“How can I say this judging, avenging God is loving and merciful? Remember that during this period he is working in people to get them to make a decision. Why? The millennium is coming. When Jesus makes his final glorious appearing, he will come in power and great glory. He will set up his kingdom exclusively for those who have made the right decision. That decision? To call on the name of the Lord.
“Does that sound exclusivistic? Understand this: The Bible makes clear that the will of God is that all men be saved. Second Peter 3:9 says, ‘The Lord is not slack concerning his promise . . . but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.’
“God promised in Joel 2 that he would ‘show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the remnant whom the Lord calls.’
“Dear people, you are that remnant! Do you see what God is saying? He is still calling men to faith in Christ. He has raised up 144,000 evangelists, from the twelve tribes, to plead with men and women all over the world to decide for Christ. Who but a loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering God could plan in advance that during this time of chaos he would send so many out in power to preach his message?
“Remember the two supernatural witnesses who preached the Word of God in Jerusalem and on global television? After three and a half years they were murdered in full view of the whole world. And then after their bodies lay in the streets for three days, God called them to heaven. Why? Because as a loving and merciful God he wanted to manifest his power and glory so men and women could see and make the right decision about him.
“Here we have the supernatural God of heaven fulfilling his promises of ages past, preserving the children of Israel while Antichrist tries to persecute you.
“Whom will you serve? Will you obey the ruler of this world, or will you call on the name of the Lord?
“God has done all these great and mighty things because he wants to save mankind. Many will still rebel, even here, even after all they have seen and experienced. Do not let it be you, my friend. Our God is merciful. Our God is gracious. He is long-suffering and wants all to be saved.
“If you agree that God is using the period we now live in to get people ready for the millennial kingdom and for eternity, what will you do with your life? Turn it over to Messiah. Worship Jesus, the Christ. Receive him as the one and only Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. Receive him into your life and then live in obedience to him. He wants you. And a God who will go to such lengths to save to the uttermost anyone who will call on him is one worth trusting. Will you trust a God like that? Can you love a God like that?
“Messiah was born in human flesh. He came again. And he is coming one more time. I want you to be ready. We were left behind at the Rapture. Let us be ready for the Glorious Appearing. The Holy Spirit of God is moving all over the world. Jesus is building his church during this darkest period in history because he is gracious, loving, long-suffering, and merciful.”
All around Rayford, people had bowed their heads, and many began praying. They prayed for friends and loved ones in Petra and in other places in the world. They had to have heard, as Rayford did, the emotion in Tsion’s voice as he pleaded once again for all to make the decision to follow Christ.
“The time is short,” Tsion cried out, “and salvation is a personal decision. Admit to God that you are a sinner. Acknowledge that you cannot save yourself. Throw yourself on the mercy of God and receive the gift of his Son, who died on the cross for your sin. Receive him and thank him for the gift of your salvation.”
“Major, major problem,” Aurelio Figueroa said, steepling his fingers as he leaned back in his chair. Chang sat across the desk from him, praying silently. “It’s not just the bogus entries in the palace database, the phony personnel and checks and balances that have allowed the enemies of the GC to fool local leaders. Now we clearly have bugs in offices as high as the director of Security and Intelligence. Do you know that earlier today, while the potentate was trying to properly mourn our dead pilots, someone superseded the feed with a bogus conversation Director Akbar was supposed to have had with the pilots?”
“Bet you’re glad it was bogus.”
“I don’t follow, Wong.”
“If it was real, it could have been catastrophic. We all heard it, sir. Akbar lecturing the pilots, their disagreeing, and his having them executed.”
The tall, bony Mexican studied Chang. “Where would someone have gotten that kind of a recording?”
“You’re asking me?”
“I don’t see anyone else in the room.”
“I’m sorry. I should have said, ‘Why are you asking me?’”
This was zero hour. If Figueroa accused him, Chang might have to be out of New Babylon within hours to avoid execution.
“I’m asking everyone, of course. Don’t take it personally. You wouldn’t believe what’s been planted on the main database.”
“Tell me.”
Figueroa stood. “I’m not telling everyone this, but Akbar himself began to suspect something shaky in Chicago. You know the place was hit more than once during the war. The city was evacuated and declared off-limits, and we have virtually ignored it for months. Years.”
Chang nodded.
“We didn’t fly reconnaissance planes over it, didn’t take pictures, didn’t check heat sensors, anything.”
“Because?”
“Because someone planted on the computer that the place had been nuked and would be radioactive for years. Akbar didn’t remember it that way. He thought the city had been virtually destroyed, but not by nukes. Every time he had somebody check, they went straight to the database, checked the current levels, and said, ‘Yup, it’s radioactive all right.’ Not until recently did anybody check the archives to find out if the readings could be right. Of course, they can’t. The place is clean.”
“Wow.”
