Deceived

by Jerry B. Jenkins

  Over the din of the helicopters, Judd heard Mr. Stein yell, “He is risen!”

  “He is risen indeed!” Judd and Lionel yelled back.

  While Mark got some needed sleep, Vicki pulled Shelly aside and told her about her conversation with Judd.

  Shelly put a hand over her mouth. “How do you feel about it?” she said.

  “Excited. A little scared. I’ve liked Judd as a friend for a long time. It feels like something’s changed with him.”

  “Did he talk about the girl he was involved with?”

  “Nada?” Vicki said. “No, he didn’t mention her. But I’m sure he’ll tell me all about it when he gets back.”

  Shelly ran her tongue over her lower lip and tilted her head back. “Since we’re being honest about guys, I have a confession.”

  Vicki grinned, anticipating what was coming.

  “Conrad and I have become pretty good friends since our trip out west. We’ve been doing a Bible study together. And he writes me letters. Isn’t it romantic?”

  “If anything can be romantic these days, it’s writing letters to somebody staying in the same house with you. Does anybody know?”

  “We’ve kept it pretty quiet, but I think Charlie does.”

  Vicki smiled. “I have to remember that when Judd comes back.”

  Conrad knocked on the door and peeked in. Shelly winked at him. “I just told Vicki.”

  “I’m happy for you two,” Vicki said.

  Conrad nodded. “Vicki, there’s something on the news I think you’ll want to see.”

  Darrion turned the sound up as Vicki came into the main meeting room. “. . . found in an alley behind this building. Some experts believe there is a possible border war brewing among the gangs. But Global Community Peacekeepers don’t think that’s the case. They say the death of this man is payback for information he gave authorities after his arrest a few weeks ago.”

  Manny Aguilara’s photo flashed on the screen. “Global Community Peacekeepers have revealed that this man escaped from a Global Community jail, aided by gang members. This happened after he gave information incriminating gang leader Hector Rodriguez. Aguilara’s death—”

  Vicki put a hand over her mouth, waved, and asked them to turn the TV off. When she could talk, she said, “Manny would be alive if he had come back with us.”

  Conrad put a hand on her shoulder. “He sent an e-mail for you. We just found it.”

  Vicki took the printed page, wiped her eyes, and read.

  Vicki, Mark, and the rest of the Young Tribulation Force,

  I want to thank you for being so kind and helping me. You forgave me for not telling you the truth, but I believe it has turned out for the best.

  They’ve called a meeting and I’m to speak in front of a large group of gang members in a few minutes. I’m praying that God will open their eyes. I’ve been talking to my sister about God, and she listens but has not yet prayed. I wish one of you could be here or Zeke Sr. You would know exactly what to say.

  I will write and tell you what happened afterward. I hope you were able to find Claudia and get her to safety. Please remember to pray for me, as I will be praying for you.

  Sincerely,

  Manny

  Vicki stared at the letter and wondered what had happened in that meeting. Had the group planned to kill Manny all along? Had he even been able to tell them about God? Vicki closed her eyes and pictured Zeke welcoming Manny in heaven. She would see them again. The only question was, how soon?

  Judd waited outside the Humvee as long as he could, admiring the line of helicopters and vehicles headed for Petra. Westin shouted for him to get in when everyone was ready, and Judd made sure he had a seat by the window. Several Israelis who had not prayed with Dr. Rosenzweig jammed into the vehicle, acting fidgety about the three believers on board.

  “You don’t have to worry about us,” Westin said. “We’ll get you back to Jerusalem in one piece. What you do from there is your business.”

  The sky filled with Operation Eagle choppers. Soon, what Judd assumed was a squadron of GC choppers approached. A few GC airplanes also flew cautiously above the line of Operation Eagle aircraft.

  Lionel nudged Judd. “What are we going to do in Jerusalem?”

  “See if we can get back home before another war breaks out,” Judd said.

  “Do you really think there will be war?” a young man beside Lionel said.

  Westin looked in the rear-view mirror. “Knowing how much Carpathia hates followers of Jesus and Jewish people, and seeing as how the Bible predicts another great war, I don’t think there’s any way to deny it.”

