The Mullahs

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The Mullahs

iUniverse, Inc.

Chapter One

After days in preparation, then long delays in airports, Professor William Weston arrived in Selcuk. This city, the provincial capital of the Izmir District in Turkey, lay near the ancient city of Ephesus, where he planned an archeological dig to find the original manuscript of the Apostle John's writings on the Book of Revelation. For policy reasons, the American government wanted to disguise the purpose of the dig. The official story, he was a civilian archeologist searching for the apostle's body. But this was a subterfuge. Bill's mission was authorized by the CIA and Military Intelligence. They had decided to take action on this matter after it came to their attention that an archeological firm in France had sought permission to dig at Ephesus; a firm that was merely a front for a secret organization with ties to Iran. It took the American government's influence with their counterparts in Turkey and a liberal disbursement of funds beneath the table to circumvent the request and replace it with approval for an American expedition.

* * *

Reumah Nahor sat with the Turkish Director of Archeology. They had a dinner scheduled with an American Professor from Charleston University, a small academic institution on the coast of South Carolina. Inside her expensive leather briefcase was a report received early that morning from the Noba, an intelligence arm of The Society, a secret organization to which she belonged. It contained an in-depth briefing on this American archeologist, the secret purpose of his excavation, and a detailed summary on his fiancée, Rachael Goldstein.

Kudret Menderes, the Turkish director, looked across the lobby table at Reumah, an attractive woman in her early thirties that he hired last month, ignoring the employment procedures to the dismay of his staff. The fact that he was a married man with a wife and six children had not insulated him from the charm this woman oozed the first time he met her at a cocktail party given by a friend. In less than a week, she had become his mistress and then later his assistant. Sixty and overweight, he still found it puzzling why she had such an immediate attraction to him.

Realizing his wife's suspicions were now aroused by the change in his daily routine and the bounce in his step that he couldn't seem to suppress even in her presence, Menderes quickly approved his assistant's request to be assigned to the Ephesus project. He wanted to keep Reumah occupied and perhaps even send her to live at the excavation site, and thereby prevent a rupture in his marriage, which was sure to come if she remained close. With his mistress temporarily out of his sight, he could return to a routine, lose his bounce, and thereby put to rest his wife's suspicions-though he didn't look forward to crawling into bed once again with a woman whose skin had wrinkled up like an old piece of fruit.

Bill had just unpacked when the hotel desk clerk called the room. His party was waiting in the lobby. Despite the fact that he had an important government official waiting downstairs, Bill jumped into the shower. If he was late, so be it. After sweating all day in airports, he would not meet anyone without first washing the stale sweat from his body. Moments later, after quickly drying with a small towel that felt like a piece of sand paper and smelled like cardboard, he dressed and hurried down the stairway to the lobby.

Reumah watched the man enter the lobby. He looked around and then he approached the hotel clerk, who pointed in her direction. She had expected a man of forty-three to look a little older. With the exception of a receding hairline, this American could have passed as much younger than his age. The photograph the Noba attached to his file did not do him justice.

"Dr. Menderes, I'm Bill Weston," the man in western clothing said as he approached the table.

"On behalf of my government, welcome to Turkey. I would like you to meet my assistant, Dr. Reumah Nahor. She is the member of our department who will be my government's eyes and ears at the dig. In case of a problem, she is the liaison between you and my department."

"Dr. Nahor, I look forward to your oversight," Bill said, as he took a seat opposite her chair.

"Professor Weston," Reumah said, "I am pleased to have this assignment. I hope my country can be helpful in removing any barriers that might deter your expedition from obtaining its objectives. Unfortunately, the department just assigned me to your project yesterday. I'm embarrassed to say that I really don't know much about your expedition at Ephesus."

Bill was surprised both his hosts spoke English fluently.

"Your government has given me permission to dig at the site of Apostle John's tomb to ascertain if a body lies there, and if it does, to see if any remains can be dated to the period of John's life," Bill said. "If everything goes well, I hope my other application to dig at the alleged site of Mary's tomb will be granted."

"I have a background in biblical history and a familiarity with the Apostle John," Reumah said. "I don't want to discourage you, but most biblical authorities believe that the apostle died on the Island of Patmos. The gravesite here in Turkey is probably nothing more than an ancient hoax."

"Hate to interrupt your conversation on this intriguing matter," Dr. Menders said, "but I think we should go to the dining room now, or we might not get a good table since most of the hotel guests are eating in tonight because of the bad weather."

