by Justin Price
“Yea, I think we all feel that way.”
“Well, I know you are probably tired Abbie, so I will let you go. Give me a call when you get back to Oklahoma. I would love to see you.”
“Will do.”
“Bye.”
She hung up the phone and took a deep breath. Even a short conversation with one of her best friends drained her emotionally right now. Honestly, she didn’t know whether she really wanted people around her or whether she needed to be alone. Somehow, she knew that her life would be changing. She was just hoping that some good change would come out of it.
President Cain stood in the oval office looking out the window reflecting on the last few days and wondering if it was the right decision. After a few moments, he walked out of the back door of the oval office and into the rose garden where a myriad of national and international television media waited. He waived at the onlookers as he walked down the pavement to the garden to deliver a short speech. He walked up to the podium and did his best to smile before he began. It was a normal part of politics, which had been most of his life, but it was still difficult for him to fake a grin.
“My fellow Americans and fellow people in the world community. Thank you for taking the time to tune in and listen today. I just have a few items of business to share with you today with election season coming into full swing and my opportunities for this becoming more limited. First, I want to give an update on the status of our homeland security. As most of you know, we have begun to set stricter methods for monitoring our citizens here in the United States and abroad. It is the safety of our society and forward progress what matters most. You may have noticed workers even in your neighborhood working with implanting small microscopic chips into the environment. These are there for your safety to help us monitor suspected criminals, zealots, and terrorists. It will not infringe upon the rights of upstanding citizens of the world community. I want to personally thank all of you for your patience in this matter as we finish up with all the work.”
President Cain’s expression grew very solemn as he continued…
“Citizens, I also want to make an announcement today that may be shocking to many, but necessary for the peace and oneness of us all. The Senate and House of Representatives, as well as myself, have passed a measure with an overwhelming majority to remove our constitution as a valid document. We are in the process of working with Samyaza al Assad and the World Council of Nations to form an international constitution by which we will all live by. Furthermore, we have completely surrendered our sovereignty as a nation to become the tenth and final member of the World Council. We are pleased to join the other nine regions in making this world a better place. In this new world, there will be no more hunger, no more wars, and no more disease. There will be no such thing as a ‘third world country’ because we are all part of one world. I will not be answering any questions at this time, but I want to thank you for coming.”
The president turned around and walked back to the doors of the oval office with the secret service following him. As he walked in, the doors shut behind him. He saw al Assad sitting in one of the chairs in front of his desk.
“Very quaint home you have here Mr. President.”
“Mr. Assad, you startled me. I didn’t know that you were going to be in Washington today.”
“I had some business to attend to here and I wanted to make sure that I didn’t miss your big speech.”
“Alright, well I can certainly work you in to my schedule. What can I do for you sir?”
“Mr. Cain, there are a few concerns that I wanted to share with you now that your country is a full-fledged member of the world community. The first concern that I have is the branches of your government that your constitution set up. I feel that we need to simplify that a little bit in order to move forward.”
“Alright. What would suggest Samyaza?”
“We need to let them all know that they have been terminated and that we are doing some restructuring. I am sure their experience and talents will serve them well in the new government, but there may not be a place for all of them.”
“Yes sir. I understand completely. We can do that.”
Samyaza continued… “I understand that there was some resistance to the discarding of your old constitution and surrender of your sovereignty though. Everyone who advised or voted against these measured will need to be imprisoned until they change their minds.”
“I don’t know if we could do that though. I mean…”
“You will do it. I am the one who everyone will answer to and I give you the power to throw them in prison or execute them. There will be no more checks and balances here Mr. Cain. You no longer have to be hindered by the courts or Congress. You will only answer to myself and Adnan Bahar. Is that clear?”
“Yes sir.”
“Good. I am glad we could come to that agreement. We will pass the orders down to law enforcement with the names of those who will be imprisoned. We can send the rest their pink slips and severance package until they are placed in a new position. That’s all I have for today President Cain. Good day to you.”
“Good day”, he said with bewilderment. He never felt like he was in control from the moment he stepped into the room with Assad, but who was he to argue? He was no longer considered the leader of the free world.
“We had a recon team go to check on Maggie last night at your home in Newark, New Jersey. What we found was odd to say the least. Her vehicle was there and there was a light on in the living room, but the door was unlocked. There was nobody on the premises. We asked the neighbors if anyone had seen her and the general consensus seems to be that she hasn’t been seen in at least two days.”
John looked down and rubbed his forehead anxiously. “So what do you think this means?” he asked.
“We think it means that someone…more than likely the government… got to her before we did. It makes sense. They know you are out here somewhere and they may use her as a trap to draw you out or they might think she knows more than she does about your whereabouts.”
