“Director…” Barrington began as he leaned toward Fuller, seated beside him in the back of the Storm Breaker as they were flying toward their destination. “Todd, what’s going on with Michael? Is there something he’s keeping from us that you know about?”
Fuller paused to consider his answer first before he spoke impulsively. “Albert,” he finally said, “Michael has some issues.”
“I already know that about him. We’ve been friends since High School. We’ve been like brothers. Since the vanishings, however, he’s changed. And since he’s come back from his own disappearing act, he’s even more distant than before.” Barrington glanced at the others to make certain they weren’t listening in. When he was confidant they weren’t eavesdropping, he said, “I get this nagging suspicion in the back of my head that…that he knows more about the President’s assassination than he lets on.” He made eye contact with Fuller. “Does he?”
Fuller sat back and looked away. “Why are you asking me? Why don’t you ask him?”
“I did ask him.” Barrington paused. “And I’m asking you now because I also believe that you know more than you’ve told us.”
An uncomfortable silence descended upon them.
“What happened?” Barrington asked, breaking the silence. “There’s something that both of you know, and I want to know what it is.”
Fuller let out a sigh. “Albert, I’m your superior officer. There are things I’m supposed to know about that those under my authority are not.”
“I’m asking as a friend.”
“I’m not giving you any information besides the facts you already know.”
Barrington shook his head. “I don’t have all the facts, and you know it. Look, we’re Christians. We’re supposed to be a family. Keeping secrets is --”
Fuller turned his head and looked sternly at him. “This matter is not open for discussion, Albert. There are reasons I don’t share everything, even with those I trust the most because the more who know, the more people who fall into jeopardy. I cannot believe you would seriously use our fellowship as a means to get me to confide in you.”
Barrington hesitated, realizing he may have pushed more than he had intended to. But not knowing the truth of what happened only made him feel as if he couldn’t be trusted. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I won’t bring it up again.” But I will look into it further on my own, he thought to himself.
Fuller seemed to sense what he was thinking. “This isn’t a trust issue, Albert.”
Barrington nodded. He decided to change the subject. “So what are we to expect when we arrive at the outpost?”
Fuller hesitated, concerned about the sudden shift in their conversation. “Ed Carr is going to meet us at the landing area we’ve been assigned to. From there, he’ll brief us on what’s happened. We’ll make a determination on a plan of action after the briefing. One thing is certain, he won’t share everything he knows with us about what happened.”
“That’s to be expected.”
Fuller regarded him. “Are you going to be alright about this?” He was referring to what they had discussed previously.
Barrington shrugged. “I’m fine, Director. I understand what you’ve told me.” I just don’t like it. “What exactly do we know happened in Allentown?”
“The only information I’ve been given is that some bomb had gone off and the entire population had disappeared.”
Barrington took a moment to process that information. “What kind of bomb?”
Fuller shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“So…a bomb goes off. People disappear.” Barrington nodded in understanding. “Carr wants to make a connection with the vanishings so that he can explain it away from the rapture.”
“Right. So we need to make certain the truth gets out. We also need to find out who’s responsible for this and deal with them accordingly.”
Barrington regarded him. “That explains why you’re coming along on this mission. You usually don’t participate in field work.”
Fuller couldn’t help but grin. “I wasn’t always behind a desk, you know. Besides, I think it’s good to get out every now and then. Keeps the blood circulation going.” He paused. “When Michael brings Staci to us, her experience as a Medical Doctor could help, too.”
“How? There are no bodies and…well, I don’t know if she even has a degree in forensic pathology. Other than to keep her out of the clutches of Justice, what purpose will she have on this mission? And Carr won’t like it when she shows up with Michael. He’s the one who pushed to have her arrested.”
Fuller nodded. “I know.” He hesitated. “Michael will keep Ed Carr away from Staci.”
“How?”
He hesitated. “Will you just trust me, Albert?”
Barrington paused. “Okay.”
“As far as Staci’s usefulness on the mission…I just have this feeling.” Fuller shrugged. “I can’t explain it. I just know there’s a reason she needs to be there.”
Barrington nodded his head and then he gave their conversation a lot of thought. Besides the mission, he had another goal in mind. Somehow, he had to discover the truth about what really happened the day the President was assassinated.
Staci Cohen was thankful that God was in complete control of her life. He had to be. She was amazed that He was able to calm her fears despite the crisis she was in. The Justice Agency was keeping her against her will in a place they called a safe house. She wasn’t an expert on law, but even she knew that what they were doing was illegal. They had no grounds to hold her like this, whether she was a suspect or not.
