He paused and then said, "The only other thing I can come up with is haphazard at best."
Joel lifted one eyebrow in question and Sam answered, "We could kidnap Daemon or Dorothy and torture them until they give."
"You can't be serious!" Nicole exclaimed.
Sam shrugged. "I didn't say it was a good idea, it's just the only other one I have."
Joel leaned his head back against the chair and closed his eyes. After a few minutes, Nicole began to think that he had fallen asleep. She looked at Sam who just shrugged his shoulders again and began to pace the well worn and only path in the room.
"Make it so." Joel hadn't moved and said the words so quietly that Nicole thought she had imagined it.
But Sam had heard it to. "Sir?" he asked.
Joel opened his eyes and with what seemed great effort, he lifted his head. "Make it so. Contact Gus and meet him in Denver. Take Breeze with you. If Gus fails, we'll send her in." He closed his eyes and motioned with his arm that they were dismissed. Sam turned ready to leave the room, but Nicole stayed sitting, watching Joel.
"Sir, are you ok? Can I get you some tea or something?" she asked.
He opened his eyes but didn’t lift his head. "I'm fine; now go get ready for Chicago."
She looked into his eyes, and then nodded. She stood and followed Sam to the door.
"Nicole?"
She stopped and looked back into the room. "Sir?"
"My prayers are with you."
Nicole ran back into the room, knelt down in front of the ancient one that had come to mean so much to her in such a short period of time, and hugged him.
"Thank you sir. And mine are with you." She planted a kiss on top of his head as she stood to her feet, and then she turned and left the room without looking back so that he would not see the tears that were streaming down her face.
Had she done so, she would have seen an old man wiping tears from his eyes as well.
"Let them think I am just a tired old man," Joel thought to himself once he was alone. "Better that than for Nicole to know how much she means to me and how much I dread the thought of placing her in such a dangerous position. May she never know how terrified I am for her! May she never know the grief that this decision has cost me. Oh God, help us all!"
He closed his eyes. There was a deep feeling of unrest and, what? A thought had been tugging at his corners of his mind, but he had dismissed it until now when the other, more pressing decisions had been made.
And then he knew. He had ordered a car to follow Nicole and Sam, but the license number Nicole gave was not his car, and in the intensity of the situation, he had failed to notice that the agent had not signed in.
He picked up the phone and called Hopper. No answer. This was not good.
He quickly dialed Sam's number.
"Sir?" Sam answered.
"Be careful Harry. The tail this morning was not ours. Hopper hasn't checked in or answered my call."
"Copy that Sir. You watch your back as well," Sam responded.
Joel closed the phone as Jemima came into the room bringing a fresh pot of tea.
"Mr. Joel. What be ailing you?" she asked.
He closed his eyes again and sighed. "I'm a foolish old man, Jemima. Perhaps I am too ancient to be in such a dangerous business. Too many things to keep in order inside my mind." He cringed as he thought of the ramifications of what could have been this morning.
"Well, Sir. Has the good Lawd released you from this position?" she asked.
Joel opened his eyes and smiled at his companion. "No. No He hasn't. Thank you for the reminder, my friend. But we must pray," he said. And two gray heads bowed before the One who held the lives of those they loved in the palm of His hand.
CHAPTER 25
FACING THE ENEMY
Jake carefully added the drug to Megan's morning coffee.
The morning before, he had left early for work. He called Gary just after leaving the house, and ten minutes later, he, Gary and Casie had met in the safe room of the Inn. Casie had not taken the news well, but after he explained how God had transported him to D.C. for his special visit with Nicole, she realized that God was in the middle of doing something miraculous. The three of them prayed together and then they parted with the understanding that they would do whatever they could to help.
Then that evening after work, as he had stopped and gotten out of the car at the mail box which was a half mile away from the house, an unmarked car that had been following him for the past several miles, pulled up beside him. The driver had rolled his window down and handed him a package saying that it held directives from Harry. He had been told to look into it before he went on home, and then they had driven on.
He had emptied the contents of the package onto the seat next to him. There was a small packet containing a drug, a phone, and a note from Harry explaining the plan. After reading through the directives, he had walked a ways away from the car and called Gary and Casie from the new phone. They were going to need a safe place to take Megan for a couple of days, a place Nicole had never been to.
Gary had suggested a cabin further up the mountain and said that he would line that up. Casie agreed that they would do what they could to cut the silver chord of soul ties between Megan and Daemon, and she said that she would line up intercessors so that there would always be someone with her.
Jake had explained that all technology would be down for a period of time and that he wouldn't be able to call them the following morning. They agreed that they would be at the Inn early, waiting to lead them on up the hill once they arrived.
Now as he stirred the coffee, he realized how nervous he was and prayed that Megan wouldn't notice. He could always pass it off as work related stress if she questioned him before she passed out.
"Oh God, how did we get into this mess?" He smiled as he thought of Ricky Ricardo on I Love Lucy shaking his head and saying, "Aye, aye, Aye, aye, Aye!" at Lucy's antics. Nicole was nothing like Lucy, but she did have a tendency to keep their lives in a state of intrigue. And then he smiled because he was starting to think in "Lucy lingo" like Nicole did.
