THE LAST ARK

CHAPTER 17: CHANCE AT REDEMPTION

Church of Mary Magdalene, Jerusalem Four Days Before Temple Ceremony

Devlin McGregor jerks up from his cot, hyperventilating, dripping cold sweat that drenches his shirt as his heart races wildly. Slowly, he orients himself to the dark stone walls of the medieval church basement where he’s a guest of a friend of the Order. T h e nightmare grows more frightful each time he relives that day. Torn from his bed in the middle of the night as two men toss him into a trunk. Taken by force to St. Stephens Green, an Opus Dei rehabilitation center for wayward boys only to learn that his father arranged the ordeal in a fi nal desperate attempt to tame him. He escaped St. Stephens days later during a fi erce North Atlantic storm and never saw his father or mum again. Still trembling, Devlin lights a candle and rolls out a prayer rug. After years of reflection, he understands that his father’s horrendous act saved his soul. Devlin prays to wash off the lingering disquiet and shame over another failure to silence the hacker. Surveillance cameras spotted Taylor in Jericho heading toward the ancient monastery. By the time Devlin arrived, found a secure location, and set up his weapon, he was seconds too late to get a clean shot. Then things went terribly wrong, and he lost the scent. His cell phone rattles across the small end table, shattering the early morning quiet. Only one man knows the number, the Prelate of the Order of the Solar Temple. “Yes, Holy Father,” he answers, his Scottish brogue still thick after all these years. Silence hangs in the air for a long, tense moment before the Prelate takes in a deep breath. “God has sent us an angel, my son. The Lord Praeceptor has instructed brother Elan Golan of Mossad to help you find the hacker. Our time grows short to complete the cleansing.” Devlin’s mission must be of immense importance to involve the Praeceptor, grandmaster of the powerful Concilium Tredecim. The news both encourages him and adds pressure. After his escape from the Opus Dei, Devlin fell hard onto the streets of Glasgow until a cute lass recruited him into the Brothers of Parvis, a group associated with the Order. A mentor encouraged him to enlist in the United Kingdom Special Forces, where they transformed his youthful rage into the useful skills of a marksman first class. After a tour of duty in Desert Storm, Devlin joined the International Criminal Court (ICC) as an investigator. By then, he had advanced in the order to the Knights of the Alliance. Founded in 1975 by Joseph di Mambro and Luc Louret, the Ordre du Temple Solaire integrated the teachings of the Knights Templar, enhanced by divine revelations from Master Louret. During an infamous Last Supper ritual in October 1994, led by former Prelate Origas, the sacrifice of an infant boy led to the ritual poisoning of fifteen leader witnesses. Earlier that day, the leaders themselves had murdered thirty-eight others within a secret underground chapel lined with mirrors and etched with Templar symbols. Criminal investigations forced the group into secret cells in Quebec, Scotland, France, Italy, Israel, and Spain. Nearly as soon as the call ends, another call comes through. “Yes,” he answers. “Brother Devlin, my name is Elan. I’m instructed to help you find a mutual enemy.”