Rev. S: Mr. Aran, perhaps you are aware of Jesus's words in Matthew, Chapter 16, verses 24 and 25: "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it." And in Luke, Chapter 12, verse 25: "Can any of you by worrying add a single day to your span of life?"
Yet you have security specialists with you all the time. How do you justify that?
NA: Hour.
Rev. S:Sir?
NA: The word is "hour." You misquoted Luke. He wrote: "add a single hour to your span of life."
But to answer your question: First, in the immortal words of Mad Magazine's Alfred E. Newman, "What? Me worry?" I do not worry. I trust. And secondly Let me tell you a story not from the Bible, but one I read years ago in a magazine. It went something like this: A river was in flood, and with the water above the first-floor windows, a man sat watching from his roof. A skiff came along, and the paddler invited him to get in.
"No," the man answered, "God will save me if it's necessary."
The water had covered the porch roof when a power boat came along. The people on board urged him to join them, but he refused, giving the same reason. Still later, with water to the upstairs windows, a helicopter came along, and he waved it off.
Shortly afterward, the house was washed off its foundation, and he drowned. Received in heaven, he went to God and complained. "The Bible says you'd take care of me, yet you let me drown!"
"Dear Soul," God answered with ineffable love, "I tried to save you. First I sent a skiff, then a power boat, and finally a helicopter. You refused them all."
Now my answer to you, good Reverend, is that Art Knowles came to me as a security expert, and offered his services. I accepted with gratitude.
From: Ecumenical Encounters,
Ngunda Elija Aran as guest.
Lor Lu's intercom buzzed, and he pressed a key. "What is it, Carla?"
"Mr. Knowles would like to speak with you."
"Send him in."
The square-built security chief entered, and, ignoring the visitor chairs, remained on his feet. "Lor Lu," he said, "we may have a security problem. I got a call from Tommy Yellow Bear. He thinks we had a prowler last night, and asked me to come out to the camp. So I did."
"A prowler?"
"A guy driving an old car. He seemed okay when he drove in. Afterward he visited several tents, asking questions. Ate lunch and supper with a family named Espinosa. Later they discovered a pen they thought was his, so Espinosa went to the guy's car to give it to him. He wasn't there. Thinking maybe he'd gone to the latrine or shower house, Espinosa hung around for a few minutes. When the guy didn't come back, Espinosa returned to his tepee. Later, before going to bed, he went to the car again, and the guy still wasn't there.
"Before breakfast, about 7 o'clock, he tried againEspinosa, that is. The car was gone. Aside from some chewing gum wrappers, all he found was this. So he went to Tommy with it, and Tommy called me." Knowles laid his attaché case on Lor Lu's desk and took out a metal disk the size of a fat nickel.
"What is it?"
"That's what I asked Espinosa." Knowles held up the small metal disk again. "He was in a ranger battalion. He said it's the kind of battery they used in their night goggles. And it made him suspicious, because some of Krause's conversation had seemed a little strange. Krause is the name the guy gave. Tommy verified it. They use similar goggles on the tower. I suppose they're used in other things, too, but it's suggestive." Knowles laid the battery on the desk.
"It got Tommy interested, so they went over and looked in the parking lot trash barrel." He took another object from his attaché case, a clear plastic envelope about a foot square, marked with black grease pencil. "The barrel was emptied yesterday evening, and this morning, except for a garbage bag, this is all he found in it. Tommy worked for the Yakima tribal forester. They used envelopes like this to carry aerial photos in, when they made forest examinations." He handed it to Lor Lu.
"According to Espinoza, this cast some light on Krause's conversation. When Espinoza mentioned getting shot in the knee during the Lagos Rescue, Krause's eyes had lit up for a moment, as if he was really interested. Espinoza thought he was going to ask something about it, but he didn't. He never mentioned the military in the two hours they were together.
"Espinoza said that by hindsight, the guy sounded almost as if he was establishing an identity. And he asked questions about the guards; said maybe he'd apply for a job.
"When he came back for supper, Krause mentioned talking with other people camped out there. One was in a camper rig, and there's only one out there now. I talked to the owner, a fellow named Johnston, and asked him what they'd talked about. He mentioned Krause asking about the guards, too, telling the same story. Johnston's an ex-Marine, an older guy dating from the Gulf War. He said he took for granted that Krause was ex-military, not too long out. That he'd just seemed that way. Some elite outfit, he thought. Rangers or airborne, because he didn't know a marine term Johnston used, though otherwise he had no trouble with military terms. But when Johnston asked him if he'd been in, he said no.
"Another person Krause talked to was a single guy in a tent, and Krause asked him about the guards."
"But the men on the tower didn't spot anyone?"
"Right. But at that distance from the tower, a guy alone might not be detected. The grass is crotch-high out there, and to the west and south, he'd have been covered by terrain part of the time.
"I realize the evidence is thin, but it seems to me Lloyd Krause was casing the place. He probably hiked the fence during the night, and maybe snooped the Cote, then left. Jimmy Ramirez came on gate duty at 6 a.m., and he knew what the plastic envelope is too. He'd used them in land-suitability mapping on the Jicarilla Reservation."
Lor Lu picked up the envelope and examined it. Then holding it to his forehead, he closed his eyes. "A big man," he said. "Blue eyes. Sandy brown hair. Unshaven but not bearded. A late-level young warrior of mild disposition, not intrinsically violent." He paused. "But impaired in recognizing others as being persons like himself."
He opened his eyes, looking up at Knowles. "You'd like this man. I would. But he intends us harm. What do you have in mind?"
"I'm going to phone Major Ennerby at Fort Carson. He's my contact there. He called a couple of weeks ago and told me the new anti-terrorist platoon was in place, ready to go. It hasn't been used yethadn't then anyway. I'll get in touch with him right now, and tell him what we've learnedand surmised. We'll see what he says."