John shook his head with regret. “I guess that I have put her in danger now… and she may find out I am alive and a fugitive from the government. Who knows what they will tell her.”
“I certainly concur with that observation John. Unfortunately, this puts a real damper on our efforts to reunite you guys. The only thing that we can do is continue to watch and wait. We certainly can’t march in and take her from the government. If it’s their goal to draw you out of hiding, then she will be returned soon. We can count on that.”
“Well, what do we do now David?”
“We go tonight and see if we can find any clues on her whereabouts. There would be no better person to look for those clues than you John. You know her like nobody else. You might be able to find out where she is.”
“If there is any chance of finding her then I’m in. I have come too far to lose her.”
“We’ll make those plans today then. I’ll get a small team together to go there with us. I don’t think I have to tell you how dangerous of a mission this could be. They could have people watching the house or even snipers waiting to take a shot at you. They really have no reason at this point to salvage you because you are too big of a liability.”
“I know. It’s going to be worth it though. I feel it in my gut.”
“I pray you are right my friend.”
“Yea David… speaking of praying, how about we continue our conversation that we were having yesterday?”
“I would love to actually.”
“Well, I have a few questions for you.”
“Sure. You can ask me anything.”
“For starters… How have you come to your conclusions? I mean… isn’t the God you are talking about just mythology?”
“John, mythology has no real world implications. The Greek or Egyptian gods for example have no record of real acts on the earth that can be attributed to them in modern history.”
“W
ell, what has your God done?”
“Do you remember that event about thirty years ago when Russia and all those Arab nations attacked Israel? There is no way that Israel’s defenses could have withstood an attack like that, but for some reason, there wasn’t a missile that reached its target. They all detonated above the surrounding mountains or fell into the sea. Furthermore, the enemy planes failed before they could even come into Israeli airspace. They went down as if an invisible force was dragging them down.”
“It could have just been equipment failures with the main computer or something else. Maybe the media only picked up one side of the story.”
“That is doubtful John. The media didn’t even want to cover the story, but really had no choice in the light of the situation. The only one siding with Israel was themselves and their God, which we have come to believe is the God of this book, which was known as the Bible.”
“Okay. It’s hard to argue with that, but come on… we were just kids when all of that happened. What else have you got for me?”
“Look at just the nature of creation itself. Think about the intricacies of organisms from the smallest single cell organisms all the way up to the largest of all animals. The details are amazing. There is virtually no chance that all of them could have formed out of nothing and functioned without a Creator. That’s like saying that the world’s fastest, smartest computer could have appeared out of thin air completely constructed and began functioning perfectly on its own. That doesn’t just happen.”
Of course, John knew that David’s argument was completely hypothetical, but he still couldn’t help but think about the nature of life. “You could be right,” he admitted. “But, even if there is a Creator out there somewhere that is beyond our realm, what are the chances that they actually care about what is going on here? He or “it” must have an infinite number of planets in the entire universe to think about. Why is earth so special?”
“If he is God, then His ability to be in all places at once and care for everyone at once would be unlimited. We think in finite terms, but we believe that this God is infinite. He is without beginning or end. That means he has been around long before the human race and he will be here long after.”
“…and you believe that there is a heaven waiting for those who believe?”
“Yes, that is precisely what we believe.”
“…and punishment for those who don’t believe?”
“We are held accountable for what we know John. Right now, that isn’t a whole lot. There is one thing that we do know and this is the most key thing that one could ever know.”
“And that would be?”
“Who the bridge is between God and man.”
“I’m listening,” said John.
“His name is Jesus. He was a Jew from Israel who lived and performed several miracles 2100 years ago. It’s not as crazy as it sounds though.”
“Is that right?”
“Yea, the greatest miracle was that He was actually God in the flesh who came to save humanity.”
“How did he save humanity? It seems like humanity is suffering just as much today as it ever has. Also… do you mean God in the flesh kind of like Hercules?”
“No… not like Hercules. Hercules performed feats of strength. Just a myth. Jesus was a real man who healed people in every way imaginable. Also… Hercules didn’t die for creation.”
John and David continued talking and opened up the book. As the conversation went on, something about this crazy story actually gripped John’s stony heart. Humanity wasn’t perfect at all, especially him. How could anyone love that many flaws and still give everything they had to spend an eternity with him? There was so much that he didn’t understand yet, but his heart was being softened a little at a time.
Rakeem Jackson walked over to his supervisor’s desk. His name was Gene Klein. He was a tall man. Standing about six feet four inches with a flat top and gray streaking down the sides, the fifty year old man kept himself in great shape. He had a very intimidating, muscular build and his demeanor definitely matched his look.
He saw Rakeem approaching at a fast rate and loudly exclaimed, “Rakeem, how can I help you?”
