The Guardian (42 page)

“You think she knows what you meant?” Patrice asked.

“Judging by the expression on her face,” he said, “I’d say she knows exactly what I meant.”

“I felt the same way when I was called, you know,” Patrice said matter-of-factly.

“Me, too,” Jason nodded.

The door to the cockpit opened up and the copilot stepped into the cabin. “Just received a news wire you might be interested in,” he said. “Seems a new pope has been elected.”

“Fascinating,” Patrice said.

“There’s more,” the copilot said. “Cardinal Louis Wickham was found dead just a little while ago. The entire Vatican is under lockdown.”

Jason’s eyes grew wide. “That’s the man from the airport yesterday! He’s dead? What about the scroll?”

The copilot shook his head. “I only have a contact inside. He didn’t mention anything about a scroll. But he did say that Wickham’s death was very brutal. His larynx was crushed and his heart was ripped out.”

Jason’s stomach lurched. “Who do they think killed him?”

“They don’t know. No one saw anyone coming or going. His secretary was right outside the door. She saw him go in and didn’t see anyone come out. She only found him because the new pope

was trying to get him on the phone. When she buzzed him, there was no answer. She went inside the office to get him, and there he was.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Patrice said.

“Here’s the weird thing,” the copilot said. “My contact says they found an empty bag and thirty pieces of silver next to the body.”

Jason stood up. The hair on the back of his neck was tingling. Horror slid in icy drops down his spine. “Quick! Go tell the pilot he needs to hurry! We have to get there as fast as we can!”

Patrice stood up. “Jason, what’s wrong?”

Jason turned to her. “Just tell him to go faster. We have to get—”

“Why?” Patrice interrupted him. “What’s going on?”

Jason looked at her with desperation. “Please, Patrice, tell the pilot to floor it. I’m pretty sure we’re not the only ones who know where we’re going.”

P
ope Joseph I sat at his desk in the papal apartment. His things would be brought over in the next few days. But for now, the office was empty, save the desk, a few chairs, and a couch.

Word of Wickham’s death surprised him. He never liked the man, but at the same time, he wasn’t sure he felt safe having a cold-blooded murderer running around. He shouldn’t have to worry though. Next to the president of the United States of America, he was the most protected man on the planet. That reminded him: he needed to call the president. Wish him well.

He hadn’t heard the door open or anyone announce themselves coming in, so the footsteps he heard behind him caused his heart to skip. He swung his chair around to face his guest. “Oh, it’s you.”

“Hello, Joseph.”

“You shouldn’t be here. In case you haven’t heard, Wickham is dead. Murdered. Brutally, from what I’m told. The whole place is under lockdown.”

“Yes, I heard. And to be honest with you, it wasn’t that brutal.

I barely touched him.” He smiled a sneaky grin.

Joseph felt suddenly faint. “You … you did that?”

Lucifer placed his hand on Joseph’s shoulder. “Joseph, do you know who I am?”

Joseph nodded slowly.

“Then you know that I make the rules. I do what I want. This is my world, Joseph. It was given to me. Louis was a worker bee. You, Joseph, you are a prince! You will be my son. I will be your father. I will give you all of my authority. You will do great things in my name. The people of this world will worship me through you.”

“How,” Joseph asked. “Why?”

Lucifer pulled the scroll out of his pocket. “Because I have this.”

“Yes, Wickham showed it to me, but it’s just a riddle.” “I’m very good at riddles, my son.” “What does it mean?”

“It reveals the location of a very special place. And how to get there.”

“Where?”

“To the place where your original parents first broke His heart.

Awww, isn’t that sweet?” “The Garden of Eden?”

“Yes. I suspect that He decided that if one of His little monkeys could figure out how to get back there, He’d let them back in. And then that little carpenter boy would be free to come back here and finish what He started.”

“Is that really how it was supposed to go?” Joseph asked, glued to Lucifer’s words.

“It doesn’t matter. It won’t happen now.”

“What about the girl?”

“I’ll make sure that they don’t get there.”

“What if they do?”

