CHAPTER 10
“One more thing, Jacob.” Monica touched Barak’s shoulder. “God wants you to let go of the hatred you bear toward David. He loves you, and He loves David; it grieves Him deeply to see you two so antagonistic toward each other. And it grieves us.” She paused. “In the dark times that are approaching, you will need one another’s love as you’ve never needed it before. Won’t you reconcile with your cousin?”
Barak sighed. As Richard had done, earlier, he gazed at the slivers of sunlight creeping around the curtain edges. “I know you’re right,” he said. “I’ll think about it. At the moment, Monica, that’s all I can promise.” He glanced at his watch. “And now, it’s time we returned to Israel. If Michael is not going to be my bodyguard, who will?”
“The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard on the trip back, Jacob. You do not need a human bodyguard at this time. You and Ben and your four pilots will reach Jerusalem safely.” Andrew vanished, along with the other angels.
As Andrew had predicted, the return trip to Israel went smoothly. A team of bodyguards met Jacob as he left the plane, once it landed at the airport late that afternoon. Once more, Jacob had bundled up in his winter coat. Jacob’s regular pilots accompanied him. “Stay with us on the plane till Ryan and I leave,” Richard told Ben. “Then come with us.”
Back at the Knesset, Barak removed his coat, changed into a dark-brown suit, then met with Gloria. “I want you to get General Meir on the phone,” he ordered, then cleared his throat. “I have an important assignment to give him.”
“Yes, sir.” Gloria picked up the phone and dialed the general’s number.
In his office, Barak spoke with the general. “I want you to prepare for an emergency evacuation,” he ordered. “Tomorrow, we must be prepared to evacuate the Jerusalem public from their homes and businesses, and to get as many of them as possible to Petra. In Jordan.” He paused. “For an indefinite period.”
“Yes, sir.” General Meir paused. “Might I inquire as to the reason for this sudden evacuation?”
Barak bit his lower lip. He gazed at the oil painting on the wall across the room, while drumming his fingertips on the desk’s smooth, polished surface. The warm air from the heater felt good on his skin. “I can’t go into details now, but I have just been informed that our people are in mortal danger. They will lose their lives if they stay in Israel. They must be prepared to leave on the spot, as soon as orders are given. We must make the preparations immediately.”
“Yes, sir.” The general hung up.
Barak rested his face in his hands, then rubbed his forehead with his fingertips. At least, with Gloria’s help and the aid of his IDF generals, there was no danger of the evacuation breaking down. The question was, how many of the city residents would agree to leave? And what would the weather conditions be, the next day?
Jehovah, give us warm, sunny weather tomorrow, he silently prayed. Well, at least tomorrow’s not the Sabbath, so that’s one prayer answered!
A knock on the door startled him. “Yes?” He raised his head.
The door swung open, and Gloria framed the doorway. “Excuse me, Mr. Barak, but your cousin David is on the phone.” She paused, an apprehensive expression etching her face, as she shifted her weight from foot to foot. “Forgive me, sir, but I don’t have the heart to hang up on him.”
With a heavy sigh, Barak rose to his feet, shaking his head. “I’ll talk to him. Transfer him to my line.” He picked up the receiver as Gloria clicked the door shut.
A moment later, David’s voice reached his ear. “Hello, Jacob.” A pause. “Ben tells me he’s met with you.”
Jacob took a deep breath. “Yes, he has. It kills me to admit it, David, but you were right about the danger we’re in. I’m ordering an emergency evacuation to commence tomorrow.” He rubbed the surface of the desk with his index finger as he spoke. It felt smooth and cool to his fingertip.
“I’m glad. You’re doing the right thing.” David paused. “Before we leave for Petra, I would like to meet with you. To be brought up to date on what’s happening.”
Barak stiffened. Even though he had reluctantly agreed to consider reconciling with David, he was in no hurry to do so yet. The job that currently faced him provided the perfect excuse to put off a face-to-face meeting with his estranged cousin. He glanced out the window at the sunlight pouring in through the open Venetian blinds.
“Not now,” he said. “I can’t meet with you now, or tomorrow either. There won’t be time—I’m going to be too busy. As you know, I’ve got important orders to issue to the Israeli Defense Forces. I’ve already given General Meir his orders, but I’ve got more to issue before it’s over. And emergency preparations to make.”
Another pause. David exhaled. “Yes, I suppose you do. Perhaps we can meet in Petra, then.” The line clicked, followed by a dial tone.
