by Lior Akerman
Porter furrowed his brow. He got out of bed and sat up. Now he was listening more intently to Jacobs.
“Ok. So?”
“Well,” continued Jacobs. “I have an accumulation of evidence and facts that suggest that the messenger could not have caused the explosion on 5th. Furthermore, in all the events he was involved in, he appeared to have been fighting the black figures who came to cause damage. His entire conduct is of someone trying to solve problems, not cause them.”
“Ok, where do I fit in?” Porter wondered out loud.
“You are deeply involved, Porter. I need to meet with you urgently. When can you see me?” was his response.
“In ten minutes, at my house in Brooklyn. 61 Poplar Street.., 4th floor. Coffee is on me,” Porter said with a smile.
He knew he was not going to get any rest that night.
Three hours and four cups of coffee later, the phone rang in the home of the Deputy Director of Operations, Jonathan Murphy. Murphy was better known by his colleagues and friends as “the prophet.” He was given this nickname by Porter himself when they served together at the Boston field office. Everyone called him Jonah, and Porter decided that if they were calling him Jonah, why not call him “the prophet”? Murphy made his way up the ranks, receiving a senior position at a young age, while Porter, an excellent professional without the political skills, remained in a lower ranked position. Jacobs listened to the conversation, mostly hearing joking and cries of joy on the other side. The call continued for several minutes during which Porter updated Murphy on all the things he heard from Jacobs. The response from Murphy was unclear but also encouraging.
“I understand,” Murphy said to him. “I can update you on a few very important matters, but I cannot do it on the phone.”
They set to meet at 09:00 the following morning at the cafe at Union Station in Washington.
Washington, October 27th, 06:00
At 05:55, Porter and Jacobs were sitting in the comfortable car of the Acela Express train at Pennsylvania Manhattan. Exactly three hours later, they got off the train at Union Station at Columbus Square in Washington. Porter immediately identified his friend Murphy on the platform and they hugged each other. Porter introduced Captain Jacobs and they walked over to the café near the platform, outside the gate.
“You couldn’t wait to see me, could you?” Did you miss me?” Porter asked with a smile.
Murphy looked at him but did not smile. He asked them to sit at a round table near the window overlooking the road around the station. As always, he sat facing the entrance.
“You look troubled Jonah”, Porter said with concern.
Murphy looked over at Jacobs and Porter who understood his hesitance assured him:
“Don’t worry, Captain Jacobs is an excellent officer and discrete. You can speak freely.”
Murphy took his time, looking out the window and thinking. Then he cleared his throat, turned back to the men facing him, and began.
“The President is not dead,” he whispered.
Porter and Jacobs looked at him in surprise, then at each other, waiting for him to continue.
“The President and his bodyguard survived the fire. He was slightly injured. Secret Service managed to evacuate him, and he is currently being held in isolation under tight security in one of the White House bunkers, which were intended for this purpose. We decided that, for now, it is best not to expose the fact that he is alive, for fear for his security and the risk that the attackers will return to complete their task.”
“The attackers?” Jacobs asked. “How many attackers were there?”
“The hidden cameras in the walls recorded the two figures in black,” Murphy responded. “They set fire to the entire hall with everyone in it. The cameras outside the building recorded two white figures exiting in two opposite directions. We suspect these are the attackers trying to disguise themselves and make it appear that the figure in white was responsible for the attack.”
“Bingo,” Jacobs said, “I knew it!”
He leaned back in his chair and smiled. Murphy sat up in his seat and said:
“The President is not convinced this is the right explanation. He is not sure about the intentions of the messenger and whether he can be trusted.”
Jacobs looked up for a few seconds and said:
“I think I have an idea of how to convince the President but I will need a plane to take me to Portland immediately.”
At exactly 09:30, Jacobs and Porter flew north in the Agency’s Station 2 plane after calling Alice and setting up their meeting with her. They landed on the private runway at the Portland International Airport, entered a big hangar and headed straight for the black Ford Explorer waiting to take them to their destination. Five minutes later, after Porter spoke to the driver, they were on their way on Yellowbird Way from the airport to the northern part of the city.
33.
Portland, Maine. October 27th, 11:30
Alice was not doing well. She had sunken into a state of deep sadness and loneliness and her parents failed in their efforts to cheer her up. Alice knew that the man she loved was suffering a terrible injustice. She could not even communicate with him. She found herself wondering often about the matter that Captain Jacobs raised when he visited her. Is Mike the Messenger?
The messages she left him on his phone were unanswered, as she expected, and she had no way of finding out what had happened to him. Deep down she knew he was innocent of any crime and acting out of good intentions. When she watched the reports on television and heard the analysts speaking against the messenger, she shouted out loud:
“How stupid can you be? It is so obvious he is here to help us!”