  Judd glanced at his watch. It was now well past the 9 P.M. deadline, and as Judd had feared, GC Peacekeepers and Morale Monitors seemed on a mission to head off the fleeing Israelis. Westin flipped on the video scanner, and Judd couldn’t believe how many cars, buses, and trucks were on the road. GC squad cars passed them with lights flashing.

  “Can you hear any GC transmissions?” Judd asked Westin.

  Westin tuned in a GC frequency. Officers gave commands and coded communication Judd couldn’t understand.

  “I know what they’re saying,” an Israeli who had worked for the GC said. “They’re telling them to block the traffic heading toward Petra first. The initial squad cars are supposed to stop them. The second wave, up ahead, is supposed to stop us and search our vehicles.”

  For ten minutes GC squad cars passed. There were so many that Judd lost count and wondered how many aircraft the GC had sent.

  “I thought they were supposed to celebrate getting over their sores,” Lionel said.

  Westin leaned forward in his seat and peered out the windshield. “I think they are celebrating.”

  “But Micah was clear,” Lionel said. “They’re not supposed to hurt any of God’s chosen people or there’s going to be a worse plague.”

  “Does that mean us too?” one of the men in the back said.

  “If you want God’s protection,” Westin said, “ask Jesus to forgive you—”

  “Never!” the man shouted.

  “Then I can’t promise you won’t suffer the same fate,” Westin said.

  The Israelis talked among themselves about the locusts, the fiery hail, the water turned to blood, and other plagues they had experienced in the past few years. Judd wanted to shake them, repeat Chaim’s message, anything.

  A line of bright lights spread out on the road ahead of them and Westin slowed. “I don’t like the looks of this.” He rolled down his window and Judd heard loudspeakers.

  “By order of Potentate Carpathia, each vehicle must stop immediately. You are violating a curfew established by the potentate himself.”

  A few vehicles in front slowed and came to a stop. Westin gunned the engine and pulled off the road, kicking up dust behind them.

  Again the GC speakers came alive. “By authority of the Global Community and its risen potentate and lord, His Excellency Nicolae Carpathia, you are commanded to stop at once and surrender. Your passengers and cargo will be impounded by the Global Community. If you are in compliance with the loyalty mark, you will be free to go.”

  “Which means we’re dead if we stop,” Judd said.

  “You got it,” Westin said. “They take us in and they’ll make us take Carpathia’s mark or face the blade.”

  “I don’t get what’s so wrong with an identifying mark,” an Israeli said.

  “After what that monster did in the temple today?” another said. “I’ll never comply.”

  “Anybody who wants to get out and follow the GC, do it right now,” Westin said. He slammed on his brakes and slid into a huge culvert Judd assumed had been made during the wrath of the Lamb earthquake.

  Westin unlocked the doors but no one moved. “All right then, fasten your seat belts. It might get a little bumpy.”

  Judd’s mind raced, trying to remember all Tsion Ben-Judah had said. Judd believed Petra would have God’s protection, but what about believe
rs headed for Jerusalem with a vehicle filled with unbelievers? Judd closed his eyes and breathed a brief prayer as Westin put the Hummer into four-wheel drive and barreled out of the crater. The vehicle seemed to go straight up, then straight back down a rocky hillside.

  Judd remembered going on a ride at a mall when he was younger. The video display and the motion of the car made it feel like he was actually hurtling through space. Now he was experiencing a thrill ride of another kind on the ground in Israel.

  Judd leaned forward to watch the 3-D viewer in front. A line of choppers stretched miles behind them. He focused on one aircraft that seemed to hover above the others, and a smaller chopper pulled in beside it. The smaller helicopter appeared to be a Global Community craft and Judd wondered if it was armed.

  Westin careened over curbs and torn-up streets. They passed the line of GC squad cars along with other vehicles following Westin’s lead. Behind them, half the GC force was in hot pursuit.

  Judd glanced at the grid again. Choppers remained in line except for the two choppers hovering above. The smaller one quickly moved back, like an angry bull ready to charge. The larger chopper held its position until something flashed on-screen. Bullets!

