by Samuel David
The seatbelts lights lit up then. The pilot came on and announced that they had been cleared to land in Havana.
Veronica was very resourceful, Enoch had to admit to himself, as he buckled in for landing.
Chapter 60
6:00 PM Friday Bear News Affiliate, Kansas City, Missouri
They had just received word that Robert Cain would be sworn in as President in about an hour or so. The Network was handling the feed, so Bear would be tapping in soon.
They were in the conference room, which had a whiteboard displaying a list of stories they were following, trying to determine how they were going to arrange them in order of importance for the newscast coming up soon.
The board showed the following information:
Robert Cain swearing in
First Speaker of the House ever sworn in as President
Background of Cain and his policies
Possible candidates for Vice President
Former President Stevenson resigns claiming fear of life endangerment
Government takeover by The Waldger Group or other forces also cited as reasons for resigning.
Religious issues with the now ex-president.
First President to resign without any prior notice of issues at hand e.g. Nixon
Where is he, where did he go?
What will he be doing?
California Disaster
Refugee FEMA camps
Unable to get reporters into camps
Hurricane Alex and other six coming
Houston Evacuation
Biloxi Evacuation
New York Stock market moving
Major corporations moving
Issue of housing for millions of people
Washington DC
Government moving to Cheyenne Mountain
National treasures being moved
Military mobilizing to affected areas
Martial law
Rains over Northern Africa and Southeast Asia
Destruction of Israel’s Dome of the Rock by Iranians
Rebuild Temple
Counter attack by Israel
Loss of face by Iranians in Muslim World
Where has Enoch disappeared to?
What are Elijah and the Israelis planning?
Funeral for Vice President
State funeral plans with Washington closing down.
Would have been President if still alive
How did plane crash occur?
Other victims on-board
Death of the Pope and his funeral
Legacy
Possible successors
Conclave starting to travel to the Vatican
It covered three boards in the conference room, an unbelievable amount of news. All of the Bear news staff was pouring over data, making notes, trying to verify certain aspects of the news stories. Others were checking internet feeds and blogs for a pulse in not only America’s thoughts, but also the reactions from other countries.
“Well, one thing I can promise you, I just know we will be adding to this list and more and more and more by tomorrow,” John said to Don.
“I know John, but right now, we need to prioritize these and get them down to about two, maybe three hours. We are going to have to pre-empt our regular prime-time shows for a few days. We are now almost becoming a twenty-four hour news machine.”
“Yes that we are. In addition, I think we need to come up with some sort of schedule for my two co-anchors because I cannot stay up twenty-four seven. To be honest, I don’t think either Enoch or Elijah are going to give us a minute of rest. I really believe that their goal is total chaos in the world. That means every day it will be something new…every day!”
Chapter 61
6:15 PM Friday Aafre Waldger’s Suite, Center City Plaza in Kansas City
Robert Cain had arrived at Waldger’s suite just a few minutes earlier. During this, time The Network’s crew had already set up the living room for the broadcast. In just a few minutes, the swearing in of Robert Cain as the new President of the United States would occur.
A backdrop had been put up behind the area that was to be used for the swearing in. It would have a superimposed picture of the Capitol in Washington DC. Since former President Stevenson had recently accused the Waldger Group of conspiracy, it was felt that it would not be in their best interest to let people know that the ceremony was being broadcast from Aafre’s suite.
A federal judge had been located and brought to the suite and was patiently waiting for the ceremony to begin. She had a copy of the Oath of Office and seemed to be memorizing it as she held the paper. They had picked Eloise Rathers on purpose. She was close to retirement and becoming senile. Even though she was a Federal Judge, she did very little and was more of a leftover ornament in the system. The general belief as she would have little to say about the ceremony and if she were to be asked about it later, she would have probably forgotten most of it anyway.
A podium had been brought in bearing the seal of the President of the United States. Cain would be making a short speech of about five minutes to the American Public and the world. Aafre suggested that they not get too technical but do more like Johnson when he arrived in Washington DC after the Kennedy assassination. This meant including things like continuity, sticking together, and not changing the members of the Cabinet, etcetera…short and sweet.
As they were making the final changes on the equipment and props, a well-dressed man walked into the suite. By all accounts, he was incredibly good-looking and obviously well bred. He walked up to the security guard and said, “Please tell Aafre that I am here.”
The security guard asked, “Whom may I say you are, sir?”
The man smiled as he replied, “Tell him Cain’s father is here, please.”
“Uh, sure, uh yes sir. Please wait here,” the guard stammered as he directed the man to a chair near the door.
The security guard then said to his associate, “I will be right back; keep your eye on this man.”
