Chris Kuzneski - The Prophecy

‘No wonder your friend couldn’t understand it.’

Jones stared at Payne. ‘By the way, what were you saying about my expertise in French?’

speak French?’

‘Not really, but—’

‘Then you’re not an expert in French.’

Jones was tempted to defend himself, then decided against it. Instead, he turned towards Ashley and changed the subject. ‘So, the entire letter was written in Middle French?’

‘Not all of it,’ she said as she handed the copy to Jones. ‘That’s the weird part. As far as my friend could tell, it’s a mixture of several languages. And none of them are modern.’

Intrigued, Jones glanced at the document and tried to read it, but quickly realized it was beyond his comprehension. ‘Damn, this thing is confusing.’ He ran his finger over the handwritten text, searching for clues of any kind. ‘I recognize a few prefixes here and there, but other than that, this letter is, well, puzzling.’

‘See,’ she said, laughing, ‘I told you so.’

‘And you’re sure you don’t know who sent it to you?’

‘I’m positive.’

Jones paused in thought. ‘Would it bother you if we showed it to some linguists?’

‘Not at all. In fact, I was hoping…’

‘You were hoping, what?’

Payne grimaced. ‘Our friends?’

She nodded. ‘Right now your party is filled with experts from all over the world. I thought maybe you could ask some of them to help us translate the letter.’

‘Hold up,’ Payne said. ‘How long have you been thinking that?’

She smiled. ‘Honestly? Ever since I read the article.’

‘If that’s the case, why didn’t you approach us inside the Cathedral?’

‘I told you, I got flustered. I wasn’t expecting everyone to be so formal. I mean, you guys are in tuxedos, and I’m wearing jeans. For some reason, I didn’t think that would go over so well.’

‘Like I told you before, it’s not a problem.’

‘Trust me,’ Jones assured her, ‘I’d rather be wearing jeans. I feel like a maître d’ in this getup.’

She reached out and touched his sleeve. ‘Well, you look great.’

‘I know I do, but I feel like I should be describing the soupe du jour .’

‘Anyway,’ Payne said, trying to get back on task, ‘if we decided to help, what would be our

‘Well,’ she said, ‘I gave that some thought on my drive over here and came up with a good idea. During the school year, I sometimes coordinate my lesson plans with teachers from other subjects. It’s called cross-curricular teaching. I figured we could do something like that. Maybe call it an academic experiment, or a cultural riddle. You could say it’s designed to promote unity among the people of the world. I’m sure your experts would eat that up.’

Payne smiled at the concept. It was a brilliant idea, one they could pull off with very little deception. All they needed to do was make some copies, then they could sit back and relax while some of the best academics in the world went to work. ‘What do you think, DJ?’

‘What do I think? I’m kind of pissed I didn’t think of it myself.’

‘So, you’re willing to help?’

‘Of course I’m willing to help. However, I’d like to make a small suggestion. I think it would be best if we compartmentalized the data. Instead of passing out the full document, I think we should attack this in much smaller chunks. Maybe break it down, line by line.’

Ashley nodded in agreement. ‘So, what should we do first?’

Payne glanced at his watch. ‘My event will last another two hours. The first thing we need to do is make some copies. If I remember correctly, we can do that in the Cathedral basement. Let’s go down there and figure out how to break up the document.’

‘Actually,’ Jones suggested, ‘why don’t Ashley and I take care of that? You should probably go back to your party. I’m sure your guests are missing you by now. The last thing we want is for everyone to leave early.’

‘Yeah, you’re probably right,’ Payne said as he helped Ashley with her coat. ‘Is that okay with you?’

‘Of course it’s okay. I’m just thrilled you’re willing to help. It means a lot to me.’

The three of them walked towards the rear of the chapel. Jones led the way, followed by Ashley, then Payne. ‘As soon as we’re done,’ Jones said, ‘I’ll

Payne nodded. ‘I’m sure they’d be willing.’

‘Here,’ Jones said, opening the door for Ashley, ‘let me get that for you.’

‘Thank you. In fact, thanks for everything. I appreciate it.’

As she stepped into the cold night, rock salt crunched under the heels of her leather boots. She lingered on the stone steps for just a second, slowly tilting her head back to admire the falling snow as it danced in the swirling wind.

It was a simple act, completely innocuous, but one that led to her death.

10

One moment she was standing there, enjoying the winter scenery. An instant later, her head erupted in a burst of pink mist.

The gunman’s shot had been perfectly placed, just under her chin at a slight upward angle. The bullet tore through her throat, the roof of her mouth, and finally her brain, before it blew out the top of her skull and imbedded itself in the chapel door.

Death was instantaneous and completely unexpected.

Her heart stopped, her knees buckled, and she toppled into Jones, who managed to catch her before she hit the ground. His dress shirt, which had been crisp and white, was now stained with blood and chunks of her hair. Splatter covered his face. Despite his years of experience, a few seconds passed before his shock faded and his adrenaline surged. Once it did, Jones transformed into a MANIAC, ready to hunt down whoever was responsible for her death.

‘Are you hit?’ Payne screamed in the interior of the narthex.

Jones shook his head and scrambled to his feet. Just to be sure, he probed his chest and stomach with both of his hands. ‘I’m fine.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘It’s not my blood.’

Payne nodded in understanding. Although he had been inside the chapel when the first bullet struck, he had witnessed its impact and the carnage it caused. Unfortunately, that’s the only thing he saw. Everything else had been blocked by the door and the people in front of him.

‘What did you see?’ he demanded.

Jones closed his eyes and replayed the scene in

‘One shooter?’

He paused. ‘I can’t be sure.’

‘Doesn’t matter,’ Payne said as he slipped his hand under Jones’s jacket and stole his gun. It happened so quickly Jones barely had time to open his eyes before Payne was past him.

‘Not cool!’ Jones shouted. ‘Not cool at all!’

Payne ignored him. ‘Call 911. Make sure they know I’m pursuing the suspect.’

‘Then what?’

‘Go outside and save the janitor.’

‘I don’t even like the janitor.’

‘Save him anyway. He might have seen something.’

Jones nodded as he pulled out his phone. ‘I’ll call you with an update.’

The main entrance to the chapel consisted of two sets of double doors. A minute earlier, they had used the pair on the right with little success. This time he would try the left. Not only was it corpse-free, but it was slightly closer to a long row of hedges that separated the stone patio outside the chapel and the beginning of the Cathedral lawn. The evergreens were waist high and

After taking a deep breath, Payne burst through the doors and leapt down the steps in one mighty bound. He skidded briefly on the slick concrete but managed to keep his balance as he scurried across the patio and dived behind the bushes. With gun in hand, he scanned the immediate area, searching for threats of any kind. The only person he spotted was the janitor. He was holding his shovel in a death grip, cowering against the side of the chapel.