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notebooks and water bottles, the pedestrians hurried along, with earnest and determined looks. Many made better time than the cars and vans and buses.
    Because of the conspicuous escort, the crowds recognized that the Mercedes carried Tsion Ben-Judah. They waved and shouted and gleefully pounded on doors and windows. The trailing GC vehicle shooed them away with warnings over a loudspeaker and by brandishing their automatic weapons.
    “I hate to appear to be here under the aegis of the Global Community,” Tsion said.
    “They don’t know the shortcuts anyway,” Jacov said. “All three of these vehicles are equipped to go off-road.”
    “You know a faster way?” Tsion said. “Take it!”
    “May I?”
    “They won’t open fire. They’ll have to scramble just to keep up.”
    Jacov whipped the wheel to the left, flew down and up a ditch in the median, picked his way through crawling cars on the other side, and headed toward open fields. The GC Jeeps blew their sirens and bounced crazily behind him. The lead car finally caught up and pulled ahead, the driver pointing out the window and shouting at Jacov in Hebrew.
    “He says to never do that again,” Tsion said. “But I rather enjoyed it.”
    Jacov slammed on the brakes, and the trailing Jeep tore up grass stopping short of him. Jacov opened his door and stood with his head high above the roofline. The lead driver finally noticed he was leaving Jacov and slid to a stop. He waited at first, then backed up as Jacov shouted, “Unless you want trouble for making us late, you will follow me!”
    Tsion looked gleefully at Chloe. “What is it your father is so fond of saying?”
    “Lead, follow, or get out of the way.”
    As Jacov led the angry GC drivers to the stadium, it quickly became obvious that many more than twenty-five thousand hoped to get in. “Do we have monitors outside?” Tsion said.
    Buck nodded. “The overflow was supposed to go to several off-site locations, but it appears they all want to stay here.”
    Having been shown up by Jacov, the GC soldiers leaped from their vehicles and insisted on escorting the little entourage inside the stadium. They scowled at Jacov, who told Buck he would be waiting in the van where he had dropped them off.
    “Can you see a monitor?” Buck asked, looking around.
    Jacov pointed to one about twenty feet away. “And I can listen on the radio.”
    “Does this interest you?”
    “Very much. I find it confusing, but I have long been suspicious of the potentate, even though Dr. Rosenzweig admires him. And your teacher is such a wise and gentle man.”
    “Did you see him on television when he―”
    “Everyone did, sir.”
    “Then this isn’t totally new to you. We’ll talk later.”
    Inside, the local committee was ecstatic. Buck loved hearing group prayer in English, Hebrew, and a few other languages he couldn’t identify. All over the room he heard “Jesus the Messiah” and “Jesu Cristo” and “Yeshua Hamashiach.”
    On his knees next to Chloe, Buck felt her strong grip. She laid her head on his shoulder. “Oh, Buck,” she said, “this is like heaven.”
    He whispered, “And we haven’t even started.”
    As the stadium filled, shouts and chants resounded. “What are they saying?” Buck said.
    ” ‘Hallelujah,’ and ‘Praise the Lord,’ ” someone said. “And they’re spelling out the name of Jesus.”
    The master of ceremonies, Daniel, addressed the group as the clock sped toward seven. “As you know, the program is simple. I will give a brief welcome and then open in prayer. I will lead in the singing of ‘Amazing Grace,’ and I will then introduce Dr. Ben-Judah. He will preach and teach for as long as he feels led. You twelve translators should have your copy of Dr. Ben-Judah’s notes and know which of the microphones at the base of the stage is yours.”
    “And remember,” Tsion said quietly, “I cannot guarantee I will follow the script. I will try not to get ahead of