Jake carried Megan's coffee over to her.
She looked up at him so innocently. "Thanks hon," she said.
She looked and sounded so much like Nicole. Had he been dreaming all this up? What if he was going crazy and had just drugged his wife without cause? Or what if he had been deceived and this was really Nicole sitting in front of him taking a sip of the drugged liquid, and he was planning to turn her over to the bad guys?
He sat in his chair, leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He had to get a grip on his thoughts. "Take every thought captive" came to mind. "Lord Jesus, help me know the truth so that I will stop this doubting that is plaguing me."
He suddenly and vividly was reminded of Megan's eyes that first morning. He remembered looking into Nicole's eyes in D.C. and he felt peace come into his heart. He looked over at Megan and smiled at her.
She smiled back at him. She cocked her head, raised one eyebrow and said, "You still haven't touched me since, well you know. I'm fine now Jake. Wouldn't you like to go back to bed with me? There's time before you have to get ready for work."
Jake looked down at his Bible resting in his lap then back up at her. "Let's finish our coffee first," he said as he smiled then began reading.
Five minutes later, Megan dropped her empty coffee cup onto her lap and slumped over on the couch. Jake jumped up and turned the porch light on…a sign for the tech team who were nearby waiting. He was glad that it was still dark enough to be easily noticeable.
Then he picked up the phone and left a message for his boss, professing that he wasn't feeling well and wouldn't be going to work that day. He hated to lie, but he reasoned that that was true. After hanging up he deliberately said, "You look tired, Mrs. Bailey. How bout we go back to bed like you suggested?" And like clockwork, the lights blinked and went out.
Soon after, a van pulled into the driveway and
three men got out with a stretcher and special equipment. They quietly entered the house and two of them carefully laid Megan on the stretcher and carried her to the back of the van. The third man was walking through the house identifying and disabling bugs.
Jake sat on the front deck praying and waiting. He would have been surprised to see the large angels that were surrounding the house and yard, blocking the eyes and ears of the enemy, while also blocking all the activity going on around the house from the enemy.
Soon the exterminator opened the front door. "All clear in here. I'm going to check your yard and car."
Jake went in and got dressed. He carefully washed the cup that had contained the drug along with cleansing the sink, and then he poured himself another cup of coffee and sat out on the front deck. It seemed like hours had passed as Jake waited, but it had only been thirty minutes when the back door of the van opened and one of the men stepped out.
He motioned to Jake. "We're ready to transport her. Where are we going?"
"To a cabin about forty five minutes up the road," Jake said. "You can follow me. I'll be making one quick stop at the Inn to drop off Megan's phone in case the tracking starts working before we're ready for it." He turned his phone off and disconnected the battery just to make sure that it was untraceable. He did the same to Megan's.
"Perfect," Jake thought as he pulled up to the rustic cabin in the forest of big trees behind Gary and Casie. Liz came out the door and gave him a hug. "I'm so sorry about Nicole, Jake. But I know it's all going to be ok. In the meantime, I'm just glad we can help out. Blake said that you guys can use this place as long as you need to."
"Thanks, Liz." They stood watching as the two men were carefully taking Megan out of the van.
"I'll go show them where to lay her," Liz said and then led them inside.
A moment later the two men returned with the stretcher. "You're going to have to keep her from running." He handed Casie a small black pouch. "Here's a sedative that you can use if you need to. Think you can handle this?"
Casie looked in the pouch. "I'm sure. Thanks."
As they got in the van and pulled away, Jake told Casie, "I don't want her to feel like a prisoner. It's funny, I feel like I should hate her, but I don't. I didn't realize it until just now when I think about leaving that I'm actually concerned for her! I could stay."
Casie hugged him. "Don't you worry, mister. We'll take good care of her. Liz and I are both going to be here for her, and Deanne will be here soon. I was so upset when you first told me what was going on, but then I realized how relieved I was that this is not Nicole! Now that I know she's somebody else, I can't wait to get to know her. And a clone! I wonder what she's really like."
"I think you probably need to go home and get some sleep," Gary said as he looked at Jake's bloodshot eyes. "No worries. These ladies will have Megan so surrounded with God's love and power that the old enemy won't stand a chance." He pulled out a set of hand radios. "I'll be patrolling the road and will stay within range so Casie can reach me if they need anything. Do you have any idea how long the phones will be down?"
"The electricity will probably back up before too long, but they were going to fry the phone towers so that the tracking on them would be unavailable. I'm assuming that'll take a little longer to fix." Jake answered.
"Well, there's a generator here, so no worries about electricity. And if we need you and I can't get a hold of you, I'll just come get you. Gary took hold of Jake's shoulder and turned him toward his car.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Daemon's phone interrupted his morning tryst with one of his women. He was not happy. He looked at the number and pushed the button.
