A photo of Mac McCullum flashed on the screen. The news anchor said, “We now have confirmed those members of the flight crew and the two passengers. Captain Mac McCullum was said to be one of the Global Community’s most experienced pilots, the person who usually flew Potentate Carpathia’s plane, the Phoenix 216. He is presumed dead, along with copilot Abdullah Smith, a former Jordanian fighter pilot and first officer for the Global Community.”
The news anchor paused. “We should be reminded that there are perhaps family members of these victims who are just now finding out about their loved ones’ deaths, and for that we apologize.
“Also among the dead, this woman, Hannah Palemoon. Originally from the United North American States, she was a nurse by profession, so one can assume she may have been on the flight to help administer the mark of loyalty here in Tel Aviv.
“Perhaps the most shocking casualty was a director in Potentate Carpathia’s cabinet, David Hassid. We understand he was one of the technical geniuses who helped behind the scenes in New Babylon. I’m sure His Excellency will miss the input of these colleagues, and again, our hearts go out to those who are family members and those who knew the deceased.”
Z-Van threw open the cockpit door and rushed inside. “Get me back to Jerusalem!” He eyed Judd and Lionel and cursed again. “And get these two off my plane.”
Westin started his preflight procedures and said, “Sir, we promised them—”
“I don’t care what you or I or anybody else promised. I want them off and I don’t want them back on. Understood?”
“Yes, sir,” Westin said.
Vicki and the others sat engrossed in the GCNN coverage of the situation in Iowa. Periodically the news switched to Israel to report on the plane crash that had taken four lives. Vicki whimpered when Mac McCullum’s picture appeared. The kids knew Mac was a member of the Tribulation Force.
The phone rang and Mark picked up as the kids continued to monitor the news. His eyes darted around the room. When he hung up he looked at Vicki. “If we’re getting out of here, we should do it now. Jim said the GC is converging. He sent an urgent message that a small convoy was fleeing south toward Kansas City. He thinks that’ll give us enough time to get on the road back to Wisconsin.”
“Is he getting out?” Vicki said.
“As soon as he knows we’re safe,” Mark said.
“Let’s go,” Colin Dial said, grabbing a few of their belongings.
“Wait,” Shelly said. “The van’s gone.”
“Take my family’s minivan,” Chad Harris said from the shadows.
Vicki turned to the young man and smiled. Chad had helped her deal with Natalie’s death. She put a hand on his arm. “Thank you for being here when we needed you.”
Chad nodded. “I hate to see you go, but you’ll always have a place here if you need it.” He took Vicki’s hand, then hugged her.
Conrad yelled and the kids rushed back to the television. The reporter was excitedly announcing that after an exhaustive search, Global Community authorities had found something about a hundred yards from the road. The camera zoomed into the darkness where two uniformed officers dragged someone through the brush.
“It appears to be a large man,” April Wojekowski said.
Vicki put a hand to her mouth as the group approached. Between the two GC officers was her friend Pete.
14
VICKI looked closely at the television, trying to see Pete. As the GC officers dragged him past squad cars, she noticed how pale he was. A large, red stain spread through Pete’s shirt.
Commander Fulcire moved in front of the camera and barked orders. The officers dragged Pete toward the chopper.
The reporter, April, touched the commander’s shoulder. “Sir, how did you make this arrest?”
“The chopper can see anything on the ground giving off heat,” Fulcire said. “Without the chopper, we’d have never found him in that clump of bushes.”
The camera focused on Pete, and the commander waved April through. It was clear they had worked out an agreement about this exclusive story.
“We have to go,” Colin said from the top of the stairs.
“Let Vicki watch,” Mark said.
Vicki knelt in front of the television, too stunned to cry. She had met Pete after the great wrath of the Lamb earthquake, as the kids were trying to escape from another GC commander. Pete had always been kind to Vicki, willing to listen or help. She knew God had changed him drastically, and it was difficult watching his arrest.
