Contents

The Gutenberg Rubric

Twenty-Six

BY THE TIME they had regained the Northern Terrace and made their way down the western slope to the village, it was nearly dawn. The village was deserted.

“This is really only a village when there are archaeologists or shepherds about,” Derek said. He opened the door to a small shanty. Keith and Maddie dropped their packs inside the door and were pushed onto a narrow bed where they sat. They were inside, but there was no heat in the cabin, so they kept their parkas and gloves on. Derek seemed completely relaxed. “We have the whole village to ourselves.” Derek said. “Najat, make us some coffee, would you? We have a lot of talking to do.” The driver bristled and Keith could tell he wasn’t fond of being treated like a servant, but he moved to heat water at the bottled gas stove anyway.

“Now, tell me where you were on your way to when you got caught in the snow, children,” he said condescendingly. “You should have called on me for help in the first place.”

“None of your business,” Maddie said sharply.

“It’s okay, Maddie,” Keith soothed. “We’re in the middle of nowhere with no support. I’ll tell you what you want to know.”

“Keith!” Maddie exclaimed. He laid a hand on her leg and gave a gentle squeeze. She calmed and listened to the story he wove.

“We were trying to reach the village of Güngörmüş, east of the mountain,” Keith said. “When the snow blew in, we lost the trail.”

“Why Güngörmüş?” Derek asked.

“Because it is halfway between the mountain and the water,” Keith responded. “We figured we could make it to the water tomorrow, even if we had to shelter in the tent in the village for the night. The instructions for finding the path to enlightenment were to go directly to the water’s edge.”

“Educated people can be so stupid,” Derek said. “You’re lucky you didn’t drop off the edge of a cliff. You should have come for your driver and he could have driven you to the water in a couple of hours.”

“We got too excited,” Maddie said, joining Keith’s story. “We could see where we needed to go and thought we could make it.” Keith squeezed her leg again, thanking her for helping.

“What is at the water’s edge?” Derek continued his interrogation.

“The genie,” said Keith. “According to the instructions, that is where the path to enlightenment lies, guarded by the fire of the desert—the djinn. I assume there is some kind of carving along the shore that we’ll be able to spot when we get there.”

“The path to enlightenment,” Derek began. “This isn’t a metaphorical path, is it? There is some kind of temple, the gates of which are statues of demons, the path to which is lined with gods, or some such, and the entrance is on the banks of the Euphrates?” Derek said. “None of that was in the old manuscript Yousef was carrying around.”

“What did Yousef have?” Maddie asked.

“A page of an old letter, apparently 15th century, that your Grandfather had,” Derek said matter-of-factly. “Yousef acquired it years ago. I had a damned time getting it into old man Sorenson’s collection of old books that was donated to your library. I planted an interesting old catalog of books in his collection when I got him to sign the collection over to the University. The old guy was on my father’s board of directors, so he was inclined to take my advice on the donation. I’ve been following the computer record of what books you were authenticating ever since. When you logged the book out, the computer flagged it to me and I watched you through the security cameras all day. I really thought you were going to steal it.” Derek laughed at the implication against Keith’s integrity. Well, Keith admitted to himself, I was tempted.

“So that’s where it came from,” Maddie said, glancing at Keith. “How did you know what book to put it in and how did you get it?”

“That was another gift from your father,” Derek said. “During his years in Iran, Yousef found a cache that his father had hidden. It was when Yousef showed me what he’d found, including a charred page from a manuscript that had been burnt, that I decided it was all worth looking for.”

“If you know what we’re looking for, you are ahead of us,” Keith said. “All we really have are directions to where whatever it is was hidden.”

“It’s a manuscript that will change people’s perception of the world,” Derek said. “Neither your father or grandfather could make more out of it than that it was a clue to buried treasure.”

“He only had one page,” Keith said, guardedly. Errol had certainly known more, but had not seen fit to share that knowledge with either his son or grandson. “And he didn’t have the key. It was in a different book entirely.” Keith was getting tired. While his wounds had knitted together enough to not be in danger of splitting apart, the stitches in his hand still itched. He no longer wore a patch on his eye, but it was tired, itchy, and watering. They needed food. Maddie asked to go outside to relieve herself and Najat followed her to an outhouse. Keith considered trying to take Derek down while they were gone, but he knew he was no match for the larger man, especially when Derek shifted so that Keith could see he wore a gun at his side. Keith decided on a different tack.

“What’s really in this for you, Derek?” Keith asked. “You can’t imagine Maddie is going to come back to you after all you’ve done. You certainly don’t need more wealth. Why are you interested?”

“When Maddie sees what I’ve made possible for her…” Derek broke off, refusing to rise any further to Keith’s bait. “You love old books, don’t you, Dr. Drucker?” Keith nodded. “You love to feel them beneath your gloved hands. You love to study their bindings. I’ll bet you even love the smell of them.” Keith nodded again. He couldn’t deny any of that. He didn’t know a book preservationist or historian who didn’t love all the things Derek was describing.

