"Good thought, lady," Sam agreed.
Maria opened the screen door. "Come. Is time for hungry people to eat."
They washed up and when they sat down at the table, Sam blessed the food. Nicole continued to think about the things he had said about security measures. She took a bite and asked, "Sam, do your bodyguards only work when you leave the ranch?"
Sam looked up from his plate of food and with a mouth full of chicken sandwich, he said, "I don't know what you're talking about lady. I don't have any bodyguards."
Nicole asked, "Then what do you call those two men who were with you at the saloon?"
"There wasn't anybody with me at the saloon," Sam said with a puzzled expression on his face.
She looked over at Maria for some support and Maria just smiled really big and nodded her head in affirmation.
Nicole said, "They looked like they were straight out of the 'Men In Black' movie."
"Wait a minute," Sam said. He put his sandwich down and swallowed. "Are you saying that you saw two men dressed in black suits with me in the saloon the other day?"
Maria chimed in, "Yes, and they wear dark sun glasses too. Just like movie!"
"And they rode in the truck all the way back here to the ranch," Nicole said. "I don't know where they went once we got out of the truck. I was too tired to pay attention to them after that."
Sam sat back in his chair and dropped his hands into his lap. "Well I'll be! I always pray for angels, but I've never seen any. Just believed they were there. And you both saw them? And you thought they were real people?"
He looked over at Nicole who was just about in as much a state of shock at this revelation as Sam was. She nodded. Maria was just sitting there with a huge smile on her face that showed she was just pleased as punch.
"Well I'll be!" he said again as he looked from one lady to the other.
Sam smiled and picked up his sandwich. He took a big bite and with a mouth full he said, "Angels! And dressed in black. Cool!"
"And with dark sunglasses," Maria added again.
Nicole decided to refrain from asking if his mother had ever taught him not to talk with his mouth full and instead she asked, "I wonder if they go everywhere with you or if they were on special assignment?"
With his mouth still full, he answered in between chews. "I guess we'll have to wait and see. But now I understand how I was able to locate you and your items so quickly and easily." He swallowed, lifted his glass of milk up towards the ceiling and said, "Thanks God, and thanks guys." Then he guzzled down the whole glass of cold milk without taking a breath.
CHAPTER 19
UNEXPECTED
They hadn't yet cleaned up from lunch when a white SUV drove up to the house. "Ohhhh nooooo," Sam objected.
"What? Who is it?" Nicole's heart had begun to pound in fear.
"My daughter. Every body just be quiet. Maybe she'll go away."
"Sam!" Nicole reprimanded. There was a knock at the door. "Are you really going to ignore her?"
The knocking continued, and then a female voice commanded, "Dad? Open up. I know you're in there," she said as she tried the door.
"Really, this is nonsense!" Nicole said, and she went to the door and opened it.
Sam groaned as if in pain as the beautiful young woman on the other side of the threshold gasped, then stood speechless, staring at Nicole with her jaw hanging down in obvious shock.
"Hi, I'm Nicole. In spite of your father's obvious rudeness, please do come in."
The jaw closed. That was a good sign. "I take it that your dad doesn't often have company. But really, please come on in."
"Daaaad?" came the response as she stood unmoving on the other side of the door.
Sam took a deep breath and let it out slowly in resignation as he finally stood to his feet and walked over nearer to the door. "Come on in Abigail."
"But dad, she looks just like…"
"I know it. What are you doing here?"
Abigail glanced over at her father then back to Nicole. "I didn't know I needed a reason to stop by my dad's house. I guess I should always call first, even if I've never had to do that before. I'm sorry to interrupt…Maybe I should just go." She was now glancing back and forth between Sam and Nicole.
"Don't be silly," Nicole said, and she reached out and pulled Abigail into the house.
Sam asked, "Where's Aaron?"
"Asleep in the back seat. I'll check on him in a moment." She kept staring at Nicole even though she was conversing with Sam.
Nicole shut the door and asked, "Who do I look like?"