Vicki had hoped Pete would find a way out with another trucker, or perhaps locate a motorcycle or another vehicle. Now, as the officers trudged past a squad car, she knew her friend was in deep trouble.
The reporter thrust a microphone in front of Pete and yelled, “Sir, do you have anything to say?”
“Yeah, I sure do.” The camera zoomed in on Pete’s face. His hair was matted and filled with grass, his face streaked with mud. Vicki guessed Pete had tried to camouflage himself in the underbrush. She could only imagine what had gone through his mind as he lay bleeding, wet, and cold, watching the lights of the oncoming GC.
Pete caught his breath and looked into the camera. “Everybody watching needs to know that if they take Carpathia’s mark, they’ll regret it for eternity.”
April pulled the microphone away, but Pete grabbed it. “Jesus Christ is the true potentate. Ask him to forgive you!”
The officers wrestled the microphone from Pete and threw him on the ground. Pete yelled out the address to Tsion Ben-Judah’s Web site as they restrained him.
The reporter composed herself. “Well, that’s not a surprising response from an avowed Judah-ite. As we’ve been told, these fanatics will stop at nothing to push their beliefs on others.”
Pete was led to the chopper and shoved inside.
Mark touched Vicki’s shoulder. “We should leave.”
Vicki nodded. It wasn’t until she was in the van, driving away, that the tears finally came.
Judd stood and motioned Lionel to follow as Z-Van left the cockpit.
Westin shook his head. “I can’t let him treat you guys like this.”
“It’s okay,” Judd said. “We’ll find a ride to Jerusalem.”
“But I have to leave him sooner or later. Why not now?”
Judd stared at Westin. “When the time’s right, you’ll know.”
Westin handed Judd a wad of cash. “You can pay me back later. Look me up at Ben Gurion airport. I promised you a ride back to the States and I’m going to keep my word, no matter what he says.”
Westin grabbed a cell phone from a compartment behind him and handed it to Judd. “It’s solar powered. My number is the first one on the list. Call me if you have any problems.”
Judd and Lionel shook hands with Westin and headed for the stairs. When they were halfway down, Z-Van yelled at them from the doorway. His eyes seemed on fire and his face was tight with anger. “I’m going to tell them about you.”
Judd nodded. “I figured you would.”
“I could have given you up in New Babylon if I wanted.”
“Why didn’t you?”
Z-Van smirked. “I thought I could get you two to see the truth. I was going to make you GC poster children, you know, two kids who were once Judah-ites who did a 180. I was going to prove to everybody that people like you could be rehabilitated.”
“I guess there’s just no hope for us,” Judd said.
Z-Van clenched his teeth. “You’ll regret not turning. You’ll see how powerful His Excellency is in Jerusalem. I know what he’s going to do, and it’ll prove once and for all how wrong you are.”
Judd took another step down the stairs. “We know what he’s going to do too, and all it’s going to prove is that Nicolae is the enemy of the true God.”
Z-Van waved a hand, dismissing them, and went back inside.
When Judd and Lionel reached the terminal, the jet engines fired. The cell phone in Judd’s pocket rang and he answered it.
“I just heard Z-Van on the phone with airport security,” Westin said. “Get out of there as fast as you can.”
Judd quickly told Lionel what Westin had said. Since there was a fence around the runway, they had to go through the terminal. They rushed inside to the baggage claim area and ducked into a men’s room.
Judd checked the stalls and made sure they were alone. “They’ll be looking for two of us. Let’s split up and meet out front.”
“I wonder what Z-Van told them we did,” Lionel said.
“He’s probably ticked that we don’t worship Carpathia like he does.”
“Yeah, his album sales would go in the tank if everybody was a believer.”
Lionel walked out first and went to the right. Moments later, Judd walked out and turned left. He noticed a security guard standing watch by the door leading to the tarmac. Judd stared straight ahead and kept walking.
