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Authors: Bowen Greenwood
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to a young official at the UN, who promised to show it to the head of the mission. But then he never heard from them again.
The call from the Fund for Middle East Harmony seemed like a miracle. Being in the Holy Land made it easy to believe in such things. He could not figure out how they could possibly have heard of him or have been aware he was in Jerusalem seeking funding for a dig. They claimed they heard of his presentation at the conference, but it was hard to believe. He had never even heard of them until they called his cell phone out of the blue.
The ride around Jerusalem in the luxury car had been wonderful. The wining and dining exceeded his wildest dreams. And the exorbitant financial offer impressed him so much he set aside his better judgment about a dig location.
Now, he was stuck digging in a place where nothing was likely to be found — at least, nothing remotely related to his — his! — theory. The cold shadow of that same failure which had driven him to steal the idea now loomed larger than ever.
Kendrick didn’t know what it would take to salvage this situation but of one thing he was sure: whatever he had to do to turn this into a success, he would do it.
CHAPTER 10
Cam lived in a high rise apartment building. As he unlocked the door and held it open for Siobhan, she observed at once he was among the rarest of creatures: a bachelor who took care of his space. Black and white landscapes of the Negev desert adorned the wall. Potted cacti decorated corners. A light tan carpet and black furniture completed the theme.
Inside, she saw the kitchen neat, no dishes in the sink, and a personal space completely in order. A small bar separated the kitchen area from the living room, and two stools were parked in front of that in lieu of a table.
Cam shut the door behind her and said, “Whoever they are, they have no idea who I am yet, so they’re not going to come looking for you here right away. We’ve got at least a night of safety. You can have my room. I’ll sleep out here on the couch.”
She replied, “I can take the couch, Cameron. I don’t want to put you out of your bed.”
He shook his head.
“Siobhan, it’s highly unlikely we’ll be bothered tonight. But if we are, the only way in is the front door, so any danger would have to come through there. Which means I sleep in front of it, not you.”
She just looked at him for a moment, and then smiled.
“Cam, there is so much more to you than I imagined when I first met you. You’re supposed to be a tour guide, not a karate-chopping, motorcycle-riding, knight in shining armor.”
He looked away from her at the knight in shining armor comment, and then said, “I could say the same thing about you. You’re supposed to be an innocent American tourist who happens to know a lot about Middle Eastern history. Why do I find you being kidnapped by fake Shin Bet agents?”
“You said that a bit ago, too. You knew they weren’t with Shin Bet. I didn’t figure that out until they pointed a gun on me and put a bag over my head. How was it so obvious to you?”
Cam stared out the living room window and over the Jerusalem skyline. The lights of houses dotted the surrounding hillside. He waited a long time to speak, and Siobhan let the silence grow, surprised to have stumbled into something that obviously held meaning for him.
“I used to work there,” he said, without looking back at her.
Siobhan took a while to process that. It certainly explained his fighting prowess and his tactical approach to their situation. But it raised a whole new list of questions.
“So it was just, ‘I don’t know these guys from the office, so they can’t be Shin Bet?’” she asked.
Cameron turned back to her and shook his head.
“Of course not. Hundreds of people work there; you can’t know them all by sight. Besides, I left a couple years ago. But if they were pulling someone off the streets for questioning, they would identify
The call from the Fund for Middle East Harmony seemed like a miracle. Being in the Holy Land made it easy to believe in such things. He could not figure out how they could possibly have heard of him or have been aware he was in Jerusalem seeking funding for a dig. They claimed they heard of his presentation at the conference, but it was hard to believe. He had never even heard of them until they called his cell phone out of the blue.
The ride around Jerusalem in the luxury car had been wonderful. The wining and dining exceeded his wildest dreams. And the exorbitant financial offer impressed him so much he set aside his better judgment about a dig location.
Now, he was stuck digging in a place where nothing was likely to be found — at least, nothing remotely related to his — his! — theory. The cold shadow of that same failure which had driven him to steal the idea now loomed larger than ever.
Kendrick didn’t know what it would take to salvage this situation but of one thing he was sure: whatever he had to do to turn this into a success, he would do it.
CHAPTER 10
Cam lived in a high rise apartment building. As he unlocked the door and held it open for Siobhan, she observed at once he was among the rarest of creatures: a bachelor who took care of his space. Black and white landscapes of the Negev desert adorned the wall. Potted cacti decorated corners. A light tan carpet and black furniture completed the theme.
Inside, she saw the kitchen neat, no dishes in the sink, and a personal space completely in order. A small bar separated the kitchen area from the living room, and two stools were parked in front of that in lieu of a table.
Cam shut the door behind her and said, “Whoever they are, they have no idea who I am yet, so they’re not going to come looking for you here right away. We’ve got at least a night of safety. You can have my room. I’ll sleep out here on the couch.”
She replied, “I can take the couch, Cameron. I don’t want to put you out of your bed.”
He shook his head.
“Siobhan, it’s highly unlikely we’ll be bothered tonight. But if we are, the only way in is the front door, so any danger would have to come through there. Which means I sleep in front of it, not you.”
She just looked at him for a moment, and then smiled.
“Cam, there is so much more to you than I imagined when I first met you. You’re supposed to be a tour guide, not a karate-chopping, motorcycle-riding, knight in shining armor.”
He looked away from her at the knight in shining armor comment, and then said, “I could say the same thing about you. You’re supposed to be an innocent American tourist who happens to know a lot about Middle Eastern history. Why do I find you being kidnapped by fake Shin Bet agents?”
“You said that a bit ago, too. You knew they weren’t with Shin Bet. I didn’t figure that out until they pointed a gun on me and put a bag over my head. How was it so obvious to you?”
Cam stared out the living room window and over the Jerusalem skyline. The lights of houses dotted the surrounding hillside. He waited a long time to speak, and Siobhan let the silence grow, surprised to have stumbled into something that obviously held meaning for him.
“I used to work there,” he said, without looking back at her.
Siobhan took a while to process that. It certainly explained his fighting prowess and his tactical approach to their situation. But it raised a whole new list of questions.
“So it was just, ‘I don’t know these guys from the office, so they can’t be Shin Bet?’” she asked.
Cameron turned back to her and shook his head.
“Of course not. Hundreds of people work there; you can’t know them all by sight. Besides, I left a couple years ago. But if they were pulling someone off the streets for questioning, they would identify
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