Frantic (13 page)

Nada laughed. “You'll catch on quickly.”

Judd leaned close and kissed Nada's cheek.

“I love you,” she whispered.

Saturday evening Vicki checked their e-mail and found a response from Tom Gowin in South Carolina. Tom thanked them for alerting them to the GC activity and said they would pass the word. Mark had also written saying that he had traced the name
Chris Traickin
to an apartment near Baltimore. Mark had tried the phone number repeatedly, but there was no answer and no answering machine.

Good work,
Vicki wrote.
Keep trying
.

The truck rolled into the night. “How far are we from Johnson City?” Vicki said.

“We just passed Asheville,” Pete said. “We could be there in an hour or two, depending on the roads. Question now is, what are you going to do once you get there?”

“Pray,” Vicki said. “Pray hard.”

12

VICKI
and the others hit the outskirts of Johnson City, Tennessee, as the sun peeked over the mountain range. Vicki had seen trees and mountains like this in movies, but she'd never seen them this close.

“Just got another e-mail from Mark,” Shelly said from the sleeper. “He found somebody who knows Traickin and left a message.”

“All we can do is pray Mark gets through to him in time,” Pete said.

Pete rolled into a truck stop for a quick refuel, and the kids split up to see if they could find any information about the believers in town. The restaurant was nearly empty. Vicki grabbed a stool close to an older man who sat hunched over a cup of coffee. He had long hair that hung past his eyes. Vicki leaned over to reach for a packet of sugar and tried to see his forehead, but the man didn't look at her.

“Nice morning,” Vicki said.

The man sipped coffee and grunted, his hands shaking.

“You guys got those locusts around here too. We've seen them everywhere.”

The man turned to Vicki and rolled up his sleeve. At the top of a tattoo of an eagle was a huge red welt. The man gritted his teeth in pain. His eyes were bloodshot, and it looked like he had been up several nights in a row.

“I'm sorry,” Vicki said.

The old man turned back to his coffee, and the cook stepped from the kitchen. He wore a soiled apron and a chef's hat. He studied Vicki carefully and said, “What can I get you?”

“A cup of coffee would be great,” Vicki said.

As the cook poured the coffee, Vicki said, “You haven't been stung?”

The cook shook his head.

“Why not?”

“Lucky, I guess. Why do you ask?”

Vicki leaned over the counter. “Can you pull that hat back a little?”

The cook smiled. He tipped his hat and revealed the mark of the believer. “How about something to eat? It's on the house.”

Vicki moved to the end of the counter, out of earshot of the old man. “I'm looking for a group of believers that meets somewhere in town. Can you help me?”

The cook squinted and pointed toward Vicki's face. “No offense but can I make sure that's real?”

Vicki nodded and the man ran a finger across her forehead. “OK,” he said, reaching out his hand. “Name's Roger Cornwell.”

Vicki introduced herself and asked about the believers again.

“It's funny—about a half hour ago these two unmarked vans pulled up. Tinted windows. My boss stays inside his glass booth over there. I'm the one who goes outside since he thinks locusts don't sting people who work in the kitchen.” Roger snickered.

“The people in the van were believers?” Vicki said.

Roger shook his head. “Don't think so. The driver talked to me through this little speaker mounted by the windshield. Told me to fill up the vans and slid some money through a slot by the door handle. I started to clean the windshield and get a look inside, but the guy told me not to bother. I did see a stack of guns near the side door.”

“There were two vans?”

Roger nodded. “And locusts were buzzing around the things like bees to a hive.”

“They were GC,” Vicki said.

“That's what I thought,” Roger said, “but I couldn't figure out why they were way out here. We don't have any militia—”

“It's not about the militia,” Vicki said. She explained what they had learned about the GC plan.

Roger nodded and looked at his watch. “The GC must know where we meet. It's a bowling alley on the other side of town. People might already be there praying.”

“Can you contact anyone and call the meeting off?” Vicki said.

Roger scowled. “We're talking hundreds of people. Some have e-mail, but mostly we pass along information at the weekly service.”

“What about a phone?”

“Phone lines are down out there.”

Roger scribbled directions on a napkin. Vicki grabbed it and ran to the truck.

The departure time for Judd, Lionel, and Sam was changed to late afternoon in Israel. Yitzhak drove the boys to the airport and prayed for them. Judd was surprised that Nada hadn't come, but she said she didn't like good-byes and would see Judd when he returned.

The names Pavel gave them were called over the loudspeaker, and Captain Mac McCullum met the boys in a VIP room. He was all business until the door closed and they were alone. Mac shook their hands warmly and told them what to expect once they boarded the plane.

“Our space is a little limited with all the materials we're carrying,” Mac said. “The cargo hold is full, so we're putting some of the boxes of pamphlets in the main cabin.”

