Fuller and Ballou remained in Fuller’s office after King had left them. Fuller was concerned about King walking freely about the Federal Building. He was afraid the man would be discovered for who he truly was and matters were in peril of getting out of hand. However, he also realized King was right. God was in control and moving them into areas of their lives they had never been before.
It was true then that it all rested upon one word.
Faith.
Fuller and his Gatherers had to have faith. Without it, they were lost.
“Do you really think it’s wise to let him walk around the place like that?” Ballou asked him. “Things are bound to get out of hand in a hurry of someone sees him and just happens to recognize one of America’s most wanted terrorists.”
“At this point, Mr. President, let’s just pray that God will keep him protected.” Fuller paused as he considered his next words. “After all, aren’t we all in His hands now?”
Ballou looked at him. “So…it gets a lot harder from here then, doesn’t it?”
Fuller nodded.
“Then, bring it on.”
Fuller grinned in spite of how grim things seemed. “Before you head on into the midst of battle, sir, don’t you think you need a new team of agents to protect you?”
“God is protecting me, isn’t He? He brought me this far.” He folded his arms across his chest and let out a sigh. “At least, isn’t that what you just got through reassuring me with?”
“Let’s not tempt trouble to come our way. We still have to use wisdom as well as faith. I think they probably go hand in hand, don’t you?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “I’ve already arranged to have one of my best to protect you. He should be here momentarily.”
“Who is he?”
“His name is Matthew Lambert. He’s been with the ATD for as long as I’ve known him.” He glanced out the window. “He’ll remain at your side until we have an idea of what our next move should be.”
Ballou walked over to the window and peered out. He studied the city outline as he thought about the recent events of the past few weeks. “Darren,” he finally said. “This man…Matthew Lambert…do you know where he stands?”
Fuller regarded him. “He takes his duties very seriously. I can assure you of that.”
“I’m not talking about his duties. I’m talking about his faith. Where he stands. What he believes in. Isn’t that what will motivate him? You can no longer take any man into consideration because of how they perform their duty but what they believe in. What if this man doesn’t believe as we do? What if he can be easily influenced away from the truth? Eventually, a man like that could be dangerous to us.”
“We can’t ignore everyone who doesn’t see things as we do, Mr. President. I don’t really know where Matthew stands right now. I only know of his work ethics, but even if he doesn’t see things our way, we’ll have an opportunity to witness to him. If he’s lost, maybe we can show him how to be saved. Isn’t that the point?”
Ballou nodded, but he remained by the window.
There was a knock on the door.
“That must be him now.” Fuller turned toward the door. “Come in.”
The door opened and a tall man strode into the office. His dark hair was military short and his face was clean-shaven. His shoes were military polished. His very demeanor was one of determination and confidence. He was indeed a man who stood beside his country. He took very seriously honor and duty.
“Director Fuller,” he greeted with a brief nod. “I was told you were expecting me.”
Fuller reached out to him and offered his hand. “Yes, I was. Thank you for coming.”
They shook hands.
“Matthew,” Fuller replied, “I’d like for you to meet the President of the--”
Ballou turned from the window, rolling his eyes. “Oh, for pity’s sake! There’s just no end to it, is there?” He held out his hand toward Lambert. “Matt, I am Walter J. Ballou and I’m glad to meet you.”
Lambert shook his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. President.”
“I’m not going to beat around the bush here, son. Because of treason on the part of a man who was trusted, I lost my team of agents who were assigned to protect me. You come highly recommended by my friend here, your Director of the ATD. He trusts you for the job and that’s good enough for me. I’m asking you to head up a team of new agents. Do you feel up to the task?”
Lambert nodded curtly. There was a look of anticipation in his eyes. “Mr. President, I am always up to a new challenge.” He paused. “I’m sorry for the loss you suffered recently, sir. I am honored by this request and accept it.”
