Mighty and Strong (The Righteous)

by Michael Wallace

  “Lot of confusion back there. I don't know what's going on. What happened? Who took her?”

  “Never mind, we'll talk later,” Krantz said. “Here they come.”

  A tight knot of agents came running across the courtyard at a crouch, with weapons at the ready. Pen lights illuminated the group as they reached the back corner. Jacob felt a surge of relief when he saw his children.

  “Fernie?” He couldn't see his wife or the baby.

  Someone handed him a flashlight and he searched in vain. Sister Miriam gave him a shake of the head as Daniel and Leah grabbed him, sobbing. Krantz moved away, shouting orders and speaking into his headset.

  “Where the hell are my wife and baby?”

  “We got separated,” Miriam said. “Bunch of people tried to force their way through the archway. I sent them back, told them they'd be shot if they came through. When I turned around, your wife and the baby were gone. I think someone grabbed her.”

  Jacob groaned. “I told her to stay put.”

  “It was total chaos.” She ran her fingers through her hair and shook her head. “Trust me, I almost got dragged back myself.”

  Krantz finished an urgent-sounding conversation with the other men of the SWAT team and came back in a crouched run. “Agent Kite,” he said in a cold voice.

  “Hello, Krantz. Thanks for coming.”

  “What in god's name is going on here? What have you been playing at?”

  “You wouldn't understand if I told you.”

  “Try me.”

  Jacob didn't hear the rest. He took Leah and Daniel to the corner, sat them down.

  Also in the corner was a downed FBI agent. He was groaning, guarded by two men, one of whom said, “Hold on, Garcia. We'll get you out of here.”

  “Let me up,” the man said.

  Jacob put his hands on the children's shoulders. Leah was shaking, Daniel clapped his hands over his ears at a fresh burst of gunfire. “You're okay,” he told them. “You're both perfectly safe and as long as you stay down, you'll be okay. Do you understand me?”

  “I want Mommy,” Leah cried.

  “She's okay. Those people will keep her safe, you can be sure. These are the good guys. You've got to be big kids. Do you understand me?”

  “Wh-what should we do?” Daniel asked.

  “You can't cry, you have to be brave. And keep down, no matter what else. I have to help that hurt man and so you have to be super-duper brave while I'm gone. Can you do that?” They nodded, eyes wide.

  “Move out of the way, I'm a doctor” he told the men kneeling around the downed FBI agent, who groaned and tried to sit. They moved back. “Agent, lie down, don't get up.” The man they'd called Garcia stopped struggling.

  Jacob unfastened and peeled back the man's body armor. Someone handed him a larger flashlight. A nasty bruise spread across his chest and as Jacob prodded, he winced and groaned again.

  “Is it bad?” Garcia asked between short breaths. “What do you think?”

  “What do I think? I think you owe a fan letter to the factory worker who made this body armor. Your sternum is either cracked or deeply bruised, maybe some minor damage to the costal cartilage. But without that armor, you'd be dead.”

  “Then can I get up?”

  “Situation's covered, bro,” one of the other agents said. “Just stay down.”

  The man nodded. Someone propped a hip pack beneath his neck.

  Jacob checked in on his children, tucked them into the corner with their backs against the wall. “I'm going to be right over there. Stay here and everything will be okay.” To the agents he said, “Do not leave my children alone under any circumstances.”

  “You got it.”

  Jacob found Krantz and Sister Miriam. “It's all fun and games in these little cults until the world comes to an end,” Krantz said.

  “It's only coming to an end because you came in with guns blazing.”

  “In the first place,” Krantz said, “We didn't shoot first. Chambers received fire, then Garcia took a bullet. We then returned fire. Got it?”

  “Garcia's okay,” Jacob said. “Cracked bone at worst.”

  “You, shut up,” Miriam said. She turned back to Krantz. “And I told you, I didn't want out. I made it clear I was finished with the FBI.”

  “What do you expect us to believe, that you joined this cult? Wake up, Kite, if you didn't want us coming after you, you should have found a way to make contact.”

