Rapture Advent of the Last Days

by Jocolby Phillips

  * * *

  Nick Lacroix had the C-40B military business jet running hot as the first group from Omega poured into the airport. He watched as the president’s daughter was loaded onto the plane, and two figures walked out of the darkness toward him in the empty hangar.

  “Where’s the ground team?” Christopher wondered aloud, concern evident in his voice.

  “They should be here any minute,” Nick assured him.

  The screeching of Humvee tires and the muscular figure of Jackson Williams almost jumping out of his vehicle confirmed the ground team’s arrival.

  “What happened? Where did that firefight come from?” Jackson questioned tersely.

  “I shot a guard,” Barnes replied. “I thought he was going to compromise us.”

  “You did what?” Jackson exploded, grabbing Barnes’s uniform top and pinning him to the wall.

  “Hey, get your hands off him, Jackson,” Christopher ordered firmly.

  “You’re still a freaking killer! You’re still just a loose cannon, Barnes. You could have gotten all of us killed tonight, not to mention the president’s daughter,” Jackson accused sharply.

  “Shut up, Jackson. I was protecting everyone,” Barnes answered hotly.

  “Enough! Jackson, head to the plane, now.” Christopher’s tone brooked no argument.

  Everyone watched as Jackson swore and threw his helmet across the tarmac on his way to board the plane.

  “Gentlemen, I hate to interject, but the airspace will likely close shortly due to tonight’s adventure, so please board and leave Brazil now,” Nick Lacroix urged forcefully.

  “Thanks for everything, Nick,” Christopher said as he pivoted and headed for the tarmac. “This is not over, John,” he warned as they jogged side by side out to the waiting plane that would take them home.

  * * *

  “I haven’t sweated that much since my first sortie over Baghdad with your dad, young lady,” President Rodgers exclaimed to Gabriella in the White House Situation Room as senior cabinet members celebrated Omega’s deliverance of his daughter.

  “I am very proud of Omega Group—from the support staff to the operatives. Complete team victory tonight, sir,” Gabriella responded, her relief evident.

  “Listen, Gabriella, after those boys get a few hours of sleep, I want you to send them over to see me. Let’s make it early evening tomorrow after my official press conference on the disappearances. Most of the world leaders will be speaking in the next twenty-four hours, minus the EU president. He’s scheduled a media event the following day,” President Rodgers remarked thoughtfully.

  “I wonder why the EU president feels the need to speak separately from the heads of state?” Gabriella queried.

  “Who knows? You know he’s always been lavish in his announcements, even before he got into the political arena,” President Rodgers commented with a roll of his eyes.

  “Do you plan to announce to the world that the rapture has occurred, sir?” Gabriella asked tentatively.

  “I have half a mind to do just that, but I can’t completely wrap my mind around the fact, despite my wife not being in Brazil. I am going to our canned line that we continue to explore many possibilities but have ruled out any foreign attack or terrorism. It’s a safe answer that will buy us a little more time.”

  “I am sorry that your wife is gone, but time for what, sir?”

  “You don’t need to be sorry, Gabriella. I’ve told you, I believe she is better off than we are. Time is needed for the world and me to figure out if it was God or just bad luck for hundreds of millions of people,” President Rodgers responded wearily.

  Gabriella liked the president’s approach to the situation. If it were just bad luck, then things would turn around, and answers would become evident. On the other hand, if it was indeed God behind the disappearances, then she was fearful of the days ahead.

  * * *

  “You just don’t get it, do you? You can’t do everything in this world. You had better start trusting the people God has sent into your life before you wake up one day and find yourself dead!” Jackson was as angry as Christopher had ever seen him.

  “Spare me the new Christian fire, Jackson. I am the first to admit that things went south tonight, but I see little evidence that God saved us!” Christopher yelled right back.

