Operation Dark Angel: The Rise of Nicolaitanes (Apocalypse Series Book 1)

by Pam Funke

  “Surely this will interfere with our plans,” Rosalind said.

  “You worry too much, my dear,” Nicolaitanes said. So it has been done. The problem has been solved. Now we just need to go to the hospital to verify her death. He smiled coldly then turned his attention back to the television. He changed it to a local news channel and watched as they reported the disaster at the Hinesville Inne. Rosalind excused herself before leaving the room. She headed down to the mess hall to grab a bite to eat. Nicolaitanes never even heard Rosalind excuse herself and leave the room.

  “Something must be up with Nicolaitanes. He didn’t even seem to be slightly interested in what happened. I hope the group was not at the hotel at the time. We still need them,” Rosalind mumbled to herself.

  ****

  General Ludlow sat quietly behind his desk. He had just watched the news bulletin about the bombing of the Hinesville Inne. He was sad in a way. He had not been able to talk to Serenity before it had happened. Alexander supposed that he would never know why she had been on her knees talking to no one. He was not sorry Serenity was gone, just sorry that she was gone before he could find out what he wanted to know. Alexander knew he was being selfish and cold-hearted, but he did not care.

  CHAPTER seventy-nine

  Serenity slowly opened her eyes. Her head was killing her. She tried to sit up but lay back down quickly. The room was spinning and she felt nauseous.

  “You have a concussion plus a brain injury. We had to remove a piece of metal and bone from your brain,” the doctor in the room said to her.

  “Where am I?” Serenity asked.

  “You are at Liberty Hospital. Do you remember what happened?” he asked.

  “No. I remember going to my room at the hotel and that I was going somewhere, but other than that, no. What happened?” asked Serenity a little concerned.

  “You were in an accident, Miss Lambert. There was a bombing at the hotel you were staying in. The hotel was completely leveled. You, my dear, are one very lucky woman,” the doctor said with a wink.

  Serenity’s mouth dropped open in disbelief. Surely the doctor was joking. That can’t be.

  “We are going to keep you here for a couple of days for observation. Let me know if you need anything.”

  He continued looking over her chart.

  “I will be back to check on you later,” he said as he headed towards the door.

  “Excuse me, doctor. What happened to everyone else?” Serenity asked quietly. The doctor stopped just before the doorway and turned to look back at her. He shook his head sadly.

  “No one else survived. I am terribly sorry.”

  He turned and walked away. Tears ran down Serenity’s cheeks. All those people are now gone, why? Who would do such a thing?

  Serenity sat quietly in her bed staring at the ceiling. Why am I the only survivor? How is it possible that I survived a bombing? Where was I going? Why am I still here? Serenity had so many questions and was not sure who she could ask. She got up slowly and walked over to the window. It looked so beautiful outside. How could there have been a bombing on such a beautiful day? She was not sure what she had expected—gloomy weather she supposed.

  Feeling a little woozy she returned to her bed to lie down. I guess that I will have to take it easy for a while. How come no one has come to visit me? Where is my family? I do have a family, don’t I?

  CHAPTER eighty

  Dr. Ezekiel White was making his rounds. He was looking over Mrs. Jackson’s chart when he felt a strange sensation come over him. A man stood before Ezekiel. He laid his hand on the clipboard, lowering it. Ezekiel glanced up startled.

  “I want you to hide Serenity Lambert somewhere safe. She is in danger here. Take her somewhere away from here and take care of her. She is important and so are you,” the man said completely startling Ezekiel.

  Where did the man come from? Better yet, where did he just go? That was pretty strange. Ezekiel felt deep down in his soul that he needed to do as the man said. Was that a warning from you, Lord? If so, I will do as You ask. Somehow he knew this was what God wanted him to do. He put the chart back, checked on Mrs. Jackson and quickly hurried to Serenity’s room.

  “Miss Lambert? Are you up for some visitors?” a nurse asked. Serenity rolled over and looked at the nurse.

