Barrington and the Saints finally made it to their location. Barrington’s mood had risen since their talk about faith and he was actually smiling as they walked off the trail and toward the farm. The silo was close by and soon they would find themselves in the shelter, which actually belonged to Donna Perkins.
Barrington had talked to Donna about Fuller’s idea and she agreed it was a necessary plan. All that was required about this shelter and any other shelter the Gatherers happened to locate was one thing…
Secrecy.
The shelters must never be revealed to non-believers. Barrington was already concerned about Craig Moore, otherwise known as Pa, for he was the only man who knew about Donna’s shelter and he wasn’t a Christian. The man had promised never to give away the location, but could that promise be kept? When the time came, would anyone who wasn’t a Christian be able to stand against the enemies of God?
Barrington believed the answer to that was ‘no’. He prayed Moore would come to the truth and be set free, but until then, he wanted to keep the older man close. Just in case.
He soon got his wish.
As he was opening the entrance to the shelter behind the silo, Chris was watching something in the field. Her right hand was pressed against her forehead to shield her eyes from the sun. “Guys…” she began, “someone’s coming.”
Barrington rose to his feet and looked. Two men were walking toward them. He recognized them as Moore and McLaughlin. He had left them both at the President’s ranch. Something must have gone wrong for them both to be present at Donna’s farmland.
“Hello, son,” Moore called out to Barrington, noticing the Saints with him. “I see you found some new friends…but your old one appears to still be MIA.” He stopped and leaned against the silo to catch his breath. “Uhm uhm. Your ole’ Pa isn’t as spry as he used to be.”
Barrington glanced at McLaughlin, noticing the man was looking down into the opening, which led to the shelter below. “What are you doing here, Pa?”
“‘Pa’?” Saint glanced at his wife. “Did I hear him right?”
Chris nodded.
“I’m sorry.” Barrington made introductions. “This is Craig Moore and everybody calls him Pa.”
“Like John calls you Brother Bear,” Chris pointed out.
Moore smiled. “Brother Bear? Aw, son, how nice. You have a name, too.”
Barrington ignored the jest. “What are you doing here?”
“The ranch was bombed by two F-16’s,” McLaughlin replied. “They flew overhead and dropped several missiles.”
“What?” Barrington tried to comprehend what he had just heard. “Why would they do that?” He frowned. “Who would give such an order except for the President? And the President wouldn’t give any such order unless the ranch was compromised.”
“The ranch was compromised.”
“Surely the President wouldn’t give such an order,” Moore commented, straightening, “knowing we were there.” He looked right at Barrington. “Am I right, son?”
Barrington paused. “The President didn’t give any such order. Someone else did.” He let out a deep breath. “Someone wanted to make certain the President remained out of the action.”
McLaughlin shook his head. “I think you guys are reading into things here. No one - except for Hank Sumter and the assassins he was in league with - is trying to kill the President.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure, son,” Moore said sadly. “I came here to inform President Ballou that an attack was going to be made on his life.” He paused as he regarded the faces watching him. “A man came to my house a few days ago…He was dying. He had three gunshot wounds and yet he somehow managed to get to my home because he knew I was once a member of the Secret Service.” He shrugged helplessly. “I had no idea who he was…I still don’t. He didn’t tell me his name. He had no identification whatsoever. I just listened to him because he needed to tell someone what he had seen.”
When he didn’t speak after a pause, Chris inquired, “What did he see?”
Moore looked at her, sadness in his eyes. “He saw death. He saw death and he saw hell right after him. The ground disappeared into the sea and that was after a mushroom cloud of death rained down upon Nevada.” He waved his hand into the air. “It’s all gone. All of it. No more California. But that’s only the beginning. He told me just before he died something I’ve been trying to make sense of. He said, ‘Watch out.’ Then, he said, ‘Aim.’” He frowned. “I don’t know what that means, for the life of me. I wish I did. But, I’m just an old black man from Queens and I don’t know much except for what I just told you.” He glanced up at the sky. “I had to tell you, too, because I’ve been carrying that around with me since this whole nightmare began.”