“Yes sir. I have an idea to get John Robertson out of hiding. It’s his wife, Maggie, who we currently have in custody. We can use her as live bait to hook the big fish. This is just really time sensitive and we need to get him off the streets before too many people see him and realize who he is.”
“I agree Mr. Jackson. How do you plan to set him up?”
“I was thinking that what we could do is to take her back to her home. We can keep one of our lady officers to stay there with her and we could have a presence outside the home. Once he comes knocking… and he will eventually… then we will be there to apprehend him. We already know that he hasn’t come yet. He is in the area and there is some evidence that there were a few strange men in their neighborhood last night. This could be a major bust for us. Not only could we get John Robertson, but we could catch a few of the rebels.”
“That would be a nice bonus, especially after losing Tom to one of them.”
“Yes sir.”
“Alright, well make it quick and be thorough. We can’t let him slip through our fingers again. Do everything you can to make sure you and your team stay alive. They will be armed and dangerous. Shoot on sight if needed.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Rakeem said with a smile.
He turned and walked down the corridor so quickly that he was almost in a full gallop by the time he got back to Maggie’s solitary cell. “Mrs. Robertson. I think you will be happy to know that you are being released today. You will be free to go back home.”
She stood up shocked. “Well, that’s good. It’s just over like that, huh?”
“I guess you can say that. We want you to be as comfortable as possible. Of course, we are going to be close and we are arranging for an agent to actually stay in the home with you.”
“You have got to be kidding me! You are going to try to lure John in and use me as the bait? You are scum…all of you.”
Rakeem smirked and flashed a cocky smile. “We’ve got to do what we’ve got to do. I just hope that you don’t have to see your husband laying in a pool of blood like I had to see my partner. It’s not a pretty sight.”
Maggie knew there was nothing she could say or do to change the situation. She just hung her head as Rakeem started humming incessantly as he walked out of the room and down the hall. He poked his head back in and said, “Be ready to go. I’ll be back in an hour to get you…and please don’t make it as big of a deal as it was to get you here.”
Nick glared at Charles as he approached him through the front door of the lab with duffle bag in hand. “It looks like you’ve had a rough night there Chuck. It wouldn’t have anything to do with what you took out of the lab with you over the weekend would it?”
John knew that he had been caught. He sat in his chair with his hands behind his head and did his best to explain why he had to take the wormhole generator home with him.
“Nick… have you ever had anything in your life that you loved so much? Something that you woke up for every day and was important enough to you that you would give up your own life for it?”
“Well, um… no. But, what does this have to do with you taking the equipment?”
“What I saw Friday was my wife’s hand coming out of the portal. I didn’t know if I was crazy, mistaken, or correct so I had to find out for myself. When I lost her, I felt like I lost a huge piece of me. If I had any chance of seeing her again, then I was going to take it.”
Nick slowly shook his head as he listened to Charles speak about his wife and the pain of losing someone in the manner that he lost her. “I am so sorry that you had to go through that. It sounds like a terrible way to lose your soul mate.”
“Yes. It is terrible and the feelings of being partially responsible for not getting her a cure before she slipped away has haunted me for y
ears.”
“So, what happened when you opened the wormhole at home?”
“I stepped into the portal…”
“What?! You stepped in it? Are you insane? You know how dangerous that can be… not only to you but to everyone within several miles.”
“Nick… I know,” Charles said solemnly. “I knew what the risks were. I just couldn’t help it. I had to see my wife again. I know it sounds crazy, but I wondered if I might be able to bring her back. Maybe she could live here with us somehow and have another chance at life on earth. Maybe our girls could know their mother.”
“Charles, I can’t even imagine what you must have been feeling with this whole ordeal, but there are just too many unanswered questions right now. We don’t know if this portal is leading to somewhere in the past, a different dimension, or if it simply detecting our brain waves and causing us to see and experience the things we desire the most. We have more work to do and we are going to be showing this off to the most powerful man on earth very, very soon. We can’t risk safety again. We need to do this right. There is too much at stake here.”
“I agree. It was a lost cause. I just let me emotions overrule my better judgment. That won’t happen again.”
“Listen Chuck… I’m just glad you made it back in one piece. We won’t speak of this to anyone else. Does that sound like a deal?”
“Absolutely…and thank you for being a good colleague and friend.”
“Anytime. I know that you would do the same for me.”
“Alright kid… let’s get back to work here. We have a lot to do before we demo this in front of Chairman al Assad and we are on a tight deadline. We leave Friday morning.”
“You got it boss. Let’s do this.”
CHAPTER 9
Noah felt like he could barely breathe. The crushing reality of being separated from the two people in his life that he had sworn to take care of and protect was almost too much to bear. The only thing he knew in that moment as night fell on the forest was that he needed to get a grip and do it now. He could not be of any help by sitting around panicking.