As the days passed, her concern that she may never see him again grew but she did not intend to give up on him. The phone call she received that morning from Captain Jacobs was just the hope she needed to cling to. She couldn’t wait to hear what he had to say. Alice waited in the living room, looking out the window. When she finally saw the black Ford Explorer pulling in, she jumped up in excitement and applauded quietly. Two men stepped out of the car. She identified one as Captain Jacobs but she did not know the fat dark man with him. Her father opened the door for them. Jacobs entered first and after shaking her father’s hand, he walked into the living room and approached her. The second man followed him in and introduced himself as special agent Porter from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Jacobs asked politely to remain alone with Alice and they went into the next room, with its window facing the garden. They sat down at a small dining table that had a glass vase with flowers picked that morning. Jacobs smiled to Alice and said:
“Remember our previous conversation upstairs, in your room that night?”
Alice nodded and Jacobs continued.
“I have received some serious support of my theory regarding the messenger and his connection to your boyfriend, Mike Messenger.” He spoke with confidence and in a matter of fact manner. “We know that Mike was at the same places at the same time the messenger was. I also know that Messenger did not carry out the attacks he was charged with. We now also know that the messenger definitely did not carry out the horrific crime at the White House.”
Jacobs was silent and looked at Alice. She did not take her eyes off of him and waited for him to continue. When the silence continued, she said quietly:ouse”.
“I am glad this your conclusion. I believed it all along but I still do not understand the connection to the messenger and its meaning.”
She sounded helpless. Jacobs lowered his voice, leaned over to Alice and whispered:
“If my theory is correct, and I believe it is, you are the only possible link to Mike, the Messenger.”
Alice was strongly affected by this and she started to shake.
“So, what can I do?” she asked.
“Let’s start by trying to contact
him and convincing him to come here as soon as possible. He has to understand that he is the only lifeline we have left.”
“Alright Mr. Jacobs,” Alice answered, “I’ll see what I can do. I have not spoken to him in a long time. I hope I will be successful.”
When the men left her house and the cloud of dust from the Ford Explorer passed, Alice thought of the only way she had left of finding him.
Jerusalem, October 28th, 07:00
The news broadcasts were showing the press conference in the White House. The different channels had clocks counting down to the end of the ultimatum made by the figures in black to the world leaders, at 20:00 Washington time.
He knew he needed to be there to stop Samael and Charnbog. He needed to prevent another catastrophe and save the world but he knew he would not receive any support. The ring of the phone startled him. He turned around and looked at the telephone as if he was waiting for it to rise up and come to him. The phone continued to ring and then was silent. Mike continued to stare at it. He was wondering who could be ringing the number that had not been active for years. He was the only one who used it, just once when he tried to call Alice. Then it suddenly hit him. The phone started to ring again, cutting through the silence. Mike jumped up and rushed to the phone but then stopped and hesitated for a few seconds before finally picking up the receiver. There was silence, no one said anything. Then he heard her:
“My love? Is that you?”
Once again there was silence.
“Yes, it is me my love. It is been so long. I am sorry for having disappeared, but I had my reasons,” he said.
“I think I know what your reasons were and they don’t matter right now. You are needed here,” she said.
Then the call got cut off.
He felt something had happened but he did not know what. The big house of the Christy’s in north Portland was on fire and there were explosions all over. Alice’s parents were trapped in the house that collapsed on them. Alice was no longer there, they took her with them. Jacobs and Porter received the report of the incident in Portland when they got off the plane at Newark Airport on their way to the agency vehicle awaiting them. They looked at each other in despair.
“Do you think she had enough time to speak to Messenger?” Jacobs asked Porter.
He did not answer. Then Jacobs added:
“I think we need to talk to the President.”
A short while later, they were on their way to the plane awaiting them.
34.
Washington, October 28th, 15:00
The news channels continued to show the stopwatch counting down to the end of the ultimatum of the figures in black. There were five hours remaining.
In the secured basement in the White House, there was irregular activity. Vice President Chambers went down to the Operations Room with the Secretary of Defense. In the closed room, President Lindon was waiting with National Security advisor, Jeffrey Oldman. When the VP took his seat next to the President, the red phone line was already being used for a conference call with the replacement Presidents of Russia, France, Britain, Canada, Germany, Japan and China. After they overcame the shock of seeing the U.S. President sitting at the table, they were surprised to see the footage of the reception hall where the world leaders were burned. Now they understood what the entire world was about to find out. It was clear that the enemy were the two figures in black and the only hope was the figure in white. But the messenger was not there and no one knew when he would appear, if he appeared at all.
