The Prophet (Ryan Archer #2) (28 page)

Havitz nodded his head and rushed to the bedroom. He stood on the mattress and pried the sash loose, forcing the window open. He felt rain on his face.

Natalia screamed again. “
Please help me!
”

Suddenly she heard a voice from somewhere in the darkness. “Hey, there’s a kid up there.”

Her eyes searched the alley. She wiped rain from her eyes, blinking rapidly.

“Hello?” she called. “I’m up here!”

Then she saw a large black woman and a skinny black man, their faces upturned, eyes shining in the night. The woman was pointing up at her.

Natalia waved a hand back and forth. “I’m up
here!
” she said again.

“Baby, what are you doing up there?” the black woman called.

“Please help! Call the police! There are bad men up here trying to hurt me and my brother!”
 

“Where are your parents, child?”

“Please call the police!
Hurry!
” Natalia screamed. “I’m going to fall!”

“Stay put, child,” the woman said, fumbling with her purse. “Help is on the way!” Then she saw the woman start talking into her cell phone.

Natalia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She knew she could hold on for a few more minutes.

FORTY-ONE

The ceremony had begun.

Dinner was finished and all the guests had taken their places in the seating provided inside the grand ballroom. The ballroom had a high, vaulted ceiling with spectacular crystal chandeliers. The carpeting was crimson and gold. Dozens of tables had been brought in for the guests.
 

A hush fell over the room as the lights were dimmed and Alexander walked to the podium at the head of the room. He was dressed in a tuxedo the same as the other men in attendance. He took a moment to gaze out over the crowd. Tatum and Jimmy were seated at a table at the front, only a few feet away from the podium. He was pleased to see them there.

“It is a blessing to be here this evening, and to be able to spend this time with all of you,” Alexander began. “I consider myself blessed beyond measure to count each and every one of you as a friend and family member. For indeed, here at the Church of the Narrow Gate, we are family. We stand united, faithful, serving as a body of followers of the message that our leader has delivered to us.”

Tatum Cloud glanced up at her father. He was seated in a chair beside her at a round table with several others. Jimmy winked at her and smiled, holding her hand under the table. He gave her hand a light squeeze. Tatum’s heart warmed. She had missed her father, regardless of how isolated she often felt in his presence. He had always put his career and the demands of his public image ahead of all else, including her. But he was still her father and she craved his love and attention.

Tatum was unsure of what to think of what was happening around her. But she had never felt so overjoyed in her life. She had stood in the sunlight today. She had gone for a walk, and smiled, and raised her hands into the air and felt the warmth on her face and neck and hands. She had taken off her shoes and felt the warm grass between her toes. Tears of joy had run down her face. A feeling of absolute freedom had poured through her. She had been healed. And she owed everything to Alexander and Silas.
 

She smiled at her father, but something twisted inside her tummy at the thought of what it meant to become a part of this new “family.” She had so many questions. But there wasn’t time to get the answers she needed. The ceremony had already begun, and there was no way for her to turn back now.

* * *

In a small room upstairs, Silas was kneeling on a pillow in the dark. He was preparing his mind. In a few moments he would take a flight of stairs down to the ballroom to officiate the membership ceremony. Then he would place Tatum on a private jet that would take her to a guarded estate in Switzerland where she would be forced to live indefinitely. Then he would finally have total control of Jimmy Cloud, his money, and the immense power of his fame.

FORTY-TWO

Archer set the boxes down and went back through the kitchen, avoiding eye contact and passing through quickly enough to make it to the opposite end without drawing attention to himself.
 

He had made an educated guess that what he was looking for would be located somewhere near the kitchen. A hallway in the back of the kitchen led to an exterior exit, so he backtracked from there past a series of closed doors. One of them was marked UTILITY in yellow paint. He felt a twinge of optimism. The door opened onto stairs. There was a light switch on the wall at the top of the stairs but he opted for his penlight. He eased down into the cool air. At the bottom was a slab floor.

