Stung

by Jerry B. Jenkins

  “There was a breakout?” Mark said.

  “Yeah. One of those reeducation camps or whatever you call them. When that girl saw the squad car go by, she freaked. Hid behind one of the aisles back there. I went outside and flagged ’em down.”

  “You’re pretty much a hero,” Mark said.

  The girl blushed. “I didn’t do nothin’. Just figured she had to be guilty of something, the way she acted.”

  Mark thanked the girl and left. A small bell rang as he opened the door, and the Peacekeepers glanced at him. Mark walked the other way.

  The radio squawked. “Here’s the report,” a man said. “We have a negative on the downstate facility. Your girl is MM-1215, Melinda Bentley.” The man read off more information about Melinda. “You’re instructed to interrogate, then carry out GC order X-13.”

  The peacekeepers looked at each other. “Can you repeat that?”

  “Interrogate and carry out an X-13. Over.”

  The peacekeeper sighed. “Ten four, we copy. Out.”

  Mark didn’t know what an X-13 was, but it didn’t sound good for Melinda. He turned the corner and walked his motorcycle closer. He wanted to hear the GC question Melinda.

  “We know who you are,” a peacekeeper said. “Who’s been hiding you?”

  “I was staying with some friends,” Melinda said.

  “Who?”

  Her handcuffs clinked as Melinda pushed the hair from her eyes.

  “I don’t know their names.”

  “Where?”

  Melinda shrugged. “Talking to you isn’t going to do me any good. I know what’s going to happen.”

  Mark darted into the grocery store and handed the girl behind the counter a large bill.

  “What’s this for?” she said.

  “You’ll see,” Mark said. He walked into the street and faced the squad car. The peacekeepers leaned against the open door. Mark got Melinda’s attention and motioned for her to get out of the car. She seemed to understand. Mark returned to the cycle.

  “I’m tired of sitting here,” Melinda said.

  “Answer our questions and we’ll take you for a long walk,” a peacekeeper said, chuckling.

  “Let me at least stretch my legs,” Melinda said. “Then I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”

  As soon as she was out of the car, Mark started the cycle. He grabbed a loose brick and pulled into the street. As the peacekeepers turned, he threw the brick through the front window of the store.

  “Hey!” one of the peacekeepers shouted. Both moved toward Mark.

  “It slipped,” Mark yelled.

  “We saw you! Now get off your bike!” the second peacekeeper said, unlocking his gun holster.

  Melinda inched around to the other side of the squad car. Mark gunned the engine and raced past the peacekeepers, who shouted at him and drew their weapons. He barreled around the car, and Melinda jumped on behind him.

  Mark shot down an alley as gunfire erupted.

  “I can’t hold on!” Melinda shouted.

  “Put your hands over my head,” Mark shouted.

  With the cuffs still on, Melinda slipped her hands over Mark’s head and worked them down to his waist.

  “Did you tell them about us?” Mark shouted.

  “No!”

  The GC squad car’s siren blared behind them.

  “Hang on,” Mark said. “This is going to be some chase!”

  Judd awoke late in the afternoon in Israel. Jamal stood in the doorway. “You have a visitor.”

  Judd woke Lionel. From a tiny monitor mounted near the door Judd saw someone pushing the buzzer on the first floor.

  “Do you know him?” Jamal said.

  “That’s Samuel,” Judd said. “His dad works for the GC.”

  Jamal shook his head. “I cannot allow him here. It is too great a risk.”

  “If he’s the one who sent us, why can’t we trust him?” Judd said.

  Jamal studied the screen as Lionel said, “Maybe it was their plan to let us escape Samuel’s house. To find this place. They may want you more than they want us.”

  Judd had to admit it was a possibility. “Still, something tells me Samuel’s okay.”

  “Can we get outside some other way and meet him on the street?” Lionel said.

  “There is a way,” Jamal said, “but I can’t let you endanger the lives of those we are hiding.”

