Deadly Cult

by Joel Gomez-Dossi

  “That’s okay, Daddy. I’m the one who’s intruding.” She wished she wasn’t an intrusion in her father’s life, but doubted that would ever change.

  “So, why did you travel all this way to see me?” He checked his watch and looked antsy. Ellen knew she’d better speak up or she’d lose this chance.

  “Well, it’s actually about Rhodes Petroleum.”

  His face got serious. “What about it?”

  “You remember Jamie and Eddie, don’t you?”

  “Who?”

  “My friends from Stratburgh University.”

  “Sorry, I don’t remember them.”

  Her chest tightened, but she continued, “They’re the guys who rescued me when I was kidnapped two years ago.”

  “Oh, the gay ones. Now I remember. I’ve never met them, have I?”

  “No, Daddy.”

  “Didn’t think so.”

  She took a breath to calm down. “We got this crazy package. There was a message inside. It had the address to this particular office of Rhodes Petroleum on it, along with the name of a cult based in New York. The Brethren. I’m wondering if there could be a link between the two.”

  Her father paused a moment, then shook his head. “Sorry.”

  “But there has to be something that ties them together, or why would somebody send a message like that?”

  “Because the world is filled with crazies, Ellen.”

  There he goes again, she thought. “No, I don’t agree with you, Daddy. There’s a reason for the things people do.”

  Her forcefulness surprised her, and even her father’s face showed some shock. He rephrased his statement. “Okay. Then it’s their reasons that are crazy.” He walked over to the window and opened the blinds. He pointed at the demonstrators on the sidewalk. “Look at them. They’re protesting because I make money by producing gasoline. But who consumes that fuel? They do. And they continue to drive their gas-guzzlers while complaining about the cost of fuel.”

  Ellen dug her nails into her fingertips. “Daddy, this isn’t what I want to talk with you about.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “Then what do you want from me?”

  She didn’t have to think about her request. “Two of your employees to help me find a connection.”

  “But you don’t get them full-time. I’ll give you ten hours total for both of them. Who do you want?”

  “First, one of your private investigators. He can access records that I can’t get.”

  “Done. Who next?”

  “I’ll also need someone to guide me around the company. With the information the PI can get me, plus a little time, I know I can find the link I’m looking for.”

  “I can do that, too. See? All you had to do is ask.” He turned on his intercom. “Marianne, get me Christian Donahue. I need him to find a new security firm. And I also have another job he might enjoy.”

  He grinned at Ellen and clicked the intercom off. “Christian is my newest junior executive, but he has a wealth of knowledge about the company. If he can’t help you, no one can.”

  It didn’t take long before there was a knock at the door and it opened. A good-looking man entered. He had muscular, chiseled features and dark, wavy hair. “I’m Christian Donahue,” he said. “You sent for me, Mr. Rhodes?”

  Ellen’s heart raced. If this guy was half as smart as he was handsome, she’d enjoy her stay in Boston.

  Chapter Eleven

  Jamie guessed it was late in the afternoon because the sun was about to set. He would have checked the time on his cell phone, but it was in his backpack. Reaching for it would have wakened Eddie. But Eddie woke anyway, sitting up with a jolt. “Jamie, do you have a plan yet?”

  Jamie looked at him and said, “Not since the last time you asked.”

  “When was that?”

  “About ten minutes ago.”

  “Do you know when you’ll come up with a plan?”

  “No, but I’ll tell you when I have one.”

  “I’m confused. You’ll tell me when you come up with a plan, or when you come up with a time estimate for a plan?”

  “Either one. Go back to sleep, Eddie.”

  “I love you, too, Jamie.” He closed his eyes again.

  Jamie caressed his drowsy husband’s cheek and wondered how they could gain access to the Brethren now that they’d been seen and chased away. And even if they did get in, what were they supposed to discover? Maybe Ellen and Eddie were right. Maybe the package was a big fat joke.

  He looked into the horizon. The sun peeked out of the clouds and it felt a bit warmer. More importantly, the skies began to clear. Thank God for spring, even in the Adirondacks.

