Wings of Deception

by Pamela Carron

  Honey followed her and sat on the bed stroking Sheila’s long hair that had lost the pins which had held it up.

  “No. No Sheila, you have to be brave. We have to be brave and not think like that. Come on. I am going to see if that door over there goes to a washroom. I will get you something to wipe your face.”

  She found that it was a bath and it was amply supplied. Wetting a cloth, she took it and put it in Sheila’s hands, watching as she wiped her face. Sheila, feeling shame, stopped suddenly and looked at Honey with a troubled face.

  “I am so sorry, Honey. I will stop acting like a child. I know we will figure out how to get out of here.”

  “I don’t blame you one bit. I feel like crying myself but….hey! My cell. I still have it!”

  She reached into her pocket and pulled out the little cell phone. They both looked anxiously while she turned it on to see if there was any service.

  “There is a bar!” Honey excitedly punched at the numbers 911 and held the phone as it started to ring and was devastated when it suddenly went blank.

  “NO! No, no!” Honey screamed at the phone. “You can’t do this!” She kept trying to get it to come back on without any luck. It was dead. She put her head in her hands covering her face but uncovered it when Sheila said, “What did Garrett mean when he said we could call him Asa?”

  Honey looked up. “I am not sure. Why would he want to be called Asa? Where is Asa anyway? Maybe Dwight was right and he died that night with a heart attack. I don’t feel one bit guilty hoping he did!”

  “That is what I’m saying. Something really weird is going on. Garrett was acting totally strange. I was around him enough to know his personality and it was like he….”

  Honey finished her sentence. “….Like he was not Garrett but actually like Asa. You are right. I never met Garrett but I felt like I knew him when I first saw him tonight.”

  Sheila added, “And I never met Asa but I knew Garrett pretty well when I was with Morgan. I am telling you he acted nothing like himself.”

  “So, what do you think is going on?” Honey asked.

  “Honey, I know this is crazy, but do you think that night on the roof….no, it couldn’t be.”

  “Could not be what? Sheila, what do you think happened that night? Tell me!”

  “It was some sort of ritual. We know that but just what was going on? Think! When we got there Jacks was about to do something. Asa told him to come into the circle with him, right?” She didn’t stop for Honey to comment but went on, getting to her feet. “When Jacks was distracted by you and stopped turning towards you, it was Garrett who threw himself into that circle with Asa. Remember Dwight said that Asa collapsed, he seemed sure he was dead. Garrett stood up and ordered Jacks killed. You see? No one would have obeyed Garrett! He was a wimp. They would have laughed at him….don’t you get it? Garrett became Asa, that very night! Or, whatever evil was in Asa, went into Garrett. I am sure of this. Why haven’t we thought about this before?”

  “Is such a thing possible?” Honey was doubtful.

  “I know there is evil involved with all that has happened, all that I went through with Morgan. I now believe it was even more than I thought. Honey, Asa was….is evidently the leader of them all. He is what I heard them refer to as ‘master,’ and he was old. The evil that existed in him needed a new body.”

  “And he wanted Jacks! Sheila, if you are right and my mind cannot absorb such a thing. I mean, I know there is evil, but this is something that I find hard to believe could happen. Wouldn’t God stop such a thing?”

  Sheila sighed, “Honey, there are so many questions I have myself. I think God has to let this evil that exist play out to the end. I know that my parents used to say that a person could open themselves up to be possessed by an evil spirit and I believe it. Oh, I wish Dwight was here!”

  Honey agreed, “At least we have each other and they did not separate us. We can thank God for that. Now we have to come up with a plan to get out of this place. Where do you think we are? These mountains are humongous! I would not be surprised if there is a whole city in here. Did you see how that plane just eased down?”

  “Yeah, it was like a helicopter only it sure didn’t look like one. It hovered. Can you believe the whole side of the mountain just closed up? How in the world can something like this exist, without people knowing about it?”