McLaughlin rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Do you know who shot him?”
Moore shook his head. “Don’t know, son. For all I know, his killer could have even followed me out here.” He shrugged. “Don’t think he has ’cause the man hasn’t made any move toward me or anybody else. Think he would have done something by now if he had followed.”
“Who’s up there?” a woman’s voice demanded from below.
McLaughlin and Barrington peered down the hole. Erin Greye was standing below with her firearm pointed up toward them. She could only see their silhouette’s from where she stood. She couldn’t see their faces.
“It’s me,” Barrington assured her. “We’re…coming down.” He paused. “I brought a few friends. And tell Donna Pa is back. I’m sure she’ll be happy to see him.”
He let the others go down before he did. As McLaughlin climbed down, Barrington wondered how he was going to deal with the problem of two non-Christians knowing where the shelter was.
* * * * * *
King looked up from the Bible when Sumter shifted on the cot he was lying on. Shiva also watched him, holding his own place in the Book of Revelation he and King were studying from. They were both hopeful that they could witness their faith to the wounded man. They just hadn’t had the opportunity yet for Sumter hadn’t been conscious enough to talk.
Sumter groaned and struggled to open his eyes.
King leaned over to him. “Hank…Hank, can you hear me?”
The man blinked groggily. Then, he turned his head and tried to focus on King. “Wha…?” He licked his dry lips. “What’s going… on?”
“You were shot,” Shiva told him. “Do you remember any-thing?”
King picked up a bottle of water on the stand beside the cot and twisted it open. He handed it to Sumter. “Drink, my friend. Easy does it.” He helped the man lean up and offered the drink.
Sumter slowly took the bottle and drank from it. Then, he took a deep breath and rubbed his temples. “My head…hurts.” He blinked wearily. “Someone…yeah, I remember. Crazy guy…Shot me in the…in the knee.” He scowled. “Wasn’t…very nice of him…was it?”
King glanced at Shiva. “Hank, it wasn’t nice of him, no. Are you feeling up for a chat?”
Sumter peered at him. “Who are you?”
“I am David King. This is Marc Shiva. We’d like to talk to you about Jesus.”
“Who?”
“You heard me the first time, my friend.”
Sumter rubbed his eyes. “Yeah…yeah, I…I did. The President and the lady doc…on the helicopter…They talked to…to each other about…Jesus.” He nodded slowly. “Yeah…I…I can’t talk now. The pain…”
“Your leg is pretty messed up,” Shiva replied, not knowing what else to say. “I’ll let Doc know and maybe she’ll be able to give you something for your pain.”
Sumter shook his head and closed his eyes. “The pain…it isn’t in my leg…It’s…it’s my head…” He began to drift off again. “For what it’s worth…I hope the President…is alright. I…I thought I heard Ed Carr’s voice…earlier.” He opened one eye and waved a finger at King and Shiva. “Don’t trust him. Don’t…just don’t. He’s a very…very bad man.” He closed his eye.
King and Shiva exchanged glances.
Groggily, Sumter said, “One more thing…”
“Yes, my friend,” King replied softly, prepared to listen.
Sumter licked his lips. “I…I really wish…the Doc would…take this…this stupid thing…out of my head.” He rubbed his face and then drifted off into sleep.
King looked at Shiva, puzzled. “He’s got something in his head?”
Shiva shrugged. “I understood the part about not trusting Carr. That’s really no surprise.”
“Brother, if Ed Carr truly is a danger…” King suddenly stopped as he gasped for breath.
Shiva turned to him, concerned. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m getting a deep impression to pray for Staci. I fear for her.”
That’s all it took. Shiva abruptly turned and left the room to search for Staci as King fell to his knees and prayed earnestly for her protection.
* * * * * * *
The room had no windows, not even on the door and no other furnishings except for a gray table and two metal, folding chairs. Staci sat on one with her arms on the table. She rubbed at her wrists and tried not to let Carr’s staring bother her. Two fluorescent lights above them hummed softly, powered by a generator in the far corner of the room.
