The Embodiment of Evil
LeBeau and Bandjough had left the others as they flew the Storm Breaker toward the Federal Building in hopes of returning with the help they needed. Their thoughts and prayers were for Staci and Lenox. However, they didn’t believe they would find the help they required. As they flew over Albany, they could see the devastation the earthquake had wrought. Help was needed throughout the city.
“Everyone needs help down there,” Bandjough commented. “This doesn’t look good, Ace. If we can’t bring back help, how are we going to get to Doc and Knox?”
LeBeau sighed wearily. “I don’t know.”
“Man…Knox isn’t even saved.”
“He’s not dead, Rookie! He didn’t sound even close to death. Come on, keep your thoughts on Him if ya feel like you’re gonna lose it.”
Bandjough glanced at him. “I’m trying. It just doesn’t look very hopeful.”
“Yeah, well, I heard that God is into doin’ the impossible. If anyone can make this come out right, He can.”
Bandjough paused. “You’re right.”
“Of course, I am. Or at least He is right. Isn’t that what He says in His Word? That He is the God of the impossible? Jesus Himself said, ‘With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.’ 1 So think on that. Alright?”
“Thanks, Ace.”
“Sure.” He suddenly tensed. “You’ve got to be kiddin’ me!”
Bandjough was about to ask him what was wrong when he saw for himself. The Storm Breaker was not the only aircraft flying over Albany. The sky seemed to be filled with black helicopters. Helicopters they had seen once before, only not as many.
“Bell ARH’s,” LeBeau snorted. “Justice.”
“I’ve…I’ve never seen so many in the same place before.”
“Yeah…well, welcome to the world as we know it after the Rapture.”
A voice came over their radio. “Storm Breaker, this is Commander Kevin Oakley of the AIM Relief Task Force.”
Bandjough frowned at LeBeau. “Relief Task Force? Get real.”
“Do you require assistance?”
The two pilots looked at each other.
“Was he askin’ us if we needed help?” LeBeau asked rhetorically. “Last time we faced these guys, they were ready to blow us out of the sky!”
“He said ‘AIM’, not Justice,” Bandjough pointed out.
The voice came back over the radio. “Storm Breaker, do you copy? Are you in need of assistance?”
LeBeau cleared his throat. “Yeah, Commander Oakley. We need assistance. We have an agent and…a medical doctor trapped under a warehouse south of Albany.”
“Of course. Turn back to the location and I’ll send a team to render aid. They will follow you. Once there, rest assured, your agent and MD will be retrieved from the warehouse.”
LeBeau blinked. “Thank you.” When there was no further communication, he turned to his co-pilot. “Now what do ya think about that?”
Bandjough shrugged. “‘Ask and ye shall receive.’ 2”
“I wasn’t about to ask them.”
“We didn’t ask them. We asked God.”
LeBeau nodded, recalling the prayer he and his co-pilot shared before they headed for the Federal Building via Storm Breaker. “Yeah, that’s right.”
They brought the Storm Breaker around and headed back in the direction they had come from. Behind them, four Bell ARH’s followed.
“I don’t think I’ve thanked you,” Staci replied, moving a strand of hair behind her right ear.
Lenox looked at her. “For what?”
“For saving my life. From Cain.”
“You don’t have to thank me.”
“I thank you anyway.”
“It’s not necessary, Staci.”
She smiled at him. “Just take it and say ‘You’re welcome, Staci.’”
He paused. “You’re welcome, Staci.”
“Really, I’m more grateful than you can know. I shouldn’t be surprised. I see God’s hand in everything that happens around me. I know He’s leading me. I know He’s in control and I shouldn’t worry. Nothing can happen to me or you that He doesn’t already know about. I think that’s a wonderful thing.” She looked into his eyes. “I’m going to pray that God shows you the same thing.”
“I must be at the top of your prayer list.”
“You are.”
He regarded her. “Staci, I really appreciate your prayers, but --”
“Don’t tell me it’s not necessary because it is.”
He nodded. “Okay. It’s just that…can your prayers really change anything for me? Admittedly, I have my struggles, but still I can’t just bring myself to move in the direction you want me to move in.”
“I’m not asking God for you to come directly to Him because I can see that you won’t just do that. For some people, that’s easy. They reach a point, like I did, where the truth is seen and then action is taken. It’s like a light comes on and I finally notice what was right in front of me all along. But there are others, like you, who I guess need more than that. I have to ask God to reveal Himself to you. To help you see Him, maybe every where you look. I think if you see Him working in your life and in the lives of those around you, you might want to take the next step and come to Him.” She pursed her lips. “Do you know what I mean?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I do.”
