“I understand your need to get to Petra,” Westin said. “If you want to head to the airport, I’ll help.”
Judd hadn’t talked with Chang since the day before and wondered how he was doing. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed as a rumble shattered the darkness.
“Who could be flying an airplane in this darkness?” Gunther said.
Judd’s heart sank. “Rayford Steele.”
Chang picked up on the second ring, and Judd asked him where he was.
“We just took off from New Babylon. And you should have seen Nicolae.”
“He was at the airport?”
“Yes, and believe it or not, there’s a glow about him.”
“So you’re headed to Petra?” Judd said.
“We had to get out of here. I haven’t had a chance to tell Captain Steele about your situation. Where are you?”
Judd told him and Chang groaned. “I know that hotel. We could have waited another few minutes, I suppose, but not long enough for you to reach us. What happened at the concentration camp?”
Judd told him and Chang was overjoyed. He finally handed the phone to Rayford Steele, and Judd told the pilot what had happened over the past few days.
“Looks like you have two options, Judd,” Rayford said. “You can find our contact there—his name is Otto Weser—and wait for the next airlift out, or you can hop in that truck and head across the desert. Both scenarios have their problems.”
“I understand,” Judd said. “Did you learn anything in New Babylon?”
“Plenty,” Rayford said. “I made a contact inside the palace, met this Otto character, and we crashed a meeting of Carpathia’s.”
“You were actually in the room with Nicolae?”
“He didn’t know we were there, but yes. We overheard him telling his people he’s going to put an end to the ‘Jew- ish problem’ and he’s calling a meeting of all ten heads of the global regions. They’re going to meet in Baghdad to map out their strategy. And we found out Nicolae’s storehouse of nuclear weapons is hidden at Al Hillah.”
“The nukes the world gave up and he was supposed to destroy?”
“Right. He’s moving his operation there, though the palace will still hold his staff.” Rayford’s phone chirped. “I’ve got a call from San Diego. I’d better take this. Take care, Judd. Hope to see you in Petra soon.”
“Me too,” Judd said.
Vicki knew Judd was trying to put a good face on the situation, but she could tell he was disappointed to still be in New Babylon.
“I feel like I’ve failed you,” Judd said. “I promised I’d be careful, and I’m still in one of the most dangerous spots in the world.”
“Not if this is what God wants,” Vicki said. “I’m disappointed too, but look how God’s used you. We’ve prayed that we could reach more people, and that’s what happened.”
“We’ve made the decision to find this German guy, Otto Weser. Our group and Otto’s separated because of a disagreement, but maybe we’ll all get out of this and get to Petra.”
Vicki kept her composure until after she was off the phone with Judd. Then she ran to her cabin, buried her face in her pillow, and wept.
Two days later Vicki found herself among her friends, praying for Judd and asking God to protect him and the other believers in New Babylon. Judd had called twice and updated her on their progress. They had found Otto Weser and what Judd termed a safe place to stay and perform their operations against the GC. Judd also said they had an option of driving into the desert to hide, but that for the moment they were staying in New Babylon.
What happened next took Vicki’s breath away. Mark was monitoring different news feeds and came upon Anika Janssen anchoring live from Detroit. “On the preview they mentioned something about an important arrest,” Mark said.
“Where?” Vicki said.
Mark pointed at the screen and turned up the volume.
“Good evening,” Anika Janssen said. “Darkness continues to plague Global Community International Headquarters in New Babylon at this hour. It is confined to the borders of the city and is believed to be an act of aggression on the part of dissidents against the New World Order.
“GC Chief of Security and Intelligence Suhail Akbar spoke with us by phone earlier from the beleaguered capital. In spite of the turmoil there, he reports good news, constituting our top story tonight.”
The screen showed an outline of the New Babylon skyline and a picture of Suhail Akbar. “Yes, Anika,” Akbar said, “following months of careful planning and cooperation between the various law-enforcement branches of the Global Community, we are happy to report that a combined task force of crack agents from both our Peacekeeping and Morale Monitor divisions has succeeded in apprehending one of the top Judah-ite terrorists in the world.
“The arrest was made before dawn today in San Diego after months of planning.”
“San Diego!” Vicki said.
“I’d rather not go into the details of the operation,” Akbar continued, “but the suspect was disarmed and arrested without incident. Her name is Chloe Steele Williams, twenty-six, a former campus radical at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, from which she was expelled six years ago after making threats on the lives of the administration.”
“Thank you, Chief Akbar. We have further learned that Mrs. Williams is the daughter of Rayford Steele, who once served as pilot for Global Community Supreme Potentate Nicolae Carpathia. He was fired some years ago for insubordination and drinking while on duty, and GC intelligence believes his resentment led to his current role as an international terrorist.”
“I don’t believe this,” Mark said. “Those are such lies!”
“Mrs. Williams is the wife of Cameron Williams, formerly a celebrated American journalist who also worked directly for the potentate before losing his job due to differences in management style. He edits a subversive cyber and printed magazine with a limited circulation.