It was all Ed Carr’s doing. She realized that to be true. She had the impression that he was actually keeping her prisoner because she was a friend of Director Fuller’s. Carr knew she had nothing to do with Ishmael Musad’s death. The Director of Justice knew that Ishmael Musad did not die out of negligence or malice on Staci’s part. He believed the best way to keep Fuller off balance was to keep Staci under lock and key for the time being.
Staci was in a safe house. Her sleeping quarters was in the furnished basement Justice provided for her. She had everything she needed, they saw to that, except her freedom. She could not leave the house. There were also three Justice agents who stayed in the house with her. Two male agents and one female agent; Phillip Rhodes, Mike Matthews, and Christine Tinker. They each had separate rooms on the floors above her.
Staci was instructed not to leave the house at all. She was not permitted to go out into the backyard, or take a walk around the neighborhood. Rhodes had even ordered her to stay away from the windows and doors for security reasons. She suspected he just liked to give orders. Rhodes and Tinker enjoyed reminding her that she was the lowest on the food chain and anything she wanted to do had to be approved by them. Matthews, however, was just the opposite. He treated her with respect and consideration. He carried on conversations with her about her faith and she gladly shared with him the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The reason he began engaging her with conversations about her faith was because of something he had witnessed since they had begun to reside in the safe house. On Staci’s first night under house arrest, she had a Bible with her. Rhodes and Tinker confiscated it from her, telling her that she could not have any form of propaganda on the premises.
Staci narrowed her eyes. “Propaganda?” she questioned. “It’s the Bible. How can you possibly think of the Bible as propaganda?”
“Because we do,” Rhodes told her.
Tinker nodded. “That’s right. The Advocate calls it a distorted idea spread by a misinformed organization. So you will not have this book in this house.”
“The Advocate?” Staci frowned. “Well…who is that? The Bible is God’s Word, and this Advocate is wrong to call it propaganda. It--”
Tinker glared at her and took a menacing step toward her. “How dare you call Tristian Salvadori a liar! He happens to be one of the greatest men of our time, if not the greatest man who ever lived! You’re so lucky I don’t put a bullet in you for your ignorant accusation.”
Rhodes took Tinker by the arm and guided her back a few steps. “Watch your tongue, Dr. Cohen. I don’t like you any more than Christine does, but I have orders to keep you here safe and unharmed. But further comments like that about a man who is doing our world a lot of good will not be tolerated. Isn’t that right, Mike?”
Matthews shrugged as if he didn’t really care. Knowing that Staci was the only one who was looking at him, he rolled his eyes. “Yeah, whatever you say, Phil.”
Rhodes turned to regard him. “You don’t sound so enthusiastic.”
Tinker scowled at him. “Oh, forget Mike, Phil. He’s not so sure about the Advocate.”
“Well, you’d both better get on the band wagon, because I believe this man is going to make some very powerful changes.” He turned to glare at Staci. “And one of those changes will be to remove ideas like this--” He raised the Bible in front of Staci. “--from people like you. I believe it’s this kind of notion that caused you to kill a man like Ishmael Musad.”
Staci refused to be baited into a discussion about something she didn’t do, so she remained silent.
Tinker pointed at the basement door. “If you don’t want to have a part in our conversations, then you can go down to your room and stay there.”
Staci was only too happy to comply. In her sequestered room in the basement, she found a Bible. The next day, she was caught reading from it, so they took it from her again. But because she was bored, she explored her room and found another one. On the third day, Tinker took it from her and stormed out with it.
The next morning, Staci woke up and found a Bible on the stand beside her bed.
Matthews was simply amazed how a Bible could keep turning up for Staci every time one was taken away from her. He knew deep in his heart that something was happening here that could not be so easily explained away. He had tried to tell his companions that.
“Don’t you think it strange how these Bible’s keep appearing every time you two take them away?” he asked them. “Doesn’t it make you wonder if God is somehow doing this for her so she can be able to read it?”
Tinker glared at him. “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. God isn’t giving that Jew any Bibles. They aren’t mysteriously appearing. Someone is bringing them to her.”
Matthews looked from Rhodes to Tinker. “Who?”
“You are,” Rhodes said.
“What?”
“You’re the one who’s sneaking them in for her.” Tinker shook her head. “Man, leave it to you to allow your head to be turned by a pretty face.”
Matthews shook his head. “Oh, you two are unbelievable! You think I’m being distracted by Staci?”
“You even call her by her first name.”
“I call you by your first name! Staci happens to be her first name. What am I supposed to call her?”
Tinker put her hands on her hips. “How about prisoner. Convict. Jew. Murderer.”
Matthews didn’t know why he felt the need to defend Staci, but he decided to do just that. “And why do you do that, Christine? Why do you call Staci a Jew?”