She paused, watching him closely. “I…I care about you.”
“Staci, I care about you, too.”
She paused again. “You do owe me a dinner if we get out of here. I helped you and your detective friends find Cain.” She hesitated. “Well, actually, he found me…and then…you found me. Anyway, I did help and the deal was that I get to have dinner with you.”
He nodded, trying not to smile too much. “I’d be happy to take you to dinner.”
“Well…that’s if there are any restaurants left standing.”
“There is that.” He looked at her. “I’ll take you to dinner one way or the other.”
Staci took a deep breath and regretted it. She inhaled the dust in the air and fell into a fit of coughing. When she was able to stop, she cleared her throat.
“Are you okay?” Lenox asked, concerned.
She nodded. “Thank God you have that little flashlight or it would be dark in here.”
“It came with the Handbook of the Government Agent.”
“It did?”
He grinned. “No. I made that up.”
She smiled but tried to look stern. “Well, now, that’s not nice, mister.” She hesitated, thinking of a verse of scripture. “That little light reminds me of another Light. ‘I am come a light in the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.’ 3 I think it’s in John.”
“And that Light you are referring to is Jesus, right?”
“Yes.”
“I do understand the analogy.”
“Right…because we live in darkness and He came to give us light so we could have our eyes opened and be able to see.” She looked at him. “You don’t mind if I…talk like this, do you? About Him?”
Lenox shook his head. “No. I don’t mind. It’s important to you, I know that. You can talk about anything you want to.”
She smiled. “Good. Because I have another verse about the same thing. About Jesus as the light.”
“From the Book of John?”
“I believe so. The verse is about Jesus who is calling Himself the light. It goes like this…‘Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followed me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.’ 4 I love this verse. It’s special for me because no matter where I am, He’s with me. I have His light because He is the light. There just isn’t anything that He can’t see. Nothing is hidden from Him. It makes me feel…safe. I have a sense of security.” She paused as she looked at Lenox. “I wish that --”
Lenox’ cell phone rang. He looked at it and the ID caller let him know that it was LeBeau who was calling. He place the phone to his ear. “Go ahead, Ace.”
“I brought the Calvary,” the pilot responded. “We’ll get you out of there as soon as we can. You might here a lot of noise, but don’t be alarmed. It’s only us.”
“Since when have I ever been alarmed?”
“Yeah…right. I forgot who I was talkin’ to for a minute there.”
“What Calvary have you brought…” Lenox stopped. Then, he said, “AIM.”
Staci looked at him. “What?”
On the phone, LeBeau said, “How did you know?”
“Never mind,” Lenox responded. “Just get the job done. We’ll see you soon.” He closed his cell phone and put it away.
“Was that Keith?” Staci asked.
Lenox nodded. “Yes. It seems he brought AIM with him and they’ll be digging us out soon.”
“But…couldn’t they cause another collapse if they dig in the wrong place?”
“Don’t worry about that. AIM isn’t coming here ill-equipped. They know what they’re doing and will be able to pinpoint our exact location. They’ll do what they can to prevent another collapse.” He knew it was only a matter of time now before they got rescued. He hadn’t expected AIM to render assistance…but he wasn’t surprised by it either.
Not in the least.
Fuller’s office was a mess. The large hole through his wall was big enough for any man to fit through. Salvadori’s agents and bodyguards were through it the second the opening was available to them. They rushed to his aid and treated him as if he were royalty. It made Fuller sick to watch.
This man is the embodiment of evil, Fuller thought to himself.
As that thought was going through his mind, Salvadori turned his head and looked right into his eyes. Fuller silently prayed to the Lord that He would protect his thoughts.
That man can’t possibly read minds…can he? Fuller wondered.
“You may be relieved to know that I will be leaving,” Salvadori said, taking a few steps toward him. “My staff are understandably concerned for my safety and have expressed that I be taken to a safer place.”
Fuller nodded once. “Good-bye,” he said. It was all he could think of to speak what was on his heart. Good riddance would not have been Christian-like.
Salvadori took another step. “I want you to know that President Quatermain has extended a personal invitation to me to join him at the White House. Together, in a months time - perhaps sooner - we shall address the nation and the world. We will reveal the truth of how the vanishings occurred. We will reveal a new threat to the Unification of all peoples around the globe. In essence, Director Fuller, for some, the gloves are coming off.” He smiled wryly. “Is that not the proper expression?”
