Logistically, it took over a day and a half to begin the search for Rydel. With a view through his binoculars, Ray looked down from a high ledge jutting out from the deserted mountainside that he and John commandeered. He scanned the city of Jerusalem, only a short walk away, then focused on the members of his Unit below. Sal, Ben, and Steve had set up three tents while Jack finished digging out a second fire pit. Janice and Kevin were away from the rest, searching for firewood. All were doing what they should be doing—all except for him, Ray thought. He had told John he wanted to look over the members of his Unit from above to make sure the pressure of being in another time did not get to some of them. And John bought it.
However, he was standing high above for only one reason—to search for the healing man from the stone alley. He was now connected to the man and could not disregard what had passed through his body, mind, and soul by the simple touch of the man's hand—a hand that had healed a dead woman right before his eyes. He knew he was searching for a needle in a haystack, but it did not matter. All Ray wanted to do now was find Him.
After three years together, the members of his Unit were a family he had adopted, a family that needed his protection. Right now, however, the healing man needed his protection more, for a reason he did not yet understand.
Ray watched the members of his Unit dotting the i's and crossing the t's around the camp, getting ready to hunt Rydel down. Being who-knows-how-many years away from the time they belonged in, each member of the Unit still did not miss a beat. Perfect. Ray programmed his binoculars to search the hill where he had last seen the healing man and again found no human activity.
Ray noticed Adriana a distance away from the rest. She was setting up a tripod-10 tracker—a small tracking system provided by Genesis—so they could better track Rydel and search for Sal's gun and the lost ammo at the same time. Ray scanned the hill once more for the man who had healed the dead woman. He lowered the binoculars and put them in the pocket of his cargo pants. He stared ahead for close to a minute, then turned and walked away with the sun on his back.
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On a nightscape mountainside miles away from Ray and the rest of the operators hunting him, Rydel ran down a dirt path haphazardly, slipping here and there. He reached the bush where he hid what he had borrowed from the lab for his mission. Rydel felt a wave of relief, knowing he was lucky not to break an ankle on his way down the mountain. Thankful he did not cripple himself. Thankful that he was now only inches away from a weapon. Something was following him, watching him.
He fell to his knees and pushed away a bush in front of him—the bush he had uprooted when he first arrived. He had dug a two-foot hole under it to hide all that he had taken from the present to aid him on his mission here in the past (the hole too far away from his camp, Rydel lambasted himself).
Left in the hole to taunt him was the Smartround rifle he had taken from the lab, placed on two V-shaped branches stuck into the ground—the ammunition and the handgun gone.
Behind him, someone laughed. Rydel spun around to see a shadowed man above him, outlined by the light of the moon. The man in the black cloak, who had been with Rydel from almost the time he had arrived, glared down at him from the mountain's precipice. The man in black lowered to his haunches, fixed on Rydel.
Rydel's bladder failed him, pouring urine down his right leg. He got up and ran as fast as he could down the mountain to escape from the man above, never daring to look back.
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The moon and stars lit up the mountainside where John and Ray stood. The two men scanned the stone city below with their Smartround guns, searching for Rydel.
"Colonel Adams, Ray…"
John and Ray turned to see Jack coming their way.
"What is it, Jack?" Ray asked.
"Got a slight hit from Rydel's chip. He's on the mountain across from us. And Adriana has tracked down Sal's gun and the lost ammo just outside that city we arrived at."
John and Ray followed Jack back down to the camp. Ray ordered the rest of his Unit to gather by a fire now burning high and snapping, sending swirling sparks into the air.
"Everyone take a knee," Ray quickly said.
The members of Ray's Unit took a knee around the fire. Ray glanced over his shoulder at John standing behind him. John nodded and walked away. Ray turned his attention back to the men and women in front of him.
"Two groups going out. Sal, Todd, you two are coming with me to the city, where Adriana has tracked down the lost ammo and Smartround gun."
Ray waved his index finger in a back-and-forth arc over the others.
"The rest of you will join Colonel Adams and track down Rydel. We leave in ten."
The members of the Unit rose to their feet and hurried back to the tents.
Not seeing John anywhere, Ray began to run. In just under a minute, he stood on a mountain ridge, watching the city below again, a city lit by various methods of fire. The conflicting feelings he was having between leading the members of his Unit and running off in search of the man in the alley were hindering his abilities to focus. Something inside had been altered when the man touched him. Ray could feel the goodness of the man flowing through him—and suddenly he became unequivocally aware of who the man was—it was Jesus Christ. He now knew it was not just some chance encounter with the Messiah; it was meant to happen. He had been chosen.
Earlier, he had tried dismissing what he saw in the alley. But the feeling of what passed between the two had now grown stronger. He was being drawn to Christ.
"Ray?"
Ray turned to see John, not ten feet away, walking toward him. So deep in thought, Ray lost track of time and didn't hear John approach until he was just about on top of him. Normally, Ray could hear and sense a person from over fifty feet away. Now, almost face-to-face with John, Ray knew he could not hide what he was doing up here. It didn't matter. It was time to be honest about the man they encountered in the alley and what He did.
"Ray, what—what the hell is it now? I thought you got your shit back together. You look half-fucking mad. You have any idea how long you've been up here? Your Unit is waiting for you!"
"You know who the man in the alley was, John. You saw what He did," Ray calmly said.
John started to speak but then stopped. He walked toward a ridge overlooking the camp and glanced down, making sure all in Ray's Unit were where he had left them. He walked back to Ray and stood inches away from his face.
"I'm not sure what I saw, Ray. Okay, yeah—saw something messed up, but it doesn’t matter. We need to find Rydel before he's able to save this man."
"Rydel wants to save Him?"
John rolled his eyes in frustration and nodded.
"Why?"
"Because Rydel is losing his frigging mind, that's why!"
Ray turned away from John and looked down at the city aglow in candles, fires, and torch-flame.
"So you knew when we were going back in time, and you didn't tell me?"
"Yes."
"Why keep it from me?"
"Because look how you're acting now. I know you have your beliefs, but we cannot let Rydel do this! The devastation could be catastrophic if he succeeds. We have to stop him. Lives back home are at stake here. Please, please do not fucking forget that, Ray."
The tug of war inside Ray eased—the conflict of what he should do fading away. Lives back home may very well be in harm's way if we change anything in this time, Ray reminded himself. He knew John would do anything to protect American lives. The man truly loved the people he protected.
"Okay, John. Let's find Rydel and take him home."