An hour later they were stuffed, finishing off their feast with sugarcoated rice cakes and dried berries over homemade ice cream.
“Where do you get the ice?” Arnold asked the man as he scooped a generous second portion for him.
“Oh, we have refrigeration from the church’s solar bank. Most of our homes have solar. After the reckoning, we were able to salvage huge amounts of it – there was a company that had solar plants in mobile trailers. Hundreds of them. Prophet Granger says we have enough to support a hundred thousand people!”
“That’s amazing. And nobody’s tried to take over the city?”
“Back in the beginning a few tried. But with God’s help we were able to deal with them, and we’ve lived in peace ever since.” He handed Arnold his ice cream. “Are you staying for the big celebration? It’s in three days. It’s supposed to be the biggest ever! And the Prophet’s going to speak!”
“Haven’t decided. But we’ll think about it.”
“You should. It’ll be amazing.”
“I’m sure.”
They strolled over to where another band was now playing on a raised stage in front of the convention center, near a two-story bronze statue of a bear peering into the hall. A pair of smiling men with perfectly groomed hair and plastic smiles approached them, trailed by two beautiful young women, all wearing white.
“Enjoying yourselves?” one of the men asked.
Arnold nodded. “This is incredible. Like nothing we’ve seen.”
“Where you from?”
“Down Albuquerque way.”
“Ah. I’ve heard the roads south are dangerous. You’re lucky you made it.”
“That they are,” Julie said. “Lot of highwaymen and marauders working the outskirts of the cities. It’s bad news.”
“You have any problems like that here?” Devin asked.
“Oh, no. They know better than to mess with us. No, here there’s no crime at all. There hasn’t been for years. Ever since the church took over.”
“That’s amazing.”
“We don’t tolerate that sort of thing. And it’s unnecessary. Everyone has access to all the same resources. We work as a collective, so there’s plenty of food and drink, not to mention power and medical care. We all work hard, and we live according to the Good Book and the words of Prophet Granger. Nobody wants for anything, and our children are raised to be honest and productive.”
“Sounds like…paradise,” Julie said.
“It is for those who are part of our group.”
“Will you stay for the celebration?” one of the women asked.
“We’re…we don’t have any place to stay,” Devin answered.
“Oh, don’t worry about that! We take care of all newcomers like they’re family. We have a hotel set up just for you. With power and water. Free!” She paused. “All you have to do is go to services with us every evening. There’s a big buffet after. It’s my favorite time of the year!”
Arnold and Julie exchanged a glance. “Sounds great.”
“Are you two…married?” the man asked.
“We haven’t had anyone formalize it, but we live like we are,” Arnold answered.
“Then you’re in luck. If you like, we’ll be doing a big wedding after the celebration for everyone who wants to make it official. It’s really popular.”
“Really?” Julie gushed. “Oh, Arnold!”
“How about you?” the woman asked Anne and Devin.
“We’re married. We got hitched last year before we left Albuquerque,” Devin lied.
“Perfect.”
The other woman regarded Arnold and Julie. “Hope you’ll be okay with separate rooms until the ceremony. We frown on relations before you’re married by the church. It’s just a formality, but we have to set a standard for the children.”
“Oh, sure,” Arnold agreed. “For the children.”
“Then it’s decided,” the man said, flashing a gleaming white smile. “You’ll be our guests for the week.”
The woman winked at Arnold. “And if you like, you can talk to us about making it permanent. We’re always looking for God-fearing people to add to the church. There are a ton of benefits, as you can see. Everyone’s happy and safe and well fed, and we live righteously.”
“After what we’ve been through, that sounds great,” Julie said. “What’s involved?”
“We’ll have a big baptism after the celebration and before the marriage ceremony, and we ask that you read a booklet of the Prophet’s writings. Other than that, you just have to take a vow to behave according to the church’s rules, and that’s it. The church does everything else for you.”
“What are the rules?”
“It’s all in the Prophet’s booklet. Mostly the commandments, with some additional guidelines to help everything work smoothly.”
“I can’t wait to read it,” Julie said.
“Me too,” Arnold managed, without a trace of sarcasm.
“That’s great. Whenever you’re ready, we can show you where the hotel is and get you registered,” the man said. “Save room for dinner. The buffet is incredible,” he added, eyeing Arnold’s ice cream.
“Perfect,” Arnold said. He exchanged a glance with Devin, who was smiling as though he’d just found a solid gold coin. So far everything had happened as hoped, and the church’s recruiters seemed anxious to add them to the roster by making the offer so good they couldn’t refuse. It was a compelling approach. If they’d really been travelers, the sight of so much plenty would have seemed miraculous, and only a fool would have declined the chance to make it their daily reality. That there was a dark side to the offer wouldn’t become apparent until later, he was sure. If the cult worked like most, only the top cadre would know the truth, like its use of murder and kidnapping to achieve its ends.
No, if they’d been travelers, it would have seemed like the opportunity of a lifetime, and the carnival a spectacle of idyllic harmony and abundance.
