Seek Ye First (book 5 of Genesis 64)

Chapter 11 - Malachi

The next day - after chapter 10 - flying over the Pacific Ocean  (still year 2010)

Jonah and Chris's Black Knight Oil & Gas jet touches down at the Philippine's fourth-busiest airport, Iloilo International Airport, on the Panay island where Jonah rents a jeep and they begin the one and a half hour trip. They first take the Parola ferry-boat across the Iloilo Strait to Buenavista. From there they take the Pina-Tamborong-Alaguisoc Road south to the city of Jordan. Then, once they reach the town of San Miguel, they head south on Circumferential Road until they reach the abbey. After they park in the public parking lot, it's a long hike through the woods on a narrow path.

"The sign back there said Abbess Sister Marie. What's an Abbess?" asks Chris.

"It's a female elder or manager. The abbess has a very interesting story. Sister Marie is a modern-day Mary Magdalene. She had been a prostitute, heroine junkie, and tried to kill herself numerous times by cutting her own wrists. She was seventeen, homeless, and living on the street. Then one night, legend has it, that it was Christmas Eve and she and other homeless people were gathered around a campfire to stay warm when an angel of the Lord appeared to them. Everyone else ran away, leaving her alone with the angel. He reached into the fire and pulled out a glowing ember with his fingers and touched it to her lips. She said she was miraculously changed at that moment; all of her selfish desires, feelings of depression and self-loathing were suddenly gone. The next day she went to her parish priest announcing she wanted to become a nun. The diocese made her the abbess of Saint Niezel, telling her if she could do it for eight years, then they'd let her start a street ministry in Manila which is what she really wants to do," explains Jonah.

"Wow, that's some story," Chris responds.

Presently, they reach the mango grove where several monks are cutting mangos from the trees and putting them into a wheelbarrow. Jonah rushes ahead of Chris to a slight, bespeckled man in his mid-forties, dressed in a monk's white robe with a black vest and punches him in the face with his left fist. The monk reels from the punch and hits the ground hard. He rolls over slowly clutching his bleeding mouth. Jonah pounces on him like a cat on a mouse, his fist raised ready to strike again when....

"TIGIL!"* A women's voice pierces the quiet of the valley. (*"tigil"is Tagalog [the Filipino language] for "stop")

Jonah lowers his fist and his head whirls around to see where the voice came from. A young Filipino woman in her twenties is standing about twenty-five feet away from them, her arm outstretched and finger pointing at Jonah.

"Stop!" she says this time in English. "Do not hurt him!"

She's very beautiful and her brown skin is in stark contrast with the long, white flowing robes the nunnery. Her hair is very long, straight, and dark brown, almost black. Her skin is perfect, except on the underside of her outstretched arm, is a series of deep and dark scars that run from her wrist to almost her elbow.

Jonah gets off the monk and approaches the nun. Chris intercepts him and asks in disbelief, "You just hit a monk?"

Jonah retorts, "He's no monk." He continues to the nun stopping in front of her and bowing slightly.

"Forgive me, Sister Marie, but why are you protecting him?" Jonah asks.

"Malachi came to us looking for forgiveness and he found it in the Father. Now he's earning penitence under my direction," Sister Marie explains.

"I see. You do realize he's a liar and a traitor?" Jonah asks her.

Malachi, approaching them from behind, says "What I did, I did for you."

Jonah whirls around, punching the monk with his right hand, this time sending the man sprawling down on the ground. Jonah turns back to the nun, "See? Another lie. He's never done anything for anyone but himself."

''Why are you here, Jonah?" the nun demands to know.

"I'm looking for a woman, Lily Ford, but not for me. For her," Jonah explains, and pointing to Chris, "she wants to meet her birth mom."

"Her birth mother?" asks Sister Marie looking at Chris.

"This is her daughter?" echoes Malachi. "Perhaps my task is at an end."

"What is that suppose to mean?" Jonah says to Malachi, and turning to the nun he says, "If he's really changed, then have him tell me where and when Lily is."

The nun says to him, "Malachi, tell him what he wants to know."

"You may think 'the truth will set you free', but I tell you that in this case, the truth is going destroy you," Malachi says ambiguously.

Jonah whirls around punching Malachi a third time knocking him to the ground, "What do you know about the truth?"

Sister Marie shouts, "Do NOT hit him another time!"

"Fine," says Malachi, wiping blood off his mouth. "I'll answer your questions."

"Why? Why did you do it?" Jonah asks.

"I was doing my job, Jonah, just like you do yours," explains Malachi.

"How did you find Ginny Cappelletti?" Jonah asks.

"I was given specific instructions how and when to contact her, and her only," explains Malachi.

"Who were you working for?" Jonah asks.

"You can do what you'd like to me, but I can never answer that," Malachi replies curtly.

"Fine," responds Jonah, starting to get frustrated again, "where is she?"

"She's in Qincheng Prison... in China," replies Malachi.

"I know where it is. Wh...," Jonah starts

"She's there now... today...," Malachi interrupts him, knowing what the next question is.

Without saying another word to Malachi, Jonah takes Chris by the hand, leading her away. They stop in front of the nun. "Sister Marie, I'm sorry we had to meet under these circumstances. I've heard much about your faith," Jonah says.

She replies, "And I've heard much about the Great Warrior. May we meet again someday." The two bow slightly toward each other.

Malachi calls out, "Not even you can break into that prison! There are over two thousand guards and another thousand government soldiers guarding it!

Jonah looks down at Chris and with a little mischievous smile he says, "Who said anything about breaking in?"

On their way back to the vehicle Chris turns to Jonah and asks, "You asked that man Malachi - I heard Sister Marie call him - where and when my mom is?"

Jonah sighs slightly and says, "The people I work for sometimes complicate my job by requiring me to travel in four... [pauses as he searches for the perfect word] ...dimensions... the fourth being..."

"...time? Chris finishes his sentence.

"Yes," responds Jonah.

"Oh wow," Chris says.

By now they reach the rented vehicle and head back to Iloilo for a while in silence. Chris's brain, though, is far from inactive she thinks, "Who is this Jonah Fortress? He has jets that take him all over the world. He punches monks. He has a secret base in the middle of Washington D.C. - and he hinted about time travel. What have I gotten myself into?"