Tribulation Force: The Continuing Drama Of Those Left Behind (13 page)

“Why would anyone want to live in Chicago?” Carpathia asked. “I know the airport is central, but what else does it offer? I am asking you to expand your horizons, Buck. Think Washington, London, Paris, Rome, New Babylon. You have lived here for years, and you know it is the capital of the world—at least until we relocate our headquarters.”

“You asked me where I would like to live if I could live anywhere,” Buck said. “Frankly, I [_could _]live anywhere. With the Internet and fax machines, I can file a story from the North Pole. I did not choose Chicago, but now I would not want to leave there.”

“What if I offered you millions to relocate?”

Buck shrugged and chuckled. “You have a corner on the wealth of the world, and you say you are not motivated by money. Well, I have very little, and I am truly not motivated by it.”

“What motivates you?”

Buck prayed quickly and silently. God, Christ, salvation, the Tribulation, love, friends, lost souls, the Bible, learning, preparing for the Glorious Appearing, New Hope Village Church, Chloe. Those were the things that motivated him, but could he say that? Should he?
God, give me the words!

“I am motivated by truth and justice,” Buck said flatly.

“Ah, and the American way!” Carpathia said. “Just like Superman!”

“More like Clark Kent,” Buck said. “I’m just a reporter for a great metropolitan weekly.”

“All right, you want to live in Chicago. What would you like to do, if you could do anything you wanted?”

Suddenly Buck snapped back to reality. He wished he could retreat to his private thoughts of Chloe, but he felt the pressure of the clock. This trip, strange as it had been, had been worth the grief just for that morsel about Carpathia’s inheritance from Stonagal. He didn’t like sparring with Nicolae, and he worried about the minefield represented by this latest question.

“Anything I wanted? I suppose I used to see myself one day in a publisher’s role, you know, when I’m a little long in the tooth to be running all over the world chasing down stories. It would have been fun to have a great team of talented people and assign them, coach them, and put together a publication that showcased their abilities. I’d miss the legwork though, the research, the interviewing, and the writing.”

“What if you could do both? Have the authority and the staff and the publication, and also give yourself some of the best assignments?”

“I suppose that would have been the ultimate.”

“Buck, before I tell you how I can make that happen, tell me why you talk about your dreams in the past tense, as if you no longer have them.”

Buck had not been careful. When he had relied on God for an answer, he had been given one. When he ventured out on his own, he had slipped. He knew the world had only seven more years, once the treaty was signed between Carpathia and Israel.

“I guess I just wonder how long this old world has,” Buck said. “We’re still digging out from the devastation of the disappearances, and—”

“Buck! You insult me! We are closer to world peace now than we have been in a hundred years! My humble proposals have found such receptive ears that I believe we are about to usher in an almost utopian global society! Trust me! Stay with me! Join me! You can fulfill all your dreams! You are not motivated by money? Good! Neither am I. Let me offer you resources that will allow you to never think or worry about money again.

“I can offer you a position, a publication, a staff, a headquarters, and even a retreat, that will allow you to do all you have ever wanted to do and even live in Chicago.”

Carpathia paused, as he always did, waiting for Buck to bite. And Buck bit.

“This I’ve got to hear,” he said.

“Excuse me one moment, Buck,” Carpathia said, and he buzzed Hattie. Apparently he signaled her in a different way than usual, because rather than answering on the intercom, she appeared at the door behind Buck. He turned to acknowledge her, and she winked at him.

“Ms. Durham,” Carpathia said, “would you inform Dr. Rosenzweig, Mr. Plank, and President Fitzhugh that I am running a bit behind schedule. I am estimating ten more minutes here, another ten with Chaim and Steve, and then we will be in Washington by five.”

“Very good, sir.”

Rayford parked at O’Hare and hurried through the terminal to the underground control center and Earl Halliday’s office. Earl had been his chief pilot for years, and Rayford had grown from being one of his best young pilots to one of his veteran stars. Rayford felt fortunate to be at a place now where he and Earl could speak in shorthand, cutting through the bureaucratic red tape and getting to the heart of matters.

