Year One
Episode #11 - Quake
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“And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars:
see that ye be not troubled:
for all these things must come to pass,
but the end is not yet.
For nation shall rise against nation,
and kingdom against kingdom:
and there shall be famines,
and earthquakes, in divers places.
All these are the beginning of sorrows.”
- Matthew 24:6 - 8
And he (Elijah) said, I have been very jealous
for the Lord God of hosts:
for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant,
thrown down thine altars,
and slain thy prophets with the sword;
and I, even I only, am left;
and they seek my life, to take it away.
And he said, Go forth,
and stand upon the mount before the Lord.
And, behold, the Lord passed by,
and a great and strong wind rent the mountains,
and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord;
but the Lord was not in the wind:
and after the wind an earthquake;
but the Lord was not in the earthquake:
And after the earthquake a fire;
but the Lord was not in the fire:
and after the fire a still small voice.
- I Kings 19:10 - 13
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“God is not an angry child.”
- Director Darren T. Fuller
Prologue
Unbalanced
Matthew Lambert sat up on the back end of an ambulance, holding a damp towel to the back of his neck. He had told the paramedics that he was fine, in fact, repeatedly so. When they saw the grim resolve in his dark eyes and the barely restrained anger, they finally backed away. They understood his anger.
At least, they only thought they understood it. They believed he was angry because he felt personally responsible for what had happened at the White House only hours before. That it was his fault the President had met his demise at the hands of terrorists. Now there was only one option left for Lambert and that was to hunt the ones responsible for this atrocity and bring them to justice.
That is what the paramedics thought was going through the mind of the secret service agent.
They were wrong.
Lambert’s rage was a lot deeper than that. And it began to come to the surface when he happened to glance up and noticed who was coming his way. It was ATD agents he recognized. Albert Barrington, Marc Shiva, and Erin Greye. But walking just ahead of them was Michael Lenox and he was leading the way. And when Lambert realized that they were heading right for him, he almost lost control of his rage.
Fighting to keep that control, he rose to his feet and met them before they arrived at the ambulance. Not one of them was aware that Alyson Moore and Rick Meers were approaching from the long stretch of drive way in front of the White House.
Lambert stopped in front of Lenox, glaring at him. “I want a word with you.”
Lenox ignored the fact that the secret service agent was referring just to him. “Fine. We want a word with you as well, so I guess that works out for all of us.”
“No…not with them.” He poked a forefinger at Lenox’ chest, emphasizing his point. “Just you.”
Barrington looked from Lenox to Lambert. It wasn’t hard to notice the hostility between them. “Michael…what’s going on?”
Lenox kept his eyes on Lambert. “Nothing. This will take just a moment.”
Lenox followed Lambert away from the others back toward the ambulance. The two men climbed into the ambulance through the back and Lambert pulled the doors closed, giving them privacy.
Lenox leaned back against the wall and folded his arms across his chest patiently. He didn’t even bother to say anything. Instead, he waited for the secret service agent to begin the conversation. A conversation that he felt was unnecessary.
Lambert faced Lenox angrily and pointed at the man’s face. “You shot me.”
Lenox waited still for more to come, so he remained silent.
Lambert scowled. “Did you hear what I just said?”
“I heard.”
“Well? Aren’t you going to say anything?”
Lenox paused. “You pulled me in here to complain because I shot you?”
“You weren’t supposed to shoot me!”
“I don’t believe this. Lambert, shooting you helped us create an alibi for you. I knew you were wearing a vest and I had assumed you were willing to go along with the plan. Apparently, I was wrong. Maybe I should inform the Man that you want out.”
Lambert frowned. “That’s not what I’m saying.”
“This meeting between us was uncalled for. Everyone who saw us go in here is going to wonder why we’re in here. The sooner we’re done, the better.” He headed for the doors, moving around Lambert.
The secret service agent ran his hand through his hair. “Yeah…but you shot me.”
“Do you want an apology?”
“Look. I wasn’t expecting to be shot.”
Lenox regarded him. “For what it’s worth, we accomplished what we set out to do. The Man is safe. People will think he’s dead so no one will come after him and that will leave him and you free to continue with the plan. So…all in all, a job well done. This meeting is over and there won’t be another one.”
Lambert sighed, reaching the door before Lenox did. “That wasn’t an apology.”
“I wasn’t offering one.”
“Figures.”
Lambert pushed the doors at the back of the ambulance open and he was the first one out. Lenox stepped out after him, closing the doors behind them.
Director Darren T. Fuller and Advocate Tristian Salvadori were alone in Fuller‘s office at the Federal Building in Albany.
Fuller didn’t say anything.
Salvadori, on the other hand, knew what he was going to say. He also felt as if he could take all the time he needed to say it. He smiled. “Ed Carr is a puppet…but he has his uses from time to time.”
“What can I do for you, sir?” Fuller asked politely.
“Your personal assistant seems to fear me.”
“She’s been under a lot of stress.”
Salvadori smiled as if to humor him. “I know she fears me, Director. In fact, I know that all of you fear me because of some crazy notion of who you think I am.”
Fuller shook his head. “I have no fear of you. And I happen to know exactly who you are.” He paused. “I just don’t know the purpose of your visit here today.”
“Then, perhaps I should tell you.”
Fuller didn’t respond. He simply waited.
Salvadori shrugged. “Fine. I will tell you why I am here. I am here to simply give you fair warning.” He opened his mouth to continue, but was interrupted by a sudden, unexpected tremor.
The tremor was then followed by a quake.
Both men were so startled that they lost their balance and began to try to keep from falling. Fuller was about to fall, but it suddenly felt as if the entire office literally shifted. He found himself thrown into the wall face first. As he fought to keep from losing consciousness, Salvadori was having his own difficulties. In spite of it, however, he always somehow managed to stay on his feet.
Then, there was a horrendous crash. For one long second, Fuller actually believed the building was collapsing. Once again, he found himself off balance and almost flying through the air. In horror, he saw where he was heading for and knew he would not be able to stop what was coming. All he could do was place his face in his arms, shielding himself as he hit the window.
Glass shattered, and he was outside of his office. His eyes widened as he saw the city. Somehow, it seemed completely unbalanced. Then, he realized a heartbeat later that it didn’t matter. He was about to plummet down to the street below and literally fall to his death.
Just as he began his descent, something caused him to stop falling and he hit the side of the building.
“I’ve got you,” exclaimed a voice from above him.
Startled, Fuller looked up and could not believe his eyes.
Salvadori was hanging out of the broken window with a firm grip on Director Fuller’s left ankle.
The question remained. Would the Antichrist pull him back into the building thereby saving his life…or would he simply let go and allow Fuller to fall to his death?
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