  “I did, I told Jacob and he told you.”

  “This is an argument for later,” Jacob said. “Right now, the only thing I care about is getting my wife and baby back.”

  “What the hell do you think we're doing here?” Krantz said.

  “Can we deescalate?” Jacob said. “Call a truce?”

  A rifle cracked and a bullet slammed into the wall at their back. Two agents answered with a rattle of submachine gun fire.

  “Here's an idea,” Miriam said. “Stop shooting. Just stop.”

  Krantz looked ready to explode. “They're shooting at us, you idiot. We're only returning fire.”

  “If you'd stayed outside, this never would have happened.”

  “I didn't come for you. I came for Agent Fayer.”

  “What exactly happened to Fayer?” Jacob said.

  “Kidnapped by your cult. Right outside Temple Square.”

  “What?” Miriam asked. “They wouldn't kidnap an FBI agent. What possible motive would make them do that?”

  “I don't know. Maybe you should ask the prophet. Or should I say, your husband?”

  “He'd never do that.”

  “I don't have time for this. Stay with Jacob. Don't get in trouble.” He turned to Jacob. “We're looking for a man who calls himself 'Fear-Not.' Does that mean anything to you?”

  “No, sorry. What does he look like?”

  “Middle-aged. Light brown hair, thinning. About your height.”

  “That describes half the men in the compound.”

  “He's the one who kidnapped our agent.”

  “I'm sorry, I've never heard that name.”

  “Never mind, it was worth a try.” Krantz started to walk away.

  Jacob took his elbow. “Wait. What's the plan? My wife and baby are in there.”

  “Let me worry about that. Stay here with your kids and you'll be safe. I've got two agents to guard you.” He turned away, spoke into his headset.

  Frustrated, Jacob took Miriam by the shoulder as they returned to the corner of the square. He couldn't see his children where they squatted behind the planter, but he could hear Leah sobbing.

  “What are they going to do?” he asked.

  “How should I know? They don't trust me, they're not going to tell me anything. What are they thinking, that I told them to kidnap Fayer? That I wanted any of this? We just want to be left in peace.”

  “Maybe you do, but the others? You want to be left in peace, you don't kidnap FBI agents. You don't murder young girls.”

  “I don't know who did that, but it's not Timothy. He'd never—”

  “Do you just want to continue the fight with Agent Krantz?” Jacob interrupted. “Because you can do that later, if you want. Now isn't the time.” He lowered his voice. “Miriam, I've got to find my wife and baby, that's the only thing that matters.”

  One of the men helped Garcia to his feet and gave him a weapon. They crouched in front of the planters. A third FBI agent led back a woman, a teenage boy, and two girls who looked about eight or ten, with sharp orders to stay in the back. An elderly woman joined them seconds later. She whispered a prayer.

  “Come on, Miriam,” Jacob pressed as soon as the FBI agents moved out of hearing. “What's Krantz going to do?”

  She chewed her lip. “He's talking to Chambers. They must have two teams. There was fighting behind us when we were in the archway, people fleeing from that direction.” She looked thoughtful. “I'd say Krantz is going to move east and north, to sweep the apartments near the east well, take
up position there. He'll keep near an exterior wall at all times. If he gets trapped, the guys on the outside can break through the wall and let him out. Problem is, he's got to secure this area until he feels safe enough to move the civilians. That means he'll leave someone behind.” She nodded over her shoulder. “Probably Garcia and that other guy.”

  Flashlights blinked back and forth above them, but there was no more firing from the roof, just the gunfight escalating to the west.

  “Look,” she said. “Krantz took the roof. That's good for the FBI. And there he goes, east, like I said.”

  Just as she'd predicted, only two men stayed behind to guard the civilians, one of them the injured man.

  “So the SWAT team on the west must be holding their own, or they'd be trying to meet up,” Jacob said.

  “Yes, exactly.”

  “And if you were coming out of your room tonight, half asleep and confused, with gunshots, what would you do?”

