The Watchman of Ephraim (Book Club Edition) Read online

  The Watchman of Ephraim

  For all the family and friends of victims who lost their lives on 9/11

  The days of punishment

  have come;

  The days of recompense

  have come.

  Israel knows!

  The prophet is a fool,

  The spiritual man is insane,

  Because of the greatness of

  your iniquity and great

  enmity.

  The watchman of Ephraim

  Is with my God;

  But the prophet is a fowler's

  snare in all his ways,

  And enmity in the house of

  his God. (Hos. 9:7-8)

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Thanks to all my friends who visit me on my website, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and MySpace … you know who you are!

  Thanks to my Canadian friend and fabulous writer of fantasy, "S&M" … S.M. Carrière for taking the time to help me fix those pesky ellipses and single quotation marks. Please look for her written works!

  My sincere gratitude and appreciation goes to Dean Wesley Smith, a great writer and mentor to neophyte authors like myself, without whose guidance and advice this novel would not have been published. Please check out his written works!

  Special thanks to my wife Lisa and my sons Jared, Ryan, Jordan, & Noah …all my hopes!

  THE WATCHMAN OF EPHRAIM

  Gerard de Marigny

  Author's Website: www.GerarddeMarigny.com

  Follow Gerard de Marigny on Facebook: www.facebook.com/Gerarddem

  * * * * *

  PUBLISHED BY:

  JarRyJorNo Publishing at Smashwords

  Publisher's Website: www.JarRyJorNoPublishing.com

  The Watchman of Ephraim (Book Club Edition)

  Copyright © 2011 by Gerard de Marigny

  3 4 5 6 14 13 12 11

  Edited by Lisa de Marigny and Jared de Marigny

  This book is available in print at Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com and most online booksellers

  Smashwords Edition License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  * * * * *

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1 - World Trade Center Mall

  Chapter 2 - One World Trade Center

  Chapter 3 - Dos Escuelas Park

  Chapter 4 - Estancia De Niro (The De Niro Ranch)

  Chapter 5 - Formerly Liberty Defense Contractors, now - The Watchman Agency

  Chapter 6 - In a limo parked in front of the proposed site of the “Ground Zero” mosque

  Chapter 7 - The Viewing Wall at Ground Zero

  Chapter 8 - The Watchman Agency

  Chapter 9 - Aboard De Niro’s privately-owned QSST (Quiet Supersonic Transport)

  Chapter 10 - Estancia De Niro (underground complex 10 miles south of the main house)

  Chapter 11 - The Offices of Zamani Import-Export Corporation

  Chapter 12 - Executive Conference Room

  Chapter 13 - The Coyote’s Den

  Chapter 14 - The Main House

  Chapter 15 - The Watchman Agency

  Chapter 16 - The Foster Lafayette Hotel

  Chapter 17 - Av. Nafta 69

  Chapter 18 - The Watchman Agency

  Chapter 19 - The Watchman Agency

  Chapter 20 - “Narcogranja de Pacifico” (Drug Farm owned by Pacifico Cartel)

  Chapter 21 - The Watchman Agency

  Chapter 22 - The Coyote's Den

  Chapter 23 - The Foster Lafayette Hotel

  Chapter 24 - Aboard Santana

  Chapter 25 - The Coyote's Den

  Chapter 26 - Mission San Xavier del Bac

  Chapter 27 - Security Office

  Chapter 28 - The Offices of Zamani Import-Export Corporation

  Chapter 29 - Back Porch – Main House

  Chapter 30 - U.S./Mexico Border

  Chapter 31 - Back Porch - Main House

  Chapter 32 - Ridgeline approximately 1 mile northeast of town

  Chapter 33 - Backyard of Main House

  Chapter 34 - Ridgeline approximately one mile northeast of town

  Chapter 35 - Just north of the intersection

  Chapter 36 - Aboard Piper PA31-350 Chieftain (F-WCCY)

  Chapter 37 - The Offices of Zamani Import-Export Corporation

  D - ADDRESS FROM THE PRESIDENT ON NUCLEAR ATTACK

  E - FOOTNOTES

  F - The Author

  G - Book Club Guide

  Chapter 1

  World Trade Center Mall

  New York, New York

  8:30a.m., Tuesday, September 11, 2001

  (16 minutes before terrorists crashed American Airlines Flight 11 into Tower One)

  The shopkeeper smiled at the handsome, well-tailored customer as she finished tying a ribbon around the box of long-stemmed roses he picked out. She noticed his wedding ring and could surmise for whom the flowers were intended. The earthy woman’s ruddy cheeks glowed with satisfaction as she affixed the final touch to her handiwork – a big red bow – to the top and center of the lid.

  “Will this be cash or charge?”

  De Niro handed over his American Express black card as he flipped his cell phone open and hit an auto-dial button.

  The shopkeeper raised her eyebrows when she examined the oddly-colored card and read the famous last name embossed onto it. After swiping it through the terminal, her blue eyes sparkled with curiosity as she handed it back to him. De Niro knew the look on her face well. He’d seen it countless times before, and though he bore little resemblance to the legendary actor with the same last name, curiosity got the better of most people.

