The Jerusalem Creed: A Sean Wyatt Thriller by Ernest Dempsey Page A

what he was saying, both minds racing with horrific scenarios even as Karem explained. “If someone, say a terrorist organization or insurgent group, were able to get their hands on those objects, assuming they do what the Scriptures say, it could spell doom for millions of people. They could find the answers to questions about military positions, stock market information, technology, and who knows what else. Use your imaginations. They would be able to effectively shut down global commerce. Armies would be rendered ineffective. Computer viruses would run rampant through the web. It would be worldwide chaos.”
    Those were some of the scenarios Sean was considering, even as Karem was speaking. “That’s assuming these things actually do what the texts say they do. Right?”
    “Correct.” Karem answered quickly, but something in his voice told the other two that he wasn’t confident in his response.
    “We’ve dealt with future-telling devices before,” Tommy attempted to lighten the mood. “It didn’t work out so well for the bad guys.” In his head, he recalled the events in Greece.
    “Look, we’re missing the point,” Sean tried to guide them back on track. “Whether the Hoshen and those two rocks actually do what the Bible says they do doesn’t matter at this point. We need to find whoever took Nehem and get him safely home. If we happen to recover a couple of priceless Israeli treasures along the way, great. But we need to focus on finding Nehem.”
    Karem and Tommy nodded their agreement. “Where do we start?” Tommy asked. “We don’t exactly have a lot of leads.”
    “Sure we do,” Sean corrected. “We know where to look for the breastplate.” He leaned down and picked up the print. “Call the pilot, and tell him to make a flight plan for Indonesia.”
    Tommy didn’t wait to be told twice. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. A few seconds later, he was conversing with their pilot who was waiting around in Tel Aviv, probably at an Internet cafe. It only took a minute to relay the information. When he was done, Tommy looked at the other two. “We’re good to go. Need to get back to the airport. He said the plane will be ready within the next two hours.”
    Sean folded the print and put it in his back pocket. Tommy took the two sheets of paper with the symbols and the translations and folded them carefully, putting them inside one of his cargo pockets.
    The men turned to leave, but a noise stopped them in their tracks. Across the room, the doorknob was jiggling. It was slight, barely noticeable, but it was definitely moving back and forth.
    Someone was trying to get in. And they were trapped.

11
    Jerusalem
     
    For one second, all three men inside the apartment froze. They turned their heads, looking to one another for an answer. Tommy shrugged as Sean glanced at him. Sean, however, wasn’t a man of indecision. He acted quickly, his thoughts in perfect sync with his actions.
    He motioned for Tommy to come to the door with him. His friend shook his head and mouthed the word No. Sean pointed at the side of the door closest to the hinges, instructing him to stay behind the opening once the intruders came through. That way, he could attack from behind.
    With a clearer understanding of his role, Tommy nodded and tiptoed over to the other side of the entrance. Sean pulled the gun out of his ankle holster and pressed his back against the wall. Karem still stood by the desk, uncertain of what he was supposed to do.
    Sean urgently motioned with his hand for the man to go hide in the bedroom in the back. Reluctantly, Karem obeyed. He knew his strengths, and he realized that he would be of little assistance in a fight.
    The door jiggled more violently. Karem hurried to the back of the apartment and disappeared into the bedroom, closing the door behind him.
    A sudden jarring thud came from the door, and a man’s shoe and leg followed through as the portal gave way to the heavy kick. Sean