Free Indisputable Proof by Gary Williams, Vicky Knerly Page A

original text was written.”
    Diaz’s face twitched in bewilderment.
    Jade’s own religious beliefs aside, she found amusement in watching Diaz squirm. Once again, she was impressed by Samuel Tolen’s breadth of knowledge.
    “It doesn’t matter,” Diaz snorted. “The Bible holds the truth. Jesus Christ was the Messiah.”
    “I’m not arguing the authenticity of the Bible. This is just educated speculation,” Tolen responded. “Discounting Flavius Josephus’ account, the only place Jesus is ever mentioned in all of history is in the New Testament. There is no other historical record of his existence.”
    Diaz elected not to respond and the interior of the plane went quiet except for the steady drone of the engines. The Spaniard grabbed a small pillow to the side, turned his back, and settled into it against the seat. Jade could hear his breathing and knew the discussion had angered him terribly. Diaz’s faith was obviously his guiding force, and she had no quarrel with that. She might resent his brusque mannerisms, but all people are entitled to their beliefs.
    Diaz, she had figured out. Samuel Tolen, however, was a complete mystery. The American was the complete opposite of the Spaniard. Where Diaz had a fiery temper, Tolen kept his under complete control. Where Diaz took his beliefs on faith, Tolen appeared to open his mind to possibilities. He seemed to teeter between faith and tangible facts, as if balancing on the precipice between the two, unsure which way to fall. There was no denying he was intelligent and well read. That much was apparent when he had, yet again, exhibited his knowledge of history. His comments regarding the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus and the possibility of tampering with the man’s work centuries later had surprised her. It suggested Tolen not only knew the esoteric arguments surrounding the historical Christ figure, but that he had studied the facts in detail. She sensed that, in everything he did, Tolen had a profound need for absolute understanding and, in turn, absolute truth.
    Indeed, Samuel Tolen intrigued her with his insightful analysis and his logical disposition. He was a man of few, but effective words. She felt incredibly safe in his presence, and it had nothing to do with the pistol he had shown her at the jail. She sensed that before he resorted to physical violence, he leveraged his intellect. She just wished he had come clean about whatever was going on. She was sure she was only getting part of the truth.
    A short time later, the plane lazily pitched forward in descent. Jade looked down to see the darkness give way to the ubiquitous glow of white. Even at this early hour, the lights of Boston saturated the landscape.
    Two minutes passed, and the cabin suddenly began to rattle. It turned out to be a harbinger of things to come, as moments later the entire plane shook violently like a toy in the grasp of a child throwing a temper tantrum. Jade felt her body whipped to one side, before she was violently jerked straight up. If not for the seatbelt restraint, she would have slammed into the ceiling. She bit her tongue as she settled harshly into her seat, her teeth slamming together with aching force. The plane continued listing hard from side to side, jostling the threesome with great force.
    Reba Zee’s voice broke through the cabin speaker. “A little turbulence, folks! We’re gonna ride it out!”
    Jade could taste the warm flow of blood. Her tongue ached, and her gums were on fire. She tried to steady herself by grabbing the armrests of the chair, only to have her grip broken, leaving her hands clutching at air with each tumultuous lunge of the fuselage.
    In the frenzy, she looked across at Diaz, who was staring her straight in the eyes. With considerable difficulty, he raised a hand to his chest and crossed himself. Then he closed his eyes and relaxed.
    Seconds later the cabin dipped abruptly and settled. As quickly as it started, the plane steadied into an