Judd led the way onto the tarmac when the time came to board. He had never seen a plane outfitted with so much leather.

The last of the materials were being loaded as Judd and the others were seated. “I'll call you to the cockpit once we're in the air.”

The takeoff was flawless, and as Mac said, he called the boys into the cockpit after the plane reached its flying altitude. Judd and Lionel were full of questions.

Mac explained that he had taken over flying the plane from Rayford Steele. “Ray knew it was only a matter of time before the potentate had him killed. He decided to bolt during the Meeting of the Witnesses, then came back and flew Tsion and Chloe home.”

“What about Buck?” Judd said.

“He's still stuck in Israel,” Mac said. “And it's a shame. He needs to get home to his wife.”

“That's right,” Lionel said. “Chloe's having a baby soon.”

“It's still a few months out, but we're working on a plan that'll get him back in time for the delivery.”

“How are you getting us into the country without anyone being suspicious?” Sam said.

“Pavel's dad worked it out,” Mac said. “He'll pick you up and drive you to his place. I'm off to deliver some more of the potentate's pamphlets.”

Mac laughed. It was wonderful to hear someone laugh again. “I'd like to see old Nicolae's face when he finds out what his personal plane was used for.”

“They know the stuff is getting out there, right?” Lionel said.

Mac nodded. “Leon and Peter the Second are furious about all the stuff that's flooding the globe. Those of us who are believers are really in a tight spot. There have been executions already.”

“What?” Lionel said.

“A couple of Peter Mathews's staff mentioned something Peter thought was private. They were killed the same day. Carpathia sent Peter a note of congratulations.”

Judd shook his head. “No telling what they'd do if they found out you're a believer.”

“Exactly,” Mac said, “and it might be soon that I have to reveal myself.”

“What do you mean?” Lionel said.

“Leon doesn't think we need religion anymore since we have Nicolae to worship. He wants to pass a law that people have to bow when they come into Nicolae's presence.”

“That's crazy,” Lionel said.

“Just shows what kind of trouble we're in,” Mac said.

“Which is why I don't understand why you'd take this kind of chance with us,” Judd said.

“I argued with Pavel's father about this little joyride,” Mac said, “but this one goes all the way to the top. Some people heard about his son and the condition he's in. They OK'd it so I couldn't say no.”

“What condition?” Judd said.

“You didn't hear?” Mac said. “Pavel is . . . well, let's just say the disease that put him in that wheelchair is winning.”

“He's going to die?” Judd said.

“I'm sorry you had to hear it from me,” Mac said. “I thought you knew.”

Vicki told Pete and the others what she had learned. Pete punched in the location of the meeting place and shook his head. “We're about forty-five minutes away if we take my rig.”

“Roger showed us a back way,” Vicki said.

“I'll get a bike,” Conrad said.

Pete ran inside the truck stop and returned with Roger. Conrad rolled a motorcycle down the ramp and gassed up.

“You stick with Pete and help him navigate,” Vicki said to Shelly. “We'll see who gets there first.”

Vicki grabbed the directions and hopped on the back of the motorcycle with Conrad. Pete and Roger unhooked the trailer.

“What's he doing?” Vicki shouted.

“Maybe he can get there faster without that big load,” Conrad said.

Vicki pointed the way as Conrad weaved through back roads. As Vicki suspected, they passed few cars. Some were parked in ditches along the main highways. Vicki guessed these were people who had been driving when the locusts attacked.

“It should be on the other side of this mountain,” Conrad said as he turned onto a dirt road that seemed to go straight up.

Vicki held on tightly as they climbed the rutted road, bouncing their way to the top. The only thing more frightening than going up was coming down. Conrad rode the brakes, but it felt like Vicki's stomach was doing flip-flops.

When they neared the bottom, Conrad slowed and turned off the engine. They coasted the rest of the way and came to a stop near a paved road.

Vicki stood on the backseat and craned her neck. She saw the long, white building with a bowling pin on the front.

“Hide!” Conrad whispered. “We've got company.”

Conrad pushed the cycle behind some bushes. Two white vans slowly passed and moved toward the bowling alley.

“They're going the wrong way,” Vicki said.

The vans drove about a half mile and parked overlooking the bowling alley. “They're probably going to wait until everyone's inside, then spring their little trap,” Conrad said.

Vicki and Conrad walked closer to the vans, making sure they kept out of sight. Locusts swarmed around the windows. Every few minutes the drivers activated a spray that sent the locusts scattering. Moments later, the locusts were back, trying to get inside.

From this spot above the valley, the GC could see every car and person who walked inside. Fifty cars lined the parking lot and more were coming every minute.