The Samson Effect Chapter 13

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"IF IT'S A jihad the Israelis want, I say let's bring it to them!"

Barhim added his agreement with Sofian, emphasizing it by pounding his four-fingered fist on Azim's desk.

Azim's expression did not change. He stared at each man one at a time until his eyes rested on Rajah. "And what do you say?"

Rajah didn't hesitate. "A jihad would be foolish. It's taken more than a decade for Israel to give our people the control we now have over Hebron. We'd give up everything we now have if we act rashly."

"Allah will be with us!" Barhim cried.

"Yes, Allah is always with us, praise be his name. But a jihad must be to his glory, not to satisfy our own egos." Barhim rolled his eyes and looked away, but Rajah continued without missing a beat. "Azim, what they did to you deserves punishment. You'll look weak in the eyes of the city leaders if you don't do something, and that may be tough to overcome. My counsel is that you take care of this matter quietly, not by calling our brothers together through a jihad."

Azim drew in a breath and exhaled. "A jihad doesn't make sense now, but I will avenge my uncle and sister." He again looked at each man and then narrowed his eyes. "And if Delia is not returned safely to me, the one responsible for her death will taste my wrath." He nodded to Sofian. "Take Barhim and finish your work with the rabbi. Before you kill them, use whatever means are needed to have them tell you everything they know about the Samson Effect."

Sofian spread his hands apart, palms up, and curtly bowed. When Azim gestured for him to leave, he and Barhim slipped through the door, leaving Azim and Rajah alone.

Azim slammed his fist on the desk. "How could this happen? Tell me that; how could our security have been so lax that the Israelis could walk in and take everything from us? Answer me!"

"Our security wasn't lax. I lost four men in the raid, and Palestinian security lost three. It happened so quickly, we had no time to call for reinforcements."

"How did they find out where Sieff was? And why was my uncle not protected?"

"Azim, we placed extra guards on them. I'm at a loss. It's almost as if …"

Azim narrowed his eyes. "As if what?"

Rajah closed his eyes and pressed his fingers against his forehead. "Someone's been passing information to the Israelis."

Azim's eyes drilled into Rajah. He said nothing for a full thirty seconds. Never once was there a traitor among his men. People had died for his cause rather than sell out to infidels. It had to be something else.

"The computer; Sieff or Hamilton must have sent a message through it."

"No, we monitored everything they did on it. It wasn't the computer or any other means of communication."

"Then who?"

Rajah eased back into his chair and placed his interlocked fingers into his lap. "I have one idea."

Azim's heart began racing. He leaned forward and in a controlled voice asked, "Who?"

"Sofian told me one of his men was terrified to go against the rabbi's student. In fact, he was forced at gunpoint to carry out your orders against the rabbi. He may have done anything if he thought it would keep him from confronting the Jew."

Azim nodded. Barhim's missing finger would be nothing compared to what he would do to someone who had betrayed him.

"Would you like to speak with the man?"

"Not yet. Have Sofian watch him. I want you to pull all phone records on any line he had access to. If he acted out of fear, he may have done something stupid."

"As you wish."

The idea that someone could betray him kept lingering in his mind. What if it was Barhim, taking vengeance for his finger; or Sofian, or even Rajah, his most trusted adviser? The city leaders respected Rajah. Perhaps corrupt men had influenced him.

"And have the records for the last three days from every phone associated with you, me, Sofian, Barhim, Umar, and anyone associated with us delivered to my office. You and I will go over them personally. Perhaps, as I said, the traitor may have done something stupid."

"I'll have them tomorrow."

"Good. I also want you to find someone to continue with Dr. Sieff's work. We must find the Samson Effect."

Rajah bowed his head, stood, and left the room. A few seconds later, Azim buzzed his chief bodyguard. The man immediately entered and stood before Azim with his gun drawn and four men following behind.

Azim dismissed the four men. "I want you to heighten your alert for the next three days. Be wary of everyone, even those closest to me."

