by Jim Plautz
Oleg Ivanov went from boat to boat addressing each of his men. There were six boats, each carrying six men armed with AK-47 machine guns, semi automatic pistols, grenades and two rocket launchers. Oleg didn’t expect trouble, but it always paid to be prepared. Confident that each boat knew its role, he jumped into the lead boat and gave the order to begin the twenty minute trip across the lake. He smiled as he thought of the wealth and power that possessing the Ark of the Covenant would bring.
Oleg thought of himself as a businessman and a member of a powerful cartel known as the Russian Mafia. Much stronger than the Italian Mafia ever hoped to be, the Russian Mafia dominated business activities in Russia and had a major presence in the United States and other foreign countries. His gang alone had over 400 soldiers and controlled a large portion of Moscow. Thirty six of his best men were here today for this mission.
An unlikely set of circumstances brought the Russians to Lake Tana. It was a ten year journey that started with a small loan to a man who needed money to start a nightclub act in France. “My nephew is only ten, but he is the best magician in the country,” the man claimed. “Not only that, he can find things that are lost and read your mind.”
Oleg loaned the man 10,000 Euros in return for 50% of earnings. Six months later he remembered going to the nightclub to see how his investment was doing and was pleasantly surprised. Randy Wolkson was the real thing. He could read minds, find lost children and foresee the future. They had been disappointed on a few occasions, but Oleg knew this was a sound, long term investment. He was willing to wait.
The boy went back to the United States, but Oleg used his contacts to keep track of the boy who had changed his name to Matthew Wilson. For ten years the Russian gang leader followed Matthew’s progress, eventually leading him to Ethiopia and the Lake Tana resort development. Oleg had a nose for money and sensed this was more than a casual investment; he acted accordingly. The Russians monitored the telephone calls for three years and listened closely as Matthew’s friends talked about the Ark. They hit pay dirt when the two Ethiopians discovered the cave. Oleg knew it was time to cash in on his investment.
The bidding on the Ark was unbelievable. Subject to verifying authenticity, the Sunnis offered $500 million, an offer topped by radical Shiites who offered $600M. Rome offered a billion and increased their offer to three billion when they heard that Ahmadinejad offered two billion. Oleg wasn’t interested; he was going to harness its power and keep the Ark for himself.
They neared the island and Oleg waited as two boats broke off in each direction to circle the island and make sure they were alone. It was 1:00 AM and he didn’t expect any visitors. The four remaining boats stopped four hundred yards from the small island and shut down their engines. They floated silently, packed together in a group, waiting until they received the all-clear signal.
The silence was broken by the sounds of a high speed power boat appearing out of the darkness bearing down upon them on a collision course. The maniacal animal-like screams of the five men in the approaching boat could be heard clearly above the noise of the engines and struck fear into Oleg’s men. They were not aware that eight hundred years ago this tactic was used successfully in the Crusades.
“A key tactic of the Templars was that of the ‘squadron charge’. A small group of knights and their heavily-armed warhorses would gather into a tight unit which would gallop full speed at the enemy lines, with a determination and force of will that made it clear that they would rather commit suicide than fall back. This terrifying onslaught would frequently have the desired result of breaking a hole in the enemy lines, thereby giving the other Crusader forces an advantage”.
Precious moments were lost as the twenty four Russians stared at the oncoming boat and listened to the war cries of the crew. When they finally reacted, it was too late. The oncoming boat, with a metal battering ram and three foot spikes protecting the sides, rammed into Oleg’s lead boat at a speed of 30 knots. Oleg and two of his crew were killed instantly and the other three were thrown into the water where they were raked with automatic gunfire. The wake from the collision capsized a second boat whose crew suffered a similar fate. The two remaining boats were just beginning to mount a defense when the grenades exploded; within minutes Oleg and twenty three of his men were dead. Oleg’s other two boats arrived too late to help, but just in time to suffer the fate of their comrades. The fifth boat was rammed and the six-man crew dumped unceremoniously into the water, destined to be mowed down by automatic machine guns. The sixth boat tried to escape, but couldn’t outrun the projectile from the hand-held missile launcher.
The water surrounding the small island was littered with debris from sunken boats. A score of lifeless bodies floated aimlessly atop the lake, slowly making their way towards the majestic Blue Nile Falls.
It was approaching eight PM Wednesday in St Louis, four AM the following day on Lake Tana. The battle was over and the victors celebrated while their leaders entered the cave despite the protests and warnings of the Falasha priest standing guard. They proceeded to the Outer Chamber of the Temple before hesitating.
“Is it wise to enter, Grand Master? Maybe the priest is correct?”
“It is our destiny. There is no way I cannot enter. The Ark is the reason our Brotherhood was founded and represents everything the Masonic Temple believes in. I owe it to King Robert the Bruce, George Washington and all the others that championed individual liberty and political liberty since the inquisition forced our predecessor’s underground.”
“Yes, the founders of the Knights Templar would be proud. It is the culmination of their search for the Ark of the Covenant which started when the eight original knights took residence in the Al Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount and spent ten years digging under the Temple searching for the Ark.”
“The Scottish adventurer James Bruce of Kinnaird would be envious if he knew that the he had been within 100 meters of the Ark. Two hundred and forty years later his belief that the Ark was in the Lake Tana area will be proven correct.”
“We would not be standing here if it were not for Bruce and the travel journals he left behind. Thank you, Sir Bruce, and all the other Templars and Freemasons that have unsuccessfully searched for the lost Ark since it disappeared from Solomon’s Temple.”
The Grand Master of the Masonic Temple slowly opened the curtain to the Holy of Holies and gazed upon the altar.
The Ark was gone.
Exodus tells stories of how people that touched the Ark were killed and only Levites, members of the Hebrew Tribe of Levi, were allowed to transport the Ark without danger. It is difficult to reconcile this documented history with current facts. After all, it was Ken and Marco that relocated the Ark the previous evening after receiving a warning phone call from Amar Rashad.
Chapter 25 - Revelation