close by. You can’t get within fifty feet of the guy. He makes anyone bringing his meals taste the food … just in case there’s poison in it.”
“It’s probably impossible to get into his estate then.”
“Pretty much. But there is still one possibility. Every day, he likes to go down to the beach and sit in a lawn chair and look at the ocean.”
“How did you find that out, Levi?”
“We have our ways.”
“Do you also have ways of obtaining a recent photograph of him?”
“As a matter of fact, I do. What’s it worth to you?” he said with a smile.
Murphy counted the money in his thin wallet. “How about a dollar fifty?”
“That’s just the price I had in mind.”
Abrams pulled out a picture of Methuselah sitting in a lawn chair on the beach, surrounded by six large bodyguards. They were in swim shorts and Hawaiian shirts, with telltale bulges under their armpits.
“Do those bulges under the shirts mean what I think they mean?”
Levi nodded. “Most of them carry automatics. They are very well paid for what they do, and they take their job seriously. Even if you didn’t recognize Methuselah from a picture, the small army of bodyguards would probably tip you off.”
“Since he has so many homes around the world, do you know whether he would be there now or not?”
“Our sources indicate that he has been there for the last twenty days. We have no way of knowing how long he will remain there. He has his own private jet, and several assistants that travel with him and help to keep his business running smoothly.”
“I probably couldn’t get close to him anyway. He’d recognize me.”
“Has he ever met you in person? Close up, I mean.”
Murphy considered this. “Not exactly. But he might have pictures of me.”
“He probably does. Even so, I’ll bet that you could get real close to him.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because you have the element of surprise. He thinks he’s safe and no one knows who he is. You can exploit his false sense of security. In the Mossad, we use the element of surprise to throw the enemy off balance. Remember the raid on Entebbe in Uganda, when they hijacked an Israeli airliner and held the passengers hostage? No one expected us to sweep into a foreign country and rescue the prisoners. They were taken completely off guard. I think you could do the same thing with Methuselah.”
“That’s a thought, Levi. There’s nothing I would like better than to leave right now and go confront him. But I have a few things to do first. You were right. You had some good news and some better news. Maybe I can put an end to the life-threatening bouts with Methuselah.”
The food arrived and Levi dug in. “So who says there’s no such thing as a free lunch?” he said between mouthfuls.
Murphy wasn’t sure if he was talking about the food or the priceless information he’d just received.
NINETEEN
MURPHY PULLED INTO the twenty-four hour parking lot at the airport. He let out a sigh as he got out of his car. He didn’t like the idea that he would only be able to spend part of the day with Isis. His schedule just permitted him to book a quick turnaround flight to Washington and back to Raleigh late that same night.
He longed to spend more time with her. Ever since their time together searching for Noah’s Ark on Ararat and their hunt for the Handwriting on the Wall in Babylon, he had found himself thinking about her constantly. It was wonderful to begin to care about another person. He still wore his wedding band, a reminder of Laura. But maybe it was time …
When he was settled in his seat, and the plane began its ascent,Murphy slowly slipped the ring off his finger and read the inscription on the inside. OUR LOVE IS FOREVER. He closed his eyes and saw Laura’s face.
The airplane hit some slight turbulence and Murphy opened his eyes. The plane bounced for a few moments and then leveled off.
That’s what I’ve been doing… bouncing in emotional
“It’s probably impossible to get into his estate then.”
“Pretty much. But there is still one possibility. Every day, he likes to go down to the beach and sit in a lawn chair and look at the ocean.”
“How did you find that out, Levi?”
“We have our ways.”
“Do you also have ways of obtaining a recent photograph of him?”
“As a matter of fact, I do. What’s it worth to you?” he said with a smile.
Murphy counted the money in his thin wallet. “How about a dollar fifty?”
“That’s just the price I had in mind.”
Abrams pulled out a picture of Methuselah sitting in a lawn chair on the beach, surrounded by six large bodyguards. They were in swim shorts and Hawaiian shirts, with telltale bulges under their armpits.
“Do those bulges under the shirts mean what I think they mean?”
Levi nodded. “Most of them carry automatics. They are very well paid for what they do, and they take their job seriously. Even if you didn’t recognize Methuselah from a picture, the small army of bodyguards would probably tip you off.”
“Since he has so many homes around the world, do you know whether he would be there now or not?”
“Our sources indicate that he has been there for the last twenty days. We have no way of knowing how long he will remain there. He has his own private jet, and several assistants that travel with him and help to keep his business running smoothly.”
“I probably couldn’t get close to him anyway. He’d recognize me.”
“Has he ever met you in person? Close up, I mean.”
Murphy considered this. “Not exactly. But he might have pictures of me.”
“He probably does. Even so, I’ll bet that you could get real close to him.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because you have the element of surprise. He thinks he’s safe and no one knows who he is. You can exploit his false sense of security. In the Mossad, we use the element of surprise to throw the enemy off balance. Remember the raid on Entebbe in Uganda, when they hijacked an Israeli airliner and held the passengers hostage? No one expected us to sweep into a foreign country and rescue the prisoners. They were taken completely off guard. I think you could do the same thing with Methuselah.”
“That’s a thought, Levi. There’s nothing I would like better than to leave right now and go confront him. But I have a few things to do first. You were right. You had some good news and some better news. Maybe I can put an end to the life-threatening bouts with Methuselah.”
The food arrived and Levi dug in. “So who says there’s no such thing as a free lunch?” he said between mouthfuls.
Murphy wasn’t sure if he was talking about the food or the priceless information he’d just received.
NINETEEN
MURPHY PULLED INTO the twenty-four hour parking lot at the airport. He let out a sigh as he got out of his car. He didn’t like the idea that he would only be able to spend part of the day with Isis. His schedule just permitted him to book a quick turnaround flight to Washington and back to Raleigh late that same night.
He longed to spend more time with her. Ever since their time together searching for Noah’s Ark on Ararat and their hunt for the Handwriting on the Wall in Babylon, he had found himself thinking about her constantly. It was wonderful to begin to care about another person. He still wore his wedding band, a reminder of Laura. But maybe it was time …
When he was settled in his seat, and the plane began its ascent,Murphy slowly slipped the ring off his finger and read the inscription on the inside. OUR LOVE IS FOREVER. He closed his eyes and saw Laura’s face.
The airplane hit some slight turbulence and Murphy opened his eyes. The plane bounced for a few moments and then leveled off.
That’s what I’ve been doing… bouncing in emotional
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