The Left Behind Collection: All 12 Books (286 page)

In New Babylon, Chang worried he would be found out if people realized he was the one among them not afflicted with the sores. His boss had e-mailed him to see how he was, and Chang intimated that he had better stay in his room for several days. His boss granted that permission, provided Chang was sure to put in place what was necessary for the senior medical staff person in the palace to go live on the special channel with treatment advice.

Chang was able to do that without leaving his apartment. He watched a bit of the feed, reminding himself that at 1:00 Palace Time, Nicolae would enter the temple.

Dr. Consuela Conchita, with dark circles under her eyes and seeming to struggle to sit up straight, walked people through their own treatment. “The fact is that we have thus far been unable to specifically diagnose this pandemic affliction,” she said. “It begins as an irritation of the skin, most often in areas normally covered by clothing, though it has been known to spread to the face and hands.

“In its initial stages it progresses to a serious itch, soon becoming a running sore that acts like a furuncle or a boil and sometimes even a carbuncle. But whereas the usual such maladies are caused by acute staph infections, these have not responded to conventional symptomatic treatment. While staphylococcal bacteria are naturally found in these sores, because such are found on our skin surfaces anyway, some as yet undetermined bacteria make this outbreak much more serious and difficult to treat.

“While these do not appear life threatening, they must be carefully managed to keep from becoming deeply infected abscesses. We have ruled out any causal relationship between the sores and the methods used to administer the mark of loyalty. So while the sores seem to affect only those who have the mark, the connection seems entirely coincidental.

“These types of skin problems can lead to permanent scarring, so it is important to keep the affected areas clean and use any anti-itching recipe you find helpful. Antibiotics have not yet proven effective at containing the infection, but are recommended nonetheless.

“Wear loose clothing to allow for good ventilation of the skin. Avoid intravenous drug use, and invest in a good antibacterial soap. Use hot or cold compresses, whichever best alleviates your discomfort. Fever and fatigue are common side effects.”

Chang didn’t know if it was the power of suggestion or just his own irrational fear. But he noticed an itch on his shin, leaped from his chair, and pulled up his pant leg. There was nothing visible, but he couldn’t keep from scratching the spot. That made it redden, but was there something deeper? He told himself it couldn’t be, that even if he
had
the mark of Carpathia, he had neither chosen it, nor had or would he ever worship the image of Nicolae, let alone Nicolae himself.

Buck could hardly believe it when dozens of unmarked civilians approached Chaim and asked to pray with him. “You realize you could pay with your life,” Chaim told them. “This is no idle commitment.”

People knelt before him, following him in prayer. The mark of the seal of God appeared on their foreheads.

“Those of you who are Jews,” Chaim said, “listen carefully. God has prepared a special place of refuge for you. When Carpathia’s plans to retaliate reach their zenith, listen for my announcement and head south out of the city. Volunteers will drive you to Mizpe Ramon in the Negev. My assistant here will tell you how to recognize them by something we can see that our enemy cannot. If you cannot find transportation, get to the Mount of Olives where, just as from Mizpe Ramon, you will be airlifted by helicopter to Petra, the ancient Arabian city in southwestern Jordan. There God has promised to protect us until the Glorious Appearing of Jesus when he sets up his thousand-year reign on earth.”

As noon approached, the men from the Wailing Wall made their way toward the temple. They were serious-looking, and clearly not happy. Many were in traditional Jewish garb and stood at the edges of the crowd that pressed in on Chaim. They listened, but none approached or spoke. Several glanced over their shoulders at the temple and at the monitors, apparently to be sure they missed nothing.

Chaim finished with the new believers, and as they slowly dispersed, he gestured to those who had come from the Wailing Wall. “You holy men of Israel,” he said, “I know who you are. You remain unpersuaded that Jesus bar Joseph of Nazareth is the foretold Messiah, yet neither do you accept that Nicolae Carpathia is of God. I urge you only to listen as a man enters your Holy of Holies and defiles it in his own name. I shall tell of Scriptures that foretold this very event. Then I will beg your indulgence yet again as I seek refuge for you at Masada, where I will present the evidence for Jesus the Christ as the Messiah of Judaism.”

The holy men scowled and murmured.

“Gentlemen!” Chaim called out with authority. “I ask only for your attention. What you do with this information is entirely up to you. Without God’s protection you run the risk of death opposing the ruler of this world, and yet his desecration of this holy site will enrage you.”

Buck felt his phone vibrate and saw that Chang was calling. “Make it quick,” Buck said.

“Are you aware of my sister’s idea of my cutting in on Carpathia’s broadcast and superseding it with Dr. Ben-Judah’s?”

“Chloe told me. Can you do it for Chaim as well?”

“With your help.”

“What do you need?”

“A camera and a microphone.”

“Where do I get that?”