"This better be important…." He pulled his arm out from under the woman's neck that was lying next to him and sat up. "What? You're telling me that there's been a sun spot that took out our eyes and ears on Megan? Could this have been a hit?..... Uh huh….How wide is the effected area?..... Well check into it and make sure that it was a sun spot, and do whatever you have to get her back!"
He threw the phone down and sat on the edge of the bed. This was not a good way to begin his day.
The large, invisible angel watched Daemon's reaction and gave glory to God who had prepared a sun spot several days prior so that its effects would reach the earth at this appointed time, providing the necessary cover for His people.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nicole looked across the aisle of the private plane at Gus who was being briefed by Sam. "It's a good thing he's on our side," she thought. He fit the German image of brawn…tall, muscular, handsome, blond…and he didn't smile much. All business. Even when Jake had introduced him to her, he had nodded his head in acknowledgement, and that was it.
She leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. She determined to try to sleep while she could. She had no clue what the night and the next few days held in store for her.
Cantor and many others had surrounded Sam and Nicole as they left the safe house. They were now blocking the plane from being sited by the enemy who had begun to frantically search for Nicole. The air was full of commotion as the demons had broadened the scope of their hunt.
IS had been called before his master Satan and had been severely reprimanded for losing site of her. Now he was passing on that wrath to those under him, and they were scurrying about, each one hoping to be the one to discover the missing pest of a woman and thereby receive a promotion instead of punishment.
Yet none noticed the small plane that carried the precious, and much sought after cargo.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Casie was sitting next to Megan's bed reading when her eyelids fluttered open and she sat up gasping for breath like she was waking up from a bad nightmare. She looked over at Deanne who was sitting on the other side of Megan, and both ladies drew a deep breathe as if to say, "Here we go!"
Casie laid her Bible down and reached for Megan's arm. "Hey girl, it's ok. You're safe," she said.
Megan looked at her rather strangely, and then nodded. "Casie. Yes, hi." She closed her eyes and gently probed them with her fingertips. A worried expression crossed her face.
"Where am I? Where is Jake? I have to see Jake! Now!" She started to get out of bed and fell back down, still a little woozy from the drug.
Liz came into the room with a towel in her hands. She had been cooking while they were waiting for Megan to wake up. She looked from Casie to Deanne with a silent question on her face. "What do we do now?"
Casie just looked back down at Megan who had closed her eyes and looked like she had fallen asleep, but she wasn't buying it.
"I think that the truth is the best place to start," Casie said as she took a deep breath. "First, we want you to know that you are safe and that we are here to help you. But we also know that your name is really Megan and that you have been impersonating Nicole. Your contacts, bugs, tracking devices and all your technology have been disabled, and your connections to your handler have been cut off."
When Megan didn't respond, Liz asked, "Can I get you something to eat or drink Megan? I've got some homemade chicken soup and iced or hot tea or water."
Still no response. Casie said, "If you are trying to reach your handler through soul ties, that won't work either. We've taken the spirits captive and they are being held hostage by some very large warrior angels. And Jesus has come and cut the silver chord between you and the person or people on the other end."
At this news, Megan's eyes popped open and she sat straight up in the bed. She looked first at Casie, then at Liz and Deanne. Her eyes had become enlarged and very black, and Megan's face twisted into an expression of pure hatred. Then she let out a blood curdling scream.
Still sitting beside Megan, Casie said, "I think you better call Gary."
"I did as soon as I heard you talking to her. He should be here any minute," Liz replied.
"What right do you have to kidnap me and cut me off from my family?" a rasp
y voice asked.
"That's a good question, considering that is exactly what you did to Nicole. We are under the highest authority of Jesus Christ and His blood," Casie said.
Megan, rather the demon in her, gagged and then spit out a ball of slimy saliva onto the sheets in front of her. "That name makes me sick!" it said.
She threw the covers off the bed and started to get up, but Liz said, "Oh no you don't. In Jesus' name, I command you to stay right there in that bed! Lord Jesus, I ask you to encage this demon and to put up a spiritually electrifying fence of Jesus' blood around it."
The demon hatefully spit out the words, "I don't have to listen to you, you daughter of Eve. You are weak and a poor excuse of human flesh."
It started to climb over the side of the bed and then jumped back as it screamed in pain. God had answered Liz's prayer. "You can't do this to me! Do you hear me? You can't keep me here! I have a job to do and I will do it!"
"What is your job?" Casie enquired.
"I don't have to tell you!"
"Ok," Casie said. "The Holy Spirit knows and He'll tell us."
"No! Don't call the Holy Spirit! I hate Him!" She settled back down onto the bed. "I'll be good. Just don't call Him."
Casie said, "Well, I think we need to call the Holy Spirit anyhow. We need to know what your function and assignment is, and I'm not sure we can trust you to tell us the truth."
"Ok, ok! I have to seduce Jake and plant seeds of destruction in him. I have to help Megan watch over his home while his real wife is dead, only she's not dead, and they don't know where she's hiding." In a sing-song voice it finished, "Some-bod-y's in trou-ble!" And then it began to laugh.
The Soul Redeemer: From Victim to Victory Page 32