Stung (20 page)

“I did a lot of thinking while I was away,” Mark said. “I want to stay if you'll let me.”

Vicki smiled. “I'm glad you're back.”

Judd shuddered when he heard Jamal was talking to someone at a funeral home. When Jamal hung up Judd said, “Is he dead?”

“I must hurry,” he said. “One of you goes with me; the other stays here.”

“But if he's dead—,” Lionel said.

“I cannot discuss it further,” Jamal said. He pointed at Lionel. “You come with me.”

Judd protested, but Nada put a hand on his arm and shook her head. “You will be here in case there is trouble.”

As Jamal put on a hat he said, “Yitzhak is still being questioned. We must pray for him.”

When Lionel and Jamal left, Judd and Nada prayed for Yitzhak and the other members of the local committee. Judd then logged on to the Internet to see the latest teaching by Dr. Ben-Judah. Nada noticed an e-mail that looked like it had come directly from the rabbi.

The e-mail was directed to those on the Tribulation Force.
We have another martyr from our midst
, the rabbi wrote.
Ken Ritz was a pilot who helped Buck Williams locate Chloe. He came to faith in Jesus Christ after talking with Buck
.

Ken flew the helicopter that rescued Buck, Chloe, and me from the Rosenzweig estate in Israel. He was not an American terrorist. He was a hero. While Rayford Steele waited for us at Jerusalem Airport, Ken expertly flew us to the plane. He was shot to death by a Global Community peacekeeper. We will miss him greatly
.

Tsion went on to describe some of the ideas Ken Ritz had about feeding believers who would need to go underground after the Global Community required a mark to buy and sell.

“That's exactly what Z was talking about,” Judd said. “I hope they get together.”

“Z?” Nada said.

Judd explained what he and the Young Trib Force had been through. Nada listened carefully and wiped away a tear when she heard about Bruce, Ryan, Chaya, and John.

Judd hung his head. “And now, Mr. Stein's gone.”

Lionel rode in the backseat of Jamal's small car. They wound through the Jerusalem streets that seemed deserted compared to the time of the Meeting of the Witnesses. Lionel wanted to ask questions, but each time Jamal would hold up a hand. “Very dangerous. Must concentrate.”

They parked in the back of the funeral home. A hearse was parked with its back door open. Jamal knocked twice at the building, waited, then knocked a third time. A face appeared at the window.

A tall, thin man pointed toward Lionel. The man had circles under his eyes, and his wispy hair was combed over his forehead. “Who is he?”

Jamal explained that Lionel was a friend of Mr. Stein. The man showed them to a nearby room with a wooden coffin.

“You spared no expense,” Jamal said.

“This will be lighter for you,” the man said as he helped them carry the coffin to the waiting hearse.

“How much for the … burial?” Jamal said.

“Get the hearse back this afternoon and we'll call it even,” the man said.

Lionel jumped in the back with the coffin. Jamal shook hands with the man and climbed in behind the wheel.

“What about your car?” Lionel said.

“I will pick it up when I return the hearse,” Jamal said.

Lionel looked at the coffin. “I appreciate you doing this, but what are we going to do with the body?”

Jamal ignored Lionel's question and said, “Open the lid and see what kind of shape he is in.”

“What?” Lionel could see Jamal's eyes in the rear-view mirror.

“They said he was badly beaten at the station,” Jamal said. “Open it and tell me how he looks.”

Vicki wanted to speak with Melinda about why she had left the kids, but Janie kept talking about Enigma Babylon One World Faith. She didn't seem to think of anyone but herself. When Conrad and Mark cut through the handcuffs, Melinda went to her room to sleep.

“I broke out two days ago,” Janie continued. “I slept in a barn the first night and then I found your friends. Lucky break, huh?”

“Yeah,” Vicki said. “I'm going to set up your room, but we have to get some things straight first.”

“Shoot,” Janie said.

“The stuff that got you into trouble when—”

“The drugs?” Janie said. “I'm clean; you don't have to worry about that.”

“Good,” Vicki said. “Everybody pitches in with the work here. We take turns with chores and cleaning.”

“Yeah, I can handle that,” Janie said.

“And we're starting a school in the next few days. We'd like you to try it out as part of our first group of students.”

“School for what?” Janie said.

“It'll mostly be studying the Bible. We have material we think will help you. We'll all be studying it.”

Janie scowled. “I already have my religion. Don't know what good the Bible will do me.”