It was the only sound at the moment.
Staci couldn’t believe how calm she felt. At any other time, she would have been weeping in hysterics. As she absently rubbed at her wrists, she thanked God for her composure for it certainly had to be His strength she was relying on and not her own. Carr was clearly trying to intimidate her, but so far it wasn’t working. At least they had removed the handcuffs.
He was waiting for her to speak first. What he didn’t know was that she was already speaking, but not to him. Inwardly, she was praying to God. Asking Him to help her be strong and give her words to say when the “interview” began.
When the silence got too long for Carr, he decided to begin. “Are you having a bad day?” he asked her.
Staci looked at him, pursing her lips. “I wouldn’t call it a good one.”
Carr smiled. “You…might find this amusing, but what I’m about to tell you is a true story. In a hospital Intensive Care Unit - I don’t recall the hospital or the state this was in…I believe it happened in Georgia - but anyway, patients always died in the same bed, always on a Sunday morning, and always at about 11:00 am, regardless of their medical condition. This puzzled the doctors and some even thought it might have something to do with the super-natural.” He shrugged his shoulders. “No one could solve the mystery as to why the deaths occurred around 11:00 am, on every Sunday, so a worldwide team of experts was assembled to investigate the cause of these incidents.” He leaned forward. “Do you know what they found out?”
Staci didn’t respond, but she couldn’t help listening.
“The next Sunday morning,” Carr continued, “a few minutes
before 11:00 am, all of the doctors and nurses nervously waited outside the ward to see for themselves what this terrible phenomenon was all about. Some were actually holding onto wooden crosses, prayer books and other holy objects in hopes they could drive off whatever evil spirits were there that might be causing the deaths. Just when the clock struck 11:00, a man arrived. He was the part-time housekeeper on staff…” He twirled a finger around his ear. “He was also quite slow. It turned out that he was entering the ward every Sunday to clean. He would simply unplug the life support system so he could use the vacuum cleaner.” He spread his arms. “The housekeeper had caused all of the mysterious deaths. Now…talk about having a bad day.”
“You made that up.”
Carr looked shocked at such an accusation. “I assure you, it’s true.”
Staci frowned. “What does that have to do with me?”
“Everything.”
“How?” she demanded. “I didn’t do anything to deserve this treatment. I want to see Director Fuller.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
Staci took a deep breath and tried to remain calm. “What do you want?”
“I want to know about your friend, David King. Tell me about him. Who is he?”
Staci chose not to answer.
Then, he spread his arms as if to say he had given her fair warning. “Have it your way.” He paused for effect. “I understand that you’re under investigation. I believe there was a patient who died in your care…under some very mysterious circumstances. His name was Ishmael Musad.”
Her composure cracked as she visibly paled.
“Ah. Well, I see that name rings a bell for you.”
“He died of a heart attack. Those…that isn’t a mysterious circumstance. It…it was the cause of death.”
Carr shook his head. “It was a massive heart attack, from what I’ve been told, possibly even induced. I was also told you did nothing to help the man. That you just let him die.”
“That’s not true! I tried to help him.” She tried to get her composure back. “Who told you this?”
“Richard Manning. Your ex-CEO at Albany Medical.” Carr watched her reactions and discovered he was enjoying himself immensely. “He told me a lot of interesting things about you.” He sat back as if he hadn’t a care in the world. “Staci, I need you to cooperate fully with me, but if you don’t, I will personally see to it that you pay for the murder of Ishmael Musad.”
Tears began to well in Staci’s eyes, no matter how hard she tried not to be shaken by the sudden turn of events. “I didn’t kill him. They wouldn’t let me…” She stopped. Telling her side with Manning didn’t help the first time she tried to communicate her innocence. She didn’t think it was going to help now.
Carr looked at her. “They wouldn’t let you help him, I know. Dr. Manning told me your side of it.”