The room was filled with the electric hum of machinery. He shined the light through the shadows and nodded to himself with a sense of satisfaction. He had successfully stumbled upon the castle’s power plant. The circuit boxes were here, heating and air, water heaters, the gas line—everything needed to keep business up and running.
 

He opened a panel on a tall metal box and shined the narrow beam inside. He spotted the gas line and clipped it in half with his knife. The severed line began to hiss and the air began to rapidly fill with the sweet odor of natural gas.
 

Archer headed back up the stairs. He turned right and stepped inside a walk-in pantry. He searched the aisles of storage shelves and finally spotted a roll of brown paper towels. He sat on the top step inside the utility closet and pulled the cardboard center up out of the paper towels, leaving it sticking up halfway. Then he lit the cardboard tube with a cigarette lighter and left the roll setting on the top step.

The clock was now officially ticking.
 

He shut the door and cut through the kitchen to the dining hall, where the service staff was busily bussing tables. He assumed there were cameras everywhere, but wasn’t going to waste time dodging them.

The activity in the dining hall told him the crowd had moved on to another area of the castle. He needed to find Tatum, pronto. Time was running out.
 

Archer shed the white coat and hat. Long hallways with towering ceilings branched out in multiple directions. He leaned around a corner and saw two men in dark suits prowling the halls. Both were carrying guns. He glanced at his watch. He didn’t have but a few minutes before the gas reached the flame at the top of the stairs and the fireworks began. He had to find Tatum and Jimmy and get them out.

He sent a text to Webb, then put his cell phone away and took another look at the security goons around the corner. He had lost the walkie-talkie somewhere back in the ventilation shaft, but that was fine. He could live without it. He stood with his back flat against the wall as the two men approached and walked past. Then Archer slipped around the corner and into a massive hallway filled with art and an elaborate marble parquet floor.

He heard a voice. It sounded amplified. He followed the acoustics to a tall mahogany door and pressed his ear to the wood. It sounded like someone was giving a speech. He cracked the door an inch and saw people seated at tables, like a banquet hall. But he couldn’t see the speaker or Tatum or Jimmy.

Then he felt something press against the back of his head and instantly knew it was the barrel of a gun.

FORTY-THREE

“When I founded this church,” Silas began, standing at the podium, eyes moving across the room full of familiar, famous faces, “there was no way I could have ever imagined how this congregation would grow, both in the number of members worldwide, and spiritually. And
of course
,” he added with a Cheshire grin, “spiritual growth is what this journey of life is all about.”

A wave of applause rippled through the audience.
 

“The past forty years have been both a pleasure and blessing for me, each step of the way. I wouldn’t trade a single day of this journey for any amount of money. The rewards of serving as the head of this spiritual body go far beyond monetary gain. The gold and silver we reap in this world are just a token of what await each of us when at last we escape this mortal flesh we stand trapped in for now. But as they say,” his grin grew brighter, “no one gets out alive!”

Mild laughter rose and fell throughout the room.

“Our purpose on this earth is to touch lives and enrich souls, is it not? And each of you in this room, through fame and fortune and the power of industry, has the capability to reach out and touch more souls than any other body of individuals in the world. You are the world’s elite. That is why we have been brought together as a family. Because we are special. We are gifted. We are blessed. We are the chosen.”

The applause swelled once more as the members of the congregation rose to their feet. Silas paused his speech long enough for the adulation to continue for about a minute. Then as the noise died down, he continued.

“Tonight is special because it represents an extension of our reach into the world. Jimmy Cloud has one of the most recognizable faces on the planet. From the United States to China, he is known throughout. He is revered, respected, adored, and to some degree, even worshiped by a great many. Therefore it is a tremendous honor and privilege to welcome him and his precious daughter into our fold. Their membership in the Church of the Narrow Gate will usher in a new era of growth and prosperity. And that era begins, brothers and sisters … tonight.”