“I really don’t care about such things,” Derek said. “You can have any book we find if it makes you happy. In fact, I want you to examine and authenticate it. I only care about the contents of the books. The Dead Sea Scrolls have been kept bottled up by the Vatican and other churches for fifty years. Why? Because they expose the sham of religion and question the authority of the church. A few simple words from some previously unknown manuscript can completely change the way we think. But change it how? Who will people trust to tell them their beliefs are clever manipulations of their church in collusion with the government. Fundamental doctrines of the Church will be challenged—and not just for Christianity. The document we are looking for and that you will authenticate, will cast new light, or new doubt, on Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and even national boundaries. We can’t let any more ancient knowledge fall into the hands of religious leaders. Or any government for that matter.”

“So it’s all in the name of altruism,” Keith continued to needle him. “We’re going to be so much better off with you telling us what to think.”

“I’m beginning to not like you,” Derek snarled. “You are a typical narrow-minded academic.”

Just then Maddie was pushed roughly through the door and collapsed on the bed next to Keith. Najat entered behind her, nursing his hand.

“The bitch bit me,” he said.

“Madeline,” Derek shook his head sadly.

“He tried to molest me,” Maddie said. “Tell him to keep his hands to himself and he won’t be bitten.” Derek spun to face the driver.

“Is this true?” he snapped.

“It was a misunderstanding,” Najat said.

“Ah. A misunderstanding. You see, Madeline? These things happen when we are dealing with different cultures,” Derek said smoothly. Keith could see how tightly he was coiled and knew they were moments from a violent explosion. “It’s the way wars start—with misunderstandings.” Derek turned to face Najat again. “With misunderstandings about one’s place in the world. Do you understand me?” Neither moved toward his gun; the tension between the two was palpable. Keith held his breath and placed his arm protectively around Maddie’s shoulder. After a moment, the driver turned and left.

“That was close,” Derek said, turning toward the two. He frowned.

“He grabbed my breast,” Maddie defended herself.

“No doubt,” Derek said. “Najat is a conservative. You go about with your hair exposed, so he assumes you are a whore. You keep protesting that you are divorced, so that confirms it, and ups the offenses to adultery. If there were ten like Najat nearby, they would stone you.”

“This is Turkey,” Keith said. “They don’t rule by fundamental Islamic law.”

“Najat is not Turkish,” Derek said. “Let’s just not take unnecessary risks from now on, okay?”

Keith’s head sagged against Maddie’s shoulder. He was exhausted and his head hurt. Maybe it had been too early to uncover his eye, but his vision had been improving each time he used it. Maddie looked at him.

“Are you okay, Keith?”

“I need a pain pill,” he said, pointing at his backpack.

“Sure,” Derek said. “Sorry about your injuries. The blast was supposed to take place after you left the library. The stupid bitch triggered it too early and no one figured you would run back in.” Derek rummaged in the backpack while still holding the gun on Keith and Maddie. He pulled out the bottle of pills and threw them to Maddie who shook two into her hand for Keith to take.

“Why are you blowing up libraries, anyway?”

“Not completely my idea,” Derek confessed. “But it worked. Library visits worldwide have fallen 20% since she struck the Kane Memorial Library. I effectively control about 10% of the news sources on the Internet. That might not sound like a lot, but it is enough to determine the slant of any breaking news in the world. The government itself is one of the prime suspects in the bombings and in your death, I might add.”

“My death?” Maddie asked.

“He planted stories that you were the bomber at the Gutenberg Museum and that the police killed you,” Keith said.

“You knew?”

“Agent Fry showed me the newspapers when I came out,” Keith said. “It’s why I went through so many diversions to get here.”

“See, Madeline,” Derek said. “You just can’t trust anyone. I’m the only one that’s always the same.”

“A jerk,” Maddie said. She shot a look at Keith and he cringed. The conversation obviously wasn’t over, but Maddie wasn’t pursuing it yet. “Why libraries?” she asked. “Just to get back at me?”

“And you think I have delusions of grandeur,” Derek smirked. “No, not because of you. People trust my Internet news sources more than any other. What they trust more than the Internet, though, is the library. So, if it is no longer safe to go to the library, then people can only depend on me.”

“That’s why you only attacked the facades,” Keith said. “It creates the illusion of the library being unsafe without actually destroying the content. There is still the means to disprove you, but people are afraid to use it.”

“If it couldn’t be disproven, it wouldn’t be a challenge. It was all I could do to restrain her,” Derek said. “She wanted to completely destroy the Whit with you in it.”

“She?” Derek looked at Maddie and hesitated.

“Sophie,” he said at last. “She could never do anything without going overboard. She had no limits, and nothing was ever finished with her.” He ran his fingers through his hair.