She glared at him. “Dr. Manning doesn’t know my side of it. He wouldn’t listen. Neither will you.”
“Oh, that’s not true. I promise to help you with everything I have at my disposal. All you have to do is help me.”
The resolve that came over her had to be from God. She silently thanked Him for it and in spite of the forming tears, she glared at her interrogator. “I’m not interested in helping you.”
“Oh, now I would seriously give that some careful considera-tion before you make a hasty decision like that, Staci. I mean what I say. You will be incarcerated for murder. I will make certain the rest of your life is spent in total misery.” He snapped his fingers. “It can happen just like that.”
“I have rights. This interrogation is illegal.”
“I don’t answer to the legal system you are referring to.” He smiled. “I work for someone who is going to completely change the world. Even now, steps are being taken to reveal those who will not accept change. In a few years, only those who are loyal to the New World will be free. People like you will be executed.”
She stared at him. “What are you saying?”
“You have claimed to be a Christian.”
She paused to regard him. “That isn’t a claim. I am a Christian.”
“And you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and you call Him…Lord and Savior.”
“I do,” she said proudly.
Carr paused. “The man I work for…” He became silent. Then, he shook his head. “You’re also Jewish.”
Staci frowned. “Another fact I’m proud of.”
“People have hated the Jews for centuries. Even before Christ was born on this earth.” He looked at her. “Are you certain you don’t want any help from me? I assure you, I could make your life more comfortable. If you don’t cooperate, you will suffer.”
“I’m not helping you.”
“You can tell me about David King and spare yourself from a horrible fate. What possible harm can there be in discussing one man?”
Staci folded her arms in front of her. “I won‘t talk about a man of God to you. I don’t trust you. No matter what you offer, I refuse it. You do what you have to do, but I will not be shaken. Take that to your boss!”
Carr looked at her for a moment. Finally, he shrugged and rose to his feet. He went over to the door and knocked on it. It opened and two of his agents were standing just outside the room, awaiting his orders.
“Take her to a secure room,” he told them. “Do not let anyone from the ATD know where she is. Do you understand?”
The men nodded. Then, they stepped into the room. One of them held up a pair of handcuffs. Resigned to whatever was coming, Staci slowly rose to her feet, turned around and placed her hands behind her back. She hoped it was a show to her captors that she wouldn’t cause any trouble.
It was.
The man with the handcuffs placed them around her wrists, but he was at least gentle about it this time. Once they were on, the two Justice agents led her away once more. She had no idea where she was going and prayed someone from the ATD would find her soon.
* * * * * * *
Fuller was furious when Shiva told him about Staci’s disappearance. Now was the time for a great deal of restraint for if he acted impulsively, he wouldn’t be able to help her. He knew he could cause more trouble for her if he didn’t keep back his temper.
“Marc, you get Jeremy and David to help get Sumter loaded aboard the Storm Breaker. Jeremy’s with William.” Fuller paused. “I may need him, too.”
Shiva regarded him. “Why do we want to keep Sumter with us? I mean, I know it’s important to try to lead him to the Lord, but he’s guilty of betraying the President. Why don’t we just hand him over to Justice?”
“Because I’m convinced Carr wants him for another reason. I want to know what that reason is.” Fuller pointed at him. “Look, there’s no time to explain the details. Let’s just do this. It’s time to shake things up. During the distraction, find Staci and get her to the chopper. I don’t care how you do it and who you have to go through. You protect her at all cost.”
Shiva nodded. “Consider it done.”
The ex-wrestler hurried out of Fuller’s office. He was a man with a mission and he intended to put the moves he learned through out the years upon any agent of Justice who got in his way.
* * * * * * *
The word was out. The plan was set into motion. Bandjough and King helped carry Sumter out of the room they had been using for him and out into the corridor. Before anyone from Justice could notice them, they slipped into the darkened stairwell. Bandjough carried the new canvas bag on his back with Carr’s laptop and equipment.