  He heard something in the distance that sounded like car engines. But it couldn’t have been just one engine. The sound was so loud it had to be an army brigade.

  He looked down the hill and saw a battalion of SUVs climbing upward. These weren’t ordinary vehicles, though. These had to be Hummers on steroids because they cleared the rocks, mud, and gunk with ease.

  He woke Eddie, and they watched the brigade move closer.

  “Think they’re from the Brethren?” Jamie asked.

  Eddie nodded.

  “Then we’d better hide. Don’t want them seeing us as they drive by.”

  They grabbed their duffel bags and hid in the nearby bushes. But the brigade didn’t drive by. Moments later, the lead vehicle stopped right in front of the lean-to. The rest of the SUVs—all five of them—stopped in a queue.

  The lead driver climbed out and posed like an army general. They were so close Jamie could almost smell him. He heard the driver bark to the other drivers, “All right, we’ve got to take an unplanned break.”

  The driver of the second SUV practically fell out of his vehicle getting out. He ran over to the commander. “But, Brother Gideon, we’re so close to the compound.”

  Gideon scowled. He opened the door to his SUV and a frail teenager got out. The kid had to be about eighteen. “I’m sorry,” the kid said with a nasal voice. He sounded almost comical.

  Gideon turned to his subordinate and imitated the sinus-funneled kid. “He didn’t take a leak the last time we fueled up. The last few miles, he fidgeted so much, I got worried he’d pee all over our leather seats.”

  The two men laughed while the teen, looking red with shame, went to the bushes. He started to unzip his pants and looked right in Jamie’s direction. Jamie and Eddie froze in a squatting position. Jamie prayed the kid wouldn’t notice them. It was a lost cause, though, and Jamie just smiled at him. Thankfully, the shocked teenager was just as frightened as Jamie. He zipped up his pants and turned his attention to a pinecone in front of him. But most importantly, he didn’t give them away.

  Jamie, relieved, turned his attention to the drivers. The subordinate got serious and asked Brother Gideon, “Should we let all the new Faithfuls take a break?”

  Gideon threw up his hands. “Why the hell not? It’s not like we can make up any time now. But only to piss, mind you. They’ll have to wait until we reach HQ for anything else.”

  The subordinate pulled out his walkie-talkie and addressed all the SUVs. There must have been a radio communications system because his voice boomed through speakers on top of each vehicle. “Time for a rest stop, everyone. Men should use the right side of the lean-to. The women who have to go should use the opposite side. Sister Naomi will distribute the wet naps when you return.”

  The passengers unloaded, and Jamie was shocked. They held lots of new Faithfuls. There were twelve to fifteen for each vehicle—men and women of varying in sizes, shapes, and ethnicities. There was only one defining attribute. Judging by their clothing, they were all well-off.

  Not just financially comfortable, but very wealthy.

  Jamie looked at the throng of people and whispered, “Holy shit. There have to be seventy-five of them.”

  “At least,” Eddie whispered back.

  Jamie gleamed. He had an idea. “Do you think they’
d notice a couple more?”

  Eddie grinned and said, “Probably not.”

  Hidden by all the Faithfuls trudging into the woods, Jamie stood up and asked the shy teen, “Mind if we join you?”

  He shook his head, and Jamie and Eddie joined the crowd. When everyone was finished, they were herded back to the vehicles. Jamie nodded thanks to the kid and followed the crowd.

  He and Eddie found an older gentleman to accompany. “Grandpa Swanson,” he introduced himself. “Only I don’t have any grandchildren. Or I might as well not have any. They only loved me for my money anyway.”

  When they approached the SUV, Grandpa Swanson said, with his eyes twinkling, “But I showed my kids that I’m the boss. I changed my will. The Brethren gets everything now. My family, the ungrateful bastards, will be left without a cent.”

  Jamie said, “Good for you, Grandpa.” He and Eddie boarded the SUV behind the elderly man.

  “Aren’t you boys getting on the wrong bus?” Grandpa Swanson asked. “You weren’t on this one before.”

  “Of course we were,” Jamie told him. “You told us all about your ungrateful children. Don’t you remember?”

  “I did?”

  “Of course you did. What were their names again?”

