those telescopes are no longer –’
‘We want to get married,’ Eli said. ‘We want you to marry us. Right now.’
Cooper turned and smiled at them. ‘And so I shall,’ he said. ‘So I shall.’ He moved past them, walking back up the aisle towards the fake sunshine streaming in through the window. He stopped in front of the lectern and stared up at the cross. ‘We’ve come a long way, the three of us, from that hell in the desert – a long, long way. And our journey is nearly over. But it is not over yet.’
‘But the towers have fallen,’ Carrie said, her voice small and unsure. ‘The telescopes …’
Cooper turned to face them. ‘They may have been destroyed but the wrath of the Lord is still evident for all to see, is it not? He is still greatly angered by the audacity and insult of those that built them. Destroying them was only part of His plan. The architects of the heresy must also be made examples of. For if I destroy the temple of mine enemy yet suffer the priest to live, will not he go forth and build a temple anew?
‘The sacred mission I gave to you both will not end until those who fashioned this great sin are made to atone for their actions. Only by making an example of them can we warn others of the dangers of sin.
‘Now I know you two love each other with a passion that is strong and pure: and I would not seek to stand between something as beautiful as that. But God sent you to me for a purpose, just as surely as He spoke and told me in that still small voice the service He would have you do in His name.
‘Remember how I found you in the desert, broken by the sins you had been made to perform. Now I want you to remember what I said to you back in that field hospital in Iraq, I want you to recall for me the piece of Scripture I gave you to speak of your higher purpose and remind you of who you are.’
Carrie answered in her tiny voice. ‘Therefore, take up the full armour of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.’
Cooper nodded. ‘Ephesians, chapter six, verse thirteen. And you see now how the evil day that was prophesied is upon us, and that now is the time to stand firm. When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness He prevailed by keeping His mind on His calling, on His mission on Earth, and saying, “Get thee behind me Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him alone shalt thou serve.”’
He reached out and took their hands and held them in his. ‘“Him alone shalt thou serve.” Believe me I would like nothing better, nothing better in this world than to unite you two warriors of God in the blessed union of marriage.’ He let go of their hands and took a step back. ‘But His work is not yet done. And only when it is completed will we be free to pursue our own desires.’ He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the envelope Miss Boerman had given him. ‘But never forget that you are not alone in your service of the Lord. You will see from this information that there are many others engaged in the good fight, many others who are part of the same brother and sisterhood who would also see His will be done. Our reach is long for He sees all.’
Carrie took the envelope and opened the flap with the stiletto of her finger. Inside was a printout showing a section of map with a town in the centre called Cherokee. There was also a time, an alphanumeric number, a compass heading and a note saying: approximate distance to target, four miles.
‘Some people sympathetic to our cause did me the courtesy of installing LoJack devices to the cars of Dr Kinderman and Professor Douglas. I figured it might be useful to know where they were in case they managed to evade us. Dr Kinderman’s car has been in the long-term parking lot of Dulles International airport since early yesterday evening. I think it’s safe to surmise that he is no longer in the country but we have others looking into where he may have gone. The signal from Professor Douglas’s car, however, was picked up by a State Trooper in Swain County, North Carolina about a half an hour ago.’ He pointed at the piece of paper. ‘That gives you a rough idea of where he is. It’s about a five-hour drive from here on good roads, so it will probably take you a little longer today, the weather being the way it is. If you head off now you should get there before dark.’
He closed his eyes and looked up, one hand on his heart, the other raised in front of him like a benediction. ‘I pray you, God, watch over these, your servants, along the righteous path so they may do your work, and bring these foul sinners to swift and rightful atonement so that their souls may finally be freed from the burden thou hast given them, Amen.’
He opened his eyes and smiled at them both, as though something wonderful had just happened. ‘You should make a start. Daylight is burning. If you leave the way you came in, Miss Boerman will give you everything you need. We will have more accurate information by the time you get to Cherokee. Remember, we need to send a message to anyone else who would dare to stare upon the face of God. I’m counting on you to send that message, loud and clear. And if anyone tries to stop you in this sacred mission, anyone at all, be they civilian or officer of the law, then they must also be sacrificed in the name of the greater glory.’
Shepherd burst from the interview room and headed across the almost empty office with Franklin following close behind. ‘It was during summer break at the end of the first year of my master’s,’ he said, bundling the laptop back in its case as he walked. ‘I was at Marshall working as a lab monkey in data analysis, cataloguing all the new stuff that was pouring in from Hubble. James Webb had just been green lit and Professor Douglas was in charge, though he hadn’t put his team together yet. It was really hot that year and everyone else seemed to be on holiday. Me and a couple of other research students were the only ones doing any work.’
They pushed through a set of double doors out to the main stairway and started heading back down to the reception area. ‘One Friday a few weeks into our placement Professor Douglas popped his head round the door and told us all to go back to the dorm we were staying in and pack for a two-day trip. We had no idea what he had planned but he was the boss so we did as we were told.
‘He picked us up in his old jeep and we headed east. We thought maybe he was taking us to one of the other launch areas but we drove right past them and kept on going. He said it was good to go back to basics every once in a while, remind yourself what it was all about, and that was what we were going to do: no hi-tech, no computers, just a simple reflector telescope, a few beers and a clear sky.
‘We wound up late in the afternoon heading up into the Smoky Mountains just north of Cherokee, North Carolina. He had this log cabin there, way up on a ridge. It looked like it was straight out of a Western: three rooms, potbelly stove, fresh water you had to pump out of a well. It even had a porch with a rocking chair on it. I guess it was just far enough away from anywhere so that the sweep of the modern world kind of passed it by. And because it was miles from anywhere it got so dark that the whole sky lit up at night. You could see more stars there with your naked eye than you could with a good telescope in a light-drenched town or a city. He had a telescope set up near the cabin in a hunter’s hide built on a rocky ledge and we spent two days up there, tracking the planets, looking at the stars, talking about Galileo and Copernicus and Kepler, where it all came from and where we thought it was all going. He was fired up about James Webb even then. Talked about how it was going to see right to the edge of the universe, right back to the beginning of time.’
They reached the bottom of the stairs and the desk sergeant looked up wearily.
‘We need a car,’ Franklin said.
‘Sure, no problem,’ the walrus replied, wearily picking up his phone and punching a button. ‘I trust your stay with us has been a pleasant one. Please let me know if you used anything from the mini-bar. I’ll let you know when your cab is here.’
‘I don’t mean a cab. We need to borrow a car. One that’s going to be able to cope with the weather out there.’
Shepherd frowned. ‘Why do we need a car? I mean, much as