LeBeau, Bandjough, and Erin were gathered together behind Fronk as each of them tried to make sense of what they had just witnessed on the monitor. The toxin had killed a man. It had literally caused his flesh to melt away, leaving behind nothing but an exoskeleton, jewelry, and tattered clothing. Through it all, Danielle Marie Dozois remained miraculously unharmed.
The X-24 toxin just simply did not touch her.
For a moment, everyone was speechless.
It was Bandjough who finally broke the silence as he softly commented what should have been obvious to them all. “God must be protecting her.”
Erin and LeBeau each turned their heads to look at him. Fronk, however, was focused on his laptop. His fingers danced across the keyboard as he caused the camera to focus on Danielle’s face. Something about her seemed to be vaguely familiar and he couldn’t yet determine what that was. He opened up other windows and began an investigation of his own. Multi-tasking was like taking a walk in the park so he continued with his tasks as he listened to the others discuss their thoughts about what they witnessed.
“What?” LeBeau demanded.
“Well, think about it, Ace!” Bandjough exclaimed. “Look what that toxin did to that guy, but in the same room…Danielle isn’t even touched by it. The toxin has no affect on her. How can you really explain that other than by the hand of God?”
Erin pursed her lips in thought. “You think she’s a Christian.”
It wasn’t a question.
Bandjough nodded. “Yeah…Yeah, I do. Guys…she’s one of us.”
LeBeau turned his head and stared at Danielle’s face on the monitor of Fronk’s laptop. He paid no attention to what the Crazy Man was doing with the other windows he had opened and minimized.
Finally, the ace pilot let out a breath. “Well…I think you’re right. It’s the only thing that makes sense about this.” He paused. “But knowin’ that what you say is true can only mean one thing for us. We have to get her out of there.”
Erin glanced at her. “The Director is there, Keith. I’m sure he’ll figure it out and do what he can. He won’t let Carr get away with this.”
“I know that…but we should at least go and tell him. Look! Anythin’s better than just sittin’ here waitin’ for somethin’ to happen!”
Bandjough paused. “Why don’t we do something really daring?” He made eye contact with LeBeau. “There’s a restricted no-flying zone right over Allentown, isn‘t there? Well, why don’t we take a trip over there and see what happens?”
LeBeau blinked. “Did I just hear you right?”
“It’s a restricted no-flying zone for a reason, J,” Erin said. “All of Allentown is still contaminated with the toxin.”
“But the toxin didn’t kill Danielle.”
There was another pause. Only the sounds of Fronk’s fingers on the keyboard could be heard.
LeBeau let out another sigh. “So you’re sayin’ that this toxin didn’t kill her…because she’s been covered by the blood of Christ.” He turned his head to regard Bandjough. “And you think we won’t be killed either for the same reason? Is that the gist of what you‘re tryin’ to say here, man?”
Bandjough shrugged. “It makes sense, doesn’t it?”
“Look, Rookie - and I hate to say this, but there is a real big reason why you’re called Rookie - what you’re tellin’ us all sounds well and good…in theory. But what if you’re way off the mark on this one? What if you’re just wrong?”
The younger man looked at the woman on the monitor and shook his head. “I really don’t believe I’m wrong about this.”
“Maybe you should look at it from another perspective,” Erin told him. “I don’t remember where it is in the Bible, but I believe there is a verse in the New Testament that warns us about tempting the Lord. Tempting the Lord is something we’re not to do. You may think that you can go into that contaminated area where the toxin is and be safe, but you could be tempting the Lord to use His power. Do you know what I mean?”
“Coitenly,” Fronk suddenly replied, imitating Curly from the Three Stooges. “I understands perfectly! Nyuck, nyuck.”
“I don’t,” Bandjough said, shaking his head in frustration. “We wouldn’t be tempting the Lord. How would we be doing that?”
Fronk cleared his throat, and then he spoke in a tone that Director Fuller usually used when he was sharing a devotional with them. “‘The devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth Him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto Him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God 1.’ ”
Bandjough fell silent as he considered what Fronk had just quoted.
