Driver, T. C. (21 page)

“Gentlemen, the boys were never found, you, nor those boys found anything on any island.
Have any of you dumb sons of bitches ever seen or been to an island? Say No Sir!

“No Sir” We all answered

“Say it again” screamed Joe

“No Sir” …………
 
(silence).

“All of Doc’s family and known friends some two hundred and twenty eight souls world wide were all assassinated last night. All from one stupid phone call to home Arthur Hodge made. I myself and my family, yes all of our families and friends back home will be dead within twenty four hours of any leak of this day. World wide assassins are ready, and yes we know where you and yours live. Do you dumb bastards have any questions? Do you realize the danger I’ve put myself and my family in this day just to save your worthless ass. I don’t know? Maybe I should shoot this boat too. If any of you are brave enough to take a bullet now like a man, this will save your family for sure. This I guarantee. Also your company life insurance will pay double death by accident price” A few seconds later, true to his “handle” or nickname. The heavily tattooed Steve Miller straddled his legs far enough apart to stand up in the big rubber dinghy. With a nod from Joe, Steve was shot six times in the chest, three each from Friday and the mysterious man in black. Suicide fell stiff into the rolling Pacific. He floated for about a minute. We sat again in silence until the jerking started and unseen teeth from below pulled him under. We all then refueled and flew back to the ship. Steve’s plane was set on fire by fuel and a double barreled safety flare gun. It took Friday three shots to hit the plane he was shaking like a leaf. Your first murder or killing will do that to a man. Story was that the plane crashed with “Suicide” and “Doc” both in it. The boys were never found. They were lost to rising water in deep caves on the island. It then took us another two weeks to finish Island Number Three. After that the Great Ark doubled back to Island Number Two. The cover story was to look for the lost boys, just one last time. Six of the “Pigtails” and Captain Coe took choppers back and fourth to and fro between the ship and shore Oddly enough they took buckets of cement and trials. We then lingered days longer at Island Two for no apparent reason. Then one day another six men joined us by chopper from a distant parked destroyer. The “Pigtails did not get along with these men. Two of the new comers were sent away. The Pigtails did not like these six men, but had to report to them, and were dependant on them, and had fear of them. Captain Coe and I were alone outside on the catwalk from his bridge talking.
   

“Pray this works Cornelius” said Captain Coe! We could see and hear the men arguing down on flight deck. They were pointing fingers and shouting as two of the men were sent away. Much of the crew, many hundreds of people were on other balcony walk ways and also watching and listening from afar. The coming of these men had been the “buzz” about the ship all morning. Captain Joe was all stirred up. He was angry, red faced, and yes it showed. This was rare.
   

“What is the problem” I asked very respectfully.

“Two of the six Knights that Rome sent are not even Levites. They can’t help, they can’t inspect they can’t go to the island not even just to the camp. How could they do this to me said Joe?
 

“Knights, Rome, for the grace of God Joe!”

“Yes Cornelius.
  
For the grace of God”

“What about you Joe?” I asked “You helped on the island all last week”

“I’m a Levite Cornelius, and yes ordained by Rome. At least on paper, so are you stupid. All of our team is, or was.

“You mean the boys too!”

“Yes, Cornelius” said Joe Coe. “You’re not the sharpest knife in the drawer, are you Cornelius? Look, I have to call Mr. Child back. He’s in Rome. Before I call these men I have to ask you, just one more time, and be swearing to God honest with me Cornelius. Where all did the boys and or your team explore on this island! Was it all inside the large mouth cave! The old mine!

“Yes Joe” I answered. “The old mine, that was it”

“So everything you explored on this island was in that one cave and nothing else? .........

“Nothing else Joe, give it a rest”

“No where else?” Joe asked again, while pacing.

“Yes Joe”…. I said…. no where else!”

“Ok I believe you Cornelius” said Joe. Captain Coe
 
 
hesitated but then spoke softly. “Cornelius there are a few things that this Mr. Child you and I all share in common”

“What’s that Joe?” I asked getting curious.

