Into the Storm (3 page)

“Thank you,” Vicki said.

“My guess was that the people who wrote the Underground newspaper would be here today,” Mrs.

Jenness said, looking suspiciously at Vicki.

“Could be,” Vicki said.

“But there are an awful lot of people from the school here.”

Mrs. Jenness frowned.

“I have to go,” she said.

“The memorial service was very ... enlightening.” She fixed her stare on Lionel.

“You’re Lionel Washington, aren’t you?”

Vicki didn’t know Mrs. Jenness even knew Lionel’s name, and it startled her.

“Yes, ma’am,” Lionel said.

“I need to see you in my office, first thing in the morning,” she said.

“What is it?” Vicki said.

“That’s between Lionel and me,” Mrs. Jenness said, “and his family.”

Mrs. Jenness walked out the front door.

“You think she knows I’m involved with the Underground?”

Lionel said.

“I can’t think what else it would be,” Vicki said, “but what does your family have to do with it?”

“I don’t have any family,” Lionel said, “except you guys.”

Vicki saw Rayford Steele head toward the podium. She and Lionel hurried back into the service.

Judd watched Taylor Graham closely. The pilot ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

“I don’t know what else to do other than tell you,” he said.

“Tell me what?” Judd said.

“First of all, you kids really showed me something inIsrael.”

“We’re not kids,” Judd said.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Graham said.

“Gimme a break.”

“I’m listening,” Judd said.

“I’m not with the GC like you think,” Graham said.

“They gave me an order, and the best thing I could do”—“If you’re not with the GC, why are you taking orders from them?” Judd said.

“I worked for the GC just like Mr. Stahley did,” Graham said.

“But you don’t always agree with your bosses. Mr.

Stahley uncovered a lot of shady information about them. I helped him. When he died, I got even more suspicious. He had some kind of evidence that could blow the lid off Carpathia and the whole GC

machine. “

“And that’s why you were going to deliver Ryan and me to them?” Judd said.

“Just listen,” Graham said.

“I can’t know what the GCare doing unless I stay close. They took me in for questioning after I got back toChicago. Now I know the lime’s right.”

“For what?” Judd said.

“To get those secret documents out into the open,” Graham said.

“And to do that, I’m going to need your help.”

Vicki slipped into her pew. Buck talked with Chloe and Amanda a row behind her.

“Rayford has to be exhausted up there,” Buck said.

“I took him some orange juice,” Amanda said.

“That ought to help.”

“Did you talk with Dad?” Chloe said.

“Yes,” Buck said.

“He really wants people to know what’s about to happen so they can be ready.”

“I just hope they can handle it,” Chloe said.

“I’ve seen the pages Dad’s about to read. It’s terrible.”

“After you tricked Ryan and me, you want my help?” Judd said.

“I have to find Mrs. Stahley,” Graham said.

“This is really good,” Judd said.

“You pretend you’re our friend, you cut it real close when you took off, put on the beard and the accent to get us past those GC checkpoints, and you even rescued us and flew us out of Israel. That wasfake .”

“How do you know it wasfake ?”

“Because you flew back here to give us up!I’m not trusting you at all.”

“I promise you, I didn’t fake anything,” Graham said.

“So those GC guys at the donut shop were for real?”

“I had no idea who they were following,” Graham said.

“Could’ve been either one of us.”

“The close calls on the runway here and inIsrael, those were real?”

Judd said.

“Yes,” Graham said.

“Let me explain. When Mrs. Stanley called and asked me to help, I did it because she’s family.

Her friends are my friends. I wasn’t happy about taking two teenagers, but you grew on me.

“When we arrived at the hotel, I got a call from GC Command.

They figured out where I was and wanted me to bring you in. I went back toHaifato get the plane and get out of there. “

“You were going home without us?” Judd said.

“I figured I had to bolt and hoped you two could find a way back on a commercial flight,” Graham said.

“It was the safest thing to do. But they found me inHaifa, and I was forced to fly toJerusalem. By then, you were in custody.”

“This makes no sense at all,” Judd said.

“If you’re supposed to be my friend, let me go right now!”

“I can’t do that,” Graham said.

“You don’t know what kind of danger you’re in. Do you know what a double agent is?”

“Yeah, somebody who works for one government but really works for somebody else.”

“That’s what I am,” Graham said.

“I work for Carpathia and the Global Community, but I’m really working for someone else.”

Judd thought a moment. He was pretty sure Graham wasn’t a believer. At least he hadn’t let on that he was. But if he was working for someone else, who could it be? The militia?

Or was this whole conversation being taped? Maybe Graham was saying this so Judd would tell all he knew about Mrs.

Stahley.

“If you’re not working for the GC,” Judd said, “who are you working for?”

Lionel returned to his seat. It looked like no one had left.

They all wanted to hear the next segment of Bruce’s teaching, which was life-and-death stuff. Rayford Steele was reading again from Revelation 6 about those believers in Christ who would give their lives during the Tribulation.

The Bible called these people martyrs.

“The Scripture says,“ I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, 0 Lord, holy and true, untilYou judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed. “

“I put Bruce in this category of one who has died for his faith,” Rayford continued.

“While he may not have died specifically for preaching the gospel, dearly it was his life’s work and it resulted in his death.”

Lionel closed his eyes. What Rayford said next gave him chills.

“I envision Bruce under the altar with the souls of those who have been killed because they believed in Jesus. He will be given a white robe and told to rest a while longer until even more martyrs are added to the total.”

Lionel pictured Bruce’s face, remembering the first time he had met him. Bruce was there when Lionel needed him most.