“Thank you, son.” Ballou regarded him for a moment. “Now…there’s something else I would like to ask you. Due to the recent events, I feel it is necessary to ask you if you have come to the same conclusions that we have. The entire world has been changed in the blink of an eye. Millions of people have vanished, including every child upon the earth. The world is heading for changes that were predicted in the Bible. My question is where do you stand? Do you see that we are living in the End Times as recorded in Revelations? Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and turned from your sinful nature?”
Lambert shook his head. “Mr. President…that isn’t what I expected to hear when you told me you had a question for me.” He looked at him. “No, sir. I haven’t accepted any Savior. I’m a pagan, sir, and as such, I don’t follow any form of Christianity at all.”
Ballou frowned. “Is that right?”
“Mr. President, regardless of what either of us believe, I am still sworn to upholding my duty. That I will never waver in.”
Ballou was about to respond when movement outside the window caught his eye. He turned to look and was surprised to find a helicopter hovering just outside the window.
Fuller moved to the window, frowning as he looked out at the Storm Breaker. He saw LeBeau and Bandjough in the cockpit clearly and LeBeau tapped his headset as he shook his head. Then, the pilots brought the chopper up, eventually disappearing from view.
“What was that all about?” Ballou asked.
Fuller looked out the window. “I think Keith and Jeremy couldn’t contact us by radio. They wanted to tell us something.”
“Like what?”
“We’ve got company coming.”
Below them in the streets, the building was being surrounded by vehicles.
* * * * * * *
Shiva would have made an excellent nurse. He did everything Staci had asked from him in caring for Sumter’s damaged knee. The unfortunate truth, however, was that Staci couldn’t do anything for him until she had him stabilized. For the moment, she was concentrating on stopping the bleeding and splinting the leg. An actual operation on the knee would not come until much later.
At least she didn’t have to take the bullet out for it had gone straight through Sumter’s knee where Michael Lenox had shot him. It was a small comfort. As she prepared to put a makeshift splint around his knee, she wondered how she was going to get an x-ray of the wound. She couldn’t bring Sumter to Albany Medical. Besides, she was certain the staff there had their hands full with the current crisis.
“Good thing he’s out of it,” Shiva said as he helped steady Sumter’s leg. “I imagine he would have given us a hard time, what with the pain he’s in.”
Staci nodded. “Yeah…but I’d like to know what he meant by ‘They’re coming.’ Sounded kind of ominous…didn’t it?”
Shiva nodded.
At that moment, the door opened and in walked David King with his Bible. He took one look at them and made his approach with determination.
Staci hesitated. “David…it’s nice to see you, but…why are you here?”
“I came to offer any help I can give,” King began as he came to stand beside Shiva. He regarded the wounded man with patience. “How long has he been unconscious?”
“Not long,” Staci responded. “I don’t know how long he’ll be out either, but I gave him some pain killers meant to keep him down. It could be a while. Why? Does the President want him interrogated?”
“Perhaps. But I want him saved. I am prepared to proclaim the Gospel to him when he regains consciousness.”
“Do you think he’ll listen?” Shiva asked.
“I know he will.” King pursed his lips in thought. “Still, I am troubled. I believe we are going to have to pray because the devil does not want this man to be saved. Let us put our hands upon him and ask for God’s intervention.”
Shiva and Staci exchanged looks.
They couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was about to happen, but as to whether that something was going to be good or bad, they didn’t know. They placed their hands on Sumter as King led them into prayer.
* * * * * * *
“What do you plan on doing, son?” Moore asked Barrington as they headed for the kitchen in the shelter below the ranch.
The three men were hungry and decided it would be best if they could find food. In the cool, walk-in pantry’s underground, the food stored there was plentiful.
McLaughlin led the way because he was the only one of the three who knew the full detail of the shelter.
“Let’s just eat,” Barrington replied, hoping to avoid questions.
“Eating is a good plan.” Moore glanced. “I ain’t never said we wasn’t gonna eat. Better hope this food down here for all of the President’s men is good, but I know it’s not like fried squirrel.”
Barrington shook his head. “Nobody eats fried squirrel.”
Moore frowned. “How you know, son? Listen, I made you and all my sons fried squirrel since the day you was born.”
Barrington looked at him.