  “I don’t know that either. I did notice the men who escorted us were odd. Didn’t you find them so?”

  “You mean because they never spoke?”

  “Not only that. They were almost like robots or zombies. Just obeying orders.”

  The door opened and Garrett came into the room and stood in front of them.

  “I see you two have got it all figured out.” He smiled and walked closer. There were two men still standing in the doorway.

  Honey stepped forward and demanded, “Let us go, you have no reason to keep us here.”

  “Ah, but I do. You see, you cost me a good man and when I lose something, I replace it. I figure he was worth at least two of you.”

  “It will do you no good to hold us against our wills, Garrett.”

  His eyes flashed and he snarled, “Thanks to you I have to tolerate his body but be assured, I am not Garrett. I think, according to your conversation, you know that already.”

  “You are watching us? How dare you?” Sheila spurted angrily, as she stepped closer to him with a raised hand in an attempt to strike him. He took her hand and twisted it, as the two men moved in to stop Honey from trying to protect her.

  Asa laughed with pleasure at the futile attempt to attack him. “I could break your neck with so little effort. Do not tempt me. I have use for you alive, at least for a while longer.”

  He waved the men back and let go of Sheila. “I thought Morgan a fool for becoming enamored with you, my dear, but I am beginning to understand better his reason for it now. Never mind him for I took care of his weak self.”

  Sheila’s eyes grew round as she stared at him in horror. “You?”

  “Well, not me personally, but yes, you may thank me for making you a widow. What? You would prefer to still be with him? I do not think so. I have something much better in mind for you.”

  With this, he laughed again and turned to leave but stopped at the door and turned back to them.

  “By the way, it is impossible to escape me so save your energy.”

  When the door closed Sheila balled her fist up and said, “Eweeeee, I could have killed him!”

  Honey was thoughtful though and moved around the room like a caged tigress trying to think what they could do to get away from the crazed man. She was thinking, he was not only crazy but now knew his spirit was evil. She was also trying to think of the verse that she remembered reading that said God’s people were not fighting a flesh battle but spiritual one and it had to be fought in the spirit. She could not remember it exactly and in frustration she was muttering to herself, “What is it? That verse!”

  Sheila, rubbing her arm, was still fuming over Asa’s visit. She looked up from where she had sat down.

  “What verse? What are you talking about?”

  “Shhhh…..they can hear us so whisper. There is a verse that tells us we fight not against the flesh but the spirit. Do you know it?” She came close to Sheila and used hushed tones.

  “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Is that the one?” Sheila whispered back without hesitating.

  “Yes! And that is exactly what we have to do. Sheila, I know you know more of the Bible than I do. I want you to help me memorize some verses. We have to utilize the Word against this man or…. whatever he is.”

  Sheila nodded her head in agreement. “You are right. Okay. We know there is a camera in this room and they can see and hear everything we do and say.”

  “What about the bathroom? It has a shower and we ca
n sit in there. Come on, let’s check it out.”

  Honey led the way to the small room and they looked around. The only space large enough for them to sit was the shower, so looking at each other and almost giggling, they went in and sat on the floor.

  “There! Every time we want to talk, we can just come in here. Now I want us to pray and then you teach me some scriptures. We are not going to let this devil win. Not when we have weapons to use against him!”

  “That’s right. The Word says one can chase off ten thousand and two….well let’s just say there is power in numbers girl! Let’s pray!”

  They spent at least an hour sitting in the shower before coming out and as agreed, each climbed in a bed and slept. Just a couple of hours sleep in the last forty-eight, was beginning to show. Both were past being tired. They were exhausted, and they knew they were going to need all the energy they could get for the fight for their freedom.

  They were not the only ones who were fighting. Ragas and another angel were leading their own war on the outside the fortress. It was a fierce battle and was strengthened only by prayers going up by and for Honey and Sheila.

