“You are our advisor, Adah. What do you think?”
“The important issue is what says the Bible,” Adah began quietly. “What we think is important, but the Scripture is critical. We are all still in this world because we failed earlier to take this into account.”
The students murmured their agreement.
“We know that the first step in the final plan began with the Rapture of all of the true believers. Of course, the moon has also turned red. Then we have heard of nothing but wars and more wars. This problem is right on schedule for what comes next. The nuclear defeat of Russian is straight out of the book of Ezekiel. Now we come to the next step, the appearance of the Anti-Christ. Makes sense to you? Does it?”
Graham watched the eyes of the students. Each person watched with intense seriousness registered across their faces. No one heard Adah's words with anything less that the utmost respect.
“Today I received a very important message.” Adah looked at Graham as if she wanted his approval before she said anything more. “A name! Avery important name! I think this is the most insight to date I have received. I have been studying this matter all afternoon.” She looked at Graham again.
“Go ahead,” Graham said. “This matter is too serious not to be completely honest. We have already decided to stand with you.”
Adah smiled broadly. “Thank you, sir. We are deeply indebted to you, Mr. Peck, for giving me this new name.”
The students glanced back and forth between Matt and Graham as if they were putting a piece in puzzle together. Matt stared at the floor and said nothing.
Adah pulled her Bible out of her purse and opened it to the back of the book. “We must turn to the final verses in the end of chapter thirteen in Revelation to understand what this night we have heard.” She read slowly and carefully from the Bible. “‘This calls for wisdom: let his who has understanding reckon the number of the beast, for it is a human number, its number is six hundred and sixty-six.’” She stopped and looked around the room. “Do you not see the relationship between what we heard tonight and this number?”
No one spoke. The students looked mystified. Graham glanced at Jackie. Neither had any more insight than the students did.
“Let me put it this way.” Adah reached down and ripped off a big piece of the white paper tablecloth. Taking a ballpoint, she scribbled furiously across the page. Walking to the front wall, she pulled a couple of thumbtacks off the menu hanging there and tacked the page to the center of the front wall. One the torn page a big 666 had the name of Borden Camber Carson written underneath. “What do you see?” she asked the group.
No one spoke.
“The number 666 is what the book of Revelation says is the name of the beast. This creature is a symbol of the evil power the will make war on the saints and even conquer some of them.” Adah stopped and slowly looked around the room. The group sat as if they were in a trance, stupefied by what she was saying. “In the first century, Christians thought that this number was the name of Nero and it probably was in their time.”
“You're saying Nero is the name of the Anti-Christ?” Matt abruptly broke in.
“No, no.” Adah shook her finger emphatically. “Not the final Anti-Christ. No! In his time he was only an Anti-Christ. I am saying that some of what the Bible says is true both then and now! In the final times this beast will also have the name of 666.”
“What is your point?” Graham interjected. “I'm not following you.”
Adah started writing on the torn sheet of paper again. Directly beneath Carson's name she wrote Hassan Jawhar Rashid. “Do you see it now?” she asked the group.
Once again no one answered.
“Let me tell you. This Carson also goes by the name I have written here. Rashid is Arabic.” Adah started tapping on each of the letters in the name. “Look! B-o-r-d-e-n,” she said. “How many letters that is?”
“Six?” someone said.
“Good,” Adah answered and started tapping again. “C-a-m-b-e-r. How many here?”
“Six!” Jackie suddenly exclaimed.
“Look.” Adah tapped on the name Hassan in the same way. “How many letters here?”
“Six!” Graham exploded. “Every one of these names has six letters!”
“And when you put them together each name makes six-hundred and sixty-six.” Adah explained. “This Carson has two names, but they both say the same thing. This man is Mr. 666!”
For thirty seconds no one said anything until the silence became ominous.
Students suddenly began talking furiously and the room broke into turmoil. Jackie turned to Graham, her face white and drawn. Graham could only shake his head.
“I'm horrified!” Jackie said.
“Me, too,” Graham answered.
Eldad Rafaeli held up his pudgy hand. “May I speak?”
“Of course,” Adah said.
“In Israel we have lived with and fighting since the day in 1948 we become a nation,” Eldad began. “In my town of Rosh Ha'Ayin it is no different. But I came here because I believed that the Holy One, blessed be His name, for some reason I cannot understand, sent me here. Now I have heard the truth I seek.” Eldad's eyes widened in a alarmed stare. “This man Carson, or Rashid, is the beast we must fear!”
CHAPTER 43
BY THANKSGIVING DAY, the weather had snapped out of the summer-like high digits and now, ominously, a new blanket of snow covered Chicago. The Pecks gathered around a sumptuous table laden with the traditional turkey, stuffing, and green beans as well as a couple of pumpkin pies. However, the Arlington Heights neighborhood remained more subdued than in previous years with the memories of Maria Peck's violent death. If anything, fear had only increased in the past few weeks.