“Because she is one.”
“You say that word as if it were a curse.”
Rhodes and Tinker exchanged looks.
Matthews shook his head. “Staci is a person, just like you and me. And I don’t care what you say. There’s no proof that she killed anybody. You see, what we have is an investigation. Do you know what that means? It means that the death of Ishmael Musad is being looked into. You two have Staci Cohen already convicted.”
Rhodes let out a sigh. “Maybe we should go see Director Carr and have you removed from this assignment. You seem to be taking it very personally and I shouldn’t have to remind you about getting involved with a suspect.”
“Oh, you guys are impossible. If you feel it necessary to do that, go ahead.”
And they went ahead. Rhodes and Tinker left the safe house to have a meeting at the Federal Building in Albany with Ed Carr. When Matthews was left alone with Staci, he allowed her to come out of the basement. She gladly joined him in the kitchen for coffee and he was not surprised to discover that she was carrying a Bible in her hand.
Because of what he witnessed, he was receptive to the Word of God that she shared with him. She shared her testimony to him and told him about Jesus. Matthews accepted Jesus as his own personal Lord and Savior because he had been looking for something to fill the emptiness in his heart. Emptiness that had been dragging him down since the day of the vanishings. That emptiness was completely filled the second he accepted Christ.
A few days later, Phillip and Tinker made another trip to the Federal Building. Matthews and Staci were once again in the kitchen having fellowship and coffee. Staci was never without a Bible. It seemed that wherever she looked while kept as a prisoner in the basement, she found a Bible.
“It’s so evident to me that God has His hand on you,” Matthews told her as he poured cream into his coffee. “I can’t explain where the Bibles are coming from, but every time Boris and Natasha take it away from you, you just get another one. 1 I think that‘s just awesome.”
Staci smiled. “Me, too. You just wait. Maybe God will do things like that for you, too.”
“Yeah? You think so?”
“Well…I don’t know. I never know what He’s going to do until it happens. Like…take right now, for example. What I’m going through. A week ago when I was taken into custody by Justice, I was scared and…and I didn’t know why God was allowing this to happen. And then I met you, and you were clearly searching for answers, so I fully believe that God led me here to you so I could tell you about Jesus.” She clapped her hands together. “And, yeah! Now you’re a child of God.”
Matthews thought about that. “You really believe that?”
Staci nodded. “Uhm hm. I do.”
“So…God leads us to do things for Him? How does He do that?”
“Well…I believe He just does it. I don’t know how.”
“But if you came here to do what He wanted you to do, then…what? It’s time for you to move on?”
She shrugged. “If God doesn’t want me to be here anymore, He would make a way for me to leave.”
Matthews paused. “I could help you with that.”
She regarded him for a moment. “How do you mean?”
“I mean I could help you get out of here. We could be gone before they return.” He saw her hesitation. “If there’s a chance to take, it would be right now. We can make a lot of tracks, Staci. These two guys on this detail with me do not have your best interests at heart.”
“No, they don’t, but I believe that God does and I don’t believe He wants me to leave just yet.”
Tinker strode into the kitchen, angrily stomping her feet. “You’re leaving,” she snapped.
Staci and Matthews looked up from the table, surprised to see Tinker returning earlier than expected.
“Where am I going?” Staci asked, puzzled.
Tinker aimed a thumb at the kitchen doorway. “Why don’t you ask him? We ran into him at the Federal Building and he says that you are to go with him.”
Staci turned her head and her eyes widened in surprise when she saw who it was standing there in the doorway of the kitchen.
It was Michael Lenox.
Chase and Dell rode in a beat up old Ford onto the main road and headed toward Belgrade while behind them, a few other men followed in a white van. The reason they wer going to Belgrade was simply because there was no way they were going to go back to Willow Creek. Belgrade was also with power, so that was an additional reason for going there. Chase drove and for a few miles along the way, he and Dell remained silent. They each had their own thoughts and Chase continued to silently pray for a safe journey into town and back again. He had no idea what was on Dell’s mind.
He soon found out, however, when Dell calmly said, “David King is a terrorist.”
Chase turned his head and looked at him. “What?”
Dell hesitated as he focused on the scenery going past them rather than on Chase’s penetrating gaze. “David King…he’s a terrorist.”
“Where did you hear that?”
Dell paused. “Does it matter?”
“Yeah, it matters! Who told you that?”
“Jim.”
“Jim? Well, who is…?” He stopped. He remembered that Moore had brought someone back from Albany with him, and the only thing they knew about that someone was his first name. James. He sighed. “Jim told you that David King is a terrorist?”
