“Did the Romans ever have a fortress or palace on Mount Ebal?” asked Erin.
Natasha shook her head. “Not that I’m aware of,” she said. “Why?”
“Humor me for a moment,” Erin replied, “but I’m just thinking, if Mount Ebal were really cursed, why would Joshua have built an altar there? Why would he have offered sacrifices to God there? Or chiseled the Word of God into stone on Mount Ebal?”
Natasha didn’t reply.
“He wouldn’t have,” Erin continued. “Which means Mount Ebal couldn’t have been cursed.”
“Where are you going with this?” Bennett asked.
“I’m just saying, what if the author of the Copper Scroll mentioned Gerizim to throw people off track, knowing full well that the Samaritans had a temple there and that the Romans had a fortress there? What if that’s why no one’s ever found anything in the caves of Gerizim — because the treasure was actually buried on Mount Ebal instead?”
55
The press conference began promptly at noon Eastern Standard Time.
Halfway around the world, Iraqi president Al-Hassani watched with great interest.
“Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon, and thank you for coming,” began U.N. Secretary-General Luis Pipilo. “As you know, I did not seek a second term. Indeed, I had hoped to step out of this job on January first and turn over the reins of this great institution to the president of South Africa. President Mogande has been in the hospital for the past few weeks, and I have stayed on in an interim capacity until he could assume his duties here. Sadly, I must inform you that President Mogande has just been diagnosed with an inoperable cancer, and he believes that he will not be able to serve as he had hoped. He has, therefore, asked me to help find someone who will bring the necessary energy and passion to the job. After careful consideration, it is my great pleasure to nominate Dr. Salvador Ciro Lucente.”
Two hundred flashes and autoadvancers went off as cameramen captured the moment. It was being hailed as breaking news on television networks around the world. But it was old news to Al-Hassani, and he studied the scene carefully, waiting for a signal that his fate and Lucente’s were now inextricably linked.
“Dr. Lucente is not simply exceptionally well qualified for this position,” the secretary-general continued. “In so many ways his life represents the vision of the U.N. He was born in Barcelona on June 6, 1942, to parents who came from two different countries, two different languages, two different ethnic backgrounds. His father, Ciro Lucente, was born and raised just outside of Rome. His mother, Juanita, was born in Madrid. But when they met in the spring of 1940, they did not let their differences stand between them. They were married six weeks from the day they met.
“When the war was over, young Salvador went to school in Spain and summered in Sicily. He went on to graduate from the University of Barcelona and from Harvard. He worked for AT&T and then started his own company… ”
Al-Hassani lit his pipe. He had the foreign minister of India waiting to see him, followed by another six hours of meetings with various leaders from what was left of Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the several Central Asian republics. So far, everything was on schedule. Terms were being negotiated. Deals were being cut. He hoped to have his own announcement to make to the world soon. But so much depended upon Lucente.
“… and, of course, for the last several years he has served ably as the European Union foreign minister where he has helped improve relations between India and Pakistan, assisted in defusing tensions between North and South Korea, and helped manage the crisis we had between Russia and Israel last year. Personally, I cannot think of a better man to lead the United Nations in this critical hour, and it is my hope… ”
Enough, thought Al-Hassani. Let the man speak.
Several minutes later, Lucente finally took his place behind the podium and bank of microphones.
“What a tremendous honor to be considered for this position,” he began. “It is one that I take very seriously, and should I be acceptable to the nations of this esteemed body, I will do everything in my power to continue the important structural and institutional reforms Secretary-General Pipilo has begun to implement and to bring peace and prosperity to the developing nations of our world. Out of respect for the process, I will not take any questions until I have had the opportunity to meet personally with each representative on the Security Council. I promise, however, to hold a press conference very soon so I can answer your questions, of which I am sure there are many.
“That said, I do want to say that my top two priorities as secretary-general would be, number one, to accelerate both the relief and reconstruction efforts in those countries devastated by the firestorm and earthquake of a few months ago, and number two, to get oil flowing out of the Middle East once again, so we can bring down prices and reinvigorate the global economy.
“Neither of these tasks will be easy, of course. They will require an enormous degree of cooperation, particularly with countries such as Israel and Iraq. As you know, I have just come from meetings with leaders in those countries, and I can tell you that both Prime Minister Doron and President Al-Hassani have personally assured me that they will do everything possible to reduce tensions in the region and get Middle Eastern oil back on the market. Indeed, to that end, I hope to have a major announcement for you very shortly. Thank you all very much.”
56
The three of them pored over every map they could find.
Mount Ebal was south of them, about halfway between Tiberias and Jerusalem, not far from the Palestinian town of Nablus, known in ancient times as Shechem. Yet according to Natasha, very few serious archeological excavations had ever been done there. Most scholars focused on the Roman and Samaritan ruins on Gerizim. Thus the kind of access roads found on Gerizim simply didn’t exist on Ebal.
What’s more, they had neither the time nor the manpower to scour the entire mountain. One wrong move could mean being arrested by Israeli forces or shot by one of Farouk’s men.
Bennett turned to his wife. “What do you think?”
“With what we’ve got?” she asked. “I don’t think we’ll make it. We don’t even know where to start.”