Graham and Jackie attempted to maintain a festive atmosphere around the loaded table and avoided talking about what they were learning from the New Seekers group. Matt avoided any confrontations with Mary, but tension still hung in the air. Only once did George mention that Grammy always fixed marshmallow cranberry salad and Jeff immediately started sniffling. Everyone pushed on, attempting to avoid their own grief. Somehow, the family got through the Thanksgiving celebration without erupting either into a war or a litany of grief. At dawn on Friday, Mayor Bridges called another emergency meeting and Graham was forced to return to his office.
“You hadn't planned to go today, had you?” Jackie had a pensive sound in her voice.
“No,” Graham said emphatically. “I even gave my secretary the day off. I don't expect anybody to be there.”
“What do you think is going on?”
“I don't know, but it makes me extremely apprehensive.”
Jackie nodded. “I agree and it makes me worry bout you.”
Graham hugged her. “I'm more worried about what our entire family's next step is going to be. Because of what we've learned from Adah Honi, we must make some big decisions.”
“Oh Graham. This is as frightening as your mother's death!”
“Yeah,” Graham said resolutely. “This entire experience changes everything we've believed in.”
“Adah told me we should learn to pray.”
“Well, I don't have the slightest idea how you do it.” He hugged her again. “Keep the doors locked.”
As usual, Graham drove his small hydrogen-powered car to the Metro Express station and boarded the train. A picture of Borden Carson had been posted over his head on the side of the car. Avoiding the picture and not looking at anyone else, Graham thought over and again about what he heard Adah say about Carson or Rashid. He was stuck with the man's extraordinary capacities, which left Graham feeling like Carson could crush him as easily as stepping on an ant.
Jake Pemrose was there when Graham arrived. A quick glance left the impression that the man had been there much longer than a few minutes.
“Hello, Peck,” Pemrose said coldly.
“Thanks for coming in today, Graham,” Bridges answered. “I want to thank both of you for the exc
ellent job that was done in getting Mr. Carson's pictures plastered all over downtown Chicago and out over the suburbs. At this point, there isn't anyone that can say they don't know what this man looks like.”
Graham gave only a slight nod.
“We also have nearly everyone in the city covered with the mark on their foreheads that allows the nanorobots to send security signals to our computer.”
Neither Graham nor any of the family made the mandatory visit to get the “mark of the beast” on their foreheads, and they weren't about to do so. It took some maneuvering, but they escaped being tagged.
“The president's speech has been well received,” Bridges continued. “The motto, ‘Watch for him because he is watching for you,’ seems to have stuck. Our latest poll indicates the public is lining up behind Carson. That's important.”
“Why?” Graham suddenly asked. “What's coming next?”
“Ah, peck! You're always a jump ahead of me.” The mayor smiled broadly and winked. “I could tell the moment you walked in here that you had something important on your mind.”
Graham stiffened.
“Okay, boys. We need to move on to the next step that Mr. Carson has laid out.” Bridges threw a couple of switches. “I recorded the important part of my last conversation. with Mr. Carson over the holographic transmitter.” A beam of light immediately shot up from the base of the machine and began changing colors. “Let's see what our leader said last night.”
The greenish light turned into a form; an immobile Borden Carson appeared to be sitting behind a desk, his hands extended across the desktop with a large diamond ring sparkling on his pinky finger. Carson's black eyes flashed with intensity. The mayor hit another button and the motionless figure stated to move and speak.
“The European union has solidified,” Carson said. “We have now created a military alliance with the capacity to control the world's oil supplies as well as hydrogen production. Members of this union stand unanimously with me. I have also reached an agreement with the Russians to insure the stability of the price of petroleum and maintain a predictable supply. I am well pleased.”
As Graham feared, Carson had worked out a deal with the Russians. The man moved at a pace far beyond anything he would have thought possible.
“I fear your country will be faced with more terrorist attacks,” Carson continued. “You will need to spread this report across your area, warning people that you intended to patrol the streets at night to protect them from these dangerous elements. I suggest that we impose a curfew of eleven o'clock with police and military personnel immediately arresting everyone on the street after that time. We need a significant crackdown in order to make your population feel secure. This should be done quickly.”
Bridges hit the off button. “There you have it, boys! Our leader wants us to get the city prepared for a curfew.”
“Wait a minute!” Graham objected. “No one wants this kind of intrusion. If we put it into effect, get ready for a reaction. People will be angry!”
Pemrose raised one eyebrow. “You're going to deny Borden Carson?” he asked with a surly twist to his words. “And don't forget that you're talking to the mayor who won by a record-breaking margin.”
“I'm telling you that we are talking big trouble with this idea,” Graham pushed back. “Yes. People are afraid, but they've never had anyone tell them when to go home and stay. Moreover, we've got people working night shifts. What about them?”
“That's up to you and Jake to work out.” the mayor shot back. “I'm sure you'll come up with something that'll work.”
“Me?” Graham's voice became shrill. “My answer is let's not do any of it!”
For a moment Jake and Frank looked back and forth as if sending a silent message to each other. Bridges leaned forward and looked intimidatingly at Graham.
“Graham, this is not only a test of the people. It's also aimed at us. Are we going to obey or will we be like one of these rebellious religious groups?” Bridges stuck his finger in Graham's face. “Are you on the team or not?”
