by Lior Akerman
The police helicopter flying above them and the NYTN news helicopter filming the entire encounter, were in complete shock. The cameras recorded a white figure in a blue cape fighting the fire and rocks from two figures in black and he managed to overcome them. They disappeared into the water. John Rice, the reporter broadcasting live from the helicopter said:
“We saw what happened down there. It is not clear who that was and who the figures were. What is clear is that someone is fighting our battle for liberty and peace and today at least, he prevailed. The figure in white won but disappeared.”
In the coming days, the media all over the world discussed this incident, trying to discover who this white figure was and where he had come from. He became a global hero, without anyone knowing his true identity and no one understood if he was a real figure or an illusion that the media created.
The civilians and viewers all over the world did not know that they would experience many similar incidents and encounter the white figure many more times in the months to come.
20.
New York, Midtown, September 21st
Captain Alan Jacobs was sitting in his corner office on the 5th floor at the police headquarters on East 51st and 3rd Avenues It was already evening outside and he remained behind the glass doors, enjoying the temporary peace. His brown tie was tied around his open shirt. His hair had dashes of white in it and was a bit wild. He stroked it repeatedly, lost in thought.
He had 20 years of experience in investigations and vast professional knowledge. He had resolved hundreds of complicated cases throughout his impressive career. He had not been promoted through the ranks at the pace he had hoped for when he was younger. He refused to take part in the political game that entailed kissing-up to his commanders. Jacobs was always careful to stay within the law but he did let himself think outside the box. There was no one waiting for him at home anyway. His ex-wife was now living with her new partner and their joint child in New Jersey and had been out of the area since the attacks started.
Over the course of the past few weeks, Jacobs had examined the investigation files repeatedly as well as the folders with the forensic data. He read the findings carefully and compared the times of the incidents and the testimonies of the witnesses. Something still did not add up for him. The puzzle was still not complete. He turned his chair to face the window, resting his feet on the cabinet behind him, looking out into the darkness. In the last two years since he had taken this corner office, he had found that he had his best thoughts looking out the windows at the Double Tree Metropolitan Hotel opposite him, seeing the tourists and guests on-site. At the moment, however, the hotel was mostly empty and dark, except for a few rooms that were lit.
His senses had never misled him before and he felt that he should listen to them. He checked the exact times the Trump and Rockefeller buildings had been blown up and collapsed. He repeatedly went over the testimony of Alice Christy that he had taken himself at her parents’ home. She had stated clearly that Mike had also been injured in the bombings and described the wall that had fallen on him in the office and the shock on his face. It did not make sense that a terrorist who was planning such a huge attack would stay in the building next door and put himself and his close friend, who he had carried to safety for several kilometers, at risk. The magnitude of damage showed that the preparations for the explosion were thorough and required the involvement of much more than one man. Mike did not meet these requirements.
Captain Jacobs did not understand what had caused the buildings to collapse. The rescue forces did not find any explosives or devices that could have caused the colossal damage. It was as if the explosions came out of nothing and there were no traces of advanced preparations of a human factor. He also did not have an explanation of what had happened at the apartment on Edgecombe Avenue and at the church opposite it. Who were the figures that fled from the scene after the big fire? Witnesses were only able to say that the white figure disappeared into the building and the two figures in black jumped out to the street and disappeared in the dark. Jacobs felt there was a connection between the two.
The facts, however, were against Jacobs. Mike’s unusual behavior, the strange incidents at his apartment that burned down and at the synagogue, and his disappearance right after the attacks, increased the suspicions against him. Captain Jacobs would give anything for five minutes to talk to Moshe (Mike ) Yehoshua Messenger.
The fatigue and lack of sleep of the last few days had gotten to Jacobs. He was planning to spend another night sleeping on the couch in his office. As always, two large televisions were on, illuminating the office in a blue light. He liked to know what was going on, so he watched the international news channel on one screen and the local news channel on the other.
He received a call from the emergency center, with a report of a threat made to blow up the Statue of Liberty within minutes. The police and security forces were on their way to the site and he asked the field officers to report to him about the developments once they reached the island. He figured he would be there within 20 minutes, if he drove. He took the jacket from the couch and was about to leave his office and go to his car.
The breaking news on NYTN was the first report. Minutes after it, Fox News also reported live from the Hudson River. Alan Jacobs could not believe his eyes. The footage from the helicopter focused on three figures in a confrontation on the island beneath the statue. One dressed in white and two in black. He was not focusing on the unbelievable sight of fire coming from the black figures and the huge wall of stones flying through the air, throwing the black figures into the river. He took a good look at the three figures and suddenly it all came together in his mind.