  “We’ll get outside and follow him to make sure it’s safe,” Judd said.

  Jamal handed Judd a key, then took them through a corridor to the freight elevator. “This comes out at the back of the building. Go to the bottom floor, the garage. You can walk around to the front from there, but I warn you, watch out for anyone who looks like they’re with the Global Community. If they catch you, you must never tell them about this place.”

  The garage was dingy and dark. Judd and Lionel hid behind bushes as they approached the front. No one was at the door.

  “Guess he gave up,” Lionel said.

  Judd glanced both ways. “Want to split up?”

  “Let’s stick together,” Lionel said.

  They ran north three blocks. Lionel grabbed Judd’s arm. Samuel stood in a nearby phone booth. Judd and Lionel approached slowly and listened.

  “Please pick up the phone,” Samuel said. “I sent two people to you yesterday. I need to talk with them. Their names are Judd and Lionel. They think—”

  Samuel turned and saw them. He hung up the phone. “I am so glad to see you. We must talk.”

  “Where’s your dad?” Judd said.

  “At work,” Samuel said. “He let me stay home from school because of last night.”

  “Do you ever go to school?” Judd said skeptically.

  “I know a café nearby,” Samuel said.

  Samuel led them to the café. The waiter seated them in a secluded spot inside. Judd and Lionel kept an eye on the street. “We’re almost out of cash,” Judd said as he glanced at the menu.

  “Don’t worry. I will pay for this,” Samuel said.

  “One more favor,” Judd said. “Unbutton your shirt.”

  “What for?” Samuel said.

  “Just do it,” Judd said.

  When Judd was sure Samuel was not wearing a bug, he relaxed a little. The waiter came with their food, and Lionel and Judd ate hungrily. Samuel described what had happened after the two had escaped.

  “They questioned me for an hour,” Samuel said. “They wanted to know everything I knew about you. I told them the truth about meeting you the first time, but I lied about the video. I’m sorry.”

  “Did they connect us with Mr. Stein?” Lionel said.

  “That is why I risked coming here,” Samuel said. “I had to tell them enough so they would believe me. They have interrogated Mr. Stein about you.”

  “They’re still holding him?” Judd said.

  “I overheard my father’s phone call. Mr. Stein admitted he knew you both, but would say nothing further. The GC have beaten him severely.”

  “They beat him?”

  “He is still in custody, but you must not try to help him escape. They are expecting you. I will get word to you when he is released.”

  “We can’t tell you about the place we’re staying,” Lionel said.

  Samuel nodded. “But I must know how to get you if something should happen.”

  Judd worked out a code with Samuel to use when calling Jamal’s apartment. If Mr. Stein was freed or if he needed Judd and Lionel, Samuel would leave a message in code.

  “We also need to know who was killed last night at the airport,” Judd said.

  “My dad will know,” Samuel said. “I don’t think the information has been released to the media.”

  As they finished their meal, Samuel grew quiet. Judd still didn’t know whether to trust him, but so far, his story checked out. “What’s the matter?” Judd said.

  “There’s another reason I came to see you,” Samuel said. “It’s about the meeting last night
and some things the rabbi said.”

  Mark didn’t want the GC squad car to follow him to the hideout, so he backtracked to the expressway. Most of the highway still had large gaps in it from the earthquake. Cars poked along.

  The squad car was close when they first made it to the highway, but Mark rode on the edge of the pavement and dodged the slower cars.

  “Where are you going?” Melinda shouted over the noise of the bike and the honking cars around them.

  “Just hang on,” Mark said.

  Suddenly, Mark veered left and into the median. The bike slid sideways, but Mark regained control. The squad car followed, mud flying into the air behind it. Mark shot over the median and across the oncoming cars on the other side of the highway. Melinda screamed. A semitrailer swerved to miss them and hit another car, sending it careening toward the squad car.

  Mark slowed as they went over an embankment he had seen earlier in the day. He drove through the edge of a cornfield and onto a small, country road.

  “Are they still following us?” Mark yelled.

