The Code - Genesis - Book I (17 page)

Natan’s face registers his words. “Is that what this is about?  Some game you’re playing to establish some connection between…us?”  Another professor walks down the hall and sees Natan arguing with Josh.  

Josh pulls Natan into his office.  Upon entering, Natan kicks a manila envelope that’s lying on the fl
oor.  Josh sees the envelope also
but continues, “You know, I don’t know what the hell you think you’re inferring here, but I’ll be damned if I’ll be reprimanded in front of my colleagues.  What in God’s name is going on with you?”

He bends down to pick up the envelope and opens it.  Natan rubs her forehead,

then shakes her head. “That’s just it, isn’t it?  God.” 

Josh reviews the contents and holds them out in front of Natan.  “Was it you?” he accuses.

“Was what me?” she asks tersely.

Josh pushes the pages toward Natan’s face. “Were you the one who took the symbol pages?”  Natan grabs the page from Josh and looks at it.  Josh continues, “It’s the pages for symbol two.  Where are the rest of them, Agent Natan?” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Professor.  Someone else must have left them there.”

“Did you show them to Dr. Berk?  Does he have copies now?” Josh fumes.

“Look, Professor, I met with Dr. Berk because I did my own research on the Bible Code.  I wanted to know both sides of what I’m dealing with.  The last time I saw the symbols pages,” Natan hands the pages to Josh, “was on the plane with you.”

“Who’s fooling whom here?” 

“Believe what you like, Professor.  I…I just can’t do this anymore…not with my career at stake.”  Natan turns on her heel and leaves, her shoes echoing as she walks down the corridor, fading into the distance.

             
Alice
busies herself with catch-up work in her office when she is interrupted by a knock on the door.  Natan pokes her head in.  “Are you busy,
Alice
?” 
Alice
rushes up to her, coaxing Natan inside. “Get in here.”

             
Natan looks beat.  “I need a favor,” she says.

Alice
motions to a chair. “Come in…sit down.”  Natan sits. 
Alice
continues, “I’ve been trying to get in touch with you.” 
Alice
notices Natan’s stressed, tired eyes.  Natan runs both of her hands through her hair as she hunches over in the chair. 
Alice
touches Natan’s forehead with the back of her hand. “You look terrible, Kate.”

“Thanks,” Natan retorts. 
Alice
looks concerned.  Natan tries to ease her mind. “I’m okay.  I’ve just had a non-refundable headache for the past couple of days.”

“I heard about what happened with Baxter,”
Alice
broaches the topic.

“I’m sure you did,” Natan replies.

“What do you need, Kate? I mean…is there anything I can do?”

“Yeah,” Natan replies. “I need a security check…a full one.”

Alice
smirks. “I meant…like chicken soup or a soda, but if work is what you want, then…”  Natan is silent.  “Who’s the victim?”
Alice
inquires. 

Natan asks, “Can you run a check for me on a Josh Sails?  He’s a professor at the
Maryland
University
.”

“This is the guy you picked up in
Mexico
, right?”

“Yeah,” Natan replies.

“Why do you need this?”
Alice
probes.

“I just do.”  Natan shoots
Alice
a
don’t ask
look.

Alice
relents to her friend. “No problem.  But…you know I’m really worried about you, Kate.”

“I’m okay…”

“Katherine…”

“I’m okay,
Alice
.  I’m just…I don’t know what I am, actually.” 
Alice
listens.  “I’m not myself…I don’t feel like
me
lately.”

             
Alice
starts to speak.  Natan waves her away.  “Never mind.  I’ll be fine.”  Natan changes the subject. “When do you think you’ll have it?”

Alice
concedes, “A few hours.”

Natan holds
Alice
’s stare. “Thanks.  I owe you another one.”

“It’s all right.  Your total’s up to thirty-seven now.”  Natan tries to smile. 
Alice
rubs Natan’s shoulder. “Just take care of yourself, will ya?  Go home…rest.  I’ll get this to you as soon as I get it.”
             
             
             

             
Natan nods her head yes. “I need to know the truth.” 
Alice
realizes the importance of her request.

Chapter Thirty-one

Natan stands in her pajamas in front of her bathroom sink and mirror.  She hears the heartbeat again and begins rubbing her forehead as she peers into the mirror.  Natan turns on the water and splashes her face again and again.  A pool of water forms in the sink.  She stares into the water, captivated at the Mayan symbols reflected back at her. 
Am I going crazy?
  Natan rubs her eyes and looks again.  The symbols are gone. 
Is someone trying to tell me something? 
Natan peers into the water further and sees a flash.

Natan watches a young Josh; his mom, Evalyn; and Dad, Jack, as they all sit in their modest, mid-size home at a dinner table with
Geographic Planet
magazines scattered amidst their empty dinner plates.  The Sails never kept up with the Joneses even though they had the means.  Evalyn knew better.

Josh pushes his plate out of the way to pick up a magazine. “Mom, why do you like reading these?”

“Well…because they keep me connected to my old job and, more importantly, they teach me about different people, Josh,” his mother answers.

“But, why do you want to know about other people, Mom?”

             
Evalyn smiles. “That’s what anthropologists do.  And also, it helps me to be a better person.”