  The smaller craft fired at close range. Judd closed his eyes and waited for the explosion.

  35

  JUDD looked again in horror as bursts of gunfire appeared on the screen in front of him. Judd had seen movies where these types of guns blew planes and helicopters out of the sky.

  The bullets entered the rear of the bigger chopper, flashed inside the cabin, and exited the front, but there was no explosion, no ball of flame, no helicopter falling from the sky like Judd expected. Instead, the Operation Eagle bird hovered as if nothing had happened.

  A Global Community chopper in front of the Operation Eagle bird veered crazily, its tail rotors struck by the bullets. It fell end over end and finally spun into the ground. A plume of smoke mushroomed from the wreckage.

  “What was that?” Westin said.

  Judd told him what he had seen and Lionel sat forward. “Maybe this is part of the protection God promised.”

  “Will we have that same protection?” an Israeli said.

  “It’s a trick,” the man next to him said. “They’re trying to scare us into believing.”

  “How could bullets go through metal and have no effect?” Westin said.

  “The boy’s making it up,” another Israeli said. “I saw the screen and I don’t think the bullets went through the first chopper. It was an accident.”

  Accident? Judd couldn’t believe it. God had clearly done another miracle in front of their eyes and these people weren’t seeing.

  Westin continued around slower vehicles, avoiding traffic jams by jumping curbs, shooting around barricades, and spinning through loose rocks by the roadside. When they crested a hill, lights of vehicles headed toward Petra shone in the darkness. Judd wondered if they had made a mistake going back to Jerusalem. Could they remain safe that close to Carpathia?

  Sam Goldberg held tight to a railing in the back of the vehicle driven by Mac McCullum. The truck bounced and weaved on and off the road as they tried to outrun GC vehicles. Sam answered questions from the new believers around him. Some seemed angry that they had not listened earlier, while others simply wanted to know more.

  “When did you become a believer?” one asked.

  “How long until Messiah comes back?” another said.

  “Will Carpathia attack Petra?” a woman behind Sam said.

  Sam answered the questions as best he could as they rumbled south. “How many of you have read Rabbi Tsion Ben-Judah’s Web site?” A few raised hands. “When we get to our destination, we’ll see that you have teaching that will answer all your questions.”

  Sam glanced out the window as Operation Eagle vehicles evaded more GC Peacekeepers and Morale Monitors. Sam didn’t understand why they hadn’t been fired upon. How was God protecting them?

  Leah Rose climbed into the front seat to talk with Mac, while the other American, Hannah Palemoon, remained quiet. Sam turned and was blinded by flashing lights behind him. GC Peacekeepers called through their PA system to pull over, but Mac kept going.

  The car sped forward and Sam looked at Mac. He was still talking, not paying attention to the GC vehicle. Sam glanced over and saw a guard pointing a submachine gun at Mac.

  Sam ducked, waiting for the gun’s bullets to rip through the vehicle. Mac had picked up a cell phone and was talking with someone, but Sam couldn’t make out the conversation.

  “Are we going to be killed?” an Israeli next to Sam said.

  Sam clenched his teeth. “I don’t know.”

  Mac stopped in the middle of the road and the GC squad car pulled in front of them. When a Peacekeeper got out, Mac quickly reversed and shot past them and the chase began again. When the squad car pulled alongside, Mac slammed on the brakes and Sam shot forward.

  “Sorry, friends!” Mac yelled. “Shoulda told y’all to buckle up!”

  Judd phoned Chang in New Babylon again and the boy seemed harried, audio blaring in the background. Judd learned of Tsion’s broadcast and had Westin turn on his radio. Sure enough, GCNN radio was airing Tsion, though they were trying to talk over him.

  “Are you putting Tsion on the air?” Judd asked Chang.

  “Who else?” Chang said.

  “Any idea how Carpathia is reacting?”

  “He’s not happy. He executed Walter Moon for not getting Tsion off the air.”

  “He killed the supreme commander? How do you know?”