  If I had a dollar for every time someone gibed me with the famous line, “You talkin’ to me …” … I can only imagine what it’s like to – be – Robert De Niro.

  Smiling politely, he answered her question before she even asked it.

  “No relation.”

  Born Cristiano Stephen De Niro, De Niro had long ago given up teasing people by telling them, “We’re cousins.”

  After deciding whether she should believe him or not, the shopkeeper flashed De Niro a knowing glance. Handing him the box, she added a little too loudly for his comfort, “I understand, Mr. De Niro.”

  De Niro rolled his eyes and with a few curious stares from other customers, made a quick exit from the store.

  Located behind the “Twin Towers,” the florist shop was nestled in the far corner of the concourse, the largest shopping center in Manhattan. The WTC Mall was also a main stop for a number of trains including the PATH that carried people into the city from New Jersey as well as the N, R, 1 and 9 lines that ran from Brooklyn and Queens to uptown. As he passed the entrance to the PATH train platform heading for the Tower One lobby, De Niro detected the familiar smell of the subway below. It brought to mind his harried youth, when he took the train from Brooklyn to uptown to go to work.

  The smell of the subway and over-cooked pretzels will always remind me of Manhattan.

  He hadn’t been to the Trade Center in awhile but De Niro could see some things hadn’t changed - his call wasn’t going through - so he disconnected it and tried again. Being there brought back so many memories of when he first met his wife, Lisa. At the time, she worked for Cantor Fitzgerald, the world-famous bond house.
Lisa landed her job with Cantor right out of college and worked her way up the ladder, eventually becoming the firm’s chief market analyst. Lisa and Cris both knew God had a hand in their meeting despite the fact they didn’t get off to the best start.

  De Niro blushed with embarrassment whenever he thought about how they met. It was at a cocktail hour that kicked off an investment conference in San Francisco, where they both were scheduled to speak. He arrived late and had just walked into the reception area. Lisa greeted him and introduced herself in her usual, confident manner. He offered his hand to her and began to introduce himself, when she interrupted him with just a touch of sarcasm.

  “I know who you are.”

  Winking, she glanced over his head and walked away. De Niro was perplexed until he noticed that he was standing directly under a ten-foot billboard poster of himself, complete with his name in bold, printed under his picture. Apparently, someone working for the event’s promotion department thought it was a brilliant idea to plaster the behemoth posters all over the conference center.

  After catching up to Lisa, De Niro asked her to dinner. He remembered it like it was yesterday. Before that, he was used to taking women out who were either interested in talking about themselves the whole night or turning the date into a Fortune magazine interview about his net worth. Lisa, on the other hand, captivated him from the start. She was a total knockout but didn’t seem preoccupied with her looks; he liked that in a woman. Unlike the vain model-types that ordered a salad and picked the croutons out for fear of gaining an ounce, Lisa had a hearty appetite.

  Not only did she polish off what was on her plate; she asked me if I was gonna finish what was on mine!

  When he told her to have at it, she casually reached across with her fork, as if they knew each other forever. Savoring the fish from his dish made her flash that beautiful smile of hers. It beamed as much from her golden eyes as from her mouth and was accented with a dimple she said she inherited from her granddad. She proceeded to talk about everything except the two of them, from sports - they both loved the Yankees; he was an avid Oakland Raiders fan, she hated them, to politics - they were both conservative; she was outspoken and active, he mostly kept his views to himself, to how many kids she pictured having when she married - incredibly, they both wanted four.

  De Niro recalled how the entire evening passed and she never uttered a word about what she did for a living. When he asked her why, she simply said, “That’s what I do … it’s not who I am.” De Niro was well aware though, from listening to her speak at the conference, that she knew her stuff. In fact, he teased her that if things didn’t work out between them romantically, he was interested in hiring her as a consultant. Without missing a beat, Lisa gibed back that, either way, she didn’t come cheap.

  As he made his way through the bustling, morning crowd, more memories came back to him and brought a smile to his face. He remembered how when they returned to New York, they began dating, but not for long. Exactly one month after meeting Lisa, De Niro proposed to her. He had taken her to her favorite restaurant downtown on West Broadway, “Barolo,” where they had a romantic dinner and polished off the best bottle of their favorite Barolo wine.

  Landing back at her apartment, he asked her, hypothetically, what she would say if he asked her to marry him. With her dry wit unaffected by the wine she drank, she replied that she’d ask for a “pre-nup” in case he was only interested in her money. With that, De Niro got on one knee and presented a box to her with the name “De Beers” written inside it. It contained the most beautiful engagement ring she ever saw – a flawless, round, 9-carat white diamond mounted in platinum. He joked to their friends later that that was the only time he ever saw Lisa speechless. They were married in the Bahamas three months later … almost five years ago.

  De Niro was well on his way to becoming one of the youngest billionaire hedge fund managers even before he met his wife. So when they finally decided to have children, the couple traded in their apartment in the city for a magnificent, sprawling estate in Colts Neck, New Jersey. Lisa left Cantor when she was seven months pregnant with Richard, their firstborn, but she continued to maintain her friendships with her colleagues there.