“Williams, his wife, and her father are international fugitives in exile, wanted for more than three dozen murders around the world. Mrs. Williams herself heads a black-market operation suspected of hijacking billions of Nicks’ worth of goods around the world and selling them for obscene profits to others who cannot legally buy and sell due to their refusal to pledge loyalty to the potentate.
“The Williamses, who have amassed a fortune on the black market, have one child remaining after Mrs. Williams apparently aborted two fetuses and an older daughter died under questionable circumstances. The son, whom they have named Jesus Savior Williams, pictured here, is two years old. Acquaintances report that the Williamses believe he is the reincarnation of Jesus Christ, who will one day conquer Nicolae Carpathia and return the globe to Christianity.”
The screen filled with a picture of a toddler wearing a T-shirt that read “Kill Carpathia!”
“That can’t be Kenny,” Vicki said.
“There are so many lies in that report,” Conrad said, “I wouldn’t be surprised if Carpathia wrote it himself.”
“Do you think they really arrested Chloe?” Vicki said.
Mark held up a hand as the report switched to a reporter in San Diego who stood by the man who was said to be interrogating Chloe.
Colonel Jonathan “Jock” Ashmore said the arrest was very important. He nervously tugged at his uniform jacket. “Mrs. Williams has proved to be the typical terrorist who knows when it’s time to bargain. When the reality hit her that she had been positively identified and we informed her of the overwhelming charges against her, it was only a matter of minutes before she began offering various deals to save her skin.”
“Are you at liberty to say what some of those might be?”
“Not entirely, though she has already pledged to enroll her son in Junior GC as soon as possible.”
“I’ve seen enough,” Vicki said. “There’s no way Chloe would have talked, and there’s certainly no way she would have agreed to enroll Kenny in a Junior GC program.”
In a response written to Dr. Ben-Judah’s Web site, Mark received the answers the people in Petra were sending out to counteract the lies of the GC.
The only thing the news seemed to get right was Chloe’s name and age and the fact that she is the daughter of Rayford and the wife of Cameron “Buck” Williams. While it’s true she attended Stanford University, neither was she a campus radical nor was she expelled. She dropped out after the Rapture but had a grade point average of 3.4 and had been active in student affairs.
Rayford Steele did serve, while already a believer, as pilot on the staff of Nicolae Carpathia, providing invaluable information to the cause of Christ’s followers everywhere. He was never fired and never charged with insubordination or drinking while on duty. He left after his second wife was killed in a plane crash.
The Judah-ites are anything but “the last holdouts in opposition to the New World Order.” Many Jewish and Muslim factions, as well as former militia groups primarily in the United North American States, still have refused to accept the mark of loyalty to the Supreme Potentate and must hide in fear for their lives.
Cameron Williams was indeed formerly a celebrated American journalist who also worked directly for the potentate, but he also quit, rather than “losing his job due to differences in management style.” As for his subversive cyber and printed magazine’s “limited circulation,” that, of course, is a matter of opinion. The Truth is circulated to the same audience that is ministered to daily by Dr. Tsion Ben-Judah, at last count still more than a billion.
The rest of the document corrected errors from the GC about murders, the Co-op, and Chloe’s personal life.
“That clears up her past,” Vicki said, “but what are they going to do with her?”
Mark pursed his lips. “If she could stay alive for another year, she’d be around for the Glorious Appearing. But I honestly don’t think that’ll happen.”
Judd reeled from the news reports about Chloe and put a call in to Chang in Petra. He was surprised to hear excitement in Chang’s voice when he got the return call.
“I know it’s a very depressing day for the Tribulation Force around the world,” Chang said, “but I have good news. I’m free.”
“Right, you made it to Petra. I’m happy for you.”
“No, you don’t understand. The mark on my forehead. It is gone!”
12
JUDD fought feelings of jealousy, wishing he were in Petra with Chang, but the news that his mark was gone was incredible. Judd knew how much Carpathia’s mark bothered Chang, and he couldn’t imagine the embarrassment of walking into that camp of a million people with the emblem of the enemy on his forehead.
“I thought Nicolae’s tattoo was permanent,” Judd said. “What happened?”
“I arrived here in the afternoon, and Naomi Tiberius gave me a quick tour, including the computer center,” Chang said. “It’s amazing what Mr. Hassid set up. It’s just like being in New Babylon without the danger.”
“Everyone treating you okay?”
“Like royalty. But I’m so ashamed. I wanted to take off my baseball cap and bow every time I met someone new, but with that thing on my forehead, I could not.”
“Did you meet Tsion and Chaim?”
“Yes, but not right away. They were meeting about Chloe’s disappearance, and then came the news of another Tribulation Force member’s death.”
“Who?”
“Albie. A man Captain Steele and the others know well. The GC reported that Chloe gave up information about him, but no one believes that. And they say he committed suicide, which, again, no one believes.”
Judd hadn’t heard of this Albie, but if he was a member of the Trib Force, Judd knew he would be missed. “I want to hear more about your mark, but how’s Captain Steele?”
