Into the Storm (7 page)

Vicki was in tears.

“Do you know where he is?” Lionel said.

“Bruce’s room,” Vicki managed.

Lionel found Ryan staring out Bruce’s window.

“I’m sorry for snapping at you,” Lionel said.

“Yeah, it’s OK,” Ryan said flatly.

“I didn’t mean what I said either.”

“I don’t hold it against you,” Lionel said.

“We’re all pretty raw right now.”

“So you’re giving up?” Ryan said.

Lionel frowned. He didn’t want to get into it with Ryan again. If things had to end, he wanted them to end well.

“I don’t think you’re rid of me yet,” Lionel said.

“A couple of years and I’ll be on my own.”

“A couple of yearsis a long time when there’s only five left altogether,” Ryan said.

“I don’t know why this has happened,” Lionel said.

“I keep thinking maybe there’s somebody down South who needs to hear the truth. My going might be the only way they’ll hear it.”

Ryan turned.

“I’m sorry ... about everything,” he said.

“We had some good fights,” Lionel said.

Ryan smiled.

Lionel saw a van pull into the driveway. Nathan Sebring got out.

Lionel shook hands with Ryan.

“Call me,” Ryan said.

“You bet,” Lionel said.

As Lionel grabbed his suitcase, Darrion came out of her room, crying.

“They’ve arrested my mother,” she said. The others came to comfort her.

As he got in the car, Lionel looked back at the house. The kids were standing outside. He had been through so much with these friends. He allowed a thought to cross his mind: This might be the last time I see any of them in this life.

Judd looked at his E-mail early the next morning, but there were no answers from Vicki, Lionel, or Ryan. Taylor Graham had showed Judd how to send and receive mail without tipping the GC.

“It’s unsafe to use the satellite phone,” Graham had said.

Judd tried to think of who else he could reach to get to the kids. He sent a message to Buck, Chloe, and even Dr.

Ben-Judah. While he was on-line, the computer blipped.

“Incoming message,” a voice said. The screen switched, and Judd saw words being typed by Dr. Tsion Ben-Judah.

“Judd, I have had no contact with your friends, but I must ask you a question,” the rabbi typed.

“Go ahead,” Judd typed back to him.

“I am receiving hundreds of responses already to postings on the Internet,” Dr. Ben-Judah said.

“As you can imagine, I am unable to respond to them all. A few are from younger readers. I would like to send a note of thanks and tell them a colleague will respond to their questions or concerns. Would you assist me with this important task? “

A colleague with Tsion Ben-Judah? Judd thought. Judd certainly had the time now that he was also in hiding.

“I would be honored,” Judd wrote.

“Send the messages immediately.”

^, Vicki was glad Ryan didn’t argue about staying at Judd’s house. When a neighbor approached them and asked about a strange man snooping about, Vicki told Ryan to get back in the car. Ryan slept on the couch at Yield’s place and was ready for school early the next morning.

Vicki checked her E-mail before she left and let out a yelp when she opened the message from Judd.

Ryan read over her shoulder.

“Vicki,” Judd wrote, “I’m safe and staying with a friend.

Ryan knows him, too. He’s convinced I’m in real danger. Ryan knows this place—it’s behind a ‘green hillside that opens up. “I’ve made a discovery but need more information to help D’s mother. Let me know when you get this.” The note was signed “IT.”

“What does he mean?” Vicki said.

“Is hein

“The only green hillside I can think of is the one that leads to the underground hangar at the Stahleys,”

Ryan said.

“You think his discovery is the secret documents?” Vicki said.

“That’s something that could help Darrion’s mother,” Ryan said.

“Write him back and tell him the combination is in Mr.

Stahleys office upstairs. “

Judd read Vicki’s message carefully. Vicki told him Lionel was gone.

Judd was stunned.

When Taylor Graham returned later that morning, Judd asked if they should bring Ryan into hiding with him.

“Not yet,” Graham said.

“I went to your house last night but couldn’t find him. From the reports I get, he’s safe.Which is more than I can say for myself. ”

“What are you hearing?” Judd said.

“I picked up a radio transmission a few minutes ago,” Graham said.