  THIRTY-ONE

  Jacks took a taxi to the hotel to pick up some things and then to the place Sang-mi had directed him to go. It was a bar and being mid-day there was an emptiness about it that seemed normal for the time. An open sign flashed in the window. Jacks entered into the dreary atmosphere with caution. There was a lone woman behind the bar who just looked at him as he approached her.

  “Hello, you must be Rhonda. I am Jacks.”

  “I was expecting you,” She said, nodding in acknowledgment. Walking around to the front of the room, she locked the door. “Come with me.”

  Jacks reached automatically to where he had placed his small revolver, its feel giving him courage. He followed her through a back door which exposed a room flamboyantly furnished in hues of reds and yellows. Jacks looked around uneasily, as the woman walked over to a television set and flipped it on. Immediately, a picture appeared of the room Honey and Sheila were being held in and he could see them sleeping. His attention focused on the picture of the two women but quickly it disappeared and he stood staring at Garrett on the screen. He frowned deeply, hating the fact that Honey and Sheila were at his mercy. He stared at the pale, pockmarked face of his one time friend and was startled when he spoke.

  “Ah, so I see you have followed your instructions well, Jacks. Won’t you please sit and be comfortable. I am sure Rhonda will fetch you a drink. Won’t you my dear?”

  Rhonda turned to go and Jacks halted her. “No, I want nothing here except for you to tell me what you have done with my friends. Where is Asa…..? What are you trying to be, his right hand man since he so cold bloodedly killed Abe?” He wanted him to think he had no idea of what Dwight thought may have happened on the roof.

  Garrett was sitting. Jacks watched impatiently as he crossed his legs and lit a cigar.

  “Poor Jacks! Are you so naïve that you have not figured out what transpired on the roof the other night? Even your little girl friends have figured that out. I see you survived the knife, which is interesting. I can say I am really glad you did. I am sometimes too impulsive for my own good.

  “Okay, why don’t you tell me exactly what happened that night? Then we can get serious here. While you are at it, why not tell me the truth about me? I know now it was all lies. The little heartbreaking story you told me about my mother and why I was so important to you.” He had a small recorder on in his pocket. Though he believed Dwight was right about what took place, he wanted to hear this man admit that he was not Garrett, but Asa.

  “But all were not lies, my boy.” The man looked as if he were enjoying himself. “Simon was indeed your grandfather. I just borrowed his uh, body. Unfortunately, his health was not as good as I had hoped for. Not unlike Garrett’s here. He smiled a most irritating grin, as if remembering something fondly.

  “Who are you….rather, who is Asa?”

  “Jacks, one cannot expect to know all the secrets as just a human. I am who I am and have been since the beginning. A king above all and stripped to nothing unjustifiably. The entity your friends call God, is the true enemy here. I am just trying to unite the billions of souls he deserted a long time ago.”

  “This is your excuse for the horrible things you have done?”

  “I am afraid anything I have or have not done is not the issue here. I have two women praying their fool heads off to someone who is not going to help them. But you can.”

  Carefully Jacks chose his words. “Why would I?”

  “For in spite of your life of training for better purposes, you have developed a love for one of them. Not unlike my dear departed friend, Morgan. Foolish Jacks, to lay your heart at the feet of one mere mortal woman when you could have it all. Women, money and power….but there is still opportunity to redeem yourself.”

  “How?”

  “I want you to replace Abe. You see, in my anger I took the life of my most valuable man. Also unfortunately and thanks to you, I have this new home.” He made a gesture with his hand to indicate his body. “Nothing I can do to remedy that now. I can only change at the end of a life span. If you commit to me, all will be forgiven and you may do as you please with your friends”

  “So what happens if uh, if something happens to Garrett’s body before then?”

  Asa laughed with enjoyment at the game they were playing. “Then I get to play the field, so to speak, but will have no permanent home until the day I get my own beautiful body back. But enough of the questions! I want to know if you want these two women to live or not. It makes no difference to me one way or the other, mind you. Their outcome is strictly up to you!”