  “What visitors?” she asked. Is my family finally here? Or perhaps some of my friends are here.

  The nurse shook her head and shrugged. “Sorry, but I do not know who they are. I will show them in.” She disappeared down the hallway.

  A minute later, the doctor who had been in earlier came rushing into Serenity’s room.

  “Miss Lambert, I have to get you out of here. It is not safe for you here. Please get dressed quickly,” he said nervously looking down the hallway.

  Serenity was confused. What is with this doctor? I do not even know the man. What is he even talking about anyway? Serenity was skeptical but something told her to go with the doctor so she got out of bed and dressed as quickly as she could. She allowed the doctor to help her out of the room and down the hallway. They stopped just outside of a door leading to a stairway. Dr. White took a key out of his pocket and unlocked the door before he hurried Serenity through the door. Ezekiel glanced back into the hallway; he saw two women and a man walking with a nurse towards Serenity’s room. He quietly shut the door and locked it. It won’t be long before they start looking for her. We have to get out of here. He urged Serenity to hurry up the stairs. Serenity did not know why, but she trusted the doctor. She wondered what was going on back where they had just left.

  CHAPTER eighty-one

  Caitlin was picking out a teddy bear for her daughter when she overheard some people talking about the Hinesville Inne.

  “Excuse me. I could not help but overhear your conversation. What happened at the Hinesville Inne?” she asked politely.

  “Didn’t you hear? It is all over the news. There was an act of terrorism right here in Hinesville. Can you believe it? Here of all places. Someone bombed the Hinesville Inne. It is just a pile of rubble. A few other buildings are damaged as well. They say that no one survived,” the woman said.

  “Oh my God!” Caitlin exclaimed. “Serenity…Victor,” she said dropping the teddy bear on the floor. She turned and ran out of the store.

  The woman stood there watching her run out of the store. What’s with her? She bent down to retrieve the teddy bear. She brushed it off gently then set it back on the shelf.

  CHAPTER eighty-two

  General Ludlow got up from his desk. He decided to walk around the building and then to the lab. He wanted to see just what was going on. Anything to get his mind off of the day’s events. He wondered why Robert had seemed so strange on the ride back. Robert had been extremely quiet and a little nervous. Perhaps it was just his reaction to the bombing of the Hinesville Inne. I suppose that would make people act a little weird. He continued walking down the hallway. He was so deep in thought that he almost bumped into Grant.

  “Sorry, General,” Grant said moving out of General Ludlow’s way.

  “I am sorry, Grant. I did not see you there. What are you doing out here?”

  “I…I was just going for some coffee.”

  “Well hurry and get back to the lab.”

  “Yes, sir,” Grant said hurrying off towards the mess hall. He sure is being polite. That is not like the General at all.

  “This project has everyone acting strangely,” General Ludlow muttered under his breath.

  General Ludlow went through the security process before entering the lab. He walked over to the nearest phone and called upstairs to the situation room. He decided to tell Nicolaitanes about his suspicions about Katy. He had a really bad feeling about her. Nicolaitanes seemed extremely angry when he answered the phone. General Ludlow hoped it was not because of him.

  Nicolaitanes was fuming. How many people are going to disappoint me on this project? I thought I picked the proper ones for this job. Now three people
have betrayed me. Unbelievable! Nicolaitanes pulled up the files that he kept on everyone on his laptop. After finding what he was looking for, he printed out a photo, map and address. He turned in his chair to face the window. He watched as a lone cloud floated gently across the sky.

  ****

  The voice summoned the man and woman. They went into the situation room and spoke with Nicolaitanes.

  “I have a job for you two. I want you to keep an eye on Katy Farnsworth. This is what she looks like and here’s the address,” Nicolaitanes said throwing a photo down on the table in front of them. The couple nodded at Nicolaitanes.

  “Well, what are you waiting for?” Nicolaitanes yelled.

  The woman picked up the photo then turned and walked out of the room. The man followed her a moment later.