“They have GC posted in the house. They’ve found out about the documents, but they don’t know where they are. We have to get that combination.”

Judd showed him Vicki’s message. The combination is inside the house,” Judd said.

“Do you know how to get inside?”

“Max never told me how he came and went from the house,” Graham said.

“I always used the outside entrance.”

“Can’t we just use some kind of explosive on it?” Judd said.

“Material’s too strong,” Graham said.

“Plus we’d draw attention to ourselves with a blast that big.”

“What are you going to do?” Judd said.

“I’ll have to try and sneak in from the outside,” Graham said.

A knock on the hotel room door awakened Lionel. He stretched and felt something crawling on his arm.

Nathan Sebring had chosen a shabby hotel near downtownChicago. During the drive Lionel could tell the man didn’t want to talk. He wouldn’t explain where they were headed or what time their train left the next day.

Nathan answered the door and welcomed an overweight man he called Tom.

“Good work. Chuck,” Tom said to Nathan.

“They bought the accent?”

“I told you not to worry,” Nathan said.

The two exchanged papers, and Tom handed Nathan a wad of cash.

“This is your next assignment,” Tom said.

Nathan looked at Lionel.

“Change of plans, big boy,” Nathan said.

“You’re getting a ride from my friend.”

“I thought we were going on a train,” Lionel said.

“And why is he calling you Chuck?”

Nathan grabbed his overnight bag and laughed.

“Nice meetin’ ya,” he said. Then he was out the door.

“What about my family?” Lionel said.

Tom told Lionel to get dressed.

“I need to take ashower, bugs are crawling all ov”—“I said, get your clothes on and get in the van!”

Tom yelled.

Vicki was in a daze at school. The loss of Lionel made her feel more alone. Mrs. Jenness called an all-school assembly, and Vicki found her friend Shelly sitting near the back.

“You’re not gonna believe this,” Shelly said.

“I was working in the office yesterday when the Global Community called.

This is mandatory. “

“They made the school call this assembly?” Vicki said.

“It’s a grief awareness seminar,” Shelly said.

Mrs. Jenness introduced the speaker as a therapist. She also attended an Enigma Babylon One World Faith congregation and had personally met Nicolae Carpathia.

“Two good reasons to get up and walk out,” Shelly whispered.

The speaker began by asking how many people had lost family members and friends in the last two years. Almost every hand went up.

“You have the power within yourself to overcome anything,” the woman said.

“No matter how bad your situation, if you learn to trust yourself and your feelings, you can become the person the Global Community needs.”

Judd had free reign of the hangar. For exercise, he jogged.

Graham showed him a stash of food that could last months if they needed it. Judd and Graham tried in vain to find the passageway from the hangar to the house.

“I’m headed topside,” Graham said.

“I’m gonna chance it.

Wish me luck or whatever you do. “

Judd turned to the computer. He spent most of his time there, communicating with his friends and those who e-mailed Tsion. Some of the kids who wrote the rabbi wanted more evidence, but most of them had come to Christ and were asking what they should do with their faith.

One message stood out. The screen name was “Pavel.” The boy wrote Tsion and said he wanted to understand the truth about the man named Jesus. Tsion suggested that Judd send him a copy of the Scriptures and excerpt some of Bruce teachings.

Judd did that, but he also struck up a conversation. Judd asked where Pavel lived and what his family had been through during the war.

“We have not experienced any harm during the war,” Pavel wrote.

“My father works for the Global Community here in New Babylon. One day he mentioned the potentate was upset by the message of the rabbi inIsraeland of the men who preach at the Wailing Wall. I became curious. I read the rabbi’s messages and listened to the men at the Wailing Wall.”

Judd couldn’t believe it. The son of someone at Global Community headquarters was interested in the gospel!

Judd explained the life of Christ as dearly as he could.

“Jesus was born of a virgin and remained sinless his entire life. He was not just a good man, he was perfect. He was God in the flesh. Sin separates a person from God forever, and every person on earth has sinned. But Jesus’ death paid the penalty for anyone who believes in him. If a person asks for God’s forgiveness, God answers and freely gives salvation. “

Judd included Scripture references and a personal message at the end.