“Well, that’s good enough for me,” LeBeau said. “If the Lord Himself said that it’s not good to tempt God, than I’ll go along with that! I’m not flyin’ over any part of Allentown unless He tells me in plain and clear English to do so.”
“What ever happened to that man in there,” Fuller said as he indicated the chamber beyond the Plexiglas barrier, “it has nothing to do with the rapture. That, Carr, I agree with you on.”
Carr nodded his head once, ignoring the gun pressed against his head by Lenox. “Of course, you do. But what you don’t understand, Director Fuller, is that what happened in there proves that the rapture never occurred. You would see that if you wouldn’t close your mind to the possibility of it.”
“You’re out of your mind,” Barrington declared. “That doesn’t prove anything other than your obsession with ruining the lives of innocent people. We need to get that woman out of there!”
Carr glanced at Lenox and shook his head. “That isn’t possible.”
Lenox intentionally pressed his weapon more, causing Carr to bend his head back. “What you just said is not acceptable.”
This time, Carr could not ignore what Lenox was doing. He swallowed. “If we let her out, the toxin gets out and we all die. Would that be more acceptable to you than keeping a criminal locked up in a quarantined room?”
Alyson remained silent as she witnessed the entire exchange of hostilities. Averill and the agents at the door looked as if they wanted to rush inside and start shooting, but they somehow maintained their positions. She saw that Meers was still outside, trying to film over the heads of the agents from Justice…but Shiva was out there, too, and he was standing beside Meers.
Alyson frowned. Is he talking to my cameraman? What are they talking about? Shaking her head from the distraction, she returned her focus on what was happening in the mobile unit.
Lenox glared at Carr. “I’m starting to get real tired of these games you play with other peoples lives. I don’t care if she killed the President of the United States. She isn’t a guinea pig.”
Carr snorted. “We all know who killed the President. This woman is guilty of other crimes and --”
Barrington interrupted his train of thought as he pounded his fist on the Plexiglas. “Miss! Hey, ma’am! Can you hear me?”
Inside her prison room, Danielle remained with her back to the wall, slumped on the floor as she hugged her knees. She did not appear to hear Barrington.
Barrington turned to the FEMA agent. “Can she hear us?”
The man nodded.
“How long will it take to decontaminate the room from the toxin so we can get in there to help her?”
“You can’t do that,” Carr replied, trying to keep his anger from surfacing. “You are interfering in matters that do not concern you.”
Lenox grabbed a hold of Carr by the collar and dragged him over to the first sealed door leading into the chamber. “You’re going in there! Someone open this door.”
From the entrance, Averill tried to see around Fuller, Staci, and Barrington. “Hey! Lenox, what are you doing?”
Lenox ignored him as he shoved Carr’s back against the sealed door. “Al, get the code from Carr’s lackey.”
Barrington turned to regard the FEMA agent. “If you cooperate -”
The man interrupted by speaking out a series of numbers. Then, he said, “I do my job, but…this is turning into something I had no desire to get involved in.”
Carr let out a sigh. “Lenox…you have to stop doing what you’re doing. I am fighting for the truth, and -”
“Stop it!”
Silence descended upon the room. One by one, all heads turned toward the source of the unexpected shout.
It was Staci and she appeared to be angry. “Just stop it!” she exclaimed once more. “While you people waste time trying to show each other how tough you all are, that woman in there needs medical attention. I don’t care what you do, but you will find a way to get me in there, and you will do it right now!”
The FEMA agent hesitated. “There are environmental suits.”
“How many?”
“There are two in this unit.”
“Great. Get me one…and someone needs to come with me.”
Barrington nodded. “I’ll go.”
Staci nodded. Then, she turned to Lenox. She paused. “I know you want to kill him, but you really do need to put your weapon away.”
Lenox let out a sigh. Then, he caught Fuller watching him. Hesitantly, he put his weapon back into its holster and released his hold on Carr.
Staci smiled at Lenox. “Thank you. Now if you’ll excuse us, we have someone who needs our help.”
Barrington and Staci were led by the FEMA agent to the lockers that held the suits. With determination, Staci put hers on as quickly as she could. All she wanted to do was help the woman trapped inside the chamber.