Graham caught his breath. “I thought we always had honest and forthright discussions in here.”
“Oh, we do,” Bridges said, “but we don't contradict anything that Mr. Carson asks us to do. His wisdom far exceeds anything that any of us know. We follow without reservation.”
“I—I see,” Graham fumbled.
“I'll give you a hint,” Bridges said. “In a few days the European Union is going to go to war against India and Pakistan because they have not complied with demands on petroleum shipments across those countries. When the bombs start to fall, we will have an ample pretext for our police action. Don't worry. The president will create a nationwide curfew system to coincide with what we are doing.”
Graham shook his head mechanically.
“Never question anything Carson says,” Pemrose warned. “Don't forget it, peck.”
Something was going on in this room beyond Graham's awareness and he needed to be extremely careful. A hundred thoughts shot through his mind. At best, Pemrose was telling him he was number 3 in the Chicago part of the Inner Circle, and at the least, Pemrose was ahead of him in the pecking order. Clearly Bridges and Pemrose had their own private agreements to which Graham would never be a party. He should keep his mouth shut and hold the cards close to his vest. Duck his head. The action was getting much too close to home.
“Thank you,” Graham said professionally. “Anything else?”
The mayor shook his head. “No. The war with India and Pakistan will break out in two days. I want our local personnel in place immediately so we can declare a curfew. I trust such a plan will be operational by Monday.”
“Of course.” Graham avoided looking at Pemrose. “Anything else you need from me?”
Bridges looked surprised. “No. No. I don't think so.”
“Good. If there's no problem, I'll be on my way.”
“Of course.” The mayor stood up. “Thanks again for coming down early.”
“Naturally.” Graham nodded to both men and walked out the door. He noticed that the sliding door at the end of the wall was left open. Stopping on the plush, thick carpet, Graham hesitated to listen for a second.
“What do you think?” Pemrose's voice echoed down the hallway.
“I don't know,” the mayor answered. “I can't tell.”
“I don't like it,” Jake growled.
Graham silently hurried through the front door and disappeared down the hall.
CHAPTER 44
ACROSS CHICAGO the snow deepened, and the children were forced to spend most of their time indoors. Mary Peck steadfastly refused to talk about or listen to any conversations about the Scripture. Insisting it was the last thing in the entire world that her friends wanted to hear about, she dogmatically maintained that developing a reputation for being a “religious crazy” was not what she needed ever! When any spiritual topic came up, Mary retreated to her room. On Wednesday during the first week in December, Graham, Jackie, and Matt sat down around the kitchen table.
“Time is working against us,” Graham began.
“What do you mean?” Jackie asked.
“In only a few weeks our world has been turned inside out.” Graham slowly stirred his coffee. “What we thought was dependable, Permanent, stable, has been revealed only to be cardboard. Our entire society is being used as a pawn in a game being played by people they don't even know exist.”
“Know?” Matt's voice raised an octave. “Listen, Dad.
How many people in the world even knew what Carson looked like until after you actually saw the guy? You've been on the inside of history's final drama.”
“It's been an accident,” Graham argued.
“I don't believe in accidents anymore,” Matt countered. “The hand of Go is working in everything that we do. Divine power has led you into the camp of the ultimate enemy.”
Graham ran his hands nervously through his hair. “I'm not used to thinking theologicall
y. I have no idea how to answer such an assertion. As far as I'm concerned, it all just happened.”
“But things don't just happen, Dad. God has already taken his church out of the world's turmoil. He's attempting to save us from the terrible days that are ahead.”
“I don't know that all of those assertions are true, son. I'm only attempting to save our family from a web that's being spun around our feet. A dangerous spider is loose in the world and I don't want us to get bitten.”
“Your father's terribly concerned that we don't get sucked into a whirlpool that will drown a lot of people,” Jackie argued.
“We can't avoid what's coming,” Matt said. “It's all a part of God's plan. He's the big foot that will eventually step on that ugly spider!”
“Son, you've been the key for us to all these new insights,” Jackie said. “Don't ever forget how grateful we are to you.”
“And I'm not arguing with you,” Graham said. “What I'm concerned about is that electronic surveillance is in–creasing in Chicago at such a rate that we could get caught. This whole city is wired We've avoided being marked on the forehead, but the process is likely to catch up with us sooner or later.”
“So?” Matt asked. “What are we going to do?”
“Do you think the entire New seekers group is trustworthy?” Graham asked.
Matt nodded. “Down to the last person! Jennifer Andrews is only one example of how trustworthy these people are. You already know Adah Honi is straight as a stick.”
“Yes,” Graham said thoughtfully. “Those people seem to be honest, but we can't take any chances. I don't want our family jeopardized by talking with the wrong people.”
“Outside of the New Seekers, I don't know who the right people would be,” Matt said.
“Okay. That's what I concluded,” Graham said. “I want you and your mother to know that we must maintain the closest attention to what happens around us. I'm worried myself that I might walk into a trap at the office. I don't trust Bridges or Pemrose. But if I'm right, we may need the help of your friends in the New seeker's group. Is that possible?”
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