As they entered the dining room, Bill was taken aback by its décor. The room of this old hotel, which looked like it was constructed around the turn of the nineteenth century, took one back in time. You could almost imagine the Sultan surrounded by a group of armed Janissaries sitting at a table having a cup of dark, bitter, Turkish coffee, while eunuchs scurried about carrying platters of fresh young roasted lamb surrounded by nohutlu pilav, a rice dish made with chicken.

The waiter, his Oriental face reflecting the ebb and flow of diverse armies over this land in past centuries, seated them at a place reserved for special guests. A table enclosed by a barrier allowed them privacy. A reservation by a senior government official obviously carried weight even in the more rural districts, Bill thought.

"Professor Weston, have you visited Turkey before?" Menderes asked.

"No. This is my first opportunity."

"Then perhaps you would allow me to make some suggestions on the menu."

"I'd appreciate your assistance."

"We should start with a thin soup. The tutmac is excellent here. For an entrée, this restaurant is known for its lamb, incik, which is served with saksuka, an eggplant salad and bulgur pilav. Afterwards we could have Turkish coffee with baklava for dessert."

"Sounds good to me," Bill said. "Although, baklava is the only item you've suggested that I've had an opportunity to try."

While the three waited on their meals, the waiter brought them two complimentary bottles of a Kalecik Karasi red wine produced locally in a vineyard owned by the hotel that lay a mile outside the city.

As he lifted the wine glass to his lips, Bill realized Reumah reminded him of someone. He couldn't for the life of him remember who, so he pushed the thought out of his mind and focused on the conversation.

* * *

That evening after dinner, Reumah sat alone in her small apartment on the third floor of a recently renovated structure located across the street from the hotel. She retrieved the file on her quarry from a briefcase, and she reviewed the information again while sipping a cup of hot spicy tea.

William Weston ... Age forty-three ... Born Abbeville, South Carolina ... Mother died ... Aneurysm of the brain when William Weston was ten ... Father married his wife's sister the next year ... Child rebelled ... Quit high school ... Enlisted in Marine Corps against father's wishes ... Basic training Parris Island ... Reached rank of Sergeant ... Served in Special Recon Unit during Panama campaign ... Awarded Medal of Honor for valor under fire ... Had religious experience ... Reconciled with father ... Attended Furman University ... Married ... Harvard post graduate ... Biblical History of Middle East ... Divorced ... Joined Marine Corp Reserve Officer's Program ... Assigned to Intelligence because of ability to speak and translate Arabic, Kurshish, Farsi, Turkish, and several African dialects ... Spent tour of duty at Pentagon ... Presently Captain in Marine Reserves ... Currently Department Head of Archaeology at Charleston University ... Granted one-year sabbatical to pursue archeological dig at Ephesus to ascertain the authenticity of the Apostle John's tomb.

Professor Weston was instrumental in coordinating the American supported insurgents' attack on the Iranian nuclear facility while on an archeological dig of Enoch ... Currently engaged to Rachael Goldstein ... His former assistant ... age twenty-eight ... A Jewish expert of ancient languages ... Wedding postponed on two occasions ... No new date set ...

Parties have a strange relationship for the modern world. She belongs to a ultra conservative Jewish group in Jerusalem ... Group moralistic ... Places high value on virginity ... Forbids sex outside the boundary of marriage ... Professor Weston ... Fundamentalist Presbyterian background ... Similar value system as fiancée ... Despite their relationship over three years, no sexual intimacy is believed to have occurred ...

Rachael currently resides in Charleston, South Carolina, and she is employed as the Director of the Jimmy Jones Foundation whose purpose is the exploration of sites to prove the accuracies of biblical history as contained in Old Testament of the Jews and Christian New Testament.

Rachael's Father ... Benjamin Rabon ... Leader of ultra conservative Jewish sect ... Group active in movement to rebuild the Temple ... May be descendant of last High Priest of Jewish Temple in Jerusalem before its destruction ... Knows the location of Ark of the Covenant and Staff of Cain ... Has conspired with the League of Seth to thwart The Society's actions ... Whereabouts unknown ... Went into hiding after Yemen incident ...

Reumah looked at the full-length photograph of Rachael attached to the file. She was an attractive woman who appeared overly thin. The demeanor in the picture reflected a person with a serious disposition.

