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John F. Kennedy International Airport
New York City, New York
Present Day

 

“There’s nothing to be done here.”

Fida regarded Ganno for a moment, the man in charge of their order since the death of his father almost twenty years ago. “So, you think the secret has been contained?”

Ganno nodded. “To the extent that no one beyond the professors know, yes. We’ll deal with them when they’ve completed what has been asked of them by Father Amanuel.”

“You’re going to let them complete their work?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t we?”

“Well, I thought our entire purpose was its destruction.”

Ganno shook his head vehemently. “Then you’re a fool! The Ark is the holiest of all relics, and was a gift from God Himself. We have no desire to destroy it, and you should know that!”

Fida stared at his leader, unable to believe what he was hearing. “But it is our sworn duty!”

“No, our sworn duty is to preserve its secret. For thousands of years, mankind has believed it to have been destroyed or at least lost forever. Everyone assumes it will never be found, and most probably believe it never existed. This is our Lord’s will. And eventually, when man is united under one God, with the seat of power in Jerusalem, the prophecy will be fulfilled as our Lord predicted. But for that to happen, there must be no Ark to be worshipped. Should its existence be revealed, even for a brief moment in time, all the progress made to date will be lost.”

“But that prophecy is only two thousand years old! Our mandate was given to us by Menelik himself, to the greatest grandfather Tamrin, with instructions to destroy it should it be discovered.”

Ganno calmed slightly. “Yes, that is true, and is still true. But, my son, can you imagine if one nation today had the Ark? What would other nations do to stop them after its power was demonstrated in battle? We could see nuclear Armageddon. The end times. That is why we were mandated to destroy it should our religious leaders fail in their duty. We can never let it fall into the hands of those who might use it for evil purposes.”

“But what of the prophecy? Doesn’t that change everything?”

“Of course not! Jesus never said the Ark must not exist for mankind to unite. He merely said that man must have forgotten about it, that it would no longer be something that made man believe in Him, because an object would no longer be necessary to have faith.”

Fida’s head bobbed slowly as the teachings that had faded with his isolated life in America returned. “In other words, they must not be using it as a sign of God’s power, but instead merely have faith in God’s power without any symbols or icons to bolster it.”

Ganno smiled, patting him on the shoulder. “Exactly, my son. Whether it is destroyed or not is irrelevant.”

Fida frowned. “Then why not just destroy it?”

“Because it isn’t God’s will. He knows what our task is. If He wanted us to destroy it, he would force the priests into breaking their vows, thus compelling us to act.”

Fida regarded him for a moment, not sure why the man didn’t see what was so obvious. “Don’t you think that’s exactly what has happened here?”

Ganno stared at him for a moment, then sighed. “Perhaps. And if it has, then we’ll take the action we have sworn to do. But remember, our first job is containment. If simply killing these professors is enough to preserve the secret, then that’s what we’ll do. Destroying the Ark is only a last resort.” He opened the car door, shaking Fida’s hand. “It is time for me to return home. Praise be to Menelik and Tamrin, and to our Lord, Jesus Christ.”

Fida returned the blessing, then pulled away from the unloading zone of JFK International. He drove for several minutes before getting stopped by a red light. He fished his phone from his pocket and brought up his messages.

A smile spread.

I’m going to have more money than Menelik himself!