  “Are you serious, Christopher? I told you that Barnes was trouble. Your recon missed over twenty hostiles due to piss-poor execution. Gabriella told you to use the helicopter, and so did I. It was only through divine grace that we didn’t all die back there.”

  “I made a call. That’s what leaders do,” Christopher stated flatly.

  “Exactly, you made the call—a bad call—despite having sound advice to the contrary! Your failure to trust is going to cost not only your life but the lives of others. Heck, at this rate, it might even cost your soul,” Jackson spat.

  “Look, I said I accept responsibility for the op getting dicey, and I even thanked you for covering my back out there. What more do you want from me, Jackson? I am done with this conversation.”

  “Brother, I just want you to stop acting like you can do everything all by yourself. I want you to stop trusting only yourself instead of relying on the collective strength around you.”

  Christopher moved to the front of the plane, leaving Jackson in the back and the rest of the team looking on wide-eyed as the two Omega Team leaders ended a tense mission with a heated argument.

  Christopher knew Jackson was right, even if he couldn’t admit that to his friend. As he settled into his seat for the long flight home, he shook out of a fear that his belief in himself was becoming a liability. He wondered if it was possible God was watching over him. He needed some time to figure out this God-versus-him thing, but the world only seemed to be speeding toward what felt like his demise.

  CHAPTER 7

  Christopher felt out of place after the president honored the Omega Team for the rescue of his daughter. It was not just the pomp and circumstance of being celebrated that made him uneasy, but the realization that his actions had been counter to the success of the mission, or so it felt. Jackson argued that the real hero was God, but Christopher struggled to give God credit for anything, especially in his career, which he felt was built on his talents alone. God came across to Christopher as erratic and unreliable in comparison to himself. Perhaps the days ahead would solidify a path toward his relationship with God, preferably without costing Christopher or someone close to him their lives.

  “Listen, Christopher…sorry, man, I didn’t mean to startle you.” Jackson felt bad for apparently shocking Christopher out of deep thought. “I need to apologize for being so critical. I have no room to judge your relationship with God.”

  “I understand that you just want the best for me, and I am thrilled that you’re building a great relationship with God, so let’s just focus on that.” Christopher needed to make things right between the two of them. He was thankful Jackson had made the first move.

  “That’s gracious of you, but I don’t want to be overbearing in my zeal over finding God.”

  “Nah, I remember Erin having that same eagerness to see everyone around her be saved, too…” Christopher’s voice trailed off as thoughts of Erin flooded his mind. A moment later, he felt glad that Gabriella jumped into the conversation, saving him from breaking down among the numerous guests dotting the White House Rose Garden reception.

  “So what did you guys think about President Rodgers’s official announcement on the disappearances?” Gabriella asked, eyes narrowing as she looked closely at both men.

  “I think it was a lie. The rapture occurred, and we should be looking out for the Antichrist,” Jackson responded bluntly.

  “Okay, so you’re just dismissing any logical scientific explanation instantly, Jackson?” Gabriella asked incredulously.

  “No,” Jackson said. “I would accept a scientific explanation for what occurred, but there isn’t one that makes sense—unless natural evapo
ration due to overeating counts. There is also the fact that the Bible made a significant declaration thousands of years ago this very scenario would take place.”

  “Christopher, please tell me that you don’t see God in the works, too,” Gabriella begged.

  “I agree with Jackson that it’s hard to find another answer that fits. I don’t know what to believe besides what I see, which screams something supernatural. It seems to me that judgment is coming,” Christopher replied.

  “I’ve heard that my whole life, and I refuse to accept that I am a bad person and now my judgment has arrived. There is a lot of buzz surrounding the EU president’s statement. Draven Cross has a brilliant mind and is a proven advocate for peace,” Gabriella explained.

  “Yeah, that’s what worries me about old Mr. Cross. The Bible warns us that a man will appear to claim peace, but peace will be far from him. Anybody pushing peace as the answer to all the world’s problem right now, well, that man will be the Antichrist in my book,” Jackson asserted unequivocally.