Now he was waiting patiently for his white robe. Maybe he was there with Mrs. Ben-Judah and her children. I wonder who will be the next to jointhem? Lionel thought.

Rayford paused and scanned the congregation.

“I must ask you today,” he said, “are you prepared? Are you willing?

Would you give your life for the sake of the gospel?”

As Rayford took a breath, Lionel heard a young voice cry out, “I will.”

Across the balcony, Lionel spotted Ryan standing, tears streaming down his face. It was dear Rayford hadn’t expected anyone to say anything out loud, but there was Ryan.

“So willI !” Lionel said as he stood. Ryan looked at him across the balcony and smiled. Three or four others in the congregation said the same. Quickly Rayford thanked those who had spoken.

“I fear we may all be called upon to express our willingness to die,” Rayford said.

“Praise God you are willing.”

Judd waited for Taylor Graham to answer. The pilot rubbed the back of his neck. Judd still didn’t know if he could trust the man.

“I guess I don’t know who I’m working for now,” Graham said.

“I was working for Mr. Stahley, but he’s dead. I’m committed to keeping his wife and daughter safe.

And I’m working to expose the people who killed him.”

“I’m supposed to buy that?” Judd said.

“Whether you buy it or not,” Graham said, “it’s the truth.”

Judd studied the man. Flying toIsraelwithout knowing his loyalties had probably been a mistake. But now what?

“If all the secrets of the Global Community are down here somewhere, whyaren’t the GC crawling around?” Judd said.

“You brought me in here like you knew they weren’t going to stop you.”

“They still don’t know about the hangar,” Graham said.

“The entrance from the house is hidden. I know it’s in this room, but that’s all. I knew we’d be safe talking here.”

“What if you’re still working for the GC,” Judd said, “and all this stuff about protecting Mrs. Stahley is a lie?”

Taylor Graham shook his head.

“What about the things we told you on the plane?” Judd said.

“What things?”

“The stuff about the Bible and God,” Judd said.

“You seemed interested.”

“I am,” Graham said, “but I can’t say I believe it yet.”

If he were really lying to me, Judd thought, he would have told me he believed the whole thing. Maybe he’s for real.

Vicki paid close attention to the judgments and found shewas finally understanding . Rayford said the scene in heaven with the martyrs could be happening that very moment.

“And if it is,” Rayford said, “we need to know what the sixth seal is.

Bruce felt so strongly about this judgment that he cut and pasted different translations of Revelation 6:12-17. Just remember that the Lamb in these verses refers to Jesus Christ. “

As Rayford read the passage, Vicki looked at the verses in her own Bible.

“I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who Sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

Vicki looked up, her face white with fear. She knew that some words in Bible prophecy stood for other things, but these words seemed dear.

“I’m not a Bible teacher or a scholar,” Rayford said, “but I ask you, is there anything difficult to understand about a passage that begins, “Behold, there was a great earthquake’? Bruce has carefully charted these events. I believe the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are at full gallop. And I also think the fifth seal, the tribulation martyrs whose souls are under the altar, has begun.”

It all fits, Vicki thought.

“Bruce’s notes say more and more people will be killed because of Jesus. Antichrist will come against tribulation saints and the 144,000 witnesses springing up all over the world from the tribes ofIsrael.

“If Bruce is right—and he has been so far-we are close to the end of the first twenty-one months.”

Vicki saw Rayford grip the podium with both hands.

“I believe in God. I believe in Christ. I believe the Bible is the Word of God. And I believe Bruce taught us well.

Therefore, I am preparing to endure what this passage calls ‘the wrath of the Lamb.“ An earthquake is coming, and it is not symbolic.”

Vicki was proud of Rayford. He had delivered the message with passion, just like Bruce. She agreed with everything he had said, but she couldn’t help fear the earthquake and what might happen when it came.

Judd mulled over his next move. He could refuse to talk with Taylor Graham and see what the man did, or go ahead and trust him.

“OK,” Judd finally said.

“Tell me why the GCare so hot on my trail.”

“There’s the torching of those guys inIsrael,” Graham said.

“But in one sense having those guys out of the way was a favor. What they really want is Mrs. Stahley.”

“I don’t know where she is,” Judd said.

“You know more than they do,” Graham said.

“There was some money transferred to your bank account. They traced it back to Mrs. Stahley.”

“Maybe you told them we were hooked up,” Judd said.

“I wouldn’t do that. I told you, the safety of Mrs. Stahley and Darrion are my”—“Yeah, yeah, they’re your biggest concern,” Judd said.

“There’s something else,” Graham said.

“When I got back from Indy I caught wind of something new. The top GC guys love the idea.”

“What is it?” Judd said.

“Carpathia thinks he can build a world of peace and brotherhood,” Graham said.

“That’s why he blew up just about everything when the militia attacked.”

“He wants people to get along with each other and live in peace, so he blows people up?”

“I know it sounds screwy, but it’s true,” Graham said.

“He says the people who agree with him are going to be happy.

Those who oppose him are toast. “

“That means he’ll wage war against people who believe what I believe,” Judd said.

“And he’s taking a new step toward that,” Graham said.

“He wants to form an organization of healthy, strong young people who are devoted to the Global Community. So devoted that they would want to make sure everybody is in line with the GC objectives.”

“People ripe for brainwashing,” Judd said.

“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Graham said.

“Would they wear uniforms, insignias,the whole thing?”

“No,” Graham said.

“Carpathia wants them to blend in with everyone else, but they would be trained in psychology. They would secretly inform the GC about people who oppose their views. I assume anyone who doesn’t line up with the Enigma Babylon Faith would be in big trouble.”