Judd spied three airport officials with walkie-talkies at the escalator leading upstairs to the street level. He turned into a hallway and found a wall of vending machines. As he put in a few coins, a radio crackled.
“Yes, we heard you,” a man said, “one black, one white, and they’re together. Do you have a description of their clothing?”
A candy bar fell with a clunk to the bottom of the machine, and Judd heard a noise down the hall. A cleaning woman exited a service elevator pushing a cart.
Judd raced toward her and managed to slip inside before the door closed. I hope Lionel made it out okay, he thought.
Judd pushed the button for the main floor, but nothing happened. He pushed other buttons, but the lights remained unlit. He was about to hit the Door Open button when the car shook and slowly moved upward. When it reached the main floor, Judd slid to the side and waited as another cleaning person walked inside.
Judd darted out the door and was down the hall before the man stuck his head out and said, “Hey, you’re not supposed to use this.”
Judd turned the corner and walked into the crowded terminal. Directly ahead was a row of exits, each with a security guard poised and watching. Several young men had been pulled out of line, so Judd kept moving, hoping he wouldn’t see Lionel in custody.
When he reached the end of the concourse, he glanced outside and noticed Lionel beside a small car, looking anxiously toward the terminal. Judd checked the exits again and spotted an emergency door at the far side of the room that led directly outside. Judd figured he would have no problem reaching Lionel before the guards realized what was happening, so he moved toward it, reading the sign on the lever that said, “Attention: Alarm Will Sound If Door Is Opened.”
Judd took a breath and hit the door running. Alarms rang throughout the concourse and a red light he hadn’t noticed swirled overhead. Whistles sounded behind him as Judd sprinted toward Lionel.
Lionel jumped in the back of the small car, pulled Judd in with him, and yelled, “Go!”
The driver was a short, Middle Eastern man, with graying hair and glasses. He turned to Judd and stuck out his hand as he pulled into heavy traffic. Judd shook it quickly, startled at the speed of the oncoming cars. Airport officials ran toward the street, but the car blended into traffic before they could reach it.
“I didn’t mean to scare you,” the driver said. Judd noticed the mark of the believer on his forehead. “My name is Sabir. It is nice to meet you, believer Judd. I will drive you to Jerusalem.”
Vicki sat in the backseat of the van with Cheryl. The only sound during the first few minutes of the drive was the sniffling of the kids. Mark rode with Colin in front, checking their route with Jim Dekker by phone. Shelly had her head on Conrad’s shoulder in the middle seat, wiping away tears.
As the sun slowly appeared over the horizon, everyone relaxed a little and ate sandwiches their friends in Iowa had made.
“What will happen to the other kids who came from the reeducation facility?” Cheryl said.
“They’re safe in people’s homes if they stay put,” Colin said. “I was staying at a place with a secret subbasement where the guys stayed. Even if the GC did house-to-house searches, I doubt they’d find them.”
Conrad checked the latest on the Web from the laptop. News of the plane crash in Tel Aviv was the top story. The world awaited the special ceremony in Israel the following day.
Cheryl put a hand on Vicki’s shoulder. “I’m really sorry about your friend. What’s going to happen?”
“They’ll probably question him, and when they’re done, they’ll offer him the mark of Carpathia.”
“But you said people shouldn’t take it.”
“Pete won’t. And he won’t tell them anything about us, no matter what they do.”
“He did that for us, just like Jesus gave himself,” Cheryl said, looking out the window at the passing landscape. “You know, I was really upset about being caught by the GC, but the way I see it now, it’s probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Vicki smiled. “When we get to Wisconsin, we’ll see if Colin’s wife can find you some prenatal vitamins.”
“What are those?”
“You take them so your baby will be strong and healthy.”
Cheryl gave her a pained smile and glanced out the window again.
“You want to talk about it?” Vicki said.
“There’s not much to tell. I grew up in an orphanage. I never knew my mother and father, but I always felt like they didn’t want me. I was sixteen when the disappearances happened. We woke up and most of the workers were gone. Little kids too.