  “I don’t even have the words to respond to that, Jackson. Look, I need you guys to follow me to the Oval Office. President Rodgers wanted to discuss something with us,” Gabriella replied.

  “What, right now? Why do I have the feeling we are about to head off for something else dangerous?” Jackson said, lacing his fingers together behind his head as they exited the room.

  Laughing, Christopher ribbed, “I sometimes wonder how you got through basic training, much less special forces selection.”

  “What? Is it too much to ask to have more than a day off before heading out to God only knows where?” Jackson countered, sounding decidedly aggrieved.

  “Let’s go, you two babies. The president is waiting,” Gabriella called, walking off ahead of them to the Oval Office.

  Christopher quirked an eyebrow at Jackson, almost laughing.

  With a hearty laugh, Jackson said, “Do you think it was too much? Seems like the Antichrist bit sent her over the edge.” He was still chuckling under his breath as they followed Gabriella down the hallway.

  * * *

  President Rodgers looked like a middle-aged father about to explain the birds and the bees to his children as he sat in his office chair, which had been placed opposite the couch where Christopher, Jackson, and Gabriella all sat together.

  “First, I can’t say thank you enough to each of you for your part in saving my daughter down there in Brazil. You have given me the chance to right the wrong of misleading her about God all these years. Thanks are inadequate for that gift, but it’s all this old man knows how to say,” President Rodgers told them humbly.

  “No need to ever say thanks, sir,” Christopher replied. “We’re just doing our jobs.”

  “I appreciate your humility, Major, and your relentless professionalism—because I need your expertise yet again. The rapture has opened Pandora’s box. We’ve got fewer people to deal with an increasing number of critical national-security issues, none more significant right now than stopping the proliferation of weapons-grade fissile material from Pakistan.”

  Christopher shot Jackson and Gabriella a side-eyed look at the president’s description of the disappearance of millions. Jackson met Christopher’s gaze, while Gabriella seemed unfazed by anything she had heard.

  “What is it, guys?” President Rodgers queried. “You seem puzzled.”

  “Well, sir. I just never would have guessed you would describe the event from a few days ago as the rapture. You being a politician and all, sir,” Jackson explained carefully.

  Chuckling aloud and with a small smile, President Rodgers remarked, “Well, I am still saying it only in select company, but I feel more and more like I should make my real views on what happened public.”

  “I hate to derail this meeting about that special material going missing in Pakistan, sir, but could you please tell me why you think it was the rapture?” Jackson said, flushing red.

  “No, son, I don’t mind at all,” the president replied. “You see, it’s simple. I’ve already told Gabriella this, but it boils down to my wife Janet. She led a life dedicated to God. She lived with honor, dignity, and servanthood despite all of my failings. She always loved me with what she called the love of Christ. If we fought, Janet was the first to say sorry, always aiming to reconcile our relationship even though I was wrong. It would make me mad because it made me feel all the more guilty because she loved me when I was unworthy of her love. Janet told me that’s how God loves us. It apparently doesn’t matter how much we reject Him or disavow Him. He still loves us, so much so that He allowed His Son to be sacrificed for all of us.

  “So, you see, now that I believe with all of my spirit and might that God loves me, it has become easy to see God’s impact on this world. I understand that God is doing exactly what He predicted in taking believers like Janet out of this world a few days ago, ahead of His justified judgment on a planet that for millennia has rejected His offer of reconciliation through Christ Jesus.”

  Christopher was shocked to see both Jackson and Gabriella in tears. He had to admit, even if only to himself, that hearing the most powerful man in the world speak of God’s love in such personal terms stirred his own emotions powerfully. A part of Christopher intensely longed to have that type of relationship with God but feared the cost, namely, letting God off the hook for some painful events in his life.