  Melinda glanced back. “Not yet. I think the truck’s blocking them.”

  Mark pushed the bike to its limits, screaming around curves. Three miles later, he turned off the engine and coasted down a hill to a small stream. “This is where we get off,” Mark said. “Hurry.”

  Melinda struggled to get her hands over Mark’s head. “We’ll get those cuffs off you when we get back to the schoolhouse,” Mark said.

  Mark pushed the motorcycle to a stream that ran under the road. They found a dry place under the bridge and waited.

  Finally, Mark whispered, “Why’d you leave the group?”

  Melinda explained that she had heard Tsion’s message. Coupled with the clear lies of Nicolae Carpathia, it was too much for her. “I had to get away.”

  “You don’t believe what Tsion says?” Mark said.

  “He has to be right,” Melinda said, “but after all I’ve staked my life on … it’s hard.”

  Mark nodded. “You went straight to that little town?”

  “I hid from Vicki and the GC during the night,” Melinda said. “They came pretty close a couple of times, but I got under some brush.

  “This morning I made it as far as the town when I spotted those peacekeepers. I tried to play it cool, but the girl in the store ratted me out.”

  “What’s an X-13?” Mark said.

  Melinda pursed her lips. “That’s the order to eliminate a prisoner.”

  “They were going to kill you?” Mark said.

  “If you hadn’t come along, they would have,” Melinda said.

  Cars passed overhead. Dust and debris fell from the bottom of the bridge. Mark stuck his head out and quickly returned. “GC squad cars,” he said.

  Judd and Lionel talked with Samuel about Tsion’s message. Samuel wanted to know what the people were doing who came to the front of the stadium. Judd told him.

  Lionel jumped in with questions about what Samuel believed about God. Judd was impressed with the way Lionel showed Samuel the truth about Jesus.

  “The Bible shows us that Jesus is more than just a good teacher,” Lionel said. “He’s God.”

  Samuel glanced at his watch and gasped. “My father! He will be home soon.”

  “You shouldn’t put off this decision,” Lionel said.

  “I will relay information when I can,” Samuel said. “I must go.”

  Lionel handed Samuel a piece of paper. The boy took it, put money on the table, and quickly walked away.

  “What was that?” Judd said.

  “A verse I found that might make him think,” Lionel said.

  Judd wondered if they would ever see Samuel again.

  16

  JUDD and Lionel told Jamal what had happened. Jamal winced when he heard they had met with Samuel in a public place. Jamal turned on a videotape from the GC network that showed Buck Williams talking to the guard who had been killed.

  “The news has been running this to show that Mr. Williams is guilty,” Jamal said.

  “Buck’s not even carrying a gun,” Lionel said.

  “Exactly,” Jamal said. “After Buck leaves, the guard fires over his head. Then, the guard is hit.”

  “How could they say Buck killed him?” Judd said.

  Jamal shook his head. “The Global Community will cover up the truth. I’m afraid of what might happen to Mr. Williams and the others. Especially since the pilot is dead.”

  “What?” Judd said. His heart raced. “Rayford Steele is dead?”

  Mark and Melinda kept quiet as the squad cars passed again. Clouds rolled in and the light grew dim.

  “How long did it take you to get to the town?” Mark whispered.

  “I’m not sure,” Melinda said. “I had to hide so many times. Maybe a couple of hours. Why?”

  “We’re going to have to ditch the motorcycle,” Mark said. He glanced at her. “That’s assuming you want to go back.”

  Melinda looked away. “You sure you want to risk being seen with me?”

  Mark smiled. “I risked getting you out this morning, didn’t I?”

  “Why do you people keep helping me?” Melinda said.

  Mark picked up a rock and tried to break the chain between the cuffs. “We can’t leave the cycle here. It’s too close to the schoolhouse.”

  “What do we do?” Melinda said.

  “Wait here until nightfall.”