“Later, I moved into an apartment with three girlfriends who were older and going to school. That’s when I met Thomas. He was a student at the university, and I loved him.” She frowned. “I thought he loved me.”
“What happened?”
“A month ago, I was out looking for work. I had lost my job. I went to his apartment and it was empty. He had left a note with one of my roommates saying that he was moving back in with his family, and that I shouldn’t look for him. I felt so alone and betrayed.”
Cheryl put her head in her hands. “My roommates laughed at me for believing Thomas could love me. I laughed along with them at first, but I couldn’t take it anymore and decided to leave.”
“Where did you go?”
“I lived on the streets for a while. Ate in soup kitchens and GC shelters. A few days ago I wandered into this grocery store without any money, which was a mistake. I smelled the fresh-baked bread and I had to have a bagel or something. I stuffed a couple in my pockets and I guess somebody saw me. They caught me outside and the GC brought me to that reeducation place. I was glad to have something to eat, but it wasn’t much fun.
“That’s when those girls started talking about God. I was drawn to them because they seemed to have so much love. Then I wondered if I was believing for the wrong reasons. You know, that I just wanted a family and somebody to love me so much that I’d fall for anything. But when you told me those verses and how God loved me, something happened I can’t explain. I knew what you were saying was true.”
Vicki smiled. “When I prayed with you and saw you didn’t have the mark, I was really scared. I’m glad you’re part of our family now.”
“I want to learn as much as I can and help other people know the truth,” Cheryl said. She paused.
“What is it?”
“I don’t want to be a bad influence on your friends.”
“You mean the baby?” Vicki said.
Cheryl nodded.
“We’ve all made mistakes. Big ones. God loves each of us, and he loves your child too.”
Vicki scooted closer. She had been thinking about Cheryl’s baby since she had heard the girl was pregnant. “Have you thought of what you’re going to do after the child is born?”
Cheryl winced. “It’s all so new. …”
Vicki wanted to tell Cheryl about the two boys she had been thinking of, but she had no idea why the names Ben and Brad had stuck in her head. “If there were someon
e who might want to take care of your baby, would you consider it?”
“Who?”
Vicki frowned. “Honestly, I don’t know. But would you be open to an adoption?”
Cheryl smiled. “If you think it’s a good idea, I’ll consider it.”
As the minivan rumbled through the back roads of Iowa, Vicki racked her brain thinking about the two boys. She ran through the faces of everyone she had met in the past few years. From Chloe Williams to Hattie Durham to her teachers at Nicolae High, she could think of no one with those names.
15
JUD kept watch behind them for signs of Global Community officers, but Sabir knew the roads well and was soon traveling through parts of Israel neither Judd nor Lionel had seen before.
“How did you get out of the airport?” Judd said to Lionel.
“I saw an African-American couple and started up a conversation. I went through the front doors with them, and I hoped security would think I was with them. They weren’t checking families.”
Judd explained how he had found the service elevator and eluded the guards. “I don’t know what Z-Van said, but they sure seemed anxious to get us.”
“You were with Z-Van?” Sabir said. “The one who screams and calls it music?”
Judd smiled and looked at the man’s eyes in the rear-view mirror. He seemed kind and good-humored, and Judd wondered what he had gone through in the past three and a half years. “If you think Z-Van’s music is bad, wait until you hear the new tune Leon Fortunato wants you to sing.”
“You mean ‘Hail Carpathia’? I’ve already heard it and have a different version.”
Lionel chuckled. “You came up with new lyrics?”
In his soft voice, Sabir sang the melody to “Hail Carpathia” with a mocking twist.
Hey, Carpathia, you’re not the risen king;
Hey, Carpathia, you don’t rule anything.
We’ll worship God until we die
And fight against you, Nicolae.
Hey, Carpathia, you’re not the risen king.
Deceived Page 10