Saint felt it was better to approach Amber Eastwood as delicately as possible. He didn’t know her so he was concerned about how she would react when confronted with the actions of her past. He led Yeomans and Faye toward the back of the silo where the entrance of the shelter was. They climbed into it and made their way into the makeshift kitchen area where Donna Perkins, Saint’s wife, Chris, and Amber Eastwood were preparing dinner.
Amber was cutting tomato slices, but she stopped when she saw Yeomans.
Yeomans nervously waved at her. “Hi, Amber.”
Amber simply nodded, then went back to slicing into another tomato.
Donna glanced from one to the other, concern evident in her eyes. “Hello yourself,” she said. She turned toward Saint. “John, I know we need to be willing to make room for more people, but…the room we have is decreasing quickly.”
Yeomans and Faye looked at each other. They looked guilty.
Donna moved towards them. “Oh, no no. I didn’t mean to imply there was no room for you. I was just stating an undeniable fact that we’re going to have to face sooner or later anyway.” She held out her hand. “My name is Donna Perkins.”
“Larry Yeomans,” Yeomans replied, shaking her hand. “This is my better half, Faye.” He glanced at Amber.
Saint clapped Yeomans on the shoulder. “Well, Larry…Faye. This here is my wife, Chris…and contrary to you, I’m her better half.” He winked playfully at Chris.
Chris held out a knife toward him. “Keep it up, mister. I know where you sleep.”
“You bring that knife with you tonight, and I’ll keep my eyes open all night long.”
She slashed at the air and continued to cut into a chunk of roast beef, spreading cubes of the meat aside in preparation for the stew.
Donna looked once more from Amber to Yeomans. “I take it that you two know each other…?”
Amber nodded, but remained silent.
Yeomans nodded, too. “Yeah. Her husband worked at the same company. The Tarantine Textile Company.”
Amber continued to make preparations for the stew and avoided eye contact.
Donna pursed her lips with concern. “Were you friends?”
Yeomans shook his head. “No. Not really. Her husband and I worked in separate offices. We only know each other from family picnics that the company had for the employees.” He hesitated. “Amber…can we go somewhere and talk?”
Amber shook her head.
“Please…It’ll only take a moment.”
But Amber continued with her task.
Yeomans let out a sigh.
“Just tell her,” Faye encouraged. “We’re among other believers now and no one here is going to be throwing around any harsh judgments.”
Yeomans nodded. “Alright.” He turned and regarded Amber with hesitation. Finally, he said, “It’s okay, Amber. We know about the $60,000 and why you took it. By all rights, it was yours to begin with anyway. I know it was from your husband’s life insurance through the company and that you were supposed to get it, but…Mr. Tarantine decided to try and keep it for himself. You only took what was yours.”
Amber looked at him, but still remained silent.
Yeomans paused. “Anyway…I just wanted to let you know that it’s okay.”
Amber put her hands on the table, leaned forward and glared at Yeomans. “You think it’s okay to steal $60,000?”
“Well, no, but-”
“I didn’t want $60,000! I wanted my husband back! That company took him from me, and they owe me more than $60,000 and an apology for my losses! Who does Tarantine think he is? I took that money not because it belonged to me, but because it didn’t belong to your boss! And you think it’s okay?” She pointed at him with her knife. “Well, it isn’t! And it won’t be until he gets what is coming to him.”
“Amber, if he doesn’t reach a point in his life where he’s still able to accept Christ, then he will get what he deserves and a lot more. But you can‘t want that for him. No matter what he‘s done, Christ died for him, too, and we need to pray for him to find salvation before it gets to be too late for him.”
Amber took a deep breath. She nodded slowly. “I know. And that’s what I’m struggling with. I want to hate him for what he’s done. I’m really struggling with wanting God to snatch him from the flames of Hell because I want to push him there myself!” She paused as she regarded everyone. “I’m trying not to hate. It’s a shortcoming I have right now, and I could really use your prayers.”
Donna nodded her head encouragingly. “You’ll have more than our prayers. You have our love, too, Amber.” She smiled. “It’s good to know that you can really talk.”