Three figures in black and white were spreading havoc in his city, or was something else happening here? Who are these people and why are they conducting their struggle here and now? Jacobs suddenly noticed he had been standing in the same position with his jacket in his hand for a long time. He snapped out of the trance he was in, left his office and went down to his car, on his way to the site of the incident. That was where he belonged, in the field. He got into his dark blue Crown Victoria Ford and sped through the empty streets. He turned onto Lexington and headed south towards Gramercy Park where he turned west, connected to Park Avenue and continued south, without stopping at the empty intersections. The dark streets were deserted; very few people were out. The effect of the last few days was apparent on the streets and only the homeless remained loyal to the places they were staying. He crossed Union Square, continuing south across Broadway, until he reached Battery Park. He drove around it from the east, eventually taking the access route leading to the platform where an NYPD boat was waiting.
Ten minutes later he was walking on the wooden pier leading to the Statue of Liberty. Two detectives met him on scene. He entered the complex and noticed that there was smoke coming from the ground. In several spots, the fire fighters were still putting out the flames. Hundreds of rocks were scattered all over, reminding him of what he had seen on television just a short while ago in his office. He took a long look around and then up at the Statue of Liberty and smiled to himself.
21.
New York, Downtown, September 21st
In the hours after the incident, Mike in Battery Park, overlooking Liberty Island, trying to organize his thoughts. He spent the rest of the night wandering through the streets. He headed north, crossing the Tribeca neighborhood and continued north on Hudson, through West Village. The streets were mostly empty, with very few cars, primarily police and municipal vehicles. Every time he saw a police car, he entered an alleyway and disappeared in the dark. The streets were deserted because of the war. All the residents had left the city, the exception being those that had nowhere else to go. Knowing that he was wanted for a crime he had not committed and feeling that he had nowhere to go was a lot to cope with. He felt extremely lonely and he did not understand why this was happening to him.
He walked slowly north on 9th Avenue, until he reached the corner of West 23rd. He stopped, turned right, heading for the only place he thought he would be able to have some peace.
As expected, when he arrived at the floor of the synagogue in the Beit Yisrael Medical Center, he found the place closed and deserted. He headed for the side door leading to the rabbi’s office. It was partly burnt and therefore not locked. Mike gently pushed the door open and entered the office he had gotten to know.. The red sofa was still intact and that was all he wanted at the moment. He laid down and fell asleep.
By the time he woke, it was already midday and the sun lit the room. There was a small bathroom in the corner that he used to wash his face from the remains of the night’s adventure. He had to find answers and he started to search for them in the office. He found the answer he was looking for in the drawer in the cabinet behind the rabbi’s desk. Most of the room had burned but somehow there were all kinds of notes that remained. He found a copy of Rabbi Yochanan Hacohen’s letter, the quotations from the Talmud and the description of Rabbi Yaacov’s visit to Kfar Kana. He read them all and still could not connect them or understand what they had to do with him. Something inside him told him that he would find the answers somewhere else - in his childhood in Israel, in his past. He knew that was where he needed to go. He sat down on the floor, closed his eyes and leaned back.
He suddenly got up, took out his phone and turned it back on. He found the number and dialed. He received the automatic reply:
“Hi, this is Alice. Please leave a message and I will get back to you. Thank you.”
Mike was happy to hear her voice and smiled.
“We will meet soon,” he said and hung up.
When he opened his eyes, he was somewhere else. The security forces managed to successfully pinpoint the source of the call and were at the synagogue within 15 minutes. They found the phone in the rabbi’s office but by the time they got there, no one was there.
Tel Aviv, September 23rd
The war had been in progress for seven weeks by now and the civilians in the U.S. were exhausted. They were not used to being under attack. The Israeli public was different as people were more used to wars. The men were on reserve duty and the women remained sheltered at home with the children. Missiles continued to fall in different areas. The number of casualties continued to rise but even so, it seemed that the country had entered a war routine.
The steaming Tel Aviv sky was bright and full of stars. The streets were mostly empty and the only vehicles on the streets belonged to the security forces. In the distance, there were occasional sounds of explosion sounds , where missiles had fallen or been shot down. The stock market complex in Ramat Gan was quiet and deserted. The offices were mostly dark and the only lights on were in the apartments in the buildings.
The two figures in black were standing on the roof on the 64th floor of the Aviv Tower. Now was the time to disrupt the war routine that the Israeli civilians had gotten used to. It was time for another shock, more food for thought, before the final blow. They looked at each other and then gave the final signal.
Two huge explosions shook Jabotinsky Street, south of them. The two towers that had been in complete darkness just moments earlier, collapsed and became a heap of flames, concrete and glass. A huge cloud of dust and smoke covered the area. The windows of the houses in the area shattered and the alarms went off. The two figures watched from the roof and waited. The next stage, they knew, was to blow up the four residential towers opposite them, behind the place where, until moments ago, the twin towers were standing. They waited for the right moment.