“Why are you telling me this?” Fuller asked him.
“You might have that long before trouble comes your way. It would have been better for if you had taken my offer instead of insulting me. At least now I know where you stand.”
With that, he turned and headed out of Fuller’s office. Fuller sat down behind his desk, stunned at the sudden turn of events. His future suddenly didn’t look very promising.
When Hoag knocked on the door, at first there was no response. Instead of knocking again, he waited patiently. He wasn’t in any hurry. He had nowhere else in mind to go. He had nothing better to do. All there was before him was the task of taking care of family matters.
When it became clear, however, that no one was coming to the door, he did finally knock on the door once more.
The door opened and Janice Chase stood in the doorway. “Hello, Sheriff,” she replied. “I’m sorry…I didn’t think it would be you. I thought it was someone else, which is why I didn’t open the first time.”
What she had said didn’t fully register in his mind. “Janice…I don’t know how to tell you this…so I’m just going to come out and say it.” He fought to keep his emotions in check and managed to succeed for the moment. “Peter’s dead.”
Janice didn’t speak. She remained silent. She tensed and glared at the Sheriff.
Hoag was suddenly struck at how strange it was that in one moment, Janice was hospitable and friendly. In the next moment with his announcement, she became cold and hostile. He frowned. “Janice, did you hear what I said? Peter is dead.”
“I heard you,” she told him.
“And?”
“And…I don’t care.”
Hoag blinked. “What did you say? I just told you that your husband is dead…and you’re standing there and telling me you don’t care?”
Janice nodded curtly. “That’s what I’m telling you.”
“Janice, he --”
“Peter died to me when he chose to follow after a man who was crucified over 2,000 years ago. He’s been gone, Sheriff. He can’t be gone a second time.”
Hoag shook his head. “I cannot accept this! I have your husband’s body in my car. We need to bury him.”
“You bury him. I’m done with him.”
Before he could say another word, Janice slammed the door on him. Hoag couldn’t bring himself to believe what had just happened.
Fronk climbed up the ladder with no difficulty whatsoever, but he discovered that it wasn’t a simple task to reach up for the release that would open the doors on his left. The door release felt as if it were jammed. After several tries, he looked down toward the elevator below him and gave a shrill whistle.
“What?” Carr called up to him.
“I have to go up a level,” Fronk responded. “Can’t open this one.”
“Then, go up a level!”
Inside the elevator, Erin moved under the opening Fronk had made earlier and looked up. She glanced at Carr. “Can you help me reach that? I can’t be in here any longer. I’m getting crazy.”
Carr thought about making a comment and decided not to. He helped Erin reach up for the opening in the same way he helped Fronk. Erin pulled herself out of the elevator and as she stood on the roof, she thought she felt a tremor. Disregarding it as her imagination, she moved toward the ladder with intentions of following Fronk.
Fronk looked down and saw her. “Well, hello there, beautiful!”
She began to climb up toward him. “Do we have to climb up another level?”
He nodded solemnly. He tapped a lever with his left hand. “Do you see this release mechanism?”
She nodded.
“It won’t budge. I can’t get it to move. If I could, it would allow these doors to slide open…and then I could get you out of here.” He smiled at her. “But, alas, have no fear, my love. I shall get you out of here. Your safety is my number one priority.”
She couldn’t help but return the smile. “You say the sweetest things.”
From below came the sound of a snort. They looked down and saw that Carr had climbed out onto the roof of the elevator.
“Of all the people I had to get stuck with,” he grumbled. “it had to be with Romeo and Juliet.” He shook his head and reached for the ladder.
Fronk grinned. “Look on the bright side. Things could have been a lot worst than this.”
Carr’s hands gripped the rung of the ladder above him, one foot was on another rung and the other foot was on the elevator…which suddenly shifted. There was a loud crack that reverberated through the shaft. A split second later the elevator dropped and plummeted to the ground far below. In shocked silence, Carr, Fronk and Erin stared at the sight below. The elevator continued its fall until with a loud crash, it hit the ground below.
For a moment, no one said anything or even moved.
“How can it get worst than this?” Carr demanded.
“Well…” Fronk began. “You could have been still inside.”
Carr thought about that and swallowed as he clung to the ladder. “I suppose you’re right,” he finally said.
Fronk winked at Erin. “Worst than that, Erin and I could have been in there with you.”
Carr glared up at him.
Fronk, however, began to lead them upward as he climbed for the next door.
1 - Matthew 19:26
2 - John 16:24
3 - John 12:46
4 - John 8:12
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