That some of the flock had been sent out to locate and grab an innocent child and kill anyone who got in their way seemed as distant as the North Pole from the peaceful gathering of white-clad, smiling faithful.
Which made them that much more dangerous.
Chapter 29
Houston, Texas
Snake was marching down the hall of the Crew building headquarters with his bodyguards when he heard voices from one of the meeting rooms off a side hall. He signaled for his men to stop and walked to the room, where three of his subordinates were sitting with Barton. They all looked up when Snake entered, and Barton nodded a greeting.
“Snake, good to see you. We were just discussing some of the problems you’ve been having with the border cities.”
Snake eyed his men. “And why wasn’t I notified that you wanted to have this discussion?”
“I’m to blame,” Barton said. “I didn’t want to waste your time with all the questions I had.”
“What’s the purpose of asking them?” Snake asked.
“I want to better understand the situation on the ground.” Barton looked to the men. “Thanks for coming. I’ll touch base if I need anything else.”
They stood and filed past Snake, who glowered at them as they brushed by. When Barton and Snake were alone, Barton indicated a chair. “I wanted to hear an accurate report without anyone pulling punches because you were in the room. When the boss is there, you might sugarcoat things or omit ugly facts. I was encouraging them to bitch about what the problems are so I could tell you and we could figure out solutions.”
“You should have told me.”
“Perhaps. But what I’ve learned is that the Mexicans appear to be probing your forces for weakness. And frankly, I wouldn’t put it past someone in your circle to be passing info to your enemies.”
“A traitor,” Snake said flatly, still standing.
Barton nodded. “Correct. Or more of an opportunist who’s hedging his bets. Maybe more than one. Any time there’s a change in lea
dership, there are going to be those who are dissatisfied with the situation and will try to curry favor with rivals. It’s to be expected.”
“Which is treason. I’ll kill anyone who’s doing that.”
“Of course you will. But everyone knows that, so they’ll keep their actions well hidden. I’m nosing around the edges to see if I can spot any patterns that would tell us where to look.”
Snake sat heavily and stared at Barton. “When is the gold supposed to arrive?”
“They said soon. They didn’t give a date.”
“Soon doesn’t do me any good in acquiring quality fighters to reinforce the trouble spots.”
“Surely you can trade ammunition or something else you already have.”
“You mean deplete my stores instead of using your promised payment?”
Barton sighed. “I mean doing what you have to in order to hold onto your territory regardless of the timing of the gold shipment.”
“Is it coming over land or by ship?”
“They didn’t say.”
Snake’s frown deepened. “And you didn’t ask.”
“It changes nothing in terms of its arrival, does it?”
“There’s a big difference in the way my men view me between a warship showing up as a sign of support versus a couple of guys with a mule.”
“When I next speak to them, I’ll make a point of asking.”
“I don’t suppose there’s been any movement on the refinery?”
“Our people are working on it. But frankly, Snake, the Crew is only one group out of many we’re dealing with, so there’s a limit to how many resources I can get my people to throw at it.”
Snake sat forward. “Which is different from how it was pitched when I agreed to play ball. Nobody said we might be able to help, or might not, depending on how we felt.”
“You were offered the same deal Magnus was more than happy to take.”
“And now he’s dead, and that deal did him no good. Didn’t save him and didn’t help him, as far as I can see.”
Barton’s eyes narrowed. “I’m here to support you, Snake. But that doesn’t mean I can pull a rabbit out of my hat whenever you need one. You have to lead your men, not me. We chose to back you because you seemed like you could make this work. I hope we didn’t make a bad decision.”
Snake waved the comment away with a dismissive gesture. “Every time, it’s the same thing. You give me nothing but promises, and end with a threat. Meanwhile I’ve got enemies trying to slit my throat every time I turn around. Remind me again what I’m getting out of cooperating with you? Not what I’m supposed to get, or may get – what I’m actually getting.”
“You’re being supported by the country’s owners, Snake. If you aren’t happy with that, all I can do is relay your sentiments.”
They stared at each other for several uncomfortable moments, and then Snake shook his head and stood. “I’ve got to take care of other things. No more meetings with my men without me being there. I might get the wrong idea, and you don’t want that.”
Barton didn’t answer, and Snake stalked out, his face twisted with anger. Things with the Illuminati man were going from bad to worse, and now he might be organizing a coup with Snake’s subordinates. There was no way of knowing whether Barton was telling the truth, but Snake had to assume the worst.
Which meant that the three men with whom Barton had met would need to be watched very carefully, because they could all represent a mortal threat to Snake.
And if nothing else, Snake was a survivor, with a survivor’s instinct for self-preservation. He couldn’t take the chance that they were hatching a plot to supplant him.
He nodded to himself, his decision made. All three would have to die before nightfall – there would be no hesitation on Snake’s part, or he could find himself dead instead.
The three were important lieutenants with loyal followings, though, so he’d have to be careful how he went about the executions. If he simply took them into custody, their men might revolt. He’d have to make their deaths appear to be the acts of outsiders – enemies seeking to weaken the Crew.