* * * *

When darkness fell, Judas insisted on digging the two graves alone. Tobin and Aaron watched through the narrow slits in the blinds. Judas finished the first grave in a little over fifteen minutes and started on the next immediately. It felt like he was using a child's toy shovel on the beach.

He slowed his pace on the second grave, not from exhaustion, but to give himself time to think about Simon and the rabbi. He also thought of his fleeting strength. He knew the other two men would be digging his grave right now if it were not for the mixture.

Then he thought of the attack. As powerful as he was, his hesitation cost the rabbi his life. He thrust the shovel into the earth. If he were a split second quicker, the rabbi would be alive. Before he knew it, he was tossing the dirt over his head. This grave was at least eight feet deep.

He jumped flatfooted and landed on the ground next to the grave. He looked through the open blinds at the two gawking men. Judas nodded and they stepped onto the porch, where two plywood caskets sat next to each other.

Aaron's eyes were still wide when he stepped forward. "Judas, I mean rabbi, how—"

Judas held up a hand and shook his head. "Please understand, I'm bound by an oath not to reveal to anyone the secret we're protecting."

"But you dug those graves quicker than I could have if I used a bulldozer." He stepped behind Judas and tugged on his shirt. "And there are at least six bullet holes here, yet you have no wounds."

"Let it be enough that you've been allowed to witness the awesome, powerful gift the Lord has entrusted us to protect." His eyes shifted to the other man. "Not many men have witnessed what you two have witnessed."

Judas stepped up to the caskets, signifying he wasn't answering any more questions. Tobin ran his fingertips over the rough homemade caskets and sighed. Without a word, he and Aaron stooped to pick up Simon's casket. Judas shook his head and waved them away. "I'll get them."

He bent down and effortlessly picked up Simon's casket and set it on the rabbi's. He then stooped and placed a hand on both sides of the casket by the rabbi's head and lifted. He led the two men to the graves and lowered the caskets into their holes.

Judas let the men mourn in silence for a few minutes before sending them back into the house. He then filled the graves and raked the excess dirt into the surrounding soil. When he finished, only two flat stepping-stones marked the head of each grave.

He returned to the house and stepped into the rabbi's bedroom, where he picked up the notebook and pulled the metal foot from the rabbi's cane. He then went into the rabbi's office and rummaged around the desk until he found a legal-size manila envelope. He placed the two items into the envelope and sealed it, reinforcing the seal with staples.

When he came back to the kitchen, Aaron and Tobin ended their hushed conversation. After a short silence, Tobin said, "Rabbi, Aaron and I were talking about Azim." He looked toward Aaron who nodded. "His security will make it nearly impossible for us to touch him. We both want nothing more than for him to pay for what he's done, but we're afraid if we act so quickly after their deaths, we'll end up acting foolishly."

"I agree. That's why I want you in Jerusalem tonight."

"Why?" Tobin asked. "Without you?"

"I'll meet you at the old synagogue in two weeks." He handed the envelope to Tobin. "If I'm not there in two weeks, I want you to open this."

Tobin took the envelope with his free hand and tucked it under the arm in the sling. "Rabbi, we don't want to leave you, we just—"

"I need you two to be safe. The envelope contains everything you need to know about the great honor the Lord has given us. Tobin, should something happen to me, what's in the envelope is for your eyes only."

"But what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to carry out my role as Protector of the Lord's Strength."

"But Rabbi—"

"Tobin, the matter's settled. You're to follow my instructions in full."

"Yes, Rabbi."

"Good. I want you two to leave within the hour." They looked at their watches and nodded. "And I don't want you to draw attention to yourselves. Just wait for me, and above all, don't let anyone have that envelope. Anyone. You're to destroy it before that happens."

* * * *

Thomas slipped between the two guards and entered the hospital room he and Delia had been given for the evening. She was seated in a chair next to the window, but stood when he entered. "How's Michael?"