“Way back in history we were of the same tribe and also our family names have been shortened. I told my eldest daughter to be patient that another one could be found or come along.

“Patient” I shouted…. “You mean West Virginia cousin patient don’t you Joe. Stop right there you’re making me sick”

“Sarah’s baby is named Aaron Benjamin Cornelius Cohen! “Kin you believe that (ha-ha)! She married a Cohen” Joe laughed and waved me out of his office back out on to the bridge railing. Then he made his phone call to Rome. The Vatican I guessed. Joe talked to two men and then hung up in a sweat. If my lip reading is any good he said, Thank you both, God Bless you and thank you again. Yes, it is done. Joe stared out his huge bridge windows and moved his thumb to an unseen app and waited. One of the choppers on his far distant horizon then blew up. The other continued toward the distant destroyer.
 

Two of the six “Pigtails” had stayed behind on Island Number Two. By the serious service and praising and long goodbyes I guessed it was a stay for Life. Who got back to the destroyer? The ones who went to the island or the chopper that was sent away? I could only guess which! While I was coming down the outside stairs from the bridge, the ship’s Chaplin stopped me at the bottom.

“Wow, Tommy’s must be bigger than I thought. A top Vatican aide, the bishop of Jerusalem, and those four old rabbis, The Knights, did you see their mark?

“What … their mark Father?” I asked

“Cornelius those men are Templar Knights, They report only to the Vatican, The short guy was the bishop. Those Rabbis! I’m guessing the top Sanhedrin temple leaders, or elders.

“Are you sure father?” I asked

“Of course I’m a Priest, I know, I’m a man of God.”

“Father, do you know anything about the golden mean, the number 26, or 24 elders?
 
Father, I’m Holiness! I’m working with my giant for God, can you help me?
       

The Chaplin started walking hastily away. “Pray without stopping Cornelius, I’ll find someone on my staff that can help you, Goodbye for now and God Bless you!”

Never talk about being Holiness to a Holy Father, or a Priest. Unless, that is you want to get rid of them (ha-ha).

That night the ship was underway again. I was back at my big round corner table at the ship’s Gospel Café. My South sea island adventure was always heavy on my mind, soul and spirit. It felt good to relax as the anti-professor and discuss world events and God’s word. My glassy eyed, brain washed students never had much to say. Everybody was looking forward to a month long layover in Hawaii. I was too. I called my ex-wife that night, and yes she was coming to meet me in Hawaii. Praise God, I would try to put the wonders and horrors of my South Sea Islands adventure behind me. I would find that life was not so easy.

  
At my corner table tonight were Daniel and Double De from Virginia. They say Virginia is for lovers. This couple must be a state post card. They were both of strong faith, a rare and refreshing combination of people to meet on the Great Ark. They had just been “down under” visiting at the “Coeville” family get together. They knew the Dave brothers and the Johnstons. I didn’t know all this tonight but I would find out later in Peal. Daniel was joking about original sin and Eve eating the apple. You all know the story. The couple talked about their home Bible study with their boys, so our focus turned to scripture.
                                                                                                     

The whole ship was talking about our up coming layover in Hawaii. Many had booked passage on this part of the Great Arks voyage just because of the Hawaii stay; Daniel and Double De were of this group. They took a few college courses but were older and more mature and here for a second honeymoon not a degree. The Ark was way behind schedule now. Hotel and tour bookings had been missed. The Ark would have to pay. This was all a big mess, and very worrisome to travelers making plans. The couple’s young boys were home with grandma, and an older daughter. I ordered a round of coffee and looked at Daniel’s family pictures, all while weighing in on Adam and Eve, as the anti- professor.