“Wow is right. You know as well as I do that there is only one reason someone would plant such information: to have the city to themselves. We’ve been able to bypass the phony readings, finally, and have tried to get a bead on what’s happening there. Precious little, of course, because everyone else was getting the same info we were. But there has been activity. Water and power usage. Planes, choppers, coming and going. Jets from an airstrip on the lake. That would be Lake Michigan.”
“Really?”
“Yes. There is evidence of both vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Very little, of course, but there could be up to three dozen people in the city.”
“Hardly enough to worry about,” Chang said.
“Oh, on the contrary,” Figueroa said. “These people are going to wish they’d never been born.”
Chang was dying to ask but desperate to appear remote. He waited.
“You’d think we’d just send a team of Peacekeepers sweeping in there and round them up, wouldn’t you?”
Chang shrugged. “Something like that, sure.”
“Akbar has a better idea. He says if somebody wants it to appear radioactive, let’s nuke it.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“Totally.”
“Waste technology like that at a time like this?”
“It’s brilliant, Chang.”
“It’s a solution, I’ll say that. But has he thought of the freshwater that flows through there?”
“We’re harvesting Lake Michigan from northern Wisconsin. We don’t have to worry about the Chicago River.”
“People living downstream from it do.”
“Well, anyway, word is the big boss loves the idea.”
“Really.”
“You kidding? Carpath—uh, the potentate loves stuff like this.
”
“We’ve got an atomic bomb we can spare?”
“Come on, Wong! Whoever these people are, they’re up to no good. If they were loyal citizens, wouldn’t they say, ‘Hey, we didn’t know this place was off-limits and we mistakenly settled here, and you know what, we’re okay’?”
Chang shrugged, wanting to know how much time he had to warn the Trib Force but not daring to ask. “I guess.”
“You guess? There’s no record of a loyalty mark application site there, of course. And nobody who’s registered with us would live there without telling us.”
“You’re right.”
“’Course I’m right. Hey, Chang, you don’t look so good.”
Chang had been surreptitiously holding his breath and not blinking. His face had reddened and his eyes watered. “Just tired,” he said, exhaling finally. “And I think I’m coming down with something.”
“You all right?”
Chang coughed, then pretended he couldn’t stop. He held up a hand as if to apologize and say he was okay. “Didn’t sleep that well last night,” he managed. “I’ll be fine. I’ll go to bed early tonight.”
“You need a nap?”
“Nah. Too much to do.”
“We’re okay. Take a break.”
“I couldn’t.”
“Why not?”
“Want to do my share, pull my weight, all that.” He disintegrated into a coughing spell again.
“Just knock off early. You’ve got sick time left, don’t you?”
“Just used some during the, you know, plague thing.”
“Boils? Yeah, didn’t we all? Take the rest of the day off, and if you’re not in tomorrow, I’ll understand.”
“No, now really, Mr. Figueroa, I’ll be fine. See? I feel better already.”
“What is it with you, Wong? I mean, I’m all for gung ho, but—”
“Just don’t like being a wimp.”
“You’re anything but that.”
“Thanks,” Chang said, covering his mouth and coughing longer than he had before.
“Stop by Medical and get something.”
Chang waved Figueroa off. “I’m going back to my desk,” he wheezed.
“No, you’re not. Now that’s a directive.”
“You’re making me leave work early?”
“Come on! You think I’m thinking only of you? Get over yourself. I don’t want a department full of coughers, and I think you’ve contaminated my office enough too. Get going.”
“I really—”
“Chang! Go!”
It was the crack of dawn in Colorado, and Steve Plank, aka Pinkerton Stephens, was asleep in his quarters. He had spent until midnight firing off warnings to his friends in the Tribulation Force that something big was coming for Chicago and that if they knew what was good for them, they would escape, and fast. He had reached Rayford Steele by phone in Petra and urged him to stay there and not let Abdullah Smith or anyone else go back to Chicago either.
When the insistent banging on his door woke him, his first thought was that in his haste he had not used a secure phone or that his computer had been bugged. If they caught him, they caught him. Warning the Trib Force was the most productive thing he’d done since becoming a believer—or at least since helping them get Hattie Durham out of his custody and to a place where she became a believer.
Plank tried to call out to see who it was and what they wanted, but his facial appliance was next to the bed, and without it, he could not make himself heard. The best he could do was grunt, and he felt for the plastic pieces in the dark.
“Mr. Stephens, sir, no need to open the door.” It was Vasily Medvedev, Steve’s second in command. “I just wanted to give you fair warning. New Babylon is cracking down on the handful of employees around the world who have not yet received the loyalty mark. You’re expected to have yours applied by noon mountain time at Carpathia Resurrection Field. Just acknowledge that you got that.”
Steve slung himself into his motorized wheelchair and rolled to the door, then tapped twice on it.
“Thank you, sir. This puts me in an awkward spot, but I’ve been ordered to accompany you and see to it.”
