such love had bonded together Elizabeth Ward, David
Benjamin, and Kahlil Ahmed, even though these three were each devout in their
own religions. Love can break the barriers of misunderstanding that repel
peoples of different cultures and beliefs and bring them together in this case,
for a collaboration to better understand not only each other, but also the
universe in which they live.
The twentieth chapter of
Revelation described the release of the beast and Satan after their thousand-year
bondage and the coming of the End of Days. His attention was drawn to the
mention of Gog and Magog, representing the evil forces of the Devil coming from
the four corners of the world, to combat the righteous at the End of Days.
From his work the previous summer on ISIS recruiting methods, he knew that
these peculiar names appear as well in the Torah and the Quran in a similar
context.
Suddenly he was thinking back
to his off-handed reference to the Father Abraham link between the three world
religions. They also share a common eschatology, with similar events,
including the rise of false prophets and the sin of idol worship leading to the
final Day of Judgment. Could this little church, of no real consequence
even in the sparse ranchland south of Waxahachie, have given me the clue needed
to begin to unravel the source of last week’s encrypted communication, or was
it the actual source?
He decided to call Maxine and
give her a report of his findings, as limited as they were, and feel her out
about his suspected connections to what could be a radical multi-faith
conspiracy.
She answered almost immediately
and said, “Oliver, I was just reaching for the phone to call you. I could
probably lose my job and be charged with a felony for giving you this
information, but I know how much you care for the people involved. As you know,
a team of special agents has been assigned to Peter’s case and have been
present in the background at Fermilab and the coroner’s office in Chicago this
week. The agent at the coroner’s office is highly trained in CSI and has been
carrying out a search, not so much for internal signs of poisoning, but for any
external signs of foul play, to include tissue under fingernails due to a
struggle.
“This morning he discovered
the cause of death. On the fleshy pad of Peter’s right thumb, he found a small
puncture and excised a small hollow pellet containing traces of ricin. Oliver,
your suspicions were right. Peter was murdered. In addition, the injection
was made by a specially rigged ball-point pen which left an imprint around the
puncture of two sixes with a line between, masking the central small wound.
The imprint was left as some intentional message, because it was made in white
engraving ink carefully placed on the piston of the pen.”
Oliver found himself in shock
again. Even though he had suspected foul play, this news came as a complete
surprise. “Max, I had called you to give you some rather sketchy information
about our Texas project and am completely overwhelmed by this news. If Peter’s
been murdered, then others may be in danger too!”
“You’re right, Oliver; I&A
has thrown a cloak of security around those closest to this murder, and in fact
that cloak includes you. If you haven’t heard from him yet, you’ll be
receiving a call from the director asking that you return as soon as possible.
You’ll be met at the airport by an agent who will take you to a secured hotel
away from the lab. You can give the inspectors any information you have
relating to the murder.
I must warn you, however, that
the pen, containing traces of ricin, as well as the flash-drive used to sabotage
Peter’s laptop, were both discovered hidden in the bottom drawer of David
Benjamin’s desk in his office next door to Peter’s. You must not let anyone
know I’ve told you all this or I’ll be in serious trouble!”
Oliver’s shock at this news
was still
Benjamin, and Kahlil Ahmed, even though these three were each devout in their
own religions. Love can break the barriers of misunderstanding that repel
peoples of different cultures and beliefs and bring them together in this case,
for a collaboration to better understand not only each other, but also the
universe in which they live.
The twentieth chapter of
Revelation described the release of the beast and Satan after their thousand-year
bondage and the coming of the End of Days. His attention was drawn to the
mention of Gog and Magog, representing the evil forces of the Devil coming from
the four corners of the world, to combat the righteous at the End of Days.
From his work the previous summer on ISIS recruiting methods, he knew that
these peculiar names appear as well in the Torah and the Quran in a similar
context.
Suddenly he was thinking back
to his off-handed reference to the Father Abraham link between the three world
religions. They also share a common eschatology, with similar events,
including the rise of false prophets and the sin of idol worship leading to the
final Day of Judgment. Could this little church, of no real consequence
even in the sparse ranchland south of Waxahachie, have given me the clue needed
to begin to unravel the source of last week’s encrypted communication, or was
it the actual source?
He decided to call Maxine and
give her a report of his findings, as limited as they were, and feel her out
about his suspected connections to what could be a radical multi-faith
conspiracy.
She answered almost immediately
and said, “Oliver, I was just reaching for the phone to call you. I could
probably lose my job and be charged with a felony for giving you this
information, but I know how much you care for the people involved. As you know,
a team of special agents has been assigned to Peter’s case and have been
present in the background at Fermilab and the coroner’s office in Chicago this
week. The agent at the coroner’s office is highly trained in CSI and has been
carrying out a search, not so much for internal signs of poisoning, but for any
external signs of foul play, to include tissue under fingernails due to a
struggle.
“This morning he discovered
the cause of death. On the fleshy pad of Peter’s right thumb, he found a small
puncture and excised a small hollow pellet containing traces of ricin. Oliver,
your suspicions were right. Peter was murdered. In addition, the injection
was made by a specially rigged ball-point pen which left an imprint around the
puncture of two sixes with a line between, masking the central small wound.
The imprint was left as some intentional message, because it was made in white
engraving ink carefully placed on the piston of the pen.”
Oliver found himself in shock
again. Even though he had suspected foul play, this news came as a complete
surprise. “Max, I had called you to give you some rather sketchy information
about our Texas project and am completely overwhelmed by this news. If Peter’s
been murdered, then others may be in danger too!”
“You’re right, Oliver; I&A
has thrown a cloak of security around those closest to this murder, and in fact
that cloak includes you. If you haven’t heard from him yet, you’ll be
receiving a call from the director asking that you return as soon as possible.
You’ll be met at the airport by an agent who will take you to a secured hotel
away from the lab. You can give the inspectors any information you have
relating to the murder.
I must warn you, however, that
the pen, containing traces of ricin, as well as the flash-drive used to sabotage
Peter’s laptop, were both discovered hidden in the bottom drawer of David
Benjamin’s desk in his office next door to Peter’s. You must not let anyone
know I’ve told you all this or I’ll be in serious trouble!”
Oliver’s shock at this news
was still
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