With one hand holding Sumter’s arm around his shoulders, he used his flashlight to lead the way up the stairs. They quietly and slowly made their way up. When they heard a noise above them, they stopped and turned off the light. Bandjough and King peered upward into the darkness.
Someone was moving on the stairwell above them. They could see light from another source and whoever had the light was walking down the stairs. King and Bandjough remained still. They waited and prayed that whoever was coming down the stairs would leave the stairwell before they got to where they were.
As if in answer to their prayer, the man made it to the door just above them and left through it. When the door was closed, King and Bandjough resumed their upward trek.
Bandjough handed the flashlight to King. “Here…Take this.”
King took it with his free hand as they finally reached the top floor landing. Together, they leaned Sumter against the wall and helped to lower him to the floor. They made sure his wounded knee remained stretched out before him.
Bandjough reached into his new bag, having stored his own headset in it, and pulled it out. He put it on and activated it. “Rookie to Ace. Are you there?”
LeBeau’s response was immediate. “It’s about time.”
“How many Justice agents are out there?”
“The same three bozo’s as before.” There was a pause. “I don’t see the fourth guy…the one that helped you. I suppose he could have left earlier but I never saw him go back inside the building’…Are you ready to leave yet?”
“No. We’re waiting for Doc and Fury.”
“What? What’s goin’ on, Rookie?”
“I’ll tell you later. Right now, you just have to wait until I give you the signal.”
LeBeau snorted from the radio. “What signal?”
Bandjough grinned. “The signal for you to cause a distraction.”
* * * * * * *
Carr stepped out into the ATD Center, a smirk on his face. He saw one of his trusted men and waved him over. He intended to inquire about the whereabouts of President Ballou as he was still trying to formulate a plan to handle the situation he had been charged with. The two men began to confer with one another when a scream shattered the normal routine of the center.
All eyes turned toward a woman standing in the doorway of an office she had been about to enter. Her hands were over her mouth and tears of fear filled her eyes.
She shook her head. “No…no, no, no! Please, not again!” With that, she turned and ran from the office.
Carr ran forward and just as he got to the open doorway, Fuller met him there.
Fuller looked angry. “What was the screaming all about?” Then, he looked inside.
Three piles of clothes were lying on the floor. One pile was right in front of the open doorway, another pile was near the desk and the other pile of clothing was in front of the window.
One of Carr’s agents told him that other clothing was found throughout the building in a similar manner.
Fuller and Carr cautiously entered the office. Carr narrowed his eyes as he stopped in front of one of the piles. He pushed at it with his foot. He turned his head and regarded Fuller with a smug expression.
Fuller glared at him. “What?”
“These vanishings we discussed…” Carr folded his arms across his chest. “If they occurred due to this Rapture theory of yours, then why does it appear that it has happened again?”
Fuller didn’t have an answer for him so he remained silent.
The man from Justice spread his hands about, indicating the clothes. “This only goes to show you how foolish it is to believe in a God who would take His people off the earth before things got worse. That is only a fairy tale.” He paused as he looked around the office. “We should find out who these people were and how many more vanishings also occurred. There has to be a common factor.”
“I know who vanished here,” Fuller said. “It was the President and his men.”
Carr frowned at him. “I cannot believe that you’re still trying to convince me that man was--”
“Shut up.”
Carr scowled at him, but he fell silent.
Fuller pointed at him. “You and I both know he was the President of the United States. For you to play that kind of charade is insulting. Our President was here, in this room…and he vanished.” He thought to himself that in a way, it was true. President Ballou, Agent Lambert and his security advisor were here, but now they were out of the building and preparing to leave the city. If all had gone as planned, they should be a good distance away from the Federal Building.
Carr pursed his lips in thought. His pride was always his downfall for it revealed his heart. He straightened his posture. “I… knew it was him, yes. I had my reasons for doing what I did, Darren. I’m sure you knew he was a target, of course. Drawing attention to him was…unwise on your part, so I didn’t.”
Fuller looked at him. What he had just heard did not deserve any response.
