room, only cracked linoleum on the floor. It looked like an excavation site in the corner with a pile of dirt next to a hole in the ground.
A low moan came from the corner. She spun around to see Hassan crumpled on the floor. “Oh my god!” She ran to him.
His face was a mass of blood, both eyes swollen shut. What hadn’t already been bruised by the beating yesterday was bruised now. His right arm lay at an unnatural angle, clearly dislocated at the shoulder.
He moaned again. “I’m here,” she whispered.
His tongue slowly emerged and touched his split upper lip. With effort he said, “I tried. I’m sorry.”
Tears slipped down her cheeks and dropped onto his neck. She should have gone with him. Why hadn’t she trusted him? “We’re going to get you out of here. I promise.”
Tears of his own ran down the sides of his face and into his wild mane. Each word was a struggle. “All…the years… Training…watching. And I…failed.”
Sniffing her nose and wiping it on the hem of her t-shirt, Annie examined his dislocated arm. She felt around the socket, trying to ignore his flinch. “If I hadn’t been so stubborn neither of us would be in this mess.” She yanked his arm.
He yelled in pain. But his arm settled into the socket.
Annie put her face down to his. “That will be better.”
He swallowed. “Let them kill me. Don’t do their bidding to save me.”
The tears ran down her face again. “When have you ever been able to tell me what to do?”
The door burst open and two men in masks ran at them. Annie tried to protect Hassan from them but they weren’t interested. Before she could get to her feet to fight, one had both her arms behind her and her nose touched the filthy linoleum. The other stuffed her mask on her face. They pulled her to her feet, straining her arms and sending shots of pain through her.
They retraced their steps to the boardroom.
The men shoved her to her chair and she landed with a plop. David’s hand found hers. The CEO started the conversation. “So, you see the deal we are giving you.”
“Work for you or you’ll kill him.”
“That’s essentially it,” he said.
When she gave them the vaccine, they still might kill both of them. David too. But there was time between then and now. To give in to extortion, to work for someone’s religious foolishness, to yield to bullying, this went against everything she believed in.
She bowed her head and whispered. “Okay. I’ll do it.”
“Within the month, you will supply us with a heifer born in Israel,” the CEO said. “You will proceed from here to our research facility. You have one week to perfect your vaccine before you will return to the United States and obtain the cattle.”
“There are countries closer to Israel where we can buy cows. And you better understand there are no guarantees with science. If I perfect the vaccine, there’s only a fifty/fifty chance you’ll get a heifer. And if you’re looking for more specific genetic requirements, you might need up to two hundred cows to get what you want.”
A chair creaked and cigar smoke wafted toward Annie. The CEO spoke. “You will go to the United States. We will go to any lengths to acquire the correct breeding stock. The Lord will guarantee the results.”
His words chilled her, like some kind of warning. “What’s so special about this heifer?”
Alanberg’s voice was laced with excitement. “It has been over two thousand years since the last of these heifers was born in Israel. It was the ninth in history. Prophecy tells us when the tenth heifer appears, the Temple will be built and the Messiah will finally come.”
“In all your history there must have been millions of heifers born in Israel. Is this special heifer polka dotted or what?”
There was a moment of silence before the CEO answered. “What God requires is a perfect red heifer.”
Red. Annie’s heart stuttered as understanding flooded her. She knew where the Corporation
A low moan came from the corner. She spun around to see Hassan crumpled on the floor. “Oh my god!” She ran to him.
His face was a mass of blood, both eyes swollen shut. What hadn’t already been bruised by the beating yesterday was bruised now. His right arm lay at an unnatural angle, clearly dislocated at the shoulder.
He moaned again. “I’m here,” she whispered.
His tongue slowly emerged and touched his split upper lip. With effort he said, “I tried. I’m sorry.”
Tears slipped down her cheeks and dropped onto his neck. She should have gone with him. Why hadn’t she trusted him? “We’re going to get you out of here. I promise.”
Tears of his own ran down the sides of his face and into his wild mane. Each word was a struggle. “All…the years… Training…watching. And I…failed.”
Sniffing her nose and wiping it on the hem of her t-shirt, Annie examined his dislocated arm. She felt around the socket, trying to ignore his flinch. “If I hadn’t been so stubborn neither of us would be in this mess.” She yanked his arm.
He yelled in pain. But his arm settled into the socket.
Annie put her face down to his. “That will be better.”
He swallowed. “Let them kill me. Don’t do their bidding to save me.”
The tears ran down her face again. “When have you ever been able to tell me what to do?”
The door burst open and two men in masks ran at them. Annie tried to protect Hassan from them but they weren’t interested. Before she could get to her feet to fight, one had both her arms behind her and her nose touched the filthy linoleum. The other stuffed her mask on her face. They pulled her to her feet, straining her arms and sending shots of pain through her.
They retraced their steps to the boardroom.
The men shoved her to her chair and she landed with a plop. David’s hand found hers. The CEO started the conversation. “So, you see the deal we are giving you.”
“Work for you or you’ll kill him.”
“That’s essentially it,” he said.
When she gave them the vaccine, they still might kill both of them. David too. But there was time between then and now. To give in to extortion, to work for someone’s religious foolishness, to yield to bullying, this went against everything she believed in.
She bowed her head and whispered. “Okay. I’ll do it.”
“Within the month, you will supply us with a heifer born in Israel,” the CEO said. “You will proceed from here to our research facility. You have one week to perfect your vaccine before you will return to the United States and obtain the cattle.”
“There are countries closer to Israel where we can buy cows. And you better understand there are no guarantees with science. If I perfect the vaccine, there’s only a fifty/fifty chance you’ll get a heifer. And if you’re looking for more specific genetic requirements, you might need up to two hundred cows to get what you want.”
A chair creaked and cigar smoke wafted toward Annie. The CEO spoke. “You will go to the United States. We will go to any lengths to acquire the correct breeding stock. The Lord will guarantee the results.”
His words chilled her, like some kind of warning. “What’s so special about this heifer?”
Alanberg’s voice was laced with excitement. “It has been over two thousand years since the last of these heifers was born in Israel. It was the ninth in history. Prophecy tells us when the tenth heifer appears, the Temple will be built and the Messiah will finally come.”
“In all your history there must have been millions of heifers born in Israel. Is this special heifer polka dotted or what?”
There was a moment of silence before the CEO answered. “What God requires is a perfect red heifer.”
Red. Annie’s heart stuttered as understanding flooded her. She knew where the Corporation
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