“Okay…so maybe I didn’t, but listen, I’m from Queens and where I’m from, fried squirrel is a delicacy.” When he saw the look on Barrington’s face, Moore said, “Okay, maybe it isn’t, but I’m still from Queens.”
McLaughlin glanced back at Barrington. “Don’t listen to him, Al. The honest truth is…he’s not really from Queens.”
“Oh, son, how can you say that?” Moore shook his head. “Oh, I just ought to knock you down for that. Uhm, uhm…You know, I used to feed you fried squirrel and you would always say, ‘Pa, can I have some more please?’ Back in the day, you loved your Pa’s fried squirrel. I can’t believe you just told this nice young man that your ole Pa isn’t really from Queens.”
McLaughlin led them into the kitchen. “Well, you won’t find any squirrel’s here, Pa.” He went to the refrigerator unit and opened it. “Outside, maybe. But not in here. Nothing gets in…” He stopped when he realized what he was about to say.
Barrington paused. “The only reason the enemy got in here was because someone let them in.”
“And your people already took that man back. I know.” McLaughlin looked at Barrington. “That was a good move, because he’d be dead right now if I had anything to do with it.”
“We’re going to find out why he betrayed the President, and--”
“I don’t care why he did it. I only care about the end result.”
“Well, son,” Moore began as he placed a few pieces of bread onto the table, preparing to make a sandwich, “you’d best forget about taking your vengeance on Hank Sumter ‘cause he’s far away from here. You can’t get him now unless you can fly.” He stopped and turned to look at McLaughlin. “Can you fly? No?” He shook his head. “Didn’t think so.”
McLaughlin turned to face Barrington. “I don’t care where your people took him. I don’t care what facility you end up locking him into. You just know this. I’m going to go after him and when I find him, Hank Sumter will be a dead man.”
“I understand where you’re coming from,” Barrington replied, “but you just can’t take matters into your own hands.”
“Watch me.”
Moore glanced at them from the table. “Oh, boys…just make something to eat. Man’s gotta have his strength so he can do those things …which need to be done. And, you, my son from the ATD…you still haven’t told me what you plan to do.”
Barrington let out a sigh. “I’m going back to Willow Creek while you two get picked up to be taken to Albany.”
“What about Donna? I promised her I’d be back to help her.”
McLaughlin looked at Moore. “Who’s Donna?”
“She’s--”
Barrington interrupted, hoping to steer the conversation away from the shelter at Donna Perkin’s farmland. “Donna has received help, Pa. She’s going to be okay.”
Moore paused. “Donna will be worried about me, you know. I am old. I’m a hundred and eighty seven and she’ll just want to see if I’m okay.”
“She knows.”
Moore regarded him. He knew Barrington didn’t want to discuss anything that might reveal the location of the shelter so he decided to continue with the discussion he had already tried to open several times. “Now, son…I know you’re going to head on back over to the Willow Creek Baptist Church, but you still haven’t told us why. Not that you have to, mind you, because your Pa may be old, but he has a mind like a sharp sword, son.” He tapped a finger to his temple. “Sharp, I’m telling you. You see, ‘cause I happen to know you’re gonna go back there to try to find your friend. I just have one question for you.”
Barrington looked at him.
Moore leaned forward. “What makes you think he wants to be found?”
“You think he…Are you saying he just took off or something? Why would he do that?”
“I don’t know, son. He’s your friend. You know him more than I do so you’re more qualified to answer that than I. If he doesn’t want to be found, you won’t find him. Maybe he has to go out and search for some answers. Maybe he’ll come back when he’s ready.” Moore shrugged. “Maybe he won’t come back at all. So why don’t you just wait for him?”
Barrington shook his head. “I’m not waiting.”
“Why not?”
“Because he’s my friend and I’m not going to wait around to know whether he’s alright or not. If he’s in trouble, I want to be there for him.”
“What if he brought the trouble upon himself, son?”
“I don’t care if he did. I still want to be there with him to help him through it.”