“If you have video capabilities and other questions,” he wrote, “tell me when it would be safe and we’ll talk.”

As he wrote the message, Judd wondered if this boy was actually who he said he was. For all Judd knew, “Pavel” could be Nicolae Carpathia himself.

Judd said a prayer and pushed the Send button. I don’t care who it is or what his motives are, he thought. Everybody needs to hear this before it’s too late.

Vicki couldn’t wait until it was time for questions. Two microphones were positioned in the front and back of the auditorium. At each end, students lined up and waited their turn. Vicki was second in line at the microphone in the back.

Kids who had lost family members in the bombings were in tears. Most of the kids were energized by what the therapist said.

They were into the positive message. Yield’s heart went out to them.

What the speaker had said made her angry.

“I can tell you loved your brother very much,” the woman said to a freshman at the front of the room.

“And I can tell you where he is right now. You have him right in your heart.

You have to keep your brother alive. And you have to trust yourself to do that. “

Vicki rolled her eyes. She was up next.

Judd’s video hookup with Pavel was successful. The kid looked small and wore thick glasses. He had blond hair and sat low in his chair, so he stayed in the bottom of the picture while he spoke. Pavel could understand six languages, but he could speak only four. He apologized for his English.

“I cannot tell you who my father is,” Pavel said, “but it is true. I am in the apartment building in Nicolae Carpathia’s compound.”

“You know that Dr. Ben-Judah’s message is not very popular with the potentate,” Judd said.

“I understand,” Pavel said.

“But since the disappearances and the war, I have been searching for answers. The ones the Global Community gives do not satisfy.”

Judd’s computer blipped.

“Hang on, Pavel, I need to check something,” Judd said.

The message looked weird. He could tell from the message window that it wasn’t from any of his friends. He gasped when he saw it was from the Global Community. It read:

“Global Community Priority Directive: The pilot is in custody. Continue the search for the daughter and the two boys. Search their homes and schools first.”

The speaker pointed to Vicki and smiled.

“You have a question?” she said.

“Yes,” Vicki said.

“If you knew for sure where a person was after they had died, wouldn’t that be the best hope of all?”

The woman looked bewildered.

“I don’t understand the question,” she said.

Mrs. Jenness stood and moved toward the woman.

Vicki continued.

“Let’s say your father dies on the day of the bombings and you’re really bummed,” she said.

“But you know without any doubt that your dad went to heaven.

Wouldn’t that help in your grief? “

Mrs. Jenness whispered something to the woman, and she nodded.

“Heaven is a state of mind, not a real place,” the woman said.

“I think we should leave matters of faith to our religious leaders.

Next?”

“No, answer the question!” Vicki said.

“You, in front?” the woman said.

The girl at the next microphone looked back at Vicki. It was Shelly!

“I’d like to hear you answer her question,” Shelly said.

Someone in the crowd yelled, “Answer it!” Vicki heard a few boos and some applause. Things were quickly getting out of hand.

“All right,” the woman said, trying to regain control.

“If a person knew what happened after a loved one had died, in a psychological sense that would give him or her hope. But we have to deal with reality here. And the reality is,we can’t know what’s beyond this life until we’ve gone there.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Vicki said.

“We can know.”

“So you’re saying you can judge whether a person is good enough to go to heaven?” the woman said.

“Yeah, who made you God?” someone said.

“I can tell you that nobody is good enough to go to heaven,” Vicki said.

“Every one of us has sinned. But God made a way for us”—“That’s enough,” Mrs. Jenness said. Global Community guards moved toward Vicki.

“Byrne,” the principal shouted, “sit down or you’ll be escorted out of here.”

Vicki stepped away from the microphone. Everyone turned to look at her. She didn’t want to betray her faith, but she also didn’t want to give Mrs. Jenness any more ammunition against her.

She sat. During the rest of the meeting, three girls passed notes to her asking to talk with her when the assembly was over.

Judd gave Pavel some new materials and asked if he could get in touch with him later in the day. Pavel said he could safely talk atmidnightJudd’s time.