  The De Niro’s started a tradition of inviting Lisa’s Cantor cronies to lavish barbeques at their Colts Neck home. They just had their Labor Day barbecue the weekend before, with dozens of friends from her old firm showing up for it, along with their spouses and kids. It was an extra special occasion because many of them found out for the first time, at the barbecue, that Lisa was pregnant with their third child, another son.

  Making it even more special, Lisa’s closest girlfriend Stacey, also pregnant, came to the barbecue. The two women started at Cantor around the same time and they quickly became best friends. Stacey was about to go on maternity leave herself. She invited Lisa to meet her at Cantor the following week, on September 11, which was to be her last day. Stacey was having her second baby and the girls were planning to meet up on the 104th floor to say hi to everyone and then go to breakfast.

  The idea to buy Lisa roses occurred to De Niro during the limo ride to his mid-town financial firm. It all stemmed from his wife’s desire to see him take a more active role in the lives of their two young sons, Richard and Louis. Lisa made him feel terribly about missing so many of the boys’ important “firsts,” like their first words spoken and their first steps taken. De Niro hated spending so much time away from them, working and traveling, but he reasoned to her that he was sacrificing time with the boys now, so that he could ensure their futures.

  Lisa never agreed with his way of thinking though, arguing that the things he was missing couldn’t be purchased for any amount of money. Finally, that morning, she put her foot down and insisted that he take their oldest son to his first day of pre-school.

  At the time, he wasn’t too happy about it, but seeing Richard walk into the classroom and introduce himself to the other boys and girls was priceless to him now. The experience really had a profound effect on him, enough that by the time he left the school, he was committed to spending more time with his boys. He was also definitely going to be there for all of the firsts of their new baby. The flowers were to thank Lisa for making him go and he thought he’d join his wife and Stacey for breakfast, so he could tell both of them all about it.

  First, he had to move an important breakfast meeting he had scheduled with an overseas client. De Niro couldn’t wait to see Lisa’s face when he handed her the flowers in front of all of her friends up on the 104th floor.

  As he entered the north tower from the mall, De Niro was having difficulty calling Maria, his executive assistant. He always seemed to have bad cell service whenever he was in the Trade Center, so he headed out of the front entrance. The further he walked from the building, the more bars he started to see until finally, the call went through when he was standing at the curb. It was a beautiful morning outside.

  “Good morning, Mr. De Niro’s office, Maria speaking, may I help you?”

  “Maria, its Cris.”

  “Good morning Mr. De Niro.” Maria Fernandez had been De Niro’s executive assistant for the last six years, but no matter how often he asked her to, she didn’t feel comfortable calling him by his first name.

  “Hey, do me a favor; I’m down at the Trade Center and I want to take my wife to breakfast. Call David Nicholls and ask him if we can meet for lunch instead, today.”

  “Yes sir. What would you like me to tell Mr. Nicholls if he isn’t available for lunch?”

  “Well, he’s returning to London tonight,” De Niro thought out loud, “tell him that we can video conference tomorrow and that I’ll buy him a pint next month, after I speak at the British conference.”

  “Very well, may I ask the occasion?”

  De Niro smiled, “Lisa twisted my arm and made me take Richard to his first day of school this morning. It was so much fun!”

  “How nice …!” De Niro could hear the sincere excitement in Mari
a’s voice. “How was it?! Was Richard nervous?”

  “Maria, he was amazing! He walked into the classroom and started introducing himself, ‘Hello, my name is Richard De Niro. What’s your name?'”

  De Niro laughed, “He’s not even three years old yet and already he sounded like he was running for President! He reminds me so much of his mother.”

  De Niro heard Maria laughing on the other end.

  “It was really great. I was more nervous than he was. My wife is right, I’m missing too much. I cut my limo loose and bought Lisa flowers to thank her. I’ll cab it up to the firm after breakfast.”

  “That was so thoughtful! Okay, I’ll take care of Mr. Nicholls, have a nice breakfast with Mrs. De Niro and tell her I said hello!”

  “Will do …”

  De Niro closed his phone and looked up to the top of the tower as he started walking back to it.

  I hate tall buildings, I’m glad Lisa doesn’t work up there anymore.

  Chapter 2

  One World Trade Center

  New York, New York

  8:46a.m., Tuesday, September 11, 2001

  Making sure not to crush the long box of flowers he was carrying, De Niro entered through the revolving door of One World Trade Center. Starting down the lengthy corridor leading to the elevators, he heard the sound of a large jet. It was loud … really loud, as if it were flying very low.

  That’s strange; you never hear planes overhead in Manhattan!

  … And then all hell broke loose!

  The tall building reeled then shook violently while somewhere high above, a thunderous rumbling caused the people in the lobby to cower. Confused, everyone remained still as the bedlam was followed by a brief, eerie moment of silence. No one had any idea what was happening. Then the rumbling started again, this time rapidly growing louder. A sense that something was fast approaching the lobby filled the air with apprehension.