“I’m sure we’ll need to discover who else has vanished.” Carr headed for the door. “Let’s do a census of the building. Then, we’ll go throughout the city and see how widespread it is.”
Fuller was about to follow him out of the office but he suddenly stopped as he heard what Carr had said. He hadn’t thought of that and realized his plan just might backfire. He hoped there would be time enough for the President to get out of the city because if Carr discovered the deception, he wouldn’t be happy about it.
Not at all.
* * * * * * *
No one, and I mean no one, is gonna lay a hand on Doc and expect to get away with it. Those were some of the thoughts which were on Shiva’s mind as he followed the leading of the Spirit. He hadn’t known where to look so he simply began to walk and ask God to show him the way.
He went into the darkened stairwell and simply followed the stairs all the way to the bottom floor. The lower level of the building was something he never explored but as he exited the stairwell, he realized it would be a good place for Ed Carr to hide someone he didn’t want found. At least for a while.
Shiva took a corridor and followed it. Then, he turned the corner and discovered two men who were standing in front of a door. They were talking softly with each other until they noticed his presence. Then, they purposefully placed themselves right in front of the door.
They made a mistake. They assumed the man was not going to be a problem.
They were wrong.
Shiva stopped right in front of them.
“You’re not supposed to be down here,” one of the Justice agents told him. “This is off limits.”
“Are you illegally holding Staci Cohen against her will down here?” Shiva demanded.
The two men exchanged glances. They decided to ignore the question. The one whom had spoken spoke again. “If you do not leave, we’ll be forced to remove you from the area.”
Shiva folded his muscular arms across his chest and looked down at them. “And just how do you propose to do that?”
The men again exchanged looks, but this time they were nervous ones. One of them slowly moved his hand toward the inside of his jacket.
“I’ll break every bone in that hand before you even reach your gun.”
The man stopped.
Shiva leaned forward. “Open the door or get out of my way.”
They chose to get out of his way. They headed down the corridor, intending to get help but Shiva didn’t plan to wait there for them. He tried the doorknob and discovered it was locked. He gripped the doorknob and twisted it hard, breaking it. The doorknob on the other side popped out as he swung it open.
“Doc!” he called.
The room ended up being an ordinary storage room with no light whatsoever. Shiva felt a surge of anger and asked God to help him keep his temper because it wouldn’t do him any good if he tossed Ed Carr from the roof of the building.
Staci had been sitting on the floor with her back to the wall, praying. It was all she could do. Now she was smiling as she got to her feet.
“Marc, what are you doing here?” she asked him as she moved out of the storage room. “Did you just break the doorknob?”
“Let’s be thankful it wasn’t somebody’s neck!” he exclaimed. “Come on! I’ve got to get you to the roof.”
She followed him as he began to lead the way. “Why?”
“You have a flight to catch.”
They entered the stairwell and raced up several flights of stairs. Before they got to the roof, they had to slow down because Staci was losing her breath. They stopped once when they heard people coming into the stairwell from below them. From the sounds of it, several Justice agents were racing down the stairs to the lower lever.
Shiva and Staci continued upstairs until they came to the top and discovered King, Bandjough and an unconscious Sumter.
“You all need to leave,” Shiva told them. “It won’t take them long to come up here looking for Doc. If they find Sumter here, I don’t know what they’ll do.”
Bandjough nodded as he put his hand to his headset. “Ace… it’s time for that distraction.”
* * * * * * *
LeBeau listened to the words coming out from his headset. “Ace… it’s time for that distraction.”
He let out a sigh. “You want a distraction?” He nodded with grim determination as he peered outside to see the three agents of Justice, several feet away. “You’ve got it.” He paused. “But then you’d better be prepared to get me out of the line of fire.”
He began to flip switches and push buttons, bringing the Storm Breaker to life. The rotors began to move and anyone on the rooftop could not help but notice it. As he sat in his seat, he looked out the window and frowned. The agents were closing in fast and they had their weapons drawn.
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