  “James and Rachael.”

  “Yes, that’s them. The ungrateful bastards.”

  “Oh, I must have told you. Funny, I don’t remember.”

  “It’s been a long trip, and you’re a little tired.”

  “Yeah. I must be tired.” Grandpa didn’t say another word the rest of the trip, and neither did Jamie or Eddie.

  The brigade of SUVs slowed down at the Brethren’s gates long enough for the gates to open, and they drove through before stopping. The gate closed and Gideon commanded through the speakers, “All right, everyone, this is the end of the road.”

  Everyone got out and they were ushered to a tall and good-looking gentleman dressed in white linen from head to toe. “Faithfuls, may God’s grace be upon you. My name is Obadiah, and on behalf of our great leader, Mordecai, I welcome you to the Brethren and the beginning of your new lives.” His voice was smooth and lilting. He sounded like a public radio announcer.

  Women dressed in drab woolen clothes appeared from nowhere. Obviously, their job was to take a more personal interest in the passengers. Or rather, take the passenger’s personal interests. They collected the bags and luggage.

  “At the Brethren, there are no personal belongings. What belongs to me belongs to everyone,” a good-looking woman in a dark skirt told them. “It is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven.”

  “My cell phone!” someone cried.

  “Do not worry,” the woman said. “You will learn to praise God in silent wonder and admiration.”

  Then they took Eddie’s duffel bag, along with the medicine for his legs. Jamie was about to complain, but Eddie silenced him with a quick movement of his hand. It was none too soon, because in the distance another man yelled, “That’s my medicine! I need my medicine. I have a heart condition!”

  “Why such protestations?” Obadiah asked, walking up to the objecting man. Obadiah’s voice was still calm and lilting, but loud enough for the entire group to hear.

  “I need my medicine,” the man complained. “Don’t you understand? I’m ill.”

  “You have no need of medicine here, for Mordecai will restore your health. He has the ability to heal us of our wounds.”

  “Praise be to Mordecai,” the good-looking woman said. She turned to the crowd and raised her arms, prompting them to join in.

  Everyone raised their arms in return, like they were doing the wave at a football stadium. “Praise be to Mordecai.”

  Then Obadiah spoke again. “It is now time to partake in our most sacred sacrament. Baptism. As we follow the biblical precepts of the rite, each baptismal candidate enters his relationship with the Brethren with no outward vestiges of the greedy, self-indulgent world.”

  The women Faithfuls were separated from the men. Once apart, they whisked the women away. Obadiah looked over the men’s group and proclaimed, “The rite of Baptism is the initiation into a world of righteousness.”

  Something came over the Faithfuls. In unison, they started reciting, “Mordecai is great. Mordecai is good. Mordecai will redeem me of my sins.” They also started pushing and shoving and tearing at each other’s clothes until all that was left was their underwear.

  “I want to be closer to salvation,” a middle-aged man cried, falling to his knees.

  Another man dug his fingernails into his cheeks, and blood started flowing onto his fingers. He cried, “Vanity is sinful.”

  “Wealth must be shunned,” cried another. He pulled off his underpants and stood in the madding crowd, naked.

  Then everyone started pleading, “Baptize me in the spirit of the Brethren.”

  Jamie was shocked. He looked over at Eddie, who shook his head. The converted Faithfuls, quiet and reserved in the SUVs, were raucous and without shame. Everyone, except for the shy teenager. He stood by himself, shaking.

  Out of instinct, Jamie signaled the kid to join him. He obliged and started inching his way. But once they were together, several older Faithfuls grabbed them, tore off their outer clothes, and hustled them to the river.

  Obadiah stood in the middle of the icy water, disregarding the state of his white linen uniform. One by one, he grabbed near-naked Faithfuls by the shoulders and dunked their heads into the creek. He didn’t bother covering their noses and mouths with his hand or even a towel.

  “I baptize you into the fold of the Brethren,” he proclaimed. As he dunked, the Faithfuls would kick and flail.

  When Obadiah pulled the Faithfuls out of the water, they each said “Alleluia.” Then he pushed that Faithful out of the way and signaled for another one.

