I, Judas the 5th Gospel by Bob Mayer Read Free Book Online

immediately opening the envelope. “Remember, Doctor, that my mission takes priority. I will help you as much as possible, but you must remember the greater good.”
    “I always answer to God,” Lee said, “and as we are God’s Wrath, I will remember my place and my task.”
     
    Jerusalem: The Scholar

    “Doctor Hyland?” The two words echoed through the stone chamber, startling the young officer who had uttered them. The way he said the name indicated he very much doubted that he had been directed to the right person by the old rabbi who’d escorted him down here. The lieutenant was dressed in full combat kit, automatic weapon slung over his shoulder, a not uncommon sight in the Old City of Jerusalem.
    “I prefer ‘Professor.’”
    “I need you to come with me. Immediately.”
    “A ‘please’ would be polite.”
    Professor Hyland slowly stood and the soldier backed up a step, surprised that he suddenly had to look up into her eyes. At four inches over six feet, Hyland was used to that reaction. She was also used to, but did not enjoy, the officer’s skepticism that she was what her title claimed. She looked like she would have been completely at home on the beach in California competing in volleyball, which was exactly what she had done while completing her dissertation. The athletic scholarship had paid for the learning, which she had considered an interesting trade-off.
    She waited for the third usual reaction from men, which would be his eyes raking from her braided blonde hair down her tall, lean body, but she had to give him credit; he kept his eyes locked on hers.
    “Professor Hyland,” he corrected, drawing the first word out. “Please. Would you accompany me? You have been summoned. There is a private jet waiting for you at the airport.” He held out something in his left hand.
    The last word and the red envelope drew a reaction from Hyland. She had been told it might come some day, but she had never really believed it would. She took a few deep breaths. Then she grabbed the old text off the table where she had been working and tucked it into her bag.
    “Arabic?” The Israeli soldier inquired, getting a glance at the leather-bound book.
    “Aramaic. Seventh century.”
    “You’re a historian?”
    Hyland’s mind was still on the implication of the envelope. “Yes. And archeologist.”
    “What were you looking for here?”
    “Ever hear of the Fifth Gospel?”
    “That’s New Testament, right?”
    “Yes.”
    “Not my religion,” the lieutenant said. He glanced at the ancient text in her arms “Are you an expert on the seventh century?” the soldier asked as they walked up the stone stairs out of the monasteries basement.
    “No. It’s a historical text referring to an earlier time. It mentions the Fifth Gospel. My area of interest is the person who is supposed to have written that particular Gospel.” She could hear the sound of an idling helicopter waiting for them.
    “And who might that be?”
    “Judas Iscariot.”
    “Him, I’ve heard of,” the lieutenant said as they exited the building.
     
    New York City

    “The Mission will be destroyed,” Thornton announced. “I’ve got Central Command out of Afghanistan moving the military forces that will be needed.”
    Brunswick nodded in satisfaction, but there was no reaction from Pierce. Each had their own offices in this building from which they could control their empires. Brunswick had called the other two in for an update, of which the plan for the Brotherhood’s array on the island of Moheli in the country of Comoros was only the first part. He turned to Thornton.
    “What are the options regarding the Intruder?”
    “The problem is one of time,” Thornton said.
    “It always is,” Pierce said.
    “Scientists at Lawrence Livermore, which I own” He gave a sharp glance toward Pierce. “ave been studying the issue of comet and asteroid strikes for quite a while. Especially since ninety-four, when the comet Shoemaker-Levy