  “The brethren are going for their weapons. After that, I don't know. The prophet must have a plan.”

  “Women and children?” he asked. “What do they do? Let's say some of them get instructions, but the rest are scared and looking for help.”

  “The main courtyard, unless told otherwise. It's where we meet for everything. You're half-asleep, scared, that's where you'd go.”

  Jacob thought about the layout of the compound. “It's a dangerous position.”

  She nodded. “Sandwiched between here and the second HRT. And probably men from the compound on the roof, taking sniper positions. Or shooting back and forth between the roof and the ground.” She looked troubled. “Someone needs to help those people. What if we—”

  “You don't think the FBI will secure the main courtyard first?”

  “They might not have the manpower. And they'll be searching for Fayer,” she added. “If someone's holding her, it might be in one of the newer areas along the fringes of the compound, or in the living quarters near the west or east sides.”

  “Then I've got to find Fernie myself,” Jacob said.

  Together they moved behind the planter and sat down next his children. They clung to him and he whispered soothing words, promised he'd find their mother. Jacob and Miriam continued their conversation in a low voice.

  “We'll go together,” Miriam said.

  “No, I want you here with my kids.”

  “Jacob—”

  “I need you to do that for me.”

  “You can stay with your own kids, let me go. I know how to negotiate with the FBI and I care more about these people than you do.”

  “Miriam, that's not fair. Anyway, it doesn't matter. What those people need is a priesthood leader, and that means a man.”

  It was true and she would know it. Miriam could go and give all the commands she wanted, but unless the prophet was by her side any man, no matter how old or young, or his position within the church, could override her.

  “And I have to find my wife and baby. So please, I need you here with Daniel and Leah.”

  “Fine, but you can't go back through that archway. Krantz will have a sniper on the roof. They'll stop you. And good chance the other side has gunmen, too. Someone might take a shot.”

  “Then what?” Jacob asked. “Is there any way to loop around and avoid the fighting?”

  “Maybe.” She was quiet for a second. More gunfire. “It's mostly storage. Food, other supplies. No, it's not safe. I've seen boxes of rifle cartridges in one of the supply rooms. Someone might go after the ammo. Wait, I've got it. Remember Sister Devorah?”

  “My so-called fiance.”

  “She lives alone with her grandmother. Devorah's room is on the other side of those planters. There's a door right up against that far wall. It's the only housing off these vegetable gardens.”

  “I don't follow. How is that going to help?”

  “It wasn't originally an apartment. Most housing is for big families, or small, growing ones with room to expand along the outer walls. Very little for two women living by themselves. That was a storage room. There's a doorway on this side and another on the opposite wall that opens into the next courtyard. I noticed it when I was doing reconnaissance, before I. . .you know. . .”

  “Gained a testimony.”

  “Exactly.”

  “So I go through the room and come out the other side,” Jacob said. “Won't that put me just beneath the opposite archway? How does that save me anything?” “No, it comes out at an angle. You'll be underneath the arcade on the north side of the square. Follow it fifteen, twenty feet east and you'll find another archway that will take you north again. From there, you can cut through and be in the main courtyard.” Miriam gave a cautious look to either side, then reached into her dress and pulled out a gun.

  “Where did you get that?”

  “I swiped it from my husband's stash.” She gave a wry smile. “Guess I've still got a bit of FBI agent in me. You know how to fire a gun?”

  He took it. The gun was warm from her body heat. “I grew up on farm. Hunting and target shooting since I was a kid. Yeah, I can handle it.”

  “Don't be a hero.”

  “I'm not a hero kind of guy.” He double-checked the safety and shoved the gun into his pocket. “All right. Wish me luck.”

  He hugged Leah and Daniel, had to pry himself loose in the end, painfully offering false reassurances. He rose, looked for the agents, figured he'd slip around them in the dark.

  He glanced back to Miriam, who eyed him doubtfully. “Sister, we've had our differences, but please, look after my children. And if anything happens to me and my wife, find my father.”

  “Nothing is going to happen. The Lord is going to protect you.”

  “Still. . .”