"Resting." He kicked off his shoes and sat at the foot of the bed. "Why don't you try to get some sleep and we'll check on him in the morning."

"I'd rather spend the night at his side."

Thomas reached out and grabbed Delia's forearm as she passed. "I don't know how safe it'd be for you to roam the hallways alone."

Delia stared at him with a questioning look. She gently pulled her arm from his grasp. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Thomas avoided her eyes, answering in a noncommittal tone. "I don't know. I mean, you're a Palestinian in the middle of an Israeli military hospital."

Delia stared at him for a moment before continuing to the door. "I'll take my chances."

"Delia, wait."

She let go of the doorknob and faced Thomas. "What's going on, Thomas? The truth."

He still couldn't look her in the eyes. "It's Ambassador Ben Hur. I don't think he likes you very much."

Delia smiled and rolled her eyes. "No kidding. What did you expect? My family is not on the best terms with the Israeli government."

"I know, but I think it's personal with him. He doesn't exactly approve of your and Michael's relationship, and I don't think he'd think twice about using his power to see to it you and Michael are permanently apart."

"He told you this?"

"Not in as many words." He finally found the fortitude to look her in the eyes. "He thinks you're waiting for the perfect time to betray us."

He couldn't stop his eyes from dropping away. He felt ashamed that the ambassador planted the seeds of doubt now taking root, resurrecting his past suspicions. Her quiet, gentle voice pained him.

"You believe him, don't you?"

It would be much easier if she responded harshly, in anger, but she didn't. He knew his delay in answering her cast a shadow of doubt on his sincerity. "No, I don't believe him. In fact, I insisted you and I…"

"You and I what?"

Thomas sighed. "Sit down."

He told her what the ambassador had said about him continuing the search for the Samson Effect and how he had no intentions of meeting her. The only thing he kept back was the damning dossier the ambassador promised to produce. He finished by asking, "You do agree it's best we not tell Michael about the Hebron trip until he regains his strength?"

She stared past him out the window as she nodded. She then looked at him and placed her hand on his. "I'm afraid the whole Israeli army couldn't protect me from my brother if I went with you to Hebron. In fact, I really don't know where I can be safe." She squeezed Thomas's hand. "Thank you for standing up for me."

"Listen, why don't you just stick with me or Michael until these people get comfortable with you being around? You can go with me tomorrow to meet a guy I'm supposed to see."

Delia shook her head. "I'll stay with Michael tomorrow. In fact, I'd appreciate it if you'd walk me to his room right now."

Thomas slipped from the bed and walked with her as the soldier escorted them to Michael's room. Michael was awake, flipping through television channels when they entered. He endured the pain, and against Delia's insistence for him to lie down, embraced her. Thomas took a few steps back, feeling more confident about her as he watched their embrace. Neither noticed when he left the room.

On his way back to his room, he took out the name and address of the man he was going to visit tomorrow. A phone number, marked "Taxi," and a street address were at the bottom of the paper. He turned it over but found nothing else written on the paper.

When he arrived at his room, he called the operator to get the number for the address on the paper. The operator told him the number was unlisted. He hung up and crawled into bed. Exhaustion came out of nowhere and devoured him. He closed his eyes without taking off his clothes or turning out the light. Just as he was about to fall asleep, he heard a scratching sound at the door. One eye opened, and he reluctantly turned toward the door.

Someone had slipped a white eight-by-ten envelope under the door. Curiosity beat out exhaustion, and he rolled out of bed and picked up the envelope. The only thing on it was the word "Interpol" stamped on the front. Obviously, the ambassador was in a hurry for him to read up on Delia.

He took the envelope back to his bed and lay down. It was heavy; there must be a lot in there on her, he thought. He slipped his finger into the opening above the seal, but paused before ripping it open. Did he really want what was in there to cloud further his judgment about Delia? If there was anything with even the slightest bit of evidence, he knew she wouldn't be walking around as freely as she was now. He then removed his finger, placed the envelope in the nightstand drawer, and turned off the light.



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