“As well as can be expected. He left here not long after we arrived. He received a call from Chloe from a GC cell phone, and she gave him a coded message. I don’t know all the particulars, but Captain Steele believes she was trying to tell him to get everyone in San Diego to Petra, and that’s what he’s trying to work out.”
“Seems like the safest place to be,” Judd said.
Chang described his new home. Again, Judd felt a stirring in his heart, wishing he were in Petra talking with Chang and eating manna or quail.
“How did you like the manna?” Judd said.
“It was like being fed from the table of a king. That’s how a friend described it and he was right. Naomi gave me a tour on one of the ATVs. The city is so spread out that it would take days to see everything.”
“Is something going on between you and Naomi?”
Chang paused. “We have a good relationship. I knew we would have to work together closely since she has become the technical leader here, but I didn’t want to complicate things with …”
“You’re falling for her, aren’t you?”
“Judd, she is stunning—”
“I know. I’ve met her. Friendly, beautiful, and smarter than both of us.”
“I’ve never even had a girlfriend. There were girls in high school I was interested in, but I never dared let them know.”
“Do you think she feels anything for you?”
Chang chuckled. “I think so. We were drinking at the spring of water when the sun set and the skies opened and seemed to snow bits of soft bread.”
Judd closed his eyes and pictured the scene. It was one of the most amazing things he had witnessed in Petra, the daily food that fell from the sky, as if God were tearing off pieces of bread and sending them floating to his children.
“Talking with Naomi is like speaking with someone I’ve known my whole life, but I’ve never met her in person. Do you understand?”
“I do.”
“Anyway, I met her father, which was quite an experience, and then I met with Tsion and Chaim. We are all heartbroken about Chloe.”
“They must be trying to help her escape,” Judd said.
“I don’t know. That will be up to Captain Steele and Mr. Williams.”
“I can’t imagine what Buck is going through right now. Tell me about the mark.”
“Yes. I met Dr. Rosenzweig, who looks more like his old self now than the famous Micah who stood up to the potentate. His hair’s grown back and he was excited to see me. He called me ‘the genius mole.’
“Then Dr. Ben-Judah approached with all kinds of people around him. I was honored he would eat a short breakfast with me. When he prayed over our meal, I thought my heart was going to burst. After our meal, I asked for some time alone with him and Dr. Ben-Judah stayed.
“I took off my cap and showed him the 30 on my forehead and the place where the Global Community biochip had been inserted. He said it was strange to see both the mark of the believer and the mark of Carpathia, and I told him I couldn’t stand to look myself in the mirror each day.”
“That mark kept you alive, Chang,” Judd said.
“Yes, Tsion said it wasn’t my fault, that it was forced on me, but I asked if there was any way to have it gone.
“Tsion scratched his chin and shrugged. He said he didn’t know if it was possible, but that he would pray, as long as I would be content with whatever God decided.”
“What happened then?”
“He called Naomi’s father and Chaim back over to agree with us in prayer. I was already overcome with emotion and had begun to cry. Tsion placed his hand on my forehead, and the others grabbed my hands and touched my shoulders. I felt so loved by these men, so cared for. And then Tsion prayed. It was such a beautiful prayer that included many Scriptures.
“The tears were streaming down my face as he turned to me. He said we come together in faith believing and pray to the God to whom anything is possible, the God who spared us from the fire of the enemy.
“And then he asked, according to God’s will, if Go
d would remove any sign of the evil one from me. I went limp. It felt like my arms and legs weighed a hundred pounds each. I started sweating like an Olympic athlete. I opened my eyes and Tsion looked at me and smiled.
“Naomi’s father was the first to tell me it was gone. Then I ran to his place and looked in the mirror to make sure it was true. The mark no longer mocks me, Judd.”
“I’m happy for you.”
“We’re gearing up for at least two hundred new arrivals here in the next few days, people from San Diego. When are you coming?”
Judd told him what had happened the last few days and what he hoped would happen. It was Judd’s plan to get to Petra and have Vicki join him there if possible. “As long as it’s dark over here, we’re continuing to try and frustrate the GC as much as we can. I guess when the time’s right, we’ll head that way.”
Vicki watched news reports from the Global Community and tried not to think about what Chloe was going through. Was she in some dark, cold cell? Were they torturing her, trying to get her to give information about the Tribulation Force? Vicki guessed the GC was having a hard time getting anything out of Chloe. She was one of the most determined people Vicki had ever met.
Chloe had set the Commodity Co-op in motion and had coordinated shipments of food and medical supplies for believers throughout the United North American States and the entire world. The GCNN reporters were right—the capture of Chloe was a tremendous success for the Global Community. But pulling information from her would be very difficult.
Vicki thought of her last conversation with Chloe. The woman had written to congratulate Vicki on her engagement. A few weeks later, Vicki had called Chloe in San Diego and talked with her about Judd’s potential trip to New Babylon.
Chloe had been hesitant when Vicki told her about the trip. “Sounds like Buck to me,” Chloe had said. “If there’s something he can do to help the cause, he’ll go there, no matter what the cost to him. But I have to admit I’ve done the same thing. In Greece I took some chances I wouldn’t want Buck to take.”
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