  It was finally time for the teenager to be baptized. An old man grabbed him by the wrists and started pulling him into the river. The kid shook like a child lost in a supermarket. Jamie had enough of this barbarism. At the top of his lungs he cried, “Stop!”

  Obadiah held out his arms, and Jamie started walking into the water. “We entered the gates of the Brethren together. And that’s how we’ll be baptized.”

  Eddie followed him in. Jamie could tell the cold water was doing a number on his leg, but he continued walking until he reached Jamie and the kid. Jamie put his arms around Eddie and the kid, and they stood there, resolute.

  Obadiah gave Jamie a look that could kill, but didn’t say anything. He took them into his large embrace and proceeded to submerse them into the river.

  After a good twenty seconds of near drowning, Obadiah raised them to the surface. Jamie saw Eddie try to stand up in the water. He couldn’t, and started falling back into the current. Luckily, Jamie caught him.

  Eddie said, “Thank you, swee…” He stopped mid-word, but a look of horror flashed on his face. Jamie remained silent and hoped no one heard. Then he saw Obadiah glaring at them. He must have heard, yet didn’t say anything. He looked toward the sky and yelled, “Alleluia.”

  In return, Jamie quietly repeated “Alleluia” and started walking back with Eddie and the teen.

  The shy teenager didn’t seem so apprehensive anymore.

  Chapter Twelve

  “Alleluia,” Zacchaeus cried as he ran from his secret clearing in the woods.

  He liked hiding at the clearing, which overlooked the river. He especially liked it when the new Faithfuls were being baptized. Of course, if he got caught he would tell the Brethren he enjoyed watching the Faithfuls reach out to God, but that wasn’t true. Deep in his heart, he realized that seeing men in their underwear—good-looking men, that is—excited him.

  Today he had even more reason to be excited. He had pride, though he could never express it. Having lust was sinful enough. He had no idea what punishment would come from committing the sins of lust and pride at the same time. Today, howev
er, they were wrapped up into one giant feeling of elation. Raamiah was wrong. He didn’t chase Eddie and Jamie away. They had arrived at the Brethren.

  And they would become the true saviors.

  He quickly ran down the trail, pushing aside branches that weren’t quite budding. He suddenly thought of a more earthly concern. It was dark. He had finished the laundry, but he still had the Disciples’ mending to do. There’d be hell to pay if he got behind in his chores and caused the Disciples to be late for their exercises.

  Then another kind of hell blocked his path. Raamiah.

  “Well, well, well,” Raamiah said, circling him. “Looks like your boyfriends made it, after all.”

  Zacchaeus started shaking again. He hated the feeling inside him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Disciple Raamiah.”

  “Don’t you?”

  “No.”

  “Well, let me put it in a way even a simpleton like you could understand.” Raamiah smiled and grabbed Zacchaeus’s crotch. He squeezed so hard it hurt. “I did you a favor. A big favor. And I’m not about to let that favor get me into trouble. Do you understand?”

  “I think I do.”

  Raamiah squeezed again. The pain was excruciating. “Well, just so you do. You wouldn’t want a misunderstanding to cause misfortune for your boyfriends, would you?”

  “No.”

  “Good. So let me tell you how this is all going down. Okay?”

  Zacchaeus could only nod.

  “I’m gonna watch your boyfriends close. Real close. One misstep, one word out of turn, and they’re gonna have an unfortunate accident. You get my drift?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Good.” Raamiah released him and wiggled his finger back and forth in front of Zacchaeus’s face. “Then you’d better be on your way.”

  Zacchaeus couldn’t reveal himself to Eddie or Jaime. Not now. Not after his run-in with Raamiah. He started worrying if they’d be able to figure out why they were sent for, or what their mission was supposed to be. He started running to the Disciples’ quarters as fast as he could.

  “Just one more thing,” Raamiah called out. Zacchaeus stopped, but was too afraid to turn around. Raamiah continued shouting, “I’m afraid some kind of animal got into the Disciples’ laundry when you were up in the woods jerking off. Did a number on all the clothes. Looks like you’re gonna have a long night ’cause you’re gonna have to do the laundry all over again.”