. I can tell you that the neural network predicts that we’re getting closer every day.”
McMillan grimaced. He turned his hunched back on Josh and huffed off.
Living in a tunnel for nearly a month was fraying everyone's nerves. There were brief respites up top, in the house. But it was not enough to feel normal. Josh felt like a mole. Aside from fresh Jerusalem air, everyone looked forward to the daily resupply provisions from Ismael’s construction team. At least the food was fresh.
Josh made his way back toward Becca. He walked the length of the tunnel, passing minecarts full of dirt and the wooden reinforcements supporting the excavation. El Minero insisted on the supports, despite the fact that the bedrock was much sturdier than the clay soils of the Mexico-Texas border.
Becca was working comms in the anteroom. “The Professor is upset,” said Josh.
Becca replied, “Yeah, he’s not the only one. It’s been almost three weeks since the FBI discovered our cover story. I’m pretty sure the General didn’t buy the elopement. Every day we don’t find the Ark is a day the NSA is getting closer to locating us.”
“You can bet that they’ve been pouring through the video feeds at customs and border crossings in the Middle East. The good thing is they have to search a broad area. All you told the General was that the AI predicted the Ark was somewhere in the Middle East. But, they’re probably working with Mossad and Shin Bet. We don’t have much more time.
“Josh, what if all of this was for nothing? We’ll be arrested. And we won’t have anything to show for it.”
Josh wrapped his arms around Becca. “It’s going to be ok. I believe we’ll find the Ark. Whether we do or whether we don’t; you become more beautiful to me every day. We wouldn’t be here at this moment, if it weren’t for you. It’s an honor to be on this quest with you, Princess. Thank you for being by my side. I love you.”
Becca blushed. She held onto Josh as tightly as she could. “Princess…I like that a lot better than Dorcas.”
*
“General Shields, look at this. I think this is them,” said the SWARM analyst.
“This overly happy couple looks like Becca and Josh. They went through Eliat on January 7, as Canadian citizens. Look how they’re constantly smiling. It’s a trick to defeat the facial recognition. They’ve also taken steps to disguise themselves and mask the shape of their faces. I used Nucleus’ deep learning facial recognition API, and it came up with a positive match. It’s got a 98% degree of confidence.
“Given that they penetrated Israel, the most logical places for their next destination were Jerusalem, Haifa, or Tel Aviv. So, I’ve been crunching video surveillance from those cities. This bus came to the Wailing Wall four days later, on January 11.
“I’ve spliced together the feeds around the Temple Mount. Watch. After loitering around the Wailing Wall plaza, this couple doesn’t ever go in. They try to get lost in the crowd. Minutes later, they walked down this street. I think they’re the same couple from Eliat. I zoomed in on the girl’s hair. The blonde coloring is the same. Then, I reviewed the satellite imagery over that area; there’s always a bird with eyes on that site. I didn’t see anything directly on, or around, the Temple Mount.
“But, look here,” said the analyst, pointing at Jared Adler’s property on a map. It’s the only place in which significant construction has occurred in the last month. A crew works the site, seven days a week. Friday is the only day in which their pattern is different. There’s heavy equipment, scaffolding, power generators—stuff like that.”
General Shields replied, “One of the most likely sites of the Ark is under the Temple Mount. Maybe they’re trying to tunnel from the residence? That would be one long tube. But this is our best lead. Good work. Lin, let’s get the last batch of Swarmbots deployed to this location.”
*
The Professor sprinted to Josh and Becca. He held a dusty clay jar in his hand. “The probe’s sonar just discovered this at an entrance to an ancient tunnel system,” he said. It was the most upbeat Becca had seen the Professor in weeks. “I want to open it in front of you two love-birds.”
McMillan took the top off the long cylindrical jar. It contained a metallic scroll. “I’m gobsmacked. This looks just like the copper Dead Sea Scroll. The Israelites engraved the metal to make sure the writing didn’t disintegrate over time, as it does with parchment.”
McMillan unfurled the thin metal sheet and meticulously examined it.
“It’s written in Hebrew script. It says: ‘The words of Baruch, the son of Neriah, written upon instruction of Jeremiah, son of Hilkiah.’ Baruch was the Prophet Jeremiah’s amanuensis. Jeremiah authored two books in the Hebrew Bible. He plays a prominent role in many theories about the Ark.”
The Professor continued his translation. He stumbled over some of the words because ancient Hebrew did not have vowels. The same group of consonants could be interpreted as different words. It all depended on context.
“‘The LORD God has fashioned you, as a potter molds clay. God has ordained you to redeem the Ark of the Covenant. Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem. In coming days, they will finally breach the city walls. King Jehoiakim has brought this punishment upon Judah, by playing the harlot. He has prostituted the land through a wicked alliance with Egypt.’”
The Professor exegeted the text. “So…this letter is from the time of the first siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, sometime before 597 BC.
The King of Judah, Jehoiakim, acted contrary to Jeremiah’s advice. Rather than trusting God, the King made an alliance with Egypt to protect Judah from Babylon.”
McMillan returned to reading the scroll. “‘The LORD directed Jeremiah to re-veil the Ark, utilizing wise King Solomon’s tunnels, beneath the House of the LORD.’ Cor Blimey! This scroll proves that we’re underneath the original location of the Temple. ‘House of the LORD’ is an alternative name for the Temple.” After bear-hugging Becca and Josh, it took some time for the Professor to temper his elation and return to his translation.
“‘As your eyes gaze upon the Ark, know that perilous times dawn. All the earth shall quake. The stars shall fall from the sky. The moon shall drip with blood. The sun shall be draped in sackcloth and ashes. Be at peace, our LORD is God of gods and LORD of lords. With your last breath, grasp the light.’
Chasm Waxing: A Startup, Cyber-Thriller Page 31