  CHAPTER eighty-three

  Katy Farnsworth sat staring at her television. She just could not believe the news. First, they had talked about the bombing of Haifa, which was extremely sad. Next, they interrupted the news cast with a bulletin about the bombing of the Hinesville Inne. What is going on? Somehow I believe that this is all connected to the project. I hope they don’t come looking for me. Katy was really glad she had left work and not gone back. She wanted no part of what was going on back there.

  The ringing of her phone startled her. “Now just who could be calling?” she wondered.

  Katy got up and stared at the phone. It was times like this that she wished she had caller ID. She answered it on the third ring.

  “Hello?” she said.

  “Katy? It’s Ezekiel. I need a favor. Can I come over? And Katy? I will be bringing someone with me.”

  “Sure Ezekiel. I will see you in a few minutes.”

  I wonder what this is all about. Zeke very rarely asks me for favors unless…Is he in some kind of trouble? “Now what, Lord?” Katy called out.

  She quickly went around her house straightening up a bit. She decided to put on a kettle for some tea while she waited.

  CHAPTER eighty-four

  Nicolaitanes followed the nurse down the hallway to Serenity’s room. How she survived the bombing was beyond him.

  “Stop interfering,” Nicolaitanes said out loud.

  “Excuse me?” the nurse inquired.

  The look Nicolaitanes gave her quickly quieted her. She walked quickly to Miss Lambert’s room. She could not wait to get away from this man. He gave her the willies.

  “Where is she?” Nicolaitanes asked glancing into the now empty room. He was furious. It is bad enough that she survived. Now this.

  “I am sorry sir. I do not know. She was here a moment ago,” the nurse replied.

  “Incompetent woman!” Nicolaitanes yelled at the nurse pushing her out of the way. He turned and stormed back the way he had come.

  Nicolaitanes huffed down the hallway. He was very angry. How could a bomb victim simply disappear from a hospital? What kind of hospital just lets patients walk out without being released by a doctor? What kind of place is this? Someone must be hiding her. He stormed down to the nurse’s station.

  “Where is the hospital director’s office?” he yelled.

  The nurse behind the counter pointed quietly down the hallway. Something about this guy told her to keep her mouth shut. It would be better that way. Nicolaitanes glared at the woman and stormed down the hallway. He walked into the office without even knocking on the door.

  James Dean slowly got up from behind his desk. He was highly annoyed. “Now see here,” he said.

  “Where is Serenity Lambert?” Nicolaitanes demanded.

  “Serenity who?”

  “The woman you admitted from the bombing earlier today. You know….the only survivor? Where is she? Where are you hiding her?”

  “Sir, if you would please lower your voice. This is a hospital. What are you talking about?”

  Nicolaitanes stopped pacing and stared at the man. Before Rosalind could stop him, he reached over the desk and grabbed the man by his throat and was lifting him off the floor. He was practically dragging the poor man across the desk.

  “Where….is…Serenity…Lambert? She was admitted here by your Doctor White, but she is not in her room. What kind of incompetence do you have around here? You need to get off your butt and find her!” Nicolaitanes yelled.

  The man was turning purple with rage; he pushed Nicolaitanes off of him and gathered himself. “Get out of my office, sir! Get out now before I call security,” James Dean replied.

  Nicolaitanes was infuriated.

  “Come, Nicolaitanes. We will find her,” Rosalind said gently pulling Nicolaitanes towards the door.

  “Let go of me, Rosalind. I’m fine,” Nicolaitanes said calmly. “You! Find the girl,” Nicolaitanes said pointing at the man. He turned and left the office.

  Rosalind turned and glared at the man. “We will be back,” she said before following Nicolaitanes out of the office.

  Infuriated, Nicolaitanes stormed back to the car. He said absolutely nothing as he got into the car. Rosalind got behind the wheel and glanced at him in the rearview mirror. Nicolaitanes looked livid. He sat quietly staring out of the window. She sighed before putting the car in gear. She drove Nicolaitanes back to the base. Nicolaitanes remained quiet the entire way. She thought it best to not say anything to him.