Earl was waiting outside his office door and looking at his watch when Rayford approached. “Good,” Earl said. “C’mon in.”

“Nice to see you, too,” Rayford said, tucking his cap under his arm as he sat.

Earl sat in the only other chair in his cluttered office, the one behind his desk. “We’ve got a problem,” he began.

“Thanks for easing into it,” Rayford said. “Did Edwards write me up for, what did you call it, proselytizing?”

“That’s only one part of the problem. If it wasn’t for that, I’d be sitting here giving you some incredible news.”

“Such as?”

“First tell me if I misunderstood you. When I first came down on you about talking about God on the job, you said you had to think about it. I said if you’d just assure me you’d back off, I’d make the write-up by Edwards go away. Right?”

“Right.”

“Now, when you agreed to go to Dallas today to recertify, shouldn’t I have been able to assume that meant you were going to play ball?”

“Not entirely. And I suppose you’re wondering how my recert went.”

“I already know how it went, Ray!” Earl snapped. “Now answer my question! Are you saying you went down there to get your papers on the ‘five-seven and all the while you had no intention of backing off from sounding so religious on the job?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Say what you mean, then, Ray! You’ve never played games with me, and I’m too old for this. You hit me with all that church and Rapture stuff, and I was polite, wasn’t I?”

“A little too polite.”

“But I took it as a friend, just like you listen to me when I brag about my kids, right?”

“I wasn’t bragging about anything.”

“No, but you were excited about it. You found something that gave you comfort and helped explain your losses, and I say, great, whatever makes your boat float. You started pressing me about coming to church and reading my Bible and all that, and I told you, kindly I hope, that I considered that personal and that I would appreciate it if you’d lay off.”

“And I did. Though I still pray for you.”

“Well, hey, thanks. I also told you to watch it on the job, but no, you were still too new to it, still flush with the novelty of it, high as a guy who’s just found the latest get-rich-quick scheme. So what do you do? You start pushing Nick Edwards, of all people. He’s a comer, Ray, and people in high places here like him.”

“I like him, too. That’s why I care about him and his future.”

“Yeah, all right, but he made it pretty clear he didn’t want to hear any more, just like I did. You let up on me, so why couldn’t you let up on him?”

“I thought I did.”

“You thought you did.” Earl pulled a file from his drawer and fingered his way to a certain page. “Then you deny telling him, and I quote, ‘I don’t care what you think of me’?”

“That’s a little out of context, but, no, I wouldn’t deny the spirit of that. All I was saying was that—”

“I know what you were saying, Ray, all right, because you said it to me, too! I told you I didn’t want to see you become one of these wild-eyed fanatics who thinks he’s better than everybody else and tries to get ‘em saved. You said you just cared about me, which I appreciate, but I said you were getting close to losing my respect.”

“And I said I didn’t care.”

“Well, can’t you see how insulting that is?”

“Earl, how can I insult you when I care enough about your eternal soul to risk our friendship? I told Nick the same thing I told you, that what people feel about me isn’t that important anymore. Part of me still cares, sure. Nobody wants to be seen as a fool. But if I don’t tell you about Christ just because I’m worried about what you’ll think of me, what kind of friend would I be?”

Earl sighed and shook his head, staring at the file again. “So, you contend that Nick took you out of context, but everything you just said is right here in this report.”

“It is?”

“It is.”

Rayford cocked his head. “What do you know about that? He heard me. He got the point.”

“He certainly must not have agreed with the point. Otherwise, why this?” Earl shut the folder and slapped it.

“Earl, I was right where you and Nick are the night before the disappearances. I—”

“I’ve heard all this,” Earl said.

“I’m just saying I understand your position. I was almost estranged from my wife because I thought she had become a fanatic.”

“You told me.”

“But my point now is that she [_had _]become a fanatic. She was right! She was proven right!”

“Rayford, if you want to preach, why don’t you get out of aviation and into the ministry?”

“Are you firing me?”

“I hope I don’t have to.”

“Do you want me to apologize to Nicky, tell him I realized I pushed him too far but that my intentions were good?”

“I wish it was that easy.”

“Isn’t that what you offered the other day?”