Sam ignored her question. "Abigail, this is my guest, Nicole. Nicole, my daughter, Abigail. I need some coffee." He went back and sat down at the dining room table. "Maria?" he called out. "Is there any coffee left in the pot?"
"Maria? Who's Maria?" Abigail questioned.
Maria popped out from the kitchen. "I make a fresh pot, Mr. Sam. It will be ready soon." She looked at Abigail with her piercing dark eyes and smiled. "Hi Miss Abigail. I am Maria. You like coffee?"
"Yes, thank you. And you can call me Abby," she said as she looked from Maria back to Nicole.
The two ladies joined Sam at the table. Neither said anything, just looked at him in silence. He was trying his best to ignore them by looking down at the empty table in front of him, then up at the ceiling.
Finally, he jumped up and began to pace. Two pairs of eyes followed him back and forth. After a couple of trips across the length of the room he stopped and said, "Ok, fine. You win." He looked at Abigail. "She's David's granddaughter. Our cousin. She's here because she was in a bit of trouble and I'm helping her out until she can go back home."
Abigail looked at Nicole, then smiled and held out her hand. "Nicole. I'm sorry that you are in some trouble, but I'm very glad to meet you."
Nicole took her hand and looked into Abigail's eyes, then pulled her into a quick embrace. "I'm very glad to meet you too."
"Now see!" Sam exclaimed. "This is exactly what I was trying to avoid! All the gushy feelings!"
Looking back at Nicole, Abby smiled, "Don't mind him. He's a softy at heart. He's just afraid that the tough shell around his heart will get penetrated and he might actually have to become human again, right Dad?"
Maria came into the room with a tray full of steaming coffee mugs, cream and sugar and spared Sam from answering. She passed out the coffee and then joined them at the table.
"Is somebody going to tell me who it is that I resemble?" Nicole asked.
"I thought you were a ghost at first. You look like my grandma Donna. I mean when she was young," Abigail answered.
Nicole turned to Sam. "I look like your mother?"
"Han's genes must have been strong."
Nicole looked down and suddenly realized that she was still wearing Abigail's clothes. "Oh Abby, I hope you don't mind my borrowing your clothes. I left in a hurry with only the clothes on my back and they were quite dirty."
Abby smiled. "Not at all. Help yourself to anything you find, and if you need anything else, let me know. I'll bring some more by..." she glanced at her dad…"but I'll be sure to call first just to make sure I'm not interrupting…you know, since you're starting to see women again." She winked at Nicole.
Sam ignored the teasing comment. "I'll go check on Aaron."
A moment later, he came in carrying a sleepy, but awake, little boy. He sat down with Aaron on his lap, cuddling him.
"Hey Sweet Pea. Look. We're at Poppa's house," Abby lovingly spoke to her son. He yawned in response and began to move his right leg, swinging it back and forth.
"He's adorable! Abby. How old is he?"
"Six. He's small for his age."
Aaron was beginning to squirm. "You want to play with your Legos, buddy?" Sam asked. He sat Aaron down on the ground and he crawled over to a wooden box, opened it and began pulling out toys until he found the ones he was looking for.
Maria had been sitting quietly listening. Now she asked, "Aaron has weak leg
s?"
"That's it exactly Maria," Abby answered. "He's been to a lot of doctors and they can't tell me specifically what's wrong other than that his bones and muscles are weak. He goes to therapy three times a week and we have leg braces that we put on him every day for several hours. He can actually walk short distances when he's wearing those, but he doesn't like them. They are uncomfortable for him and he can crawl faster without them."
Aaron looked at his mother and made a sign. She said, "Ok buddy, let's go to the bathroom." She picked him up and carried him down the hallway.
"He doesn't talk either," Sam said. "But otherwise, he seems fine. We've learned to understand his expressions and he uses sign language.
After a moment, Aaron was back at play and Abigail and Nicole were getting acquainted. No one noticed that Maria had gotten up from the table and joined Aaron on the floor…that is, until they heard a sweet little voice explaining that the Lego men in the space ship were on their way home to see their mommies.