God teaches us in his Holy Bible that the man is the spiritual head, or leader of his house. He is ordained by God with this responsibility. The women must obey this godly calling of the man as long as he walks up right with God. The man is responsible to God, for what is done and is not done in his home. Spiritual warfare and the fighting of it, is led by the man. Each man must lead and teach his family in prayer and devotions. A man is held responsible by God, to perform this spiritual leadership. He must properly train, and keep his family in the ways of God. His family members are not held to this same standard by God, because God made man the head. For example; if a husband allows his wife to practice witchcraft, or raise children in false teaching, worship false Gods, or if any type of child abuse takes place, then the man has sinned against God.
 
If the man does these sane things himself; say physically emotionally, sexually, or economically abuse his own family then the wife has not sinned. This group responsibility is very serious for the man. Serious as hell! Men often sin by not doing something, by not stopping
  
evil things from coming into his household. Let us turn to Genesis three, verses two three and four.

And the woman said! Unto the serpent! We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden! But of the fruit of the trees which is in the mist of the garden, God hath said, ye shall not eat of it! Neither shall ye touch it! Lest ye die!

Notice that the “woman” said, not the serpent that she would die if she touched it. God did not lie. The serpent did not lie. No! Adam lied, to his wife about what God had said. Either that or the woman is lying to the serpent as to what she was told. What did Adam say to her about what God had said to him? Let us read God telling Adam, (alone) about the tree. Eve has not been made yet. Adam being the spiritual head was to train and teach God’s ways.

 
(15) And the lord God took the man! And put him into the Garden of Eden, to dress it, and to keep it!

(16) And the Lord commanded the man saying! Of every tree of the garden thou may freely eat

(17) but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shall not eat of it; for in that day that thou eatest there of, thou shall surly die!

Adam sinned by failing to teach Eve in God’s word, ways and laws. Did he simply lie to her about what God had said to scare Eve away from the fruit? This before the serpent came by and exploited his lie. If not then Eve lied. Both lies came before the fruit. Adam not Eve is responsible to God for original sin. Even though both were punished for sin and all of us have been born into sin or in separation from God ever since.
 

Daniel and Double De seemed to agree with me, or just didn’t like to argue such things. Maybe they both felt sorry for the “old man” who knows? I would have the pleasure of seeing them often during our stay at Pearl Harbor. They called their daughter from my table, the boys were fine. Who was missing who more I thought (ha-ha).

The next week the Great Ark pulled stately and slow into Pearl Harbor! It was a blessing for me to see Pearl one last time. It was very disturbing and sad to see her also. My grand old Pearl was only a shadow of her former glory. The base wasn’t officially closed yet. One half had been sold. Only a few staff left to close the base up. The old U.S. flag still flew. I was glad of this but was still surprised. The Chinese were moving slow on bidding on the base, trying to lower the price. The Japanese had long ago taken over the Arizona memorial and allowed the American flag to remain in respect to the graves. A large Mosque’s golden dome towered over the harbor, still surrounded by construction cranes. President Osoma had given away fifty seven construction sites, and fifty seven Billion Dollars to Islamic Leaders world wide, asking forgiveness from them for the fact that hate filled Christian Americans helped Israel survive during the resent “Islamic Spring,” War of the Trumps.
 
These extremist Christian right wing racist
  
hate groups and Tea Party Terrorists would no longer override, and undermine American policy. This is what change looks like, American power was dead. Osoma freed
   
this world from America and all Americans from God. Osoma apologized for not seeking out and destroying dangerous hate speech before the election, but now his swift polices would turn the tide. News and web sites were not completely censored here as in the mainland. Hawaii claimed Chinese human rights protection and so for Osoma has dared not interfere.
 
The nightly news here was very disturbing to every American on ship. Many Jews were in the islands hoping to escape from America, by using the new Chinese human rights protection. I had thought that my retirement had been “made” by my working on the Ark. I now learned that the dollar had lost half of its value since I had been at sea. President Osoma’s Chief of staff; Benedict M. Dubris was credited for this goodwill gesture to the Islamic world. Bombings in American shopping malls during the last ten months have gone down 22 percent from last year.
 
Osoma was praised on NBC.