Chapter 62
6:18 PM Friday Aafre Waldger Suites, Center City, Kansas City Missouri
“Mr. Waldger, sir,” the security man said to Aafre who was seated on the couch speaking with Cain, “There is a very well dressed gentleman here to see you and he said…,” he paused, hoping he had not screwed up by interrupting, “that he is Mr. Cain’s father?”
“He did, did he?” Aafre turned to him and smiled.
“Please go back and tell him I will be with him shortly.”
As the security guard left, he turned to Cain, “Well, let’s go see your father. I have wanted to talk to him for some time lately.”
They rose and walked across the room over to the door where the man was seated. Aafre walked up, put out his hand as he said, “Welcome, Sir Jordan Devon, how nice to see you again. We were hoping you would make it.”
“I would not miss it for the world, Aafre. I literally flew here as quickly as I could.”
Aafre looked at him as he thought, all the way from Europe in less than an hour. He shook his head in disbelief then said, “Great Sir, we are happy you are here and I am sure Robert here is also.”
“Cain was smiling as he took his father’s hand and shook it.”
“We have a few minutes till the swearing in, don’t we?” Jordan asked.
“Yes,” Aafre replied.
“Good, why don’t we all talk a bit Aafre…someplace private?”
Aafre cocked his head then said, “We can use the bedroom. Please follow me.”
They walked into one of the bedrooms. The security guard standing outside the door was told to stay outside the door and not let anyone in. Aafre, Robert, and Jordan walked in and closed the door behind them. Aafre moved over to the couch by the bed and Robert followed. Jordan pulled a chair out from the desk and placed it directly in front of Aafre backwards, with the
back support facing the other man. Then he folded his six foot six inch frame onto the chair, sitting cross-legged with his hands on the back of the chair. He then rested his chin on his hands and looked directly into Aafre’s eyes.
“Almost screwed up the plans, this Stevenson, didn’t he Azazel?”
“Yes, Master.”
Jordan’s bright blue eyes bored into Aafre, and he could feel the fear rising up in him. On earth, he was the only one who could instill fear in Aafre or Azazel, his real name. He knew that Aafre was afraid of him, no terrified, and that was what he wanted. Since the beginning of time, he had been afraid of him. Even before the expulsion.
“This of course is not insurmountable, but we wanted Stevenson to take the blame for the mess in America then Robert here would be almost like a savior. Now he is going to have to be the savior with a big mess caused by the prophets Enoch and Elijah. So what did you say to Stevenson that he would call your organization evil and say he didn’t want to go to hell?”
“I just was trying to keep him in line, that’s all. He was becoming too independent.”
Jordan kept staring into Azazel’s eyes; boring into him, causing what he knew was extreme pain, which is what he wanted.
He then lifted his head from his palms and said, “The damage is done, Azazel; but the way it was supposed to have happened was for you to have Stevenson appoint Robert to the Vice President position after the death of the now dead VP. Then, after things had settled down, Stevenson would in turn be assassinated by the supporters of Enoch and Elijah, allegedly. Then Robert here would become President. Cain would straighten out the U.S. and join the Europeans group and eventually be elected their leader and so on. Sort of like that Johnson fellow after the Kennedy assassination, which we orchestrated. Everyone was so busy with the death of a President they paid no heed to him, at least for a while.”
“I understand, Master,” Azazel replied. “What would you suggest we do right now, sir?”
Robert interrupted then, taking both Azazel and Jordan by surprise, “Father, I can handle it. Your training has more than prepared me for this assignment. I am ready now. I will figure out a way to win men’s hearts over these prophets. You have taught me well. Man’s greed exceeds his need for anything else. Very soon, as we have planned, all will be more than willing to join us. The plan will continue forward as we have always agreed on. Maybe now with a few twists we did not plan on. However, in my opinion, Stevenson is not an issue.
“How, may I ask, are you going to do this?” Jordan asked.
“First, we will not implement martial law, or at least not nationwide. Secondly, we will provide more help for the refugees. Thirdly, Azazel here will provide economic relief to the United States through the Europeans. We will weather these hurricanes and this California disaster. We will accommodate the Witnesses for a time, allowing them to preach their message without interference for a while. Then maybe they will not call upon their God to cause more havoc at least for a while. This will also give the people some time to forget what Stevenson said. We will move forward with our plan but just a bit slower than our original schedule. This will only set us back a few months, at most. We will also delay the changing of the teachings of the church until all hate Enoch and Elijah. At the rate they are going this will not take long.”
Robert paused, and then his father said, “Well, go on.”
“Then, when I feel it is time we will have a meeting of the revived Roman Empire and I will grant sovereignty of the United States to them. I will then be elected as their new leader as was the plan originally. Then we will start to prepare the world for the invasion of Jesus. In the meantime, we will continue to discredit these Witnesses to minimize their effect on us.”