Three heads turned and watched as Aaron miraculously stood up on his two legs and walked a few steps to the toy box where he rummaged through it until he found what he was looking for, then turned and walked over to his Grandpa with the train whistle in one hand and his space ship in the other, just like he had been doing it his whole life.
"Here, you blow the whistle grandpa, and the space ship will land like this," he explained as he handed the whistle to Sam then raised the Lego set high into the air and made a wooshing sound as he brought it slowly down to the floor.
It was like the atmosphere had suddenly changed as the glory of God's presence filled the room and no one dared move for fear of breaking the beauty of the moment. There was a sense of awe and wonder and reverence, and the room was enveloped within a sweet aroma.
Sweet peas. Yes, that was definitely the smell! Sweet peas were Nicole's favorite flower and she would know their fragrance anywhere. Yet she didn't see any sweet peas. She recalled that Abigail had called Aaron "sweet pea" a little bit ago, but this was more than just a memory of a smell that was manifesting as a result of a suggestion. This was a manifestation of God's presence.
"Blow the whistle now, Grandpa."
Sam jumped up from his chair smiling joyously and blew the whistle as loud as he could! That broke the spell and suddenly Abigail was down on the floor embracing her little boy who was still standing. Great sobs came from her, and Nicole saw a little arm go around his mommy's neck.
"It's ok, Mommy. Jesus said that it was time for me to walk and talk now. So you don't have to be sad anymore Mommy." He patted her back in an effort to comfort her.
"Oh Sweet Pea, I'm not crying because I'm sad. I'm crying because I'm so happy!"
Aaron looked up at his grandpa as if to question the truth of that statement, like it didn't make any sense. Sam just shrugged. Aaron shrugged back and just kept patting his mother's back until she finally let up on her grip of him, yet held him at arm's length and looked into his eyes. "What happened, son? How is it that you are walking and talking?"
"Maria asked me if I wanted to, and I said yes in here," he answered as he pointed to his heart. "Then she asked Jesus to come and set me free and make me well. And He did." Aaron smiled. "I love Jesus. He's so cool!"
It was as if they suddenly thought of Maria. Sam got up, and as he walked toward the amazing woman who was still seated on the floor of his living room, tears began to stream down his cheeks. He stopped in front of her, and then dropped to his knees.
"Maria, please forgive me for doubting you. You have done nothing but selflessly give of yourself since I first met you. I can never thank you enough for praying for my grandson! Thank you."
Maria reached out a hand and wiped the tears off his cheek. "Mr. Sam. Of course Maria forgive you. But let us thank Jesus who does this mighty miracle for our little Aaron."
"Of course, you're right." He stood to his feet and pulled Maria up. "Let's all thank the Lord together for this great and mighty miracle!"
Sam picked up Aaron and they gathered together in a circle with their arms around each other and praised their heavenly Father for His awesome love and care.
Nicole thought about Jake and missed him so much! But she also realized that her heart was being bound to a part of her family she never would have known if she hadn't been in this unexpected situation.
Little Aaron was healed because an unexpected friend had come with her to this unexpected place and prayed for him.
And the truth of it all burst into her soul like a welcoming flood in a very dry desert. God was with her in this wilderness! He had shown Himself to be full of power, might and love once again, and the incredulity of it all erupted from someplace deep inside her and a language of love and praise for her soul redeemer came pouring out of her mouth.
The gift of tongues that she had prayed about for so long had finally been bestowed upon her in the least expected of times. She would trust Him with all of her heart and would not lean on her own understanding. She committed to acknowledge Him in all her ways, and chose to believe that He would direct her path. Hopefully towards home, yet she was willing to cling to Him and to trust and rely on Him no matter what.
CHAPTER 20
THE PLAN
Later that afternoon when Abigail and Aaron had gone, Sam excused himself. Nicole decided to take a borrowed Bible and find a quiet place to connect with her Savior. She lay back against a rock looking up at the Tetons and the clear sky that had come after a time of dark, oppressive storm clouds and rain. "Lord you brought the rain to refresh and water the land. I trust that You will bring clear skies to my life after these times of oppressive clouds have gone." She opened the Bible to Psalm 23 and heard her Master's loving voice.