With a sigh, Jacob hung up. He bowed his head. God, don’t let word of this get back to Puccini! he silently prayed. He rose to his feet and approached his closet, to remove his prayer shawl and drape it around his shoulders. If he was going to coordinate this successfully, he needed to spend some time with Jehovah first.
He worked through the night and into the next morning. He didn’t even stop to order breakfast. Jacob held face-to-face meetings with General Meir and his other top IDF officers, swearing them to secrecy from Puccini and Dayan. After he had issued their orders, the generals assigned various troops and batallions to canvass different parts of the city when the time came, evacuating the residents. Each batallion would divide into smaller groups; each group would go up and down a different street.
Meanwhile, Barak made arrangements with the airport to borrow its planes to transport some of the people to Petra; all available pilots were ordered to fly them, including Richard and Ryan. He also arranged with the city officials to borrow the use of their trucks, buses, and cabs; the generals assigned some of the soldiers to drive them the next day. They purchased food, toiletry, and other supplies to be shipped immediately to Petra. Three helicopters took off during the night for Jordan, to deposit the supplies in the rock city. All the while, Special Forces angels, including Sam, either substituted for the people in question or persuaded them to work with Barak without resisting or asking why.
With Gloria’s help, and with the aid of the Special Forces angels dispatched to speed up the process, the necessary preparations went through with no difficulty. No unexpected glitches held up the process. No dreaded phone calls or visits from Puccini or his officials came his way. And to Barak's relief, morning dawned warm and sunny.
Well, at least it’s not the Sabbath, he thought. We couldn’t travel far if it were. He paused. And the heater is too hot now! That means the temperature has risen. Could it be...?
He beamed, then reached over to turn the heater off. Yes! It is! God has heard our prayers for ideal travel conditions. He opened the window to let the cool breeze in.
Meanwhile, Richard had driven back to the hotel to meet with his family. Earlier, he had donned a short-sleeved cotton shirt and had left the hotel without his coat. “Have you packed what you’re going to take?” he asked his wife and adopted daughter, without preamble, as soon as he clicked the door shut.
Patting her hair, Christina nodded. “I have.” She glanced at a bulging navy-blue denim backpack lying askew on the dresser.
“Good.” Folding his arms across his chest, Richard turned to Rachel. “What about you?”
Rachel bit her lower lip, then glanced at her own glossy pink backpack on the bed. “Well, I’ve filled my backpack with stuff. And my clothes are in my suitcase. But there’s some things I want to take that won’t fit.” She gazed pleadingly at her father, as she twisted her necklace around her fingers. “Couldn’t I carry them separately?”
Richard laid a hand on her shoulder. “No, honey. You and your mother can take your purses and backpacks and suitcases, but nothing else. We’ve got to be prepared to travel quickly when the order comes—we can’t afford to take anything that’s going to slow us down. Keep your backpack, your suitcase, and your purse close to you until it’s time to go, so you won’t have to leave them behind—once the time comes, you’ll have to leave in a hurry. I want you and your mother to stay here in our room until I tell you it’s time to leave. I've already taken my luggage with me to the airport, so at least, I won't have to pack anything now.”
Christina nodded agreement. "And there won't be time to come back for anything if you discover you've forgetten something after we've left our room," she told her daughter. "We're going to be a a great hurry to get out of Jerusalem."
"Yes." Richard ruffled Rachel’s hair. “You’ve packed your Bible, haven’t you, hon?” Rachel nodded. “Good girl.” He patted her shoulder. He then crossed the room to close the blinds. “I’ll feel safer if no one can see in here,” he told his wife. “We’ll be leaving today, so you won’t be in the dark for long. At least the weather’s finally turned warm.” He sighed. "And thank the Lord, too, that this hotel survived that awful earthquake! Not to mention our daughter." His eyes shone as he gazed at Rachel.
“Yes! Thank the Lord.” Christina nodded, beaming and hugging Rachel to her side. "I just wish Deborah could have." Her eyes dimmed, then she took a deep breath. “Where will you be, Richard?”
“Barak has asked me to fly one of the planes the IDF is going to use in the evacuation. Ryan is going to fly another. I’ve got to get to the airport now, to help get the plane ready.”
Richard changed into his pilot uniform. After carefully combing his hair, he picked up his cell phone and shoved it into his pants pocket. “I’ll call you when it’s time to leave. As I said, stay right here, you two—near the phone—so you can pick it up immediately.”
“All right.” Christina kissed him, then he left.
END OF CHAPTER 10