Dell turned his head to look at him. “Are you gonna tell me he isn’t?”
“I’m going to tell you not to listen to some guy we don’t even know.”
“Yeah…? Well, the things he says kind of makes sense.”
“What things?”
Dell hesitated. “Forget it.”
Chase shook his head. “Oh, no, you don’t. You’re not going to throw this into my face and then drop it as if it were nothing. This kind of thing, Jim, is not something we need right now. It…” He paused as he searched for the right word. “It will cause a division among us. I’m sure there’s a verse in the Bible that talks about causing division among believers by stirring up strife. This other Jim that came back with Pa…Well, I think he may be doing that.”
Dell gave him a look. “You don’t know that.”
“Yes, I do, because I know David King.”
“Come on, man. You can’t tell me he isn’t a terrorist. People are already talking about it back at Donna’s shelter and some of them are gonna be demanding for answers from him whether you like it or not.”
“He isn’t a terrorist,” Chase insisted.
Dell rolled his eyes. “Okay. So he was a terrorist. So, like…what? He turned over a new leaf?”
Chase nodded. “As a matter of fact, he did.”
“Come on, Peter. How do you expect anyone to believe a terrorist can turn away from being a murderer to preaching the Word of God?”
“Because it happened.”
“How do you know?”
“Because God wouldn’t just keep David King alive when the Sheriff shoots him at point blank if he were still a terrorist! That bullet didn't miss him, Jim. It went through him but did nothing to him. There is no way you can ever explain that away to me because I was there. Bob shot him. The bullet passed through David and lodged itself into the wall behind him. John saw it, too. Would God spare such a man as David King if He didn’t intend to use him for a work he’s being prepared for?”
Dell remained silent.
Chase let out a sigh. “Listen to me, man. This Jim who is hiding in the loft of the barn is sowing discord. I don’t know why, but I’m going to find out when we get back. You can’t listen to him. If you do, you’ll find yourself listening to lies of the Devil and whatever work God is doing in your life will become fruitless. You don’t want that.”
Dell shook his head. “No. You’re right. I don’t.”
“Don’t think about the past. The past vanished when the Rapture occurred. We’re living in different times now. Think of it like that. We were all left behind and now we all have one more chance to come to God and do the right thing.”
“That’s an awful lot of money,” Saint replied as he leaned forward on the picnic table to look inside the lockbox Donna had brought to them. “I don’t believe I’ve ever seen this much at the same time.” He looked across the table at King. “Have you?”
“I’m afraid I have,” King replied. “Under circumstances I would like to forget.”
Donna and Saint recognized that King had no desire to elaborate further on where he had seen so much money.
“Well…there’s thousands of dollars in this box,” Saint replied, taking the subject away from King. “Maybe more.” He turned his head to regard Donna. “And Amber just gave this to you?”
Donna nodded. “Yes. She placed it before me, gave me a key and…” She shrugged. “And then she walked away. She didn’t give any indication she was going to come back for it. But then again, she didn’t say anything either so I really can’t say what’s going on in that mind of hers. All I can tell you is that I am under the impression she means for us to use this.”
“Well, there’s no doubt that we can use it…”
King regarded Saint. “You have reservations?”
Saint shook his head. “No. No, not really. It’s just that…what could we use it for? For food? For a trip?” He paused. “Well, one thing is for certain. Only God knows what the future holds so it could be He simply provided this to us in preparation for something we don’t even yet see.”
“That, my brother, is a very sobering thought.”
“I suppose I’ll count it and then…find a place to store it until we know what to do with it.” He paused in thought. “I wonder how Amber got this.”
Donna shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m worried about her. She never talks.” She paused. “What is she’s in some kind of trouble and it’s because of this money?”
King nodded his head. “Then, perhaps we really can’t use it until we know for certain that we can.”
Saint let out a sigh. “Do you think Amber stole this money?”
“I do not know.”
Saint looked at Donna. “Do you?”
Donna appeared to give her answer some thought. “Maybe she did. But even if she did, we still don’t know the circumstances behind her actions. There could be good reason to do what she did…if she stole it.”
“Like I said,” Saint replied, “I’ll count it and put it somewhere safe.” He shook his head. “No one will touch it until we know what to do with it.”
“We should pray,” King said.
Donna hesitated. “David…there’s something else we need to pray about.”
King smiled encouragingly at her. “Of course. We will pray about the money, God’s will to be done, and also for your new friend, Amber.”
“Thank you…but we also need to pray for you.”
“For me? I am always gratified for your prayers, my sister.”
Saint paused. “I get the feeling you have a specific prayer for David, Donna. What’s wrong?”