“So Cain, you are telling me that you will not lose your temper and go after Enoch, Elijah and their supporters without thinking through your actions? Is that what you are saying?”
“Yes.”
“You know, Cain, your temper is an issue that goes back to the beginning. Therefore, you are saying that you will maintain and use your power sparingly and not cause a problem…right?”
“Yes, I can and will control my temper.”
Jordan stopped speaking and just looked at Cain. During the pause in conversation, he thought back to the day when Cain had killed his half-brother, Abel. He had made that choice, not Lucifer. By doing so, he had changed the face of humanity forever. Fortunately, he had taken his punishment in stride and moved on. He smiled as he thought, yes, he can handle it on his own. Jordan looked up at the ceiling, gazing, as if through it to the heavens. He knew He would hear him. He heard everything Jordan said. While still looking up, he said, “You sent your son to the world and he failed. Now it is my son’s time and he will not fail.”
Then he looked back at Cain and said, “I then pass the title for Earth to you, Cain. Your decisions, your word, will now be the way the world will obey. You have not much time for it is less than seven years before their return. Prepare for battle my son. Make your choices, and make them wisely.”
“Yes, father, I will,” Cain replied.
Jordan then turned to Azazel and said, “From this point forward, anything you do, anything you plan, will go through Cain first. Do you understand Azazel?”
Azazel bowed his head looking at the floor, not wanting to look into Jordan’s eyes again, “Yes, master.”
“Good, I know you will obey.”
“I guess we get to watch Cain sworn in as the most powerful man on earth. Oh, I almost forgot something,” Jordan said.
He looked at the ring of gold with aquamarine setting, and red garnets embedded in it, which he wore on his finger. This ring had actually been given to him by the council, prior to the battle with Michael. It symbolized his good work managing the mines, and was a reminder of his former status as ruler of the earth. He realized it was now time to give it to Cain. The ring also had special attributes. He took the ring off the finger of his left hand and handed it to Cain.
“This ring was given to me by the one they call their God. I have had it for all time. It is now yours, son. Wear it proudly, and never take it off. It has special powers. If ever asked about it, proudly say it was a gift from your father.”
Cain took the ring placed in on his finger.
Jordan then kneeled down in front of his son, and reaching for his hand pulled it close to his mouth. Then he kissed the ring.
Chapter 63
7:00 PM, Friday Aafre Waldger’s Suites, Center City, Kansas City, Missouri
The Network’s producer lined up Robert Cain, his father, Sir Jordan Devon, and Jamal Jones, Director of Homeland Security. The Judge was placed in front of them. Once they felt it was good to go and the cameras were set they cut away to The Network in New York. Brad Williams came onto the television screens across the globe and said, “Ladies and gentlemen of the world, we are going to cut away to Kansas City where the Speaker of the House, Robert Cain, will be sworn in as America’s next president. Now I understand they are ready, so we will be going live right about now.”
The broadcast cut to the suite at Center City where the Federal Judge was instructing Robert Cain to place his right hand on the Bible being held by Jamal and repeat after her.
“I do solemnly swear…,” she said.
“I do solemnly swear…,” Cain repeated.
“That I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States….”
“That I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States….”
“And will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
“And will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
“Congratulations, Mr. President,” the Judge said.
She paused as she looked at the Bible now in her hands, after it was handed back to her at the end of the ceremony.
She kept staring at it and could not seem to let go of it. She could feel the book warming then becoming hot, like fire scorching her hand. She could then smell the flesh on her hand start to burn, then blister. She dropped the Bible to the floor, screamed, then fell to the floor. She lifted her hands in the air, still screaming in pain as she lay on the floor. Suddenly, she stopped. She looked up, staring at Cain. Her eyes were wide open and her mouth opened as if to say something, but then her head dropped back and banged onto the floor as her whole body fell limp.
Cain reached down, put his hand against her neck and not feeling a pulse, he then gingerly picked up the Bible she had dropped. He could see the burnt skin that had attached itself to the Bible’s cover and could still feel the heat. He handed it to his father and said, “The Judge appeared to have died.”
Sir Jordan Devon kneeled down and lifted her hands, which had held the Bible, and saw that they were both scorched and blistering. “She must have been quite frail,” he replied.
He looked toward the ceiling and smiled as he said to no one in particular, “Always grandstanding, aren’t you?” He laughed then, shaking his head in dis-belief.
Fortunately, the broadcast was not live and on tape delay. The broadcast after Cain finished the oath was filled with a previous picture taken of him with overlays and applause. The public never saw what had happened to the Judge.
Chapter 64
7:00 AM Saturday Tehran, Iran Supreme Leader’s Palace