by Cliff Ball
Chapter 21
At around the same time, Brian Atwood was preparing to return to Delaney after serving his four years in the United State Air Force. As he was preparing to leave, his commanding officer asked him, “How come you’re not re-enlisting? We could use more men like you in military security,”
“I appreciate you asking me, but I’m not really comfortable with the various stuff that goes on in today’s military. I can’t say my father didn’t warn me when I told him what I was going to do,”
“What kind of stuff are you uncomfortable with? Maybe we can fix it?”
“I don’t think you could fix any of it. I’m uncomfortable with the anti-Christian bigotry, which is led by homosexuals, and the deferral to United Nations troops really kind of annoys me,”
“You’re right, not of that can be fixed. I wouldn’t let the General hear you complain about homosexuals being bullies, he thinks they were very mistreated twenty plus years ago, so he lets them get away with a lot of stuff, including being bigoted towards Christians. They definitely couldn’t get away with treating Muslims that way, but that’s a whole ‘nother discussion altogether. As for the U.N., blame that on our government, who hasn’t seen a progressive socialist cause they haven’t liked since the last half of the twentieth century. Anyway, did being in the Air Force help you at all?”
“Yes, it did, it helped me decide on a career path,”
“What would that be?”
“I want to work for the FBI,” replied Brian.
“That’s an interesting choice, considering you’re not too fond of this government,”
Brian shrugged, “Maybe I can influence the government to go back to traditional American values from the inside. I don’t know. I do know that I prefer law and order over chaos and I don’t want to see thugs get away with murder, terrorism, domestic abuse, or anything like that. Or, I could just join my town’s police force. I think I’ll pray about it to see what God wants me to do,”
“Well, good luck with whatever you do in the future, Brian.” the two men shook hands and then Brian finished up what he was doing so he could leave Barksdale Air Force Base and head back to Delaney.
Since Brian was driving back to Nebraska, he had to inform the TSA where he was headed, as he was going directly by interstate most of the way. Of course, he had to stop every time he crossed state lines, let the TSA rifle through his stuff, even though they could clearly see he was former military, but it didn’t seem to matter to these union thugs, because they clearly enjoyed harassing their fellow Americans. Brian really wanted to mouth off to these guys, but they were authorized to do whatever they wanted in the name of security, so he decided against it. As he drove, he prayed for guidance on what he should do: apply at the FBI or join Delaney’s police force. Brian had the impression and constant thoughts afterward about the FBI, so he decided that he would apply for a job with them when he got home. Two days later, after twelve hundred miles, Brian arrived in Delaney.
He parked his car in front of Atwood Farm Supply and went inside the building. His brother, Frank, was stocking shelves, so he sneaked up behind him, and said, “I need help,”
Startled, Frank dropped what he was holding, which clattered to the ground, and Frank whirled around to face his brother. “Don’t do that!”
“Sorry,” Brian said, with a look of mischief on his face.
“Moron, but, welcome home!” Frank gave Brian a bear hug to emphasize the point.
“I. Can’t. Breath.”
“Oh, sorry!” Frank stopped hugging Brian, and said, “Sometimes, I forget my own strength,”
“Whatever you say, Frank. By the way, where’s Dad?”
“I’m right here,” replied Aaron, who was coming out of the backroom where all the merchandise was stored.
“Hi, Dad, I’m home.” then they hugged each other.
“We’re glad you’re back, but when did you get back?”
“Today,”
“Really? Have you been out to the house yet to see your Mom?”
“Not yet. I was driving past here, so I figured I’d drop in first to see you two. Now that I’ve done that, I’ll head home. See you guys later.”
Brian found Mary Anne working in her garden, but she’d heard the car drive into the driveway, and was getting up from the ground as Brian approached. “Hi, Mom!”
“Brian, when did you get back?” she asked, as they hugged.