“Let's give it a week and see what happens,” Vicki said.

Lionel took a deep breath. He had seen dead bodies before, but it was different looking at someone he knew and loved.

“Can't it wait till we get … to wherever we're going?” Lionel said.

“Open it,” Jamal said.

Lionel slowly opened the coffin. Mr. Stein lay peacefully, his eyes closed, his hands folded together. Lionel thought the funeral director had done a good job making him look as lifelike as possible. Mr. Stein had bruises around his eyes and a gash in his lower lip. The funeral director had even put a hint of a smile on the man's face.

“How does he look?” Jamal said.

Lionel shook his head. “I hate to think of what they did to him.”

“If you could say one thing to your friend that you didn't get to say, what would it be?” Jamal said.

Lionel closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I guess I never told him how much I appreciated him. He hadn't been a believer that long, but he motivated all of us to study harder. I'm gonna miss him.”

When Lionel opened his eyes, Mr. Stein was sitting up in the coffin, his face inches away.

“And I would say the same to you,” Mr. Stein chuckled.

18

JUDD
couldn't believe it when Mr. Stein walked through the door of the apartment. Mr. Stein hugged him, then moved to Nada. “I have heard from Yitzhak what women of faith you and your mother are.”

“Yitzhak talks too much,” Nada said, blushing.

All Lionel could do was shake his head. “I thought he was dead.”

The witnesses who had remained in Jamal's apartment eagerly greeted Mr. Stein. Some spoke in other languages, but Judd could tell they were thanking God their prayers had been answered. As they sat down at the evening meal, Mr. Stein explained what had happened. Nada and Jamal interpreted for the others.

“When the meeting ended that final night, I accompanied Yitzhak behind the stage to greet Dr. Ben-Judah,” Mr. Stein said. “We all thought it might be our last time to express our gratitude to him. The rabbi seemed agitated, like something was wrong. I overheard him talking to Mr. Williams. He said, ‘I have a terrible feeling I can only assume is from the Lord.' He wanted to leave quickly, but Mr. Williams could not find his wife and Dr. Rosenzweig. We all looked for them.

“Buck ran away, then a few moments later rushed at Tsion. They hit the ground just as gunfire erupted.”

Judd broke in and told them what had happened with the Global Community guard. The witnesses all praised God when Judd told them the guard had become a believer.

Mr. Stein picked it up from there. “GC guards ran to the stage as the gunfire began,” he continued. “Buck grabbed Dr. Ben-Judah and ran for their car. The local committee provided a few obstacles.”

“What do you mean?” Lionel said.

“We stood in front of the exits and blocked the guards,” Mr. Stein said. “We thought it was the least we could do for Tsion.”

Witnesses laughed. “What happened then?” Lionel said.

“They shot their guns in the air to frighten us, but we were not about to allow them to shoot at our leader.”

“Did that stop them?” Judd said.

Mr. Stein smiled. “We gave the rabbi and the others a few extra moments to get away. The guards finally got through us, but not before Tsion and the others escaped.”

“Is that when you were arrested?” Judd said.

Mr. Stein nodded. “I have never been treated so roughly in my life. They held their guns to our heads and led us to a GC van parked near the entrance to the stadium. We sang praises to God and encouraged each other with verses we had memorized. I said to Yitzhak, if Paul and Silas can pray all night in prison, so can we.”

The witnesses seated around him sent up another cheer.

“Daniel stood in the van as it careened around the streets. He shouted, ‘We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed and broken. We are perplexed, but we don't give up and quit.' Another said, ‘We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going.' And Yitzhak finished the passage, saying, ‘Through suffering, these bodies of ours constantly share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.'

“When we stood before the Global Community officers, each of us was asked why we were a follower of Dr. Ben-Judah. I learned later that each of us answered with the apostle Paul's words, ‘I believe in God, and so I speak!'”

The witnesses around the room lifted their hands and praised God. Some whispered; others shouted.

Mr. Stein held up a hand. “I had no idea the enemy would inflict so much punishment on us. They knocked us down and made us suffer greatly. They beat me again and again, asking me where they could find the rabbi and the others. But I do not know, so how could I tell them?”

Mr. Stein smiled, then grew serious. “At one point yesterday, I believe they planned to kill me. They knew I was the only American in the group and believed I had to know more than I had told them, which was nothing. They had treated me so badly they knew there was nothing they could do to make me give them information about my friends.