“After a while, you may not think so.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because I say it like it is.” She tapped her forehead. “If it’s in here…” She touched her fingers to her lips. “…it comes out here.”
Saint clapped his hands together. “There’s nothing wrong with that, sister…to a point. Look, why don’t we all huddle up and go to God right now in prayer. We can all tell Him like it is, even if He already does know.”
“We need to pray about our living arrangements, too,” Donna reminded him.
“I may have an idea about that,” Yeomans said.
Saint regarded him with a look. “Really? What would that be?”
“There’s another location we can use.” Yeomans paused. “There’s a place I know that would hold everyone here, and then some. We’d have to look into it first.”
Saint nodded his head. “That’s good news. Let’s pray about it and then we’ll go see David to make plans.”
The six of them gathered in a circle, held hands and went to the Lord in prayer. As they prayed, God listened and He answered.
Hoag lowered his weapon and looked at Morris. He didn’t want to explain himself to anyone, but he felt that he owed it to Morris anyway. Morris had always been one to stand up for the law in Willow Creek. He had been a positive influence in the town meetings, but that influence had left when the man had decided to join up with Saint and the others.
Hoag re-holstered his weapon.
“Sheriff,” Morris began with concern, “are you here to cause trouble?”
Hoag looked at him. “You think I’m here to cause trouble?”
“You’re hiding in the barn, eavesdropping on conversations not meant for you.”
“Or for you,” the Sheriff pointed out.
Morris nodded once. “Maybe so…but I knew you were in here and that’s why I waited around.”
“How did you know I was here?”
“I was going around the barn when I saw you climb in through the chute above the pig trough.”
Hoag shook his head. “Tony, why are you here?”
“Because I happen to believe in what’s going on and I want to do something about it. I want to be able to participate in the work that God has given us to do. A work that is far more important than earning a paycheck. A work that saves souls, Sheriff. Everyone here is a part of that. Except for you.”
“And that man who was just in here.”
“Are you referring to David?”
“You mean Darwyn Musad!” Hoag snapped. Then, he let out a sigh. “But I meant the other man who was with him. He doesn’t seem…sincere.”
Morris regarded him. “And David King…or, as you’re so insistent on calling him…Darwyn Musad. What about him? Do you think he sounded sincere?”
Hoag hesitated. “I don’t know what to think.”
“I can vouch for him.”
“Of course, you can! Everybody here can vouch for him. Tony, I put a bullet right into him and it passed through him without leaving a mark! Even that gives him credibility that he’s telling the truth!”
“Then why can’t you accept it?”
“Because I don’t understand it!”
Silence descended upon them and Morris waited to see if the Sheriff had anything else to say. When he didn’t, he said, “Look, Sheriff…I wasn’t there. Did the bullet really go through him?”
“He was standing in Pastor Worsham’s office and he was on the other side of the desk. I pointed my gun right at him and pulled the trigger. There was no way I could have missed. I left the room, thinking he was dead, but when I saw him standing there outside the church later that evening with not a mark on him, I couldn’t believe what my eyes were telling me! He should have been dead, and I can’t for the life of me explain why he isn’t! I came here to see if I can make any sense of it.” He shook his head. “Why didn’t he die, Tony?”
Morris shrugged. “Maybe God really does have a plan for him. And you need to have a good long talk with him about it.”
“But he’s a terrorist!”
“He was. Not any more. Do you want me to tell him that you‘re willing to have a talk with him?”
Hoag hesitated. “Sure, Tony. Why not? Go tell him I’ll meet with him.”
Morris turned to go.
Hoag turned around and paced forward a few feet. “This world has gone crazy.”
Morris stopped and turned to regard him. “What was that, Sheriff?”
Hoag paused. “I said this world has just gone mad. God has his hand on people who were once terrorists and people you know and trust every day have gone berserk! They‘re out for blood.”
“What do you mean?”
“The folks back at home, Tony…”
Morris paused. “What about them?”
“They torched the church. They broke into the Willow Creek Baptist Church and set it on fire.”
1 - Matthew 4:5 - 7
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