  Twenty minutes later, Nicolaitanes walked up the stairs to the situation room. He was furious. How had Serenity gotten away? Better yet, how had she survived the bomb? Where is she now? He paced back and forth across the situation room.

  “Someone will pay for their incompetence,” he yelled then he turned and headed for General Ludlow’s office.

  CHAPTER eighty-five

  “What is going on?” Serenity asked the doctor. “Who are you?”

  “I am not sure what is happening, but I am going to get you somewhere safe. My name is Doctor Ezekiel White. All that I know is that God told me to help you. Who is after you, Miss Lambert? Why are they after you?”

  “I do not know what you are talking about.”

  They walked quietly up two flights of stairs. She wondered where it was that they were going. She followed as he exited the stairway. They walked rapidly down the hallway to the employee elevator. Once inside Ezekiel pushed the button for the parking garage. So far so good. They made it all the way to his vehicle. He helped her to lie down on the back seat.

  “Whatever you do, don’t sit up. I don’t want anyone to see you. Okay?” Ezekiel said.

  “Okay.”

  Serenity tried to calm herself as they drove away from the hospital. They were in the car for what seemed like an hour. She sat up and tapped Ezekiel on the shoulder, startling him.

  “Where are we going?” she asked.

  “It is better that you do not know. A friend of mine is going to help you. You can trust her. We are here,” Ezekiel said pulling into the parking lot of the housing complex.

  He parked the car and got out. Serenity followed Ezekiel to a house with a well-attended lawn. The house looked out of place. You can certainly tell which tenants take good care of their property. The other homes look run down and neglected. This house, however, looks brand new. The yard was really nice; there was a fresh coat of paint on the building. She wondered why the landlord did not take care of all the property like this. Ezekiel rang the doorbell. A kind-hearted, older black woman answered the door. She seems like a sweet lady.

  “Come in quickly,” Katy said ushering them into the house and closing the door.

  “Thank you again for helping out my friend here. I will leave you to your formalities; I have to get back to the hospital before I am missed. Take care of her and I will see you again soon,” Ezekiel said to Katy.

  “You are going to be okay here. I will come by and check on you later today. I promise,” Ezekiel said turning to hug Serenity. He then turned and walked out of the house.

  Neither Zeke nor Serenity had noticed the older model car watching them in the parking lot. The vehicle had followed Katy home fr
om work. The man and woman looked at each other puzzled. The lady in that car kind of looked like Serenity, but this wasn’t possible as Serenity was dead. They decided to let it go as they were probably just seeing things—they were overworked anyway. The man went back to playing a game on his cell phone. The woman leaned back and closed her eyes. The old woman wasn’t going anywhere any way. She would just take a quick nap. He could watch the old woman’s house. Neither of them was watching when Zeke and Serenity entered Katy’s house.

  ****

  I know this woman. She was with that group of people with General Ludlow. So what is she doing here? Can I trust her Lord? “What do you say we get you settled in? Would you like to see your room?” Katy asked.

  “Who are you? Why are you helping me like this?” Serenity asked.

  She was not used to people helping her out. Usually, they always wanted something in return. Nobody did anything for free.

  “My name is Katy. It is only right that I help you. We should always help someone in trouble. God sent you here for a reason. So I will help you in any way that I can.”

  “Oh, so you’re one of those Christian people, aren’t you? Well please do not try to push the God thing on me, okay? Where is my room? I appreciate your helping me and all, but I prefer to be by myself. Thanks.”

  Why am I helping her again, Lord? She is in a lot more trouble than she realizes. “Lord, give me strength. Your room is this way,” Katy replied showing Serenity to her room. She looked sadly at Serenity then went down to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

  Why was I so mean to that poor woman? I know she is just trying to help me. Serenity started unpacking her bag from the hospital. Maybe I should apologize to her. I really do want to know about that God of hers, but am I really ready? I have done some really terrible things in my life, would He even want me? How could He ever forgive me for the things that I have done? No one could forgive me. She decided to lie down on the bed for a while. She suddenly felt drained.