  “I won't leave their side until you get back.”

  He turned, steeled himself against his sobbing children.

  In a moment he was alone, headed into deeper shadows and toward the sound of gunfire.

  Chapter Twenty-eight:

  Krantz and his men moved methodically through the east side of the compound.

  He found a small boy in one room and in another a frightened young man with his even younger wife, pregnant. Krantz was short two agents, and couldn't spare anyone to take them back with the others. He left the boy with the young man and his wife, told them to stay put or they'd be shot, then continued. Another family in the next courtyard, this time two women and three children.

  No Agent Fayer.

  These were the newer parts of the compound, only partially finished. Barrels of wheat, flour, dried beans, and powdered milk crammed some of the rooms. Enough to feed the compound for months.

  The storage rooms would be the perfect place to stash a hostage. Every time he found barrels of rice, he expected to find her gagged and bound in a corner and every time he discovered a root cellar, he thought he'd find her dumped among the potatoes and carrots.

  But nothing. Not even a hint of anything suspicious. He could sense the team getting jumpy, afraid of an ambush. The longer they took, the bigger the risk.

  What was it that Eliza Christianson had said to him after Fear-Not attacked the van at Temple Square?

  The key is to think like they do. You don't get inside their heads, you'll never figure out what they're up to.

  Krantz spoke into his headset. “Chambers, what's your status?”

  “Took two captives,” he said. “Secured part of the arsenal.”

  “The rest?”

  “Some men ran off with guns and ammo when we got there. We've exchanged gunfire, but taken no more casualties. Delaney is up and moving. He'll live.”

  “What about the cult members?”

  “They keep pulling back. Retreating toward the main courtyard.”

  “And the hostage?”

  “No sign of our girl,” Chambers said. “You?”

  “Nothing. We're at the outer wall. Going to double back now.”

  “We're at the corner of the last square before
the main courtyard. I've got snipers on the roof. Give me five minutes, ten tops and I'll have that courtyard surrounded. You want me to go in?”

  Krantz thought about his assumptions. Fear-Not wanted to be found. He wanted to provoke a fight with the authorities. But why? A death wish, like a suicide bomber, trying to make a martyr of himself so as to assure his entry into heaven?

  But then why not just storm into Temple Square with guns blazing? They could have killed a bunch of non-believers, maybe a few security personnel, then gone down in a glorious hail of gunfire.

  Why draw attention here, where they'd put their loved ones at risk?

  Something stirred, deep down inside.

  “You still there?” Chambers asked.

  “Boss?” one of the men in his team said, almost at the same time. “Which way?” The team crouched around him in formation.

  “One second, I have an idea.”

  Why wasn't Fayer hidden out here, or better, outside the compound? Because they didn't expect to lose. They didn't expect to die, they were going to live. God was going to protect them. It wasn't going to be Waco, it was going to be Moses and the Ark of the Covenant, and the enemies would fall down before the awesome power of the Lord.

  And so his assumptions about where they'd keep Fayer—if they hadn't killed her already—turned on their head. They wouldn't try to hide her or keep her location secret. It didn't matter what the FBI did, the FBI couldn't defeat God.

  And in a strange way, that's exactly what had happened. At least so far. Krantz's faulty assumptions had led him in the wrong direction.

  “Back the way we came,” he said. Then, into the headset. “We're coming your way.”

  “Got anything?”

  “They've got our girl close to the action.”

  #

  Vigilant died a martyr. Shooting from the roof, he killed an FBI agent with his .30-06, took a bullet to the arm, then, wounded, lifted himself over the edge to return fire. Fear-Not was crawling across the roof on his hands and knees when the enemy soldiers in the courtyard below returned a blizzard of gunfire.

  Vigilant went down. In the dark, Fear-Not didn't know how bad it was at first. He crawled toward his fallen companion, who tried to say something. When he reached Vigilant's side, his hands slipped on the man's blood and brains. Half his face was missing, a gaping, shattering wound to the forehead. How he'd been making noise, it was hard to say.