“Well,” Donna began with a worried sigh, “I don’t like to eavesdrop, but on my way over here, I overheard a couple of guys talking about you.” She glanced at King. “I think they were questioning your role as a leader of our small group of outcasts.”
King paused. “I…never appointed myself as a leader.”
“You didn’t have to, David,” Saint assured him. “I think it comes naturally to you and I also believe God intended it that way.”
“You yourself are more qualified to lead than I.”
Saint let out a chuckle. “That may be so, David. I’ll do whatever God wants me to do, but as I’ve said, I believe you are the one He has appointed for leadership here. I’ll stand by that. And I’ll support you one hundred percent because I believe He expects me to.”
King looked at him. “I don’t know what to say.”
“More to the point…Donna, what specifically were these guys saying about David?”
Donna shrugged helplessly. “I only heard David’s name. I heard the words ‘traitor’ and one of them said, ‘How can we trust this man?’ And then when they saw me, they stopped talking.”
Saint frowned. “Well, this can’t be good. To me, it sounds like someone is stirring the pot against you, David.”
King looked thoughtful. “Yes. And I have a suspicion I know who it is that stirs this pot.”
Alyson stared at the HQ the federal agents and FEMA operatives were using to field their mission. She knew there was some hidden room in the back of it. She and Meers had tried to take a walk back behind the HQ, but each time they did, their efforts were hindered by a military presence. They were reminded where they were authorized to go, and where they weren’t authorized to go.
Alyson wanted to get into that room in the worst possible way. She tried to come up with a scheme that would get her past the guards, but finally came to the conclusion that there just wasn’t any. At least at the present time. She vowed, however, that she would look for any opportunity to get in there. One way or the other, she would succeed.
As she continued to stand there and look toward the HQ, she became aware of a presence. Someone was standing beside her. She didn’t have to turn her head to see that it was Carr who had decided to join her.
“You really want to get in there,” he said as he grinned wryly at her. “Don’t you?”
Alyson glanced at him and frowned as if she had no idea what he was talking about. “Get in where?”
Carr let out a chuckle. “Come on, Alyson. Do you really expect me to believe that you haven’t noticed how the Head-Quarters we set up actually looks bigger outside than it does on the inside? A reporter like you would never miss something so obvious.”
She turned to regard him with a look. “Soo…it’s a private room?”
Carr nodded.
She grinned. “What’s in there?”
“The answer.”
“The answer to what question?”
He just smiled. “You’ll see. You’ll have your chance to get the truth and tell it to the world. And that truth is in that hidden room. Unfortunately, it has to wait. We have company coming. These people who are on their way here are into some kind of a fairy tale world where Good and Evil are constantly stuck in a war, and the stakes are the souls of mankind. Sounds like a lot of rubbish, doesn’t it?”
Alyson nodded. “Yes. It does.”
“What a crazy idea. The world is on some kind of brink of destruction, so God takes the true Christians out in something that is called the Rapture and leaves those who are nonbelievers behind. Then there’s to be trials and tribulations in the world for seven years like there’s never been before. And at the very end, the hero of the story arrives on the scene and ushers in a new millennium.” He let out a chuckle as he shook his head. “I mean, really. This stuff would make great Science Fiction, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Absolutely.”
“Why can’t they just accept the truth? That a device was made by man, it was triggered, and it spread out around the entire globe. This is what happened. It caused people to vanish.”
“What did? Ed, what caused people to vanish?”
He smiled at her, but he made no response.
She let out a sigh. “One device cannot cause something of this magnitude all around the world.”
“No.” He shook his head, in full agreement with her. “It wouldn’t.”
“But you just said--”
“I’ve said too much already. I don’t want to spoil the surprise.”
Alyson regarded him for a moment. Then, she noticed something had caught his attention for he began to look off into the distance. She turned her head and saw what he saw. A helicopter was moving toward the outpost.
Carr smiled. “They’re here.”
“Is that the ATD agents you mentioned earlier?” Alyson asked him.
“Yes. It is.”
A look came across her face.
Carr smiled knowingly. “No. I do not believe Michael Lenox will be among them. However, I have it on good authority that he will be here in a few hours or so.” He shrugged nonchalantly. "There was something he needed to take care of first."
“I wasn’t making any inquiry as to who was on that chopper.” She glanced at him. "And why should I care if Lenox is coming here or not?"
“You didn’t have to...and you do.”
With a chuckle, Carr turned away from her and began to walk toward the field, which had become a landing area. The helicopter would be landing there and he wanted to be present when the ATD agents exited the chopper.
As it turned out, Alyson wanted to be there as well. She fell into step beside Carr.
1 - Rocky & His Friends (Bullwinkle)
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