  “Okay. Say I want you to let them go. How can I be sure you will keep your word? You have not been exactly honest with me.”

  Asa stood up and walked close to the camera. “You can believe this; they will die if you do nothing!

  “So everything you told me before, about all the good you were doing, it was all just propaganda?”

  “The New World Order is not propaganda. It is a fact that will bring all people together as one.”

  “But before you denied there was a God, now you want me to believe there is one but he is not the good guy and you are. This makes no sense to me. Make me understand and I will do as you want.”

  A crafty look appeared on Asa’s face, which made Jack’s skin crawl but he tried to look interested.

  “You will get nothing more from me until we meet face to face.”

  “Then tell me where you are and I will come to you.”

  “I am not a fool Jacks, do not mistake me for one.”

  “Just saying….I would like to hear more about you, the real you, before I make up my mind. From what I am gathering from this conversation, there seems to be a conflict going on and I want to make sure I am on the winning side.”

  Asa contemplated Jacks words for a minute and decisively concluded, “Very well, I will see you, but know that if you try anything not to my liking, I will destroy those women without a thought.”

  “Fine. Where do we meet?” Jacks tried not to show his desperation. If he could only get to where Honey and Sheila were, he could help them, he was sure.

  “Tonight I will send for you. Make no contact with anyone until then and I do mean anyone Jacks. I will know if you do and….well use your imagination.”

  “Where should I be?”

  “Go back to your friend Sang-mi and you will be contacted there.”

  “Sang-mi, don’t tell me….”

  “No, I won’t tell you she belongs to me. It is just a matter of time until she too, will make a deal. Just a matter of time and she will belong to me.” With this, he laughed and the set went blank.

  Jacks turned around and the woman was gone. He made his way back to the front and saw that there were a few customers now sitting at the bar. She was too busy to notice him as he went out the door. His head was swimming w
ith the conversation he had just had and he touched the recorder, hoping it had picked up the entire thing. Sighing deeply, he hailed a taxi, instructing him to take him by the hotel. There he quickly added dialog to the voice recorder and left it on the dresser. At the front desk he gave the clerk the card the detectives had given him and asked that she call and have them come and pick up his belongings. He knew his phone was most likely monitored, so he dared not use it. He just hoped they would be prompt and figure everything out before it was too late. Then he made his way back to Sang-mi’s. She gave his still bleeding wound much needed attention, jabbering away in her native tongue.

  There was so much going on in Jacks mind that he was overwhelmed. Asa in Garrett’s body was almost more than he could comprehend. He was a smart man and was thinking that if something as evil as whatever Asa was, would admit that God did exist, then he had been wrong in thinking He did not. He concentrated on remembering everything he had ever heard about God. The most recent being what Honey had told him just days before. Coming to the conclusion that she was right and he was wrong, he began to wonder what would happen to him if he died. Surely he would not go to the same place as Honey or any other Christian. That meant he would be in the company of people or things like Asa. This did not sound thrilling to him. He secluded himself off from the comings and goings of the restaurant where Sang-mi was busy and did some heavy thinking. He wished he had someone to talk to but did not dare use the phone to call Dwight. He had no idea how to tell God that he did believe in Him or what to do about it. Remembering back to his early childhood how he was forced to pray did not appeal to him, so he took a deep breath and began his first talk with God since he was ten years old.

  “Okay God. It’s just me and you here and I need some help. Honey says you will help me if I believe. I have decided that you must be real because I have come face to face with someone who hates you and he really does believe you exist. This is the deal. I do not want to be on the same side of this thing between you and Asa as he, so I was wondering if you would take me on your side. I am not such a good person, but I am loyal. If you will have me, I know I would be a better person with you on my side. Honey says that you loved me from before and even gave your flesh life for me and now I believe that. I want to be on your side if you will forgive me and have me.”