Moore nodded thoughtfully. “Son, this Michael Lenox may not know this, but he’s very fortunate to have you as a friend.”
* * * * * * *
It was always the end result that mattered to Ed Carr and he was proud to bring that end result about. If there was a mystery that needed to be solved, he solved it one way or the other. If there were people who needed to disappear, he was the one who made them disappear. If there was something that needed to go away, he was the one who buried it.
Ed Carr was the end result.
As the Bell ARH hovered a few feet above the rooftop of the Federal Building in Albany, he was out of the doors before it even settled. He bounded through the door and landed on his feet as if he did such a thing every day. He headed directly for the Storm Breaker as its rotors began to stop turning.
Carr pulled open the door and climbed in. “Gentlemen,” he said without waiting for a response from them, “you are hereby grounded from flight until further notice.”
LeBeau took off his headset and glared at him. “Says you!” he snapped.
Carr pursed his lips. Then, he nodded. “Yes. Says me…since I am the one who just said it. Failure to obey this command will result with repercussions you would do best to avoid.”
“We don’t take orders from you.”
“I’m Ed Carr, Senior Director of--”
“Justice,” LeBeau growled with a nod. “Yeah. I heard ya the first time.”
Carr narrowed his eyes. “I’m not liking your tone, son. Because of your ignorance, I’ll let this matter drop. Once you’ve heard it from your own Director, perhaps your tone will become more respectful, but if it doesn’t…I assure you. You’ll wish you had never met Ed Carr.”
Without another word, he left the Storm Breaker and headed for the entrance to the building. Behind him, several of his Justice agents joined him.
Bandjough turned to LeBeau and scowled. “I already do wish we hadn’t met him. Don’t you?”
LeBeau snorted his agreement to that.
Outside the Storm Breaker, Carr and his team of specialists looked as if they had a purpose. Their long strides carried them with determination. Their expressions were cold and calculating. When these men looked at people, their eyes seemed to bore into them as if they could see a person’s soul.
Carr reached for the door handle but the door swung open just before he could touch it. He and his team came to a stop as the President, Director Fuller, and Agent Lambert stepped out into the sunlight. The three men remained in the doorway, barring the Justice agents from entering the building.
Fuller and Carr regarded each other as if no one else was present.
Finally, Fuller shook his head. “I should have known you would have made an appearance sooner or later.”
“Of course,” Carr replied with a shrug. “How can you expect anything less from me?”
Fuller looked behind the team of Justice agents and noted the Storm Breaker on its landing pad. Two other helicopters were also on the roof in separate landing pads, as there were only a total of three landing pads on the rooftop of the Federal Building. The helicopters Carr and his men arrived in were Bell ARH’s.
“Are you responsible for turning the Storm Breaker around from its rescue mission?” Fuller demanded, already knowing the answer. He was familiar enough with Carr to know that the man would not cooperate unless there was a dialogue of some kind.
Carr simply enjoyed the sound of his own voice. “First of all, there is no rescue mission. Secondly, I am responsible for calling off the supposed rescue mission.”
“My men were on their way to retrieve field agents in the field. Leaving them out there will have them stranded in a no-mans land.”
Carr dismissed it with a wave. “Your field agents can remain on the field, Director Fuller. They’re professionals. They’ll be fine. Sending out for them now is unwise. One lone helicopter would make a tempting target for any terrorist out there who remains as a threat. Besides, there is plenty of work to do here in the great city of Albany. Wouldn’t you agree?” He didn’t give Fuller a chance to answer. “This city is now under martial law. No one comes into it and no one goes out of it without the proper authority.”
“My men have the authority.”
Carr shook his head. “No, they don’t. This is over your head, Director. Our country is at the highest threat alert it has ever seen and Justice has been given the task of restoring order through any means possible. You and your men may certainly continue with the efforts you are doing, but any major decisions or actions will now require approval.” A smirk touched his face. “My approval.”
Fuller nodded slowly. “I see. By…your approval.”
“That’s correct.”
Casually, Fuller folded his arms across his chest and paused. “Mr. Carr, are you even remotely aware that the President of the United States is standing right beside me and his authority exceeds yours?”