Silas stepped away from the podium and put his hand out. He looked down at the table where Jimmy and Tatum were seated.

“Jimmy. Tatum,” he said. “Come.”

There was awed silence as father and daughter stood from their seats and approached the leader of the church. There were two pillows placed on the floor to one side of the podium, and as instructed ahead of time, Jimmy knelt on one, as Tatum did likewise on the second pillow.
 

“Please bow your heads,” Silas told them.

* * *

“Mr. Archer, you are a very troublesome fellow.”
 

Archer noted the thick Russian accent and knew in an instant the man was Victor Klosko.
 

“I was just taking a stroll and decided to take a quick tour,” Archer said.

“I’m impressed by your skills and very disappointed in my men,” Klosko said, holding the gun to Archer’s head.

“Good help is hard to find.”

“Indeed.”

Archer had the dreaded thought that perhaps the flame on the paper towel had gone out and his plan would be detoured. It had been approximately three minutes since he’d lit the cardboard tube. The gas leak should reach the flame at any moment. He tried to relax and flow with the energy of the moment.
 

“Please open the door and step inside the ballroom,” Klosko said, directing him with the gun.

Archer did as ordered. The ballroom was an impressive sight. The tables were full of men and women in tuxedos and formal gowns. He spotted Silas Sawbridge standing at a podium at the head of the room, with two people kneeling before him. Archer immediately recognized them as Jimmy and Tatum.
 

Silas lifted a gold chalice studded with diamonds from the podium and stood before them. He placed a hand on Jimmy’s head and said a prayer, then had Jimmy recite the member pledge for all to hear. Then he repeated the process with Tatum. When both had completed the Pledge of Unending Devotion to the Church of the Narrow Gate, Silas poured red wine from the chalice over both their heads.
 

Archer observed the ceremony as Klosko escorted him around the outside of the gathering. No one noticed him being held at gunpoint because every eye was transfixed by Silas and the ceremony. Archer then watched as Silas drank from the chalice, then passed it to Jimmy and Tatum for them to drink from the cup as well.

“This wine that we taste represents a new beginning,” Silas said. “A rebirth. A passage from death into life. And behold, all things are become new. You may stand now.”

Jimmy and Tatum stood before him.

Silas pressed his hands together at his nose, as if in prayer, and said, “Welcome brother, welcome sister.” And then he hugged them both as the members of the congregation jumped to their feet and the room erupted in a huge wave of applause.

“Keep walking,” Klosko growled.
 

“Where are you taking me?”

“You are going to be tonight’s human sacrifice.”

As they stopped at the front of the room, the volume of the applause rising, Archer saw a man in a tuxedo at one of the tables in front stand and escort Tatum out a side door. Tatum turned to try to say something to her father but there wasn’t time. She was whisked away without a word. Jimmy looked confused. Silas saw Klosko standing near the far wall, holding the stranger at gunpoint, and in that moment he registered full understanding of what had happened. He smiled, knowing he had won.

Right at that instant, there was a loud explosion that shook the entire ballroom.
 

FORTY-FOUR

For a few seconds everyone stood frozen in shock, then the women began screaming and chaos filled the room. Silas stumbled backward a few steps and grasped at the podium with one hand to steady himself but the podium fell over and Silas went with it. Jimmy Cloud turned to watch the members of the congregation rush toward the exits.

Alexander and Tatum had already exited and were out of sight.

Archer used the moment of confusion to knock the gun away from his head. He shoved Klosko’s hand up and drove his shoulder into the man’s chest, driving him into one of the tables. They fell onto the table, Klosko firing the gun as Archer held the man’s arm behind his head. Archer drove his fist into Klosko’s throat. The blow was powerful and rendered Klosko unable to breathe. He tried to shove Archer away but Archer landed another punch that caused Klosko to drop the gun.
 

Klosko clutched at his crushed throat with both hands, coughing and gagging, rolling onto his side and tumbling off the table. He crashed onto a couple of chairs before hitting the floor.