continued, “Not far from here is the Temple of the Sun.”
Makes sense.
“This temple was dedicated to the Sabaean god called Almaqah.”
Please, someone kidnap me.
Buck went on awhile, as he does, and Kate, of course, asked questions. She’s always trying to improve her mind, and as long as she doesn’t try to improve mine, I’m okay with that.
Meanwhile, the real tourists were assembling in the courtyard with their guide, and I counted fifteen of them. I looked for my Sana’a pal, Matt Longo, but these were mostly middle-aged people, probably Europeans by their pale winter skin and atrocious footwear.
The guide led his clients toward the exit, and as they approached, Buck said something to the guide in Arabic, and they chatted a minute, then the tour guide moved on toward the minibus.
Buck said to us, “Half the tour group are German, the other half are Danes.”
Totaling one bunch of adventurous idiots. Clueless in Bilqis.
Buck told us, “They’re returning to Sana’a.” He added, “No one stays here overnight anymore.”
I inquired, “Why does anyone even come here?”
Buck replied with impatience, “To learn, Mr. Corey. To see history. To experience another culture.”
Okay. I guess the Belgians experienced another culture.
Buck reminded me, “If you stay home, the terrorists win.”
That’s what everyone in New York said after 9/11, so we all went out and filled the bars and restaurants. Fuck Al Qaeda. Make that a double, bartender. God bless America!
But this was different. This was the belly of the beast. And for all I knew, the tour guide, the NSB officer, and everyone else here was on their cell phone right now telling someone there were American turkeys here to pluck.
Buck glanced at his watch and said to us, “This area will be deserted within half an hour. We’ll wait until then, then we’ll head back to the Bilqis Hotel.”
Kidnapped at the oasis. Waylaid at the wadi.
Buck, with time on his hands, informed us, “The Western archaeologists won’t return here, and the local authorities won’t remove the drifting sand.” He concluded, “In ten, maybe fifteen years, all this will be covered again, except for those columns.”
Kate said, “That’s sad.”
Maybe they can put an oil well here.
Buck turned, looked toward the west, and said, “Those hills on the horizon are the ones we flew over, and where the Crow Fortress is.” He told us, “The Yemenis believe that Noah’s Ark came to rest in those hills after the Flood.” He also told us, “About forty kilometers farther west of the Crow Fortress is where the Al Qaeda training camp is. Also somewhere in those hills is where we believe The Panther’s personal hideout is located.”
Maybe he’s hiding out in Noah’s Ark. I suggested, “The Predators should look for the Ark while they’re looking for The Panther’s hideout.”
Buck reminded me, “The Panther is coming to us.”
“Right.” We had as much chance of finding The Panther as we had of finding the Ark. The Panther, however, would find us.
The sun was starting to sink in the western sky and I shielded my eyes as I stared at the distant hills. So the Crow Fortress was not too far from the Al Qaeda training camp, which would soon be pulverized by American fighter-bombers if all went well. And also up there in those desolate hills was Bulus ibn al-Darwish, a long way from New Jersey. And maybe Noah’s Ark was sitting up there, too. A profound thought was taking shape in my mind, a unifying thread, perhaps, that would link all this together, and I said, “This place sucks.”
Buck turned impatiently and led us down into the sunken courtyard. I noticed we were hidden from the road, and there wasn’t a soul in sight. I drew my .45 and slipped it in the pocket of my bush vest. Brenner did the same.
Buck, addressing Kate and Brenner but not me, said, “This is the temple that some Mormon scholars believe is the place where their prophet Lehi came after he fled from Jerusalem in the sixth century B.C.” He added, “It was here where Lehi is said to have buried the prophet Ishmael.”
I hope Ishmael was dead.
I was really looking forward to my kidnapping.
Buck also told us, “The Mormons also believe that it was here that Lehi built a ship for himself and his family and sailed to America.”
Hold on. Did that ship have wheels?
But Buck clarified, “There is strong evidence that there was a river here at that time which flowed to the sea.”