Carr regarded Fuller for a moment before he finally turned his head to look at President Ballou. He studied him for another moment. Then, he took in Lambert.
Finally, Carr let out a sigh as he turned to Fuller. He smiled. “Nice try.”
Fuller frowned. “What do you mean?”
“This man standing beside you…is not the President.”
Ballou’s eyes widened. “I’m not?”
Carr waved his hand up. “Of course not. You may look like him. You may sound like him. You may even act like him. And I’m certain you can fool many people with your charade, but you are not the President of the United States.”
“Mr. Carr, I’m going to tell you what I intend to do about this mistake you are making.”
Carr looked at him. “And that is?”
“I believe I’m just going to stand here and continue to watch you dig a hole for your self. At the rate you’re going, I’ve never seen a hole so big as the one you’re digging right now.” Ballou glared at him. “Let me know when you’re done so I can have the pleasure of pushing you into it.”
Carr let out a chuckle. “Sir, I have no idea of who you really are, nor why the Director of the Anti-Terrorist Division would stoop to using such ridiculous methods, but I assure you, I’m not falling for this and neither are my men. If you were the President, you would have a sizeable contingency of secret service men about you for your protection.” He pointed at Lambert. “I see only one.” He turned to Fuller. “The President was last reported in Maine at his ranch. I have also been informed that the ranch has been assaulted by a team of assassins and no one knows if he is alive or dead. The ranch had been compromised.”
Fuller shook his head. “That may be so, but I sent in a team of agents to get the President to safety and that’s why he’s here now.”
“Oh, I see. Now you want to try to convince me that the President’s secret service agents were all eliminated and he alone escaped.”
“I know you’re extremely thick at times, Mr. Carr, but this is the President.”
“I’ve listened to enough of this. If you insist on continuing with this charade, I’ll see to it that you’re all locked up until this entire affair is sorted out.” He straightened his posture and placed his hands on his hips. He glared at them as if he were a Principal at a High School dealing with delinquent students. “You know I’m not bluffing, Director. There is much to do and I was truly hoping you and I could work together as colleagues. Not as rivals as we have in the past.”
The President was about to say something, but Fuller placed a hand on his shoulder. He knew Carr was going to be trouble. Ballou didn’t know what the man was capable of but Fuller did.
“Okay, Carr,” Fuller said softly. “What are you doing here?”
Carr smiled. “We’re going to bring this city back to life. As we speak, men are working throughout the city. These men are volunteers and relief workers sent to us from other countries. Within a few weeks, we should be back to full power and this city will be like it was. Perhaps even sooner if all goes according to plan. This is happening in many cities throughout the United States. Unfortunately, there are…other actions being taken as well that have far more serious repercussions.”
Fuller hesitated. “What actions?”
“Terrorists cells are being targeted and destroyed.”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, I’m sure you know what I mean. F-16’s have been scrambled and sent to several locations with the intent to bomb these terrorists cells. It’s probably already begun. The terrorists who did this will be eliminated soon enough and America will send a strong message should any other terrorists try something like this again.”
“Mr. Carr,” Ballou interrupted. He took a deep breath. “Where are these targets? Surely the F-16’s would not fire on them if there are innocent people in the same areas.”
“That is irrelevant, sir,” Carr assured him. “Better to take out a few innocent people if it means saving thousands more in the process.”
“Who is giving the authority to do this?” he demanded.
Carr narrowed his eyes. “You are not in a position to question me, sir.”
Fuller marveled at the President’s composure. He was certain he was ready to explode. “Mr. Carr,” Fuller began, trying to intervene for Ballou before he forced Carr’s hand, “could you tell us what areas have been targeted?”
Carr shrugged. “Certainly. There are several areas in New York, Connecticut, Texas, California, Florida and Washington. Oh, yes…and the one area we already discussed…” He looked at his watch. “In fact, I believe it was one of the first areas targeted so I’m sure it will happen at any time now.”
“What target?”
“The President’s ranch in Maine.”
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