When the right moment came, it was too late. They looked at each other and gave the sign repeatedly but the sound they heard behind them stopped them. They turned and there he was, covered in white, shining. He stood behind them and looked at them quietly. Samael was the first to act. With his gaze, he blew up the huge water tank on the roof. Tons of water flooded the roof and covered the white figure. The water continued to flow onto the street, 64 floors down. When the water level lowered, Samael and Charnbog remained standing on the small concrete structure, looking around them in the dark. When they saw him, it was too late for them to respond. The huge steel rod that was used as an antenna was in the hands of the white figure and was heading towards them with great force. It hit them swiftly and hard, hurling them in the air on to the street far below.
When the water stopped flowing, the silence of the night returned. The only sounds were the sirens and the shouting of the rescue units clearing the remains of the twin towers. Very soon after this, the news channels showed the footage of the witnesses from the twin towers. The footage was from different residents and from different angles but they all showed the struggle between the figure in white and the figures in black. Despite the darkness, the picture was clear and within minutes were sent all over the world, on the news and social media.
Things were starting to clarify. It was now obvious that the figures in black had come to cause destruction and turmoil and the figure in white was fighting them and managed to overcome them, limiting the damage they were causing. The people in New York did not understand how the three had gotten to Israel so quickly. In the current, surreal situation, this question was set aside There was no time to discuss it with what was about to happen.
Samael and Charnbog had no intention of withdrawing from their plan. They had been planning this for too many years. Too much effort had been put into it. The next blow was going to be very painful, even more than the previous ones. It was supposed to send a message to the world and to the messenger, the obstacle in their way. Before they could continue with their next mission, they had one more thing they had to do.
22.
Israel, Zfat, September 24th
It was early evening, the hot September sun was setting on the beautiful Zfat hills. He was standing at the edge of Hativat Yiftach Street, on the stone fence above the road, beneath the Mezuda park, facing west. He could not see the ocean, but in his head he pictured the sun sinking into the Mediterranean. The air became cooler and he stayed there until it became dark.
Two minutes later, he was knocking on the door of the apartment. As the door opened, he said “good evening” and entered. Rabbi Yaacov Hacohen looked at him with excitement and said:
“I do not know you, but I knew you would come.”
He pointed to the faded sofa in the corner of the small living room and asked the guest to sit down. Mike smiled and thanked him. He sat down on the sofa silently. They sat facing each other without saying anything for a while, until Mike turned to the rabbi and said:
“I am Moshe Yehoshua Messenger, We have not met but I know who you are and I knew your brother. Could I see the note that was left on your car at the tomb in Kfar Kana?”
“Of course, sure,” he answered and got up.
He went over to the top kitchen drawer and took out a few pages. After looking through them, he found the letter and handed it to Mike. It was definitely the original handwriting of Rabbi Yochanan Aharon Hacohen. Mike realized that he needed to examine the signs he was given throughout his life and that had led him to this point. In the last few days, many different details had come together in his mind, creating a complex yet surprisingly simple web of facts and knowledge that had directed him to where he now was. When he left Rabbi Yaacov’s home, he knew where he needed to go.
Something in him had the sense that it all began in the Galilee. First of all, his name contained everything - the prophets of both religions and being a messenger. His mother’s name was Miriam and her clothes in his dream were deliberate. The origin of her family from Nazareth was also not random. His father Amram’s family roots in Nazareth also fit the picture perfectly. All the quotations from the bible and the New Testament regarding his mission given to him by religious figures named Mathew and Yochanan. It all came together. The part that excited Mike the most wa
s his connection with Alice, or Elisheva, whose family also came from Nazareth. The white clothes and the blue cape and the symbols in the belt he received, all showed that he had been chosen for this task from the day he was born. His parents had not disappeared randomly in the Kinneret and Rabbi Yochanan’s letter was given to him at Kfar Kana for a reason. This was where the Wedding Church was located, where Jesus performed one of his first miracles.
All of the messages he had received spoke of the end of religion and divided beliefs and the start of a new era in which man will believe in his abilities. There still was one piece of the puzzle missing however and he thought he knew where he would find it.
Jerusalem, September 25th
That night, in the last week of September, Mike stayed in his parents’ home in Mishkenot Shaananim. The house had been deserted for the last two years. No one took care of it or rented it out and no one had been in or out. He could not resist any longer. He took the phone in his hand and looked at it for a while. Then he went over to the window overlooking the walls of the old city, which were lit in orange light. He stood there for a while holding the telephone and then finally began hesitantly dialing the number he knew by heart. The phone rang and then he heard the voice he missed hearing so much.
“Hi, this is Alice.”.