  The two listened to the stillness of the countryside. An occasional car passed, but the GC had apparently moved their search. Finally, Melinda broke the silence. “Why did you leave the schoolhouse?”

  Mark told her about his fight with Vicki and his search for his aunt. “I don’t see eye to eye with everybody in the group,” he said, “but they’re all the family I have now.”

  Melinda stared at Mark. “I’m sorry about your aunt.”

  Judd put his face in his hands. He couldn’t believe Rayford Steele had been killed. Jamal rewound the tape.

  A news reporter dramatically walked the runway at Jerusalem Airport. “One of the American terrorists was shot and killed here,” he said. “It happened late last night, after the final session of the so-called Meeting of the Witnesses.” The reporter walked near a Global Community helicopter. “The daring escape included hijacking Potentate Carpathia’s own helicopter.”

  “That’s what we saw last night!” Lionel said.

  Chaim Rosenzweig’s estate flashed on the screen. “Dr. Rosenzweig had hosted Ben-Judah, murder suspect Cameron Williams, and Williams’s wife. According to Global Community Supreme Commander Leonardo Fortunato, the escape was well calculated.”

  A disgusted Leon Fortunato was shown at a press conference. “We were assured that the prisoners were under house arrest. Upon further investigation, we found a door to the roof clearly broken from the inside. This shows conclusively how the Americans escaped.”

  The reporter knelt on the runway, pointing at a red stain. “When the helicopter landed here, an American terrorist opened fire on GC forces nearby. A sniper killed terrorist Ken Ritz with a single shot to the head.”

  “Do you know this Ritz?” Jamal said.

  Judd shook his head. “He must have been working with Buck and Tsion.”

  The reporter stood in front of the downed helicopter. “The other three fugitives—suspected murderer Cameron Williams, his wife, and Tsion Ben-Judah—have escaped and are at large internationally. It is assumed that Williams is an accomplished pilot.”

  “What?” Lionel said. “Buck’s smart, but he’s never flown a plane before in his life.”

  “Somebody else had to help them get away,” Judd said.

  The reporter concluded by showing photos of Ben-Judah and Buck Williams. “These men are considered armed and extremely dangerous. If you have any information about their whereabouts, please contact your nearest Global Community post.”

  Vicki and the others tried to stay busy throughout the day, but each sound, every crack of a tw
ig made them nervous. Finally, Vicki called a meeting.

  “I’ve been reading a lot in Philippians,” Vicki said. “Paul was a prisoner and was writing to encourage a church he helped start.” Vicki opened the Bible. “Toward the end he said, ‘I have learned how to get along happily whether I have much or little. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need.’”

  Vicki closed her Bible. “He was content even in prison. God had a purpose for him wherever he was. It’s the same with us. Maybe God wants us to stay here. Maybe he wants us in some GC jail so we can talk to the people there. Whatever the situation, we need to be content.”

  “So you’re saying we shouldn’t be nervous about Melinda?” Darrion said. “Well, I am nervous. I don’t want the GC to come in here and arrest us.”

  “Neither do I,” Vicki said, “and we need to do everything we can to keep them from finding us. But at some point we have to trust God to protect us.”

  “I see your point,” Conrad said. “I think the best thing we can do right now is pray that Melinda will come to her senses and return.”

  The kids gathered in a circle and joined hands. Each took a turn praying that God would bring Melinda back, or at least keep her from the Global Community.

  As night approached, the kids ate dinner together. Vicki and Darrion answered some of the messages that had come in after the Meeting of the Witnesses. Kids around the world still begged to know God.

  Conrad volunteered to take the first watch. While he put Phoenix on a chain in the front yard, Vicki gathered some blankets. Conrad climbed a narrow staircase that led to the old bell tower. As he settled in for the night, Vicki and the others tried to sleep.

  Mark worked on Melinda’s handcuffs throughout the day with several rocks he found by the stream. When one broke, he picked up another. Mark had rubbed blisters on his hands trying to break the cuffs. Once he missed and hit Melinda’s wrist.