Steve rolled back to the bed stand and quickly snapped on his appliances. “Hold on a second, Vasily!” He opened the door and waved him in.
“I’m sorry, sir,” the Russian said. “What could I do or say?”
“Tell them I already have it.”
“There’s no record of it.”
“You know it cannot be applied to synthetic. You want to see it?” Plank began to unsnap the forehead piece.
“No! Please! Now, sir, I’m sorry, but I tried looking once, and that was more than enough. Forgive me.”
“Well, I’m going to see if the administrator of the marks wants a look,” Steve said.
“Come, sir, there’d be a record, wouldn’t there?”
“I should be exempted. Can you imagine the pain of having it applied to the membrane—”
“Please! I was told to inform you and to—”
“See to it, yeah, I know.”
“Sir? Why don’t you just have it applied to your hand?”
“My hand? My hand, you say? You forget my hand was also donated to the cause?”
Steve held up the stub, and Vasily recoiled. “I am so stupid,” he said. “Can you forget I—”
Steve waved him off. “Don’t worry about it.”
“When would you like to leave, sir? They open at eight and we’re about an hour away.”
“I know how far away we are, Vasily.”
“Of course.”
“I’ll let you know.”
When Medvedev left, Steve bowed his head, weeping. “God, what should I do? Bluff them? See if I can get a waiver? Is this it? Is it over? Can I be of no more service to the believers around the world?”
Steve spent the morning communicating with Chang in New Babylon, where it was late afternoon. They worked frantically to come up with suggestions as to where the Chicago-based Trib Force might go. No one anywhere could take them all. The Strong Building had been perfect, if only briefly.
Neither Chang nor Steve had yet been able to ascertain when the bombing of Chicago might commence, but clearly speed was of the essence. Only after they had informed everyone and made their recommendations did Steve tell Chang what was happening with him.
“I knew they were cracking down,” Chang said, “but I had no idea how soon. Let me put in the database that you’ve had the mark applied. I can copy you on the documentation.”
“Can’t let you do that, brother.”
“Why? I just did it for a Co-op flier the other day. He didn’t even know till it was done.”
“With the way they’re watching at the palace right now? I go from no documentation one day to totally clear the next?”
“It doesn’t have to be at Resurrection. I could say it came from anywhere.”
Steve paused. It was intriguing, enticing even. But it didn’t resonate. “Maybe if you’d thought of it before—if it had just showed up, like an accident, like you did with the other guy. But this would be like my choosing the mark. I couldn’t do that.”
“Then you’re getting out of there, right? Where will you go and how will you get there? Should I send someone for you? appropriate a ride?”
“It’s not going to work, Chang. That’ll make you vulnerable. And you know they’ve got to be watching me.”
“No one’s on to me yet,” Chang said. “I don’t think they’re even suspicious.”
“You need to keep it that way.”
“Can you get to Petra? There’s a Co-op flight out of Montana today. I could have him—”
“I’ll let you know, Chang. I appreciate it, but it may be time to take my stand.”
“What are you saying?”
“You know.”
“Oh, Steve, at least make them catch you. We need you, man.”
“On the lam? What good would I be?”
; “We need everybody we can get.”
Buck debated waking the Greek contingent and decided against it, though it meant more work for everyone else. Chloe, Mac, Hannah, and Sebastian had staggered in during the wee hours.
Buck could tell Kenny was fascinated by all the activity. People scurried everywhere, deciding what they absolutely had to have, packing small boxes, ignoring printouts, notes—anything that was in a computer anyway. The person allowed to take more than anyone else was Zeke. There were things he simply could not do without: his files, his wardrobes, the tools of his trade.
Leah spent most of her time on a secure phone to Co-op people all over the country. She told Buck, “Everyone is resigned to the fact that they may have to take a few people in, and they honestly seem honored, but no one is excited about it. They are stretched to the limit for space and necessities as it is.”
“We have no choice, Leah. It’s time to call in the chips. I hate to say it, but a lot of these people owe us nothing less. We have run the Co-op from here and provided them with stuff that keeps them alive.”
Albie seemed glum. And why not? Buck wondered. The only place Albie could think of to go—and wanted to go—was back to Al Basrah. “But I don’t want to take a plane when so many of you have places to go.”
“Do what you have to, Albie,” Buck said. “See if Leah can get you a ride with someone delivering supplies to Petra. You know we’ll be calling on you frequently.”
“You’d better,” Albie said.
Enoch’s people were under the building, checking vehicles, seeing how many were in running condition. He had traded the privilege of choosing cars and SUVs as a concession against trying to get all thirty of the others from The Place onto planes. Leah had already lined up for them several underground centers within driving distance, Enoch himself in Palos Hills, Illinois.
“You know the danger of a caravan pulling out of here in broad daylight,” Buck said.
“I sure do. But we also know the danger of being here when the GC hits.”