"Nicole, don't be afraid of the rain that will come, for this cloud of oppression will not be moved until its rain has fallen. It may feel like a flood, but it is for cleansing and healing, not for destruction. Don't look at the waves. Look at Me and I will lead you beside the cool waters and will restore your soul. I will lead you in righteousness and safety, and even though you will walk through the valley of the shadow of death, it is only a shadow and you must not fear any evil; for I am with you. I will protect and comfort you, and I will deliver you. I give you My rest."
She had become so relaxed in the presence of the Lord that it took her a moment to realize that she was being called by a human voice.
"I'm here Sam," she called out. She got up and started back toward the house.
Sam met her part way. "Come with me. We've been given a directive." He led her back into the bunker and closed the door behind them.
"I spoke with my contact and he wants us to go to Chicago."
Nicole's mind was whirling. She wasn't used to so many changes in such a short amount of time. "Because of Rosie's Bar and Grill?"
"Yeah. He checked into it and is sure that Daemon is there. We are hoping that through him we can get a lead on the location of the clone op."
"So that's the plan? You're looking for the clones?"
"Those are my orders at present."
"What are you going to do when you find them?" Nicole asked.
Sam was silent for a moment before answering. "That's not for me to say at this time."
"Is that your way of telling me that you don't trust me with that information or are you saying that you don't know?" Nicole drilled.
Sam looked at her rather sternly. "Look lady, you are going to have to decide to trust me. You've got to stop turning on me when I don't give you exactly what you want."
Nicole looked steadily back at him, and then relaxed. "You're right Sam. I'm sorry. I guess my emotions are still all over the place. When you talked about finding the clones, a million questions went through my mind and about as many emotions."
"Apology accepted. Trust that for now, all you need to know is that we need to find the location of the clone operation and put a stop to the plans the programmers have of sending them out into society at large. The
re are a lot of questions we don't have time to go into; however, you will be given information as needed. Now, are you with me in this?"
"Yes of course. When do we leave?"
"Soon. But Nicole, there are a few things we need to take care of before we can go to Chicago."
"Ok, what?"
"I want you to meet the man I told you about first. He'll be able to make sure that there aren't any open doors that you're unaware of before you come into possible contact with Daemon or other Freemason or Illuminati programmers."
"How can someone who doesn't even know me know if there are open doors or not?"
"He's an ex-programmer for the Illuminati who escaped their system, one of the few to be able to do that, and now he works with us. After some of the things you told me, I thought I better call him, and he is adamant that he meet you, and ordered me to bring you as soon as possible."
"He ordered you? So he's your superior?"
"Basically, yes."
"Wow. What would an ex-Illuminati programmer want with me? I'm fine."
"Nicole, Joel is also a deprogrammer and will be able to make sure that there's nothing left hidden inside your programming that could compromise your safety or our operation."
"All this talk about programming! I don't like it, Sam."
"I'm not trying to scare you. I'm trying to prepare you," he replied. "Just the fact that Daemon was able to gain such control over you so easily tells me that we need to do everything we can to make sure that that doesn't happen again. Do it for my peace of mind, ok?"
"What's this guy going to do to me? I don't want to be hypnotized or anything like that."
"I can't tell you what he'll do, but I assure you that he is a Christian and trustworthy. He can be a little intimidating, but I trust him with my life. I'm asking you to trust him with yours."
Nicole sighed. "Let me think this through a minute Sam. What if I refuse to see him? What would happen?"
Now Sam sighed. "There's another thing I didn't want to have to tell you, but maybe it's for the best. I'm suspicious that Daemon may have implanted a tracking device somewhere in your body while you were unconscious. If that's the case, we need to find it and disable it. Joel will be able to help with locating and removing it. That is, if my theory is true."
The Soul Redeemer: From Victim to Victory Page 23