“Oh, so it’s her fault you slept with her,” Maddie said bitterly.

“She meant nothing to me,” Derek said.

“Do you realize how lame that sounds? You could have sex with a woman who meant nothing to you? I guarantee she thought it meant something,” Maddie exploded.

“It’s over now,” Derek said. “She couldn’t get close enough to the Gutenberg Museum to set the charges, so she strapped them to her own body and walked up to it. Even blowing herself up was a failure. Good riddance.”

“It’s too late, Derek,” Maddie warned him.

“We’ll see,” Derek said.

They were interrupted by the sound of an approaching vehicle skidding to a stop outside the cottage. Najat challenged the newcomer, but quickly fell silent. In a moment, a young man burst through the door.

“Joey!” Maddie exclaimed, rushing to greet him. He stood glancing around the room as if counting to see who was there. His eyes lingered on Keith, but then Maddie had him wrapped in her arms.

“What took you so long, kid?” Derek asked. “You should have been here hours ago.”

“Something is happening out there,” Joey said. “We’re being followed. It looked like Kurds. They tried to stop me about 10 kilometers from here. I had to loop around their roadblock.”

“Were you followed?” Derek snapped.

“No,” Joey responded quickly. “I mean, I don’t know. Maybe. I got lost getting here.”

“You have the GPS I left on the plane for you?” Derek demanded.

“Of course,” Yousef said, as if just remembering it.

“Joey, you just need to stay calm. I swear, sometimes you can’t find your ass with both hands.” Joey looked humiliated, not a good thing for a Persian man—even one who was half English and light-skinned. Maddie soothed Joey and looked daggers at Derek. Derek seemed not to notice.

“Okay, if Kurdish rebels are kicking up a fuss in the region, we’d better have a plan,” Derek said. “Why the PKK would be interested in this rock in the middle of nowhere, though, is beyond me. We’re almost there, Joey,” Derek continued, looking at the man. “Didn’t I tell you we’d find your Daddy’s treasure? Your sister and her boyfriend solved the puzzles and now we’re ready to roll.”

“But the PKK,” Joey said. “They might be the ones who killed my father. If they are here, they must have followed you!”

“Last week you thought it was Islamic fundamentalists and a few months ago you were sure it was the Israeli Mossad,” Derek said. “We’ll take precautions. Keith and Maddie both know the directions. I’ll take Maddie with me. You take Keith. We’ll head in opposite directions and meet by the water. But we’d better hurry. Give Maddie and me a couple of minutes to get started. We’ll head north around the mountain and draw off anyone who is watching. You take the southern route.” Derek was moving almost as fast as he was talking. He hauled Maddie toward the door and grabbed her backpack. Without another word, he pushed her out the door and left Yousef and Keith staring at each other. Keith broke the silence.

“I don’t like this,” he said. “That still leaves Najat.” As if on cue they heard footsteps on the gravel outside and the unmistakable sound of a rifle bolt being shifted. Keith dove for the door, but Yousef hit him from the blind side, knocking him out of the way. Najat burst through the door with his rifle swinging for a target. Keith heard a shot and the guard fell. Keith struggled to turn his head to see Yousef holding a small revolver.

“He was going to have us killed!” Yousef breathed out. “I trusted him. I can’t believe Derek was going to have us killed. And now he has Maddie.”

“Listen, Yousef, we lied to Derek about the location. He thinks it’s by the Euphrates. It’s really only about three kilometers from here,” Keith said. “We’ve got to get to him before he finds out and hurts her.”

“I’ll call Sophie,” Yousef said, pulling out his cell phone. “She knows how to track him. I haven’t been able to reach her.”

“Yousef,” Keith said softly. “Didn’t you know? Sophie was the suicide bomber in Mainz. Derek planted stories about Maddie to throw you off.” Yousef froze and slowly looked at Keith.

“No. He said she…” Yousef swung his gun around to point at Keith. “You’re lying!”

“Yousef, he told us just before you got here. I’m telling you the truth.” Keith said. “I didn’t know you were friends.”

“We were going to get married,” Yousef said. “As soon as this was over, she said we’d get married.”

“Please, Yousef, put your gun down.” For a moment Yousef wavered and then lowered the gun.

“My sister loves you,” he said simply. “Be careful of the Kurds. I’m going to go kill Derek.” With that he picked up the fallen rifle, stepped over the dead guard, and ran to his car. Keith watched him skid down the rutted path toward the road and could see another vehicle approaching from the south. Shots rang out from below and the second car slid to a stop. Two men got out of the car and started up the track toward the village. The car started after Yousef.

Without waiting to see what would happen next, Keith grabbed his backpack and ice axe and headed back up the slope toward the Western Terrace of Nemrud Dagi. As soon as he was a safe distance away, he would call Agent Fry.

Comments

Please feel free to send comments to the author at nathan@nathaneverett.com.