The phone call from the FBI Director to the White House facilitated Porter and Jacobs’ ability to meet the President. At 15:30, they sat down in the room with the President and updated him on all the data they had regarding the messenger, the reasons they had come to the clear conclusion that he is on their side and the possible connection to Alice Christy. Jacobs refrained from notifying the President of the possibility of Moshe Messenger being identified as the Messenger. It was his and Alice Christy’s secret. He also realized it was Messenger’s insurance policy. The meeting was led by President Lindon but all the participants, scattered in bomb shelters around the world, agreed that they had to prepare for what was to come. Armies were put on high alert. The dilemma was whether to release a statement responding to the attackers. The leaders were in consensus that they should not give in to the demands of the figures in black. In that meeting, President Lindon coined the term “the Devils in Black” when referring to Samael and Charnbog. He did not know how close he was to the truth. The French VP suggested that they announce that they accept the demands, to have more time to find out their intentions, but his colleagues refused, saying this would be a sign of weakness and sending a very problematic message to the world.
As the discussion continued, Porter and Jacobs conducted their own calls with the Portland police and the FBI headquarters, trying to get more information on the disappearance of Alice Christy and the burning of the house. The only testimony that added information was of the neighbor from across the street who said that she identified two men wearing black who arrived at the house. A few minutes later, the house was in flames. This was enough for Jacobs to know that Alice was being held by the “Devils in Black.” This was bad news since it meant that they would have to conduct another investigation to locate Alice. But Jacobs indicated to Porter that this could help them. He thought it could accelerate the appearance of the messenger.
At 16:30, the discussion between the leaders ended and each leader went back to business. President Lindon turned to Jacobs and asked:
“What do we know about the messenger and the chances of him appearing here?”
Jacobs smiled and answered:
“Unfortunately, we do not know much but I have a feeling he will appear here very soon, Mr. President.”
These were the last days of October. The clouds and rain outside marked the beginning of winter and the cold air started to penetrate their hearts and thoughts. They were running out of time and nothing happened.
35.
Washington, October 28th, 17:00
In a small wooden warehouse under the train bridge near Main Rd. crossing 14th Street and the Potomac River, a thin young woman tried to free herself from the ropes she was tied in and to cry for help. It was dark around her, the only daylight penetrated through the small cracks between the wooden beams from which the warehouse storing tools and railroad tracks were built. It was clear from the dust and the smell that no one had been inside for a long time. She did not know what had happened and how she got there. All she knew was that she was in real danger and had to escape but all her attempts failed. When evening came and it got cold, she tried to hold her body and keep warm but she was shaking, and this increased her sense of helplessness. She knew she would not survive much longer. She thought about her family and their fate and wondered if they were looking for her. She imagined her lover coming to rescue her, picking her up in his arms, as he had done before but she was mostly crying.
One kilometer from there, in the corner of the basement at the White House, Jacobs and Porter were discussing their options. The truth is that they had no idea what to do. Alice had disappeared without a trace, the ultimatum was about to end and the messenger was gone. The only thing calming them was being near the President in the White House, but they knew things were very bad.
At exactly 18:00, Vice President Chambers addressed the nation and the world. His speech was broadcast live on television and the internet to hundreds of millions of viewers around the world.
“I have just completed consultations with the leaders of the superpowers. It is clear to everyone that these are terrible times and that we under attack by forces larger than us, some still not clear to us. The U.S., as the leader of the free world, with the other state leaders, cannot surrender to forces threatening us with violence, forcing their rule on innocent civilians. We will not be dictated to and will n
ot negotiate with terrorists. I now wish to show you footage taken in the White House a few days ago during the big fire.”
The screens broadcasted the footage from the incident. The figures in black were seen clearly entering the room and filling it with flames, burning everything in their way. The pictures were horrifying but it was vital to broadcast them in order to make it clear to the public who the real enemy was. The footage was cut off before the gruesome burning of the leaders but the footage clearly showed what had happened. Two figures left the White House, now dressed in white. When the footage ended, the cameras returned to Chambers, who continued:
“You have now seen what actually happened at the White House. This is the truth. The “Devils in Black,” these two figures, are the ones who carried out this horrific massacre of the world leaders and now they stand before us asking for us to surrender.”
Chambers was very tense but also determined and angry.
“We have no intention of giving in. Our only chance for survival is standing firmly against the dark forces of death.”
He turned, stepped away from the microphones and left the podium, went out the door and disappeared. There were no explanations or analysis. It was clear to everyone that the only outcome was a bloody confrontation with the figures in black, now called “The Devils in Black.”
The clocks around the world showed the time to be 18:30 in NY and the clock was ticking. There was an hour-and-a-half remaining till the end of the ultimatum. No one had a solution or understanding about what was going to happen.
The Washington Police received reports of a woman shouting near the train bridge off Maine Street and 14th but when they arrived at the site, they did not find anything irregular. They left without knowing that four meters below them, Alice Christy was tied up in a small warehouse, helpless and freezing.