Lucifer slammed his fist on the desk. “They won’t! And as soon as I stop them, this world will be mine forever. I will be the god that these people pray to!”

Joseph lowered his eyes and said, “Father, I don’t mean to question you, but how can you be sure?”

Joseph could see Lucifer liked the sound of that word,
Father
. He would have to use it often. Anything to keep this dangerous being happy.

Lucifer smiled. “If none of you monkeys ever find this place, I will rule this world forever.”

A
nna stood beside Jason in the hangar, waiting on their ride. She’d spent the last half hour of the flight alone. After coming out of the restroom, she’d taken a seat in the back of the plane. Jason and Patrice had kindly left her alone.

The camouflage-painted Jeep pulled into the hangar. Its driver got out and handed Jason the keys. “Your ride.” His English was broken but understandable.

“Thank you,” Jason said. He threw his backpack into the back of the Jeep. Anna did the same.

Patrice was standing at the rear of the plane, taking the remainder of the bags from the pilot as he handed them down from the baggage compartment. She walked over to Jason and said, “I need to talk to you. Alone.”

“Sure. Let’s talk.”

They walked to the end of the hangar. Patrice handed Jason a 9mm pistol and a TEC-9 semiautomatic rifle. “You’re on your own for this.”

“Yeah, I figured you’d say that.”

“Hey,” she said, holding up her hands, “it’s not that I wouldn’t want to see the Garden of Eden …. It’s just, well, you know … Adam and Eve … you and Anna … me the third wheel …”

“No,” Jason said, “I get it. It’s okay. We’ll be fine. I won’t let anything happen to her.”

“I know that, love.” Patrice scratched her chin and said, “Tell you what. I’ll stick around here and see if I can find out about anyone looking for you two. If I’m needed, I’ll find you.”

Jason smiled, gave Patrice a hug, and said, “Thank you. We’ll be careful. I promise.”

Jason joined Anna, who was already seated in the Jeep, still as silent as she’d been on the plane. Jason reached behind him and pulled his backpack into the front seat and handed it to Anna. “There’s a map in there. I drew it while you were in the … you know … I drew it on the plane.”

It felt awkward sitting there with her. He wanted to say something about their earlier conversation, but he didn’t want to press the issue. It was Anna who brought it up a few minutes later as he drove away from the airport.

“So, I was thinking,” she said, “what makes you so different from me?”

Jason could already hear the accusatory tone. He let it pass. If things went the way he thought they would, this would be the best conversation he and Anna would ever have in their entire existence. He sent up a silent prayer for wisdom.

Anna stared at him. “Well?”

“Anna, do you believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for real, actual sin? And that God raised him again on the third day?” “Yeah, I guess so.”

“Well, so do demons. That doesn’t mean that they are saved.

Believing that up here”—he tapped on the side of his head—”doesn’t make someone right with God. It doesn’t save them from their sin.”

Anna rolled her eyes. “See, there it is! I don’t get the whole ‘saved’ thing. Why can’t I just say I believe and be done with it?”

Jason took a deep breath and let it out. “Anna, it’s possible to believe in things that we don’t care about. People do it every day. People believe that there is hunger around the world and lack of clean water, but they don’t care. If they did, they would do something to change it. However, it is impossible to care about something you don’t believe in. In other words, our lives will demonstrate what we care about and believe in. Simply believing in something doesn’t mean that you’ll ever care about it. You follow me?”

“Okay, you make a good point.”

His fingers tapped the steering wheel. “Tons of people say they are believers in Jesus, but they don’t actually care about Him. It doesn’t affect their life, and that is not salvation. Anna, the Bible makes it very clear. Every person has sinned and fallen short of God’s standard. God is perfect and holy, and if we want a relationship with Him, we must be holy. But we’re not. Nobody is. And because of our sinful nature, we are separated from God. Nothing we do can ever earn a relationship with Him.”

“I’m not perfect by any means, but I’m not that bad either,” Anna said matter-of-factly.