  “I apologize for being so emotional, but it is the most honest way I know to answer your question, Sergeant Major. And what I’ve said to you here this evening also affirms to me that I will need to, sooner rather than later, make my belief public,” President Rodgers said firmly. “However, we have a pressing matter regarding national security to deal with presently. Dr. Muhammad Jafari, director of the Pakistani Atomic Energy Commission, relayed a message through the International Atomic Energy Agency that an ISIS-sympathizing nuclear scientist named Adeel Zardari has stolen several nuclear pits. Our most recent intelligence report…” he handed each of them a manila folder, “…indicates that Zardari is likely heading to Tajikistan to meet up with interested buyers.”

  “Have we been able to detect and trace the fissile materials with Zardari?” Gabriella asked.

  “Yes, we have,” President Rodgers confirmed. “He’s has been in the village of Ishkashim, Afghanistan, for the past twelve hours. Human intelligence reports indicate he is supposed to link up with his buyers in Khorog, Tajikistan, in two days. Omega’s mission is to intercept Zardari in Afghanistan before his meeting with the buyers in a couple of days.”

  “That’s not a lot of time, sir. We need to start making our way there in the next few hours if we are going to have a shot of intercepting him before he makes that drop,” Christopher said.

  “You’re right, Major,” the president replied. “That’s why I have the latest and greatest military business jet waiting for your team at Andrews. The C-39XER was built for getting guys like you and stuffy execs somewhere in a hurry. With over 7,000 nautical miles of range and cruising just a smidge below supersonic, there are not many places I can’t get you boys in a hurry. It even has a galley and service crew for this trip, ensuring comfort for your team. Shoot, this thing makes me want to fly again.”

  “You’re more than welcome to come with us, sir,” Christopher offered.

  “I’m tempted, but I also know that you men can do things this old pilot never dreamed of doing. I’ll leave this to the professionals,” President Rodgers said regretfully, slapping a big hand across Christopher’s back. “Gabriella, we will bring the usual select cabinet members and members of Congress into the Situation Room tomorrow evening to watch the mission unfold. Let me know if you need anything from me,” he added in dismissal as he moved behind his desk.

  “Yes, sir, I’ll finalize the details and let you know if we need any additional support,” Gabriella confirmed.

  “I hope you boys don’t get stage fright,” President Rodgers said hopefully.

  “No, sir, we’ll be read
y, and we won’t let you down,” Christopher promised this man who appeared to be carrying a large weight on his shoulders.

  “Good hunting and I will be praying for you,” President Rodgers replied.

  “Thanks, sir. Your prayers and support are greatly appreciated, more than you know,” Jackson said before closing the Oval Office door behind him.

  * * *

  The near-transonic C-39XER delivered on President Rodgers’s hype, and Christopher was grateful. The same trip flying in a “normal” airplane would have taken sixteen hours or more, but was completed in just over ten hours. Being back in Afghanistan brought back a flood of memories for Christopher as he gazed at the snow-covered Hindu Kush mountains surrounding Bagram.

  As the aircraft taxied to a stop at Bagram Airfield, Christopher couldn’t help but think about the perils hidden behind the stark beauty of this land. Anxious not to miss a detail in planning the upcoming mission, he knew all too well that distractions in Afghanistan led to disastrous outcomes. It was almost ten years ago, during his last deployment as a conventional soldier in the 82nd Airborne Division, where Christopher saw soldiers in his company pay for the sins of their company commander. Little change had taken place here over the past decade, where the sounds of war had become routine. He hoped that Omega’s time in this beautiful but brutal land would be short.

  A rush of cold air filled the plane and drew everyone’s attention to the now open main cabin door.

  “Gentlemen, if I could have your attention, please. I am Senior Airman Montana, the flight ops manager here. We are shorthanded due to the disappearances, so you will need to unload your own gear and then follow me to Stone Guard where you will be lodging.”

  “Huh, what’s going on? Somebody turn off that A/C!” a disoriented Jackson yelled.

  “How can you sleep so soundly?” Christopher asked with a chuckle.