Let's see how long your fiancé stays faithful to you now that I have him in my clutches, she muttered. Rachael, another will take your purity. My brother, Irad, will see to that.

The last item in the file was a note from the Noba.

The real purpose of the excavation of John's tomb at Ephesus is to find the original script of Revelation, which ancient rumors indicate was buried with him. We believe this script does not have the symbols of current text, but sets forth the actual names of the powers of the Earth who will gather at Megiddo and the outcome of that cataclysmic event.

Reumah had served with the Noba in Syria before Irad pulled strings to get her this assignment in Turkey, one that he thought required her seductive skills. She knew that more than a professional motivation was involved. Irad wanted to emotionally hurt Professor Weston and his fiancée, and after he knew they had suffered, kill them.

Aden, Yemen

Irad, recently appointed by The Society as Regional Administrator, watched the sun reflect off the white alabaster buildings in Aden as his twin-engine plane made its final approach to the airport; one the Iranian Alliance had recently completed for their new ally, Yemen. Good to be back, he thought, in a country where evil flourished among the many inhabitants whose genes reflect the DNA of Cain.

Henley waited at the airport lounge. Irad would be landing soon, he thought. This lounge was more spacious than an earlier one destroyed during the United States' invasion. Eventually those invaders had left this land after they suffered loss of blood. They had fled with their tails between their legs, as they always did when the going got tough. The soldiers themselves were tough adversaries. A formidable foe but the American public, so sensitive to losses, pressured their government for a withdrawal at the first loss of life. And it wasn't just the loss of American lives - they couldn't stomach civilian causalities either, even if they were the enemies. The gene pool of the Americans, who had wrestled the wilderness from the forces of man and nature, and then went on to become a great power, had certainly been depleted. Now, if things went as planned, a different group, whose genes still contained a more barbaric substance, would divide the continent and share the spoils of these weak-kneed people.

Henley had attached himself to Irad, a rising star despite the man's recent failures during an earlier confrontation between Iran and America. The blood of Cain and the Tribe of Dan flowed through Irad's veins, making him a star candidate to eventually have a seat on the Council of Twelve, a seat which Henley could never aspire to. He was a Lonso, a person of the eighth degree and, therefore, not qualified. But he could benefit from Irad's success, if he made himself indispensable to this man.

Chapter Two

On the veranda of his home on Tradd Street, from whose third floor porch a view of the great harbor presented itself, Reverend Sye Labeck poured a glass of wine from a bottle he received from a parishioner. As the liquid flowed down the contours of his throat, he smiled. The final draft of his manuscript after years of research was now in the hands of his publisher in New York. Some of the credit should have gone to a young man who went by the name of Mehujael. He failed to give any credit to this assistance in his book; instead, he seized all the glory for himself.

The final key to the mysteries of the Book of Revelation were provided by Mehujael, who had appeared out of nowhere during the reverend's trip to Tibet and attached himself to the expedition. A few days later, as a direct result of his efforts, an old book was discovered; a writing in the ancient Tibetan language. Strangely, this script was a copy of an Egyptian book of prophecy that foretold the End of Time by the use of symbols. There were comments on each page by an unknown source, which described the meaning of each symbol. Symbols used in the text were the same as in the Book of Revelation.

I'm delighted that Mehujael returned to Charleston with me, the reverend thought. He seems happy to work for the pittance I pay him. Though I wonder how this man of mystery can keep his lifestyle on such a salary. Perhaps, he has a hidden source of income.

New York City

In the Publishing House of Shulter & Smith in New York City, a young intern working part time while attending college opened the manuscript from a Reverend Labeck. Since he needed more hours to get his quota in for the week, he sat down and commenced a light edit of, The True Meaning of Revelation.

Since the dawn of history mankind has speculated about the end of time. Today there is probably more interest in this topic than at any period in history. Around the world, people search for signs. Many sources provide a glimpse to possible answers to man's questions. The most interesting is the 'Book of Revelation,' written by the Apostle John. This scripture was often described as the work of a mad man by early church fathers, who opposed its inclusion in the New Testament. They were overruled by descendants of the disciples, who believed anything written by an apostle was at the direction of the Almighty. Intensive research over the last ten years has led me to the conclusion that the Book of Revelation is indeed a divine text.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from The Mullahs by DAVID MARING Copyright © 2010 by DAVID MARING. Excerpted by permission.
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