“You’re there, Mr. Williams. I’m not. Obviously, Carpathia will have cameras in the temple and wants the world to see what he does there. My schedule says he’s going to speak afterward, but I can’t tell if that’s inside or outside. If you can somehow commandeer a camera and mike while he’s inside, I can put Rosenzweig on instead of Carpathia, and he won’t know it until someone gets to him.”

“I like that.”

“I do too,” Chang said, “but if he makes his speech outside, he’ll see what we’re doing.”

“We’ve got to take that chance. And here he comes now. Chaim thinks he will speak outside on a replica of Solomon’s scaffold. He’s got an entourage of civilians around him carrying an extravagant throne, and some are dragging that pig from yesterday. Carpathia just told ’em, ‘You will all be rewarded. Soon the world will know beyond doubt that I am god.’ ”

“No GC brass with him?”

“Yeah, I see Fortunato and Moon and a few others, but they look terrible. They’re not going to be much help to him.”

“There have to be unmanned GCNN cameras around, with all the technicians down with sores.”

“I see a few on tripods, aimed at the temple.”

“Can you grab one?”

“Who’s going to stop me?”

“Go for it. I just need to know the number on the upper left in the back, and be sure a monitor and a mike are attached.”

“Hang on.”

Buck hesitated as Carpathia stopped near them, Fortunato, Moon, Ivins, and others mince-stepping behind, pale and haggard. The holy men turned and glared at them. Nicolae pointed at Chaim. “You I will deal with later,” he said. “This spell of yours is temporary, and what happened to your two crazies at the Wailing Wall will befall you as well. And as for you,” he added, gesturing to the angry men, “you will regret the day Israel turned her back on me. A covenant of peace is only as good as either side’s keeping its word.”

“Boo!” one shouted, and others hissed and -clucked their tongues. “You would dare blaspheme our God?” Still more joined in, raising their fists.

Carpathia turned toward the temple, then spun back. “Your God?” he said. “Where is he? Inside? Shall I go and see? If he is in there and does not welcome me, should I tremble? Might he strike me dead?”

“I pray he does!” a rabbi shouted.

Carpathia leveled his eyes at the men. “You will regret the day you opposed me. It shall not be long before you either submit to my mark or succumb to my blade.”

He strode up the temple steps, but his suffering followers had to help each other ascend. The holy men followed several feet behind. When Carpathia and his people followed a contingent of his loyal civilians past the pillars and into the porch area, the men stood outside, rocking, bowing, crying out to God.

Buck jogged to an unmanned camera and mike, his phone to his ear. A small monitor and headphones dangled beneath the camera, fastened between two of the tripod legs. The monitor carried the network’s global feed and just then showed Carpathia entering the temple. The camera operator must have been newly recruited, because he fumbled for the correct lens opening.

“Got it,” Buck told Chang and read him the information.

“Good! Wireless. Get it as close to Rosenzweig as you can, and set the mike in the cradle beneath the lens.”

Buck tried to wrestle the tripod, but the wheels were locked, and working with just one hand, he barely kept it from toppling. He told Chang he’d call him back and went to work on the wheels.

Meanwhile, Chaim unloaded on Carpathia again. “If you are God,” he railed, “why can you not heal your own Most High Reverend Father or the woman closer to you than a relative? Where are all your military leaders and the other members of your cabinet?”

The attention of the crowds moved from Chaim to the temple entrance again. His ploy had worked. Carpathia had reappeared. Many of the holy men rushed down the steps, effectively blocking Nicolae’s view of the camera now in front of Chaim, but Buck feared it appeared they were scared of the potentate.

“Where are your loyal followers,” Chaim continued, “those who have taken your cursed mark and worshiped you and your image? A body covered with boils is the price one pays to worship you, and you claim to be God?”

To Buck it appeared Nicolae was merely trying to stare down the old man. The Rosenzweig Buck knew would not have been able to withstand that kind of psychological warfare, but Micah—this new Moses—held Carpathia’s gaze so long without even blinking that Nicolae finally turned away.

Buck studied the monitor. It looked like the last exchange had not been broadcast. The picture now showed someone in the studio in New Babylon announcing that GCNN was “returning to Jerusalem, where His Excellency will tour the famous temple. With the illness affecting much of our staff as it has so many around the world, we ask your indulgence, as many of the technicians helping bring you this special event are volunteers.”

David worried when it took several rounds from the big guns and strategic use of the DEWs to finally dislodge from Petra the already boil-crippled GC forces. He was certain he had not been detected, and now he hoped the enemy’s military brass would rule out reinforcements.

Rayford told him that he and Albie and Mac were okay except for sore shoulders and ringing ears, and that George and Abdullah had reported a few more hits with the flesh-heating weapons as the fleeing GC passed within a quarter mile of their blind. “I wouldn’t be surprised,” Rayford added, “if you started getting a wave of new residents by late this afternoon.”

That was as close as David had ever been to live combat, but it had almost not seemed fair. He couldn’t imagine trying to stage an attack while most of your personnel were suffering from nasty sores.