“But, how do thes
e,” Josh points to one magazine,
“help you be a better person?”

“Well…learning about others teaches us tolerance, honey.  Everyone is different, but we’re all the same too.”  Evalyn picks up the magazine Josh pointed to, which has a photo of an African tribesman in ancient tribal dress on the cover.  She continues, “Here.  Look at this picture, Josh, and tell me what you see.”

Jack interjects, “When are you gonna teach the boy about economics, Evalyn?”

             
Evalyn lovingly responds to her husband, “I’ll leave that to you, Dr. Sails.”  She then focuses her attention back on Josh. “What do you see, Josh?”

“I…I see a man wearing funny makeup and clothes, Mom.”

“Look again, Josh.”

“I see a man…with…”

Evalyn interrupts him. “Okay stop.  You have the right answer.”

“But, all I said was I see a man,” her son replies.

“That’s all you’re supposed to see, Josh.  That’s the point.”

Natan blinks herself back into her reflection in the bathroom mirror.  Water droplets gently drip down her face. 
This can’t be real.
  She closes her eyes and sees another flash.

Natan finds herself in the darkness of night in a dimly lit parking lot in front of an empty warehouse.  She hears a shot ring out.   Natan sees herself as she lies motionless on the ground.  Josh rushes up to her, yelling for
help, “Oh my God!  Somebody.”
Natan’s eyes are half open.  She sees Josh kneeling over her…an immense light surrounds him.  Josh leans in to the wounded Natan. “It’s going to be all right.  You’re going to be all right, Agent Natan.”  Natan watches herself as she struggles to reach out her hand to Josh.

Josh whispers, “You’re gonna be okay…I promise.”  Natan’s hand starts to become limp.  Josh picks it up and puts her hand in his.  “You can trust me.  Stay with me, Agent Natan.”

Inside the confines of her bathroom, Natan is jerked back to reality by a ringing

phone.  Startled, she looks at herself in the mirror for one final moment. The phone rings again as Natan rushes from the bathroom into her living room to answer it.  “Hello.”

Alice
is on the other end of the line, sitting at her desk in her office at the N.S.A.

“Kate.”

“
Alice
.  Did you find anything?”

“I did.  I sent you a fax over an hour ago.  Didn’t you receive it?”
Natan looks over in the direction of her office area on the other side of the room.  “Let me check.”  With phone in hand, Natan makes her way to the fax machine.  Natan sees that the pages were received. “Yeah…I got ‘em.”  She picks up the pages and begins flipping through them.

Alice
continues, “It’s definitely interesting reading.  It’s no wonder the N.S.A. opened a case on this guy.”

“
What’d
you mean?” Natan replies.

“It’s all in the report…hey, how are you feeling?”

             
Natan is half-listening. “I’m better.”

“Listen, Kate, I don’t want to bog you down…with everything else you’ve got on your plate right now…but just know that we need to have a serious discussion soon, okay?”  Natan is engrossed in the pages, offering no reply. 
Alice
continues, “Kate, did you hear me?”

“Yeah,
Alice
, sorry.  We’ll talk soon.  I need to review this.  Thanks again for helping me on this.”

“You know I can help you with more if you let me in.  Promise me you’ll make time with me a priority soon, Kate.”

“
Alice
, I appreciate the offer of help.  You know I tell you when I need something.”

“And…”
Alice
wants a commitment.

“And, I promise I’ll make time soon.”

“Take care of yourself, Kate.”

“I will.  Thanks again.  Night,
Alice
.”

             
“Good night.”
Alice
hangs up the phone, cupping her hands together under her chin. 
This can’t wait any longer.

Chapter Thirty-two
             

Josh waits in his parked car in the familiar meeting place, the parking garage.

His hands grip the steering wheel tightly.  The passenger door opens and he jerks with surprise.  With bag in hand, Natan slides into the passenger seat. “I didn’t mean to startle you,” she apologizes.

“It’s okay.  I didn’t think you would show,” he confides.

“I told you I would and I do what I say, Professor.”

Josh continues, “Listen…I just want to say I’m sorry, I know that you had nothing to do with the disappearance of my bag…”

Natan puts up her hands. “I appreciate that, Professor…but before we discuss anything further, I have to ask you something and I need you to be completely honest with me.”  Natan reaches into her bag and hands Josh some papers.

The top page reads “Complete Security Check for Josh Sails.”

“I would have thought you would have checked me out after day one,” he replies.

“Yeah, well…at least I know why the N.S.A. is investigating you for smuggling now.” 

Josh holds his left thumb in his left four fingers out of sight from Natan.  “I’ve never smuggled anything, Agent Natan…at least not with intention, anyway.”

Natan probes, “You didn’t buy a rare New Guinean artifact on the black market…one that was stolen from a
London
museum with the largest African collection, and then try to bring it back into the States?” 

Josh shifts uncomfortably. “It was a pottery shard and I bought it from a friend.  I didn’t know about the museum burglary at the time.”  Natan shakes her head.  Josh continues, “It was almost fifteen years ago…I was still in undergrad.”

“I just want to know why you did it, Professor, before I continue on with this…biblical Easter egg hunt. Before I jeopardize my position at the N.S.A. completely, I need the truth.”