“A few minutes ago. I know, I should’ve called before I left Barksdale, but I wanted to surprise you,”
“Don’t worry about it, you coming home is a wonderful surprise. Have you seen your Dad and Frank yet?”
“Yeah, I just left from there. So, what’s going on?”
“Nothing really, I’m gardening. Oh wait, there is something going on. Elizabeth Delaney said that Lynda is coming home for summer break at the end of this week. When’s the last time you saw her?”
“I don’t know, probably when I left for the Air Force. Hard to keep up with all my friends since I was so busy. What’s she been up to?”
“According to Elizabeth, Lynda has a 4.0 grade point average, and I hear that Pensacola Christian is pretty tough for someone who wants to teach in a Christian school environment. I think she graduates next year,”
“That’s interesting. Maybe the two of us can catch up over the summer. Where’s Melissa?”
“Your sister and her friends are around; they just got out of school last week for the summer. She’ll be glad to see you too, you know,”
“I’ll be glad to see her too. Anyway, what’s for dinner? I’m hungry,” Brian patted his stomach to show that he was starved.
“If you’re so hungry right now, go fix yourself a sandwich. You know where the kitchen is. Later on, I’ll fix up some hamburgers for supper. Love ya, Brian.”
“Love you too, Mom.” Brian replied, as he went inside the house to fix himself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Later that day, the whole family was gathered around the dinner table to eat. As they were eating, Aaron asked Brian, “Do you know what you’re going to do now for a career?”
“I’m going to apply to work at the FBI. I went to their website earlier and saw some openings I could apply for that are in Omaha, and it’ll help I did police work in the Air Force,”
“Why would you want to work for the government? It’s a tyranny and has no place for people like us. I should’ve really moved this family somewhere like the Amish country in Pennsylvania or some Doomsday Prepper community out west back when I thought about it. Too late now,” grumbled Aaron.
“Are we really going to go through this again, Sweetheart? Dear, maybe God wants Brian in the FBI for some reason unknown to us, and if he doesn’t try, he’ll regret it for the rest of his life. Please don’t get upset,” Mary Anne asked of Aaron.
“He should know my feelings on the subject, but, he’s an adult, he can work wherever he darn well pleases. But, if you’re called on to round up fellow Christians, don’t be shocked, because you were warned,”
“Dad, that won’t happen,”
“How do you know that won’t happen? Can you guarantee it won’t?”
“No, not really, but, don’t you think God will take care of us if Christians were rounded up? Maybe we’ll be caught up in the Rapture before it happens. Only God knows what the future holds,”
“Aaron, he’s right, you know,” replied Mary Anne.
“Yeah, yeah. I know we should rely on God, but these idiots who run our country really tick me off. Maybe you’ll be able to help change it, I don’t know. I’ll drop the subject and then we can enjoy the rest of our meal.”
The next morning, Brian went online to the jobs website the federal government used to advertise job openings. He found what he wanted and there was an opening in Omaha, so he uploaded his resume, filled out all the appropriate information, and clicked send. Knowing how the government worked, he figured he wouldn’t hear anything or get an e-mail about the
status of the application until a couple of months from now. In the meantime, Aaron would allow him to work at the store until Brian found out one way or another about the job.
A little later in the day, Michael Evans was told by one of his people, “Sir, we received a ping on the Atwood family that you told us to keep an eye out for. A Brian Atwood has applied for a job with the FBI in the Omaha office. What would you like for me to do?”
“Do you have the application with you?”
“Yes, Mr. Evans, here,”
Michael was handed the application, looked it over, and then said, “Interesting. I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to corrupt one of them. When he’s worked there long enough, we can offer him a job in Washington, maybe when Collins is President. I want you to fast-track this application, get him in the job long before it’s usual for the government to respond to applications. Inform the interviewer we want him to be hired as soon as possible. Can you do that?”
“I will get on that, Mr. Evans. Do you need anything else?”
“No, that’s all I want. Good job.”
******