“Compared to whom?” Jason asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Compared to me? Compared to the people who were trying to kill you? You see, the problem is, most people measure themselves against other people. Compared to some people in this world, you are right—you are not that bad at all. But you and I won’t be measured by other people when we stand before God. God will judge us according to His holiness, not by other people. And that means we’re in big trouble. But God, whose love for us is immeasurable, looked at us, a broken and sinful people, and gave His perfect Son for us. On the cross, Jesus took our sins on to Himself and paid the price that God requires for sin: death. On the cross, our sin, and the sin of all who come to Him to receive His righteousness, was put on Him. That means that those who accept that grace are no longer seen by God as sinners, but as people with perfect holiness and righteousness, and therefore are able to have a relationship with Him. All because of Jesus.
Only
because of Jesus.”

Anna let a few seconds go by, seemingly trying to wrap her mind around Jason’s words, then said, “So does that mean I have to become a missionary like you?”

Jason laughed. “No, Anna. It means that you give yourself to Jesus and serve Him wherever He leads you. You quit relying on the things of this world to be your source of joy. He gives grace freely to those who accept it. You merely need to accept it.”

“Then what happens?”

“Anna, let me ask you something. Do you feel like God is drawing you to Him?”

“What does that mean?”

“It means exactly what it means. Do you feel like God is speaking to your soul? Calling you to come to Him?”

She sat silently, and a single tear ran down her cheek. “I think so.”

Jason took her hand, keeping his other hand on the steering wheel. “You know so.”

She nodded as more tears came.

They had been driving for a while now and were out of the

city. The road they were on was barely a road. It was more like a compacted dirt path in the middle of the desert. There weren’t many cars going either way. Jason pulled over to the side. “Then, Anna, you need to cry out to God and tell Him. You need to give your life to Jesus, turn your heart over to Him. Tell Him that you don’t just believe it, but you care about it. That you need Him.

She wiped her face and asked, “And how do I do that?”

“First we need to draw a pint of blood …”

“What?” She pulled her hand away from him.

He started laughing. “I’m just kidding. Give me your hand.” She looked at him skeptically. He leaned in and put his arm around her. “Now, I’m going to pray for you, silently. While I’m doing that, I want you to talk to God. Tell Him that you know you have a sinful and broken heart. Thank Him for giving Jesus to die in your place. Ask Him for forgiveness, and tell Him that you accept His grace given through Christ’s sacrifice. Ask God to change your heart so that you can live for Him.”

Anna nodded. She watched as Jason closed his eyes and bowed his head. She did the same thing. She didn’t know where to start, so she just started talking.

“God, you know how I have lived my life. I have done many things that I’m ashamed of, and I know that I do not deserve your forgiveness. But I believe that Jesus died for me—for my sins. I know I need His help. God, I give you my life. I’m putting You first from now on. It will no longer be about me. I want to follow Jesus. Please help me, God. I can’t do it myself. Amen.”

When she was done, she looked at Jason, who had tears in his eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, Anna. Not anymore!”

“I feel relieved,” she said.

“Like how?”

“Like I’ve known that I needed to do that but I’ve been running from it.

“You have been,” Jason said. “But you’re His now and always will be.”

“So that’s it?” she asked hesitantly.

“No, it’s only just the beginning. Now, and for the rest of your life, Jesus will continue to shape you to be more like Him and you will get to know Him better. That’s the fun part. It’s an amazing journey!”

They spent the next two hours of the drive talking about what it meant to be a Christ follower. Anna had a thousand questions. Jason tried to answer them the best he could but finally admitted that no one knew all the answers. The best advice he could give her was to read the Bible. He told her that he’d never had a question about God, or faith, that he couldn’t find the answer to in the Bible.

The road finally ended in a small village dotted with a couple of shacks that looked like they would fall apart with the next sandstorm. A few chickens ran freely throughout the village, clucking around a handful of abandoned cars. The center of the village held a well, but it didn’t look like it was used, since the rope from which a bucket would normally hang was rotted. A lone old man sat in a dilapidated rocking chair in front of one of the shacks. He stared at them as they got out of the Jeep.

“Excuse me,” Jason yelled, as he started toward the man. “Do you speak English?”