How he went about it would be the hard part, but Snake was infinitely resourceful when it came to protecting his own skin, and had any number of assassins who could carry out the job without batting an eye. He would assign one to each lieutenant and then arrange to have the assassins killed immediately after they’d done their jobs, eliminating the chance that one of them might talk.
Now he just needed to think up a plausible story to sell to his troops.
Snake smiled as he neared his bodyguards. Barton would know exactly what had happened, and it would send an unmistakable message to him that he couldn’t ignore: mess with Snake and the world would collapse around you.
Even if you were the Illuminati’s golden boy and thought you were invulnerable.
Because in Snake’s world, nobody was – except him.
Something even the Illuminati would do well to remember.
Chapter 30
Denver, Colorado
Arnold and his companions approached the convention center, merging with the large crowd. Most were wearing white, which was obviously the official church color of the Denver carnival. They entered the massive hall and were directed to an area reserved for newcomers up by a podium at the front, where a choir was standing by a group of musicians who were plucking out a soothing melody.
Arnold counted several hundred other people in trail clothes, most of them emaciated from years of hardship. The women seated in front of them were little more than skin and bones inside smocks that looked like potato sacks, with hair the straw-like consistency of the chronically vitamin deprived. Sallow skin hung from their faces and arms like tallow.
Julie took the seat beside him and offered a fake smile, which he returned. She’d proved an ideal choice for the mission, and he’d grown fond of her over their days together. He hadn’t really taken the time to get to know her in his role as the Shangri-La head of security, but now that he’d had the opportunity, he wondered at the fact that she was still single – most of the eligible females had paired off long ago. But when he’d probed her about it the night before, she’d shrugged his questions off by saying she hadn’t met anyone she wanted to spend serious time with, and he’d left it at that.
Devin and Anne were also getting along well. Anne’s husband had died the year before, leaving her with an eight-year-old son who was being cared for by her sister while she risked her life to rescue Eve. She could have said no to the request, but she knew and liked Eve and was friends with Sierra, and she’d decided to take the plunge after considering how she would have felt if it had been her son who’d been snatched.
The volume from the band increased as the hall filled, and Arnold wondered at the amount of power necessary to operate the lights that illuminated the interior and drove the ventilation system. The church obviously had access to not only solar panels but banks of batteries that could still hold a charge in numbers that boggled the mind.
At the end of the song, a hush settled over the room, and a murmur rippled through the crowd when a man in his early thirties with a full head of brown curly hair hopped onto the stage, his white robe and red sash bright under the LEDs, and took the podium. He adjusted the mic and stared out at the throng before speaking, and when he did, his voice was evenly modulated with the practiced tone of an experienced speaker.
“Ladies, gentlemen, members of the church, and especially our guests here for the carnival, welcome to the Church of the Ever-Present Lord. We’re delighted each and every one of you could make it, and hope you’ll join us in offering thanks for the bounty we’ve shared today and will continue to share until this spectacular week ends!”
The hall shook with a hail of amens that rose from thousands of mouths, and Arnold exchanged a glance with Julie – there was no denying the energy in the room.
“For those who don’t know me, I’m Minister Elijah Granger, son of Proph
et Ulysses, who will be giving the celebration sermon in three days’ time. I’m joined by Minister Carvin there by the choir and Minister Fogarty by the piano. Gentlemen, take a bow, please.”
The other ministers did, and the crowd applauded politely, as did Arnold and his group. When the clapping faded, Elijah paced behind the podium like a caged animal before stopping abruptly as though seized by a sudden thought.
“These are dangerous times. Troubled times. I don’t need to tell anyone that. The world’s filled with evil, and Satan is everywhere we turn. It’s a blessing that we’ve been able to carve out an oasis of peace here and keep the demons at bay!”
More amens, and Arnold shifted in his seat.
“All this week we’re gathered to give thanks – thanks for our prosperity and the abundance of blessings we’ve received, thanks for the leadership and vision of my father, and thanks for the faith of the righteous who were led here by divine guidance. But most of all we’re here to give thanks to God for giving us another chance to redeem ourselves for the wickedness of our kind, to live pure lives of goodness and prove that His faith in us was deserved.”
The sermon lasted another half hour, building in intensity as Elijah warned of eternal damnation for those who strayed from the path or turned their hearts against the church’s message – which was really his father’s interpretation of the visions that came to him during his spells. The last five minutes of the sermon warned of a second apocalypse that would sort the faithful from the sinners, with promises of eternal life for the good and the ravages of hell for the bad. He ended with an allusion to a ritual of cleansing for the newcomers, and then the choir’s voices rose in song and the congregation sang along for five traditional hymns that even Arnold knew.
Tithing baskets were passed around, but not to the guest section, which surprised him until he figured that it would further create a sense of obligation to the church for its generosity. Once the baskets were back at the stage, Minister Carvin took the microphone and gazed at the guests with a welcoming smile.
The Day After Never (Book 7): Havoc Page 15