  “We have a bug on his airplane, remember? And he’s ranting like mad, ordering troops in Israel to shoot to kill. He wants every civilian plane destroyed.” Chang paused, turning up Tsion’s audio. Carpathia’s voice rose in the background. “Listen to him,” Chang said.

  “… Run them down. Crash their vehicles. Blow their heads off. As for Petra, wait until we know for certain Micah is there, then level it. Do we have what we need to do that?”

  “We do, sir,” someone said.

  “In the meantime, someone, anyone, get—Ben-Judah— off—the—air!”

  “I will pray him off, Your Worship,” Leon Fortunato said.

  “I will kill you if you do not shut up,” Carpathia said.

  “Quieting now, Highness,” Leon said. Then, a gasp.

  “What!?” Carpathia said.

  “The water!” Fortunato said. “The ice!”

  “What’s happening?” Judd said, but Chang had put down the phone. Judd heard a faucet running.

  Chang returned, out of breath. “Judd, the water has turned to blood!”

  Vicki sent a reply to Manny’s e-mail, hoping somehow Manny’s sister would see it. As she surfed for any new information about what was going on in Israel, she noticed someone familiar on the television monitor and called the others together.

  “Is that Dr. Ben-Judah?” Shelly said.

  “Turn it up!” Conrad said.

  Tsion sat in front of a mostly empty wall. “Greetings. It is a privilege for me to address the world through the miracle of technology. But as I am an unwelcome guest here, forgive me for being brief, and please lend me your attention.”

  Conrad switched channels, but Tsion was on every one of them. “I don’t know how the Trib Force did this, but I’ll bet Carpathia will go nuts when he sees it.”

  “I want to give my encouragement to all believers in Messiah,” Tsion continued. “What we have witnessed at the temple should leave no doubt as to the identity of the man who calls himself potentate. His actions prove what we have been saying all along is true. Jesus Christ is the Messiah the Jews have long awaited, and he is coming back in power and majesty to rule and reign. Nicolae Carpathia is the Antichrist.

  “As new believers gather in a place of safety, I would remind you that time is running out. If you have not yet taken the mark of Nicolae Carpathia, avoid it at all cost. God has seen fit to warn us and get our attention by sending pla
gues among us. They are his divine way of getting our attention. More are coming as God judges the evil one and his followers.”

  Dr. Ben-Judah spoke of the events of the past few days and commented on Carpathia’s unbridled evil. In the past, Tsion had spoken much longer, and Vicki was surprised when he wrapped up his broadcast after only a few minutes.

  “I close with a word to those who are right now traveling to Petra. I wish you Godspeed in your journey, and I promise to travel to meet you there personally and address the one million brothers and sisters in the Messiah.”

  “I wonder if they’ll show that on television,” Shelly said.

  Sam had never felt so energized and terrified at the same time. He was busy helping believers understand their newfound faith, while their vehicle was pursued by GC Peacekeepers.

  A GC squad car flew past them again and stopped within inches of Mac’s bumper. Two men bounded from the car, yelling and waving their weapons. Mac drove past them again, and Sam watched the two level their weapons, then jump back into their vehicle. As they accelerated, Mac swerved left and braked, the rear of their vehicle sliding on the sand. Before the Peacekeepers knew what was happening, Mac had pulled in behind them.

  “All right, we’re going to try and …” Mac’s voice trailed off as the taillights ahead flashed bright red. He slammed on his brakes and the truck slid a few feet.

  Sam peered through the dust, wondering when the shooting would begin, but the squad car was nowhere in sight. It had somehow disappeared.

  Operation Eagle cars and trucks roared in the distance, and behind them another line of GC cars approached. Suddenly, one of the new believers screamed, “The earth has opened up!”

  Sam gasped at the chasm that had formed behind them and to the right, and before the pursuing GC officers could stop, they plunged in. The screech of its siren grew faint as the car dropped out of sight.

  Mac had jumped out and was now back in the vehicle, his voice quavery. “Our front tires are right on the edge. The thing must be hundreds of feet deep.” Mac carefully backed up, using the four-wheel drive, and slowly tried to find a way around the opening.