“Yes! And I upheld my end of the bargain. I have not copied this file to Personnel or to my superiors, and I told Nicky I wouldn’t. I said I would keep it, that it would become a permanent part of my personal file on you as my subordinate—”

“Which means nothing.”

“Of course, you and I know that, and Nick is no dummy either. But it seemed to satisfy him. I assumed that your going to Dallas for recert was your way of telling me you heard what I was saying and that we were helping each other out.”

Rayford nodded. “I had planned to be more judicious and try to be sure I didn’t get you into trouble defending me for my actions.”

“I didn’t mind doing this, Ray. You’re worth it. But you turned around and pulled the same stunt this morning. What were you thinking?”

Rayford flinched and sat back. He set his hat on the desk and held out both hands, palms up. “This morning? What are you talking about? I thought it went well, perfect in fact. Didn’t I pass?”

Earl leaned across the desk and scowled. “You didn’t pull the same thing with your examiner this morning that you’ve pulled with me and Nick and every other first officer you’ve worked with for the past few weeks?”

“Talk to him about God, you mean?”

“Yes!”

“No! In fact, I felt a little guilty about it. I said hardly anything to him. He was pretty severe, giving me the usual prattle about what he was and wasn’t there for.”

“You didn’t preach at him?”

Rayford shook his head, trying to remember if he had done or said anything that could be misconstrued. “No. I didn’t hide my Bible. Usually it’s in my flight bag, but I had it out when I first met him, because I’d been reading it in the van. Hey, are you sure this complaint didn’t come from the van driver? He saw me reading and asked about it, and we discussed what had happened.”

“Your usual.”

Rayford nodded. “But I didn’t get any negative reaction from him.”

“Neither did I. This complaint comes from your examiner.”

“I don’t understand it,” Rayford said. “You believe me, don’t you, Earl?”

“I wish I did,” Earl said. “Now don’t give me that look. I know we’ve been friends a long time, and I never once thought you lied to me. Remember that time you voluntarily grounded yourself because you didn’t think your flight was going out and you’d had a few drinks?”

“I even offered to pay for another pilot.”

“I know. But what am I supposed to think now, Ray? You say you didn’t hassle this guy. I want to believe you. But you’ve done it to me and to Nick and to others. I gotta think you did it this morning, too.”

“Well, I’m going to have to talk with this guy,” Rayford said.

“No, you’re not.”

“What, I can’t confront my accuser? Earl, I didn’t say a word to the man about God. I wish I had, especially if I’m going to have to take grief for it. I want to know why he said that. It had to be a misunderstanding, some secondhand complaint from the van driver, but like I say, I didn’t sense any resistance from him. He must have said something to the examiner, though. Otherwise, where would the examiner even get the idea that I’ve done this before, unless the Bible just set him off?”

“I can’t imagine the van driver having any contact with the examiner. Why would he, Ray?”

“I’m at a loss, Earl. I’m not sure I would have apologized if I had legitimately been in trouble for this, so I sure can’t apologize for something I didn’t do.”

Buck recalled Rosenzweig telling him how the president had offered to come to New York to meet with Carpathia, but out of his vast humility, Nicolae had insisted on going to Washington. Now Carpathia casually has his personal assistant send word that he’ll be late? Had he planned this? Was he systematically letting everyone know where they stood with him?

A few minutes later Hattie knocked and entered.

“Mr. Secretary-General,” she said, “President Fitzhugh is sending [_Air Force One _]for you.”

“Oh, tell him that will not be necessary,” Carpathia said.

“Sir, he said it’s already in the air and that you should come at your leisure. The pilot will let the White House know when you’re on your way.”

“Thank you Ms. Durham,” Carpathia said. And to Buck, “What a nice man! You have met him?”

Buck nodded. “My first Newsmaker of the Year subject.”

“His first or second time winning?”

“His second.” Buck marveled anew at the encyclopedic memory of the man. Was there any doubt who the subject of this year’s Newsmaker would be? It was an assignment Buck did not relish.

Earl shifted nervously. “Well, let me tell you, this comes at the worst possible time. The new
Air Force One
, which is scheduled to go into service next week, is a seven-five-seven.”