“That Sol.”
“He thought ahead, so you’d understand before you even knew you needed something.” Joshua stopped talking. “Anyways…”
“Okay. Are we leaving tonight?”
“That’s the plan,” Ray said.
“Hey, Joshua.” Jim said, sounding alarmed. “Look here at this alert. We got an email from Yosef.” He raced to Joshua’s side with the phone in his hand.
“Yosef?” Roya sounded alarmed. She passed her phone to Joy to continue watching the feed on her sons’ sermon.
“I’m not sure if it’s a trick. Virus after we click?” Ray blurted.
Joshua looked at the phone Jim handed to him. “I see that pop-up,” he said as he pointed at the image.
“Let’s get you in the car, Sir. We’ll disable the self-driving feature and manually drive you to the destination” Jim suggested, as he handed Joshua the phone, to review the content. He then raced to the passenger side to open the door for the ladies.
“Thank you,” they chimed.
Joshua raced to his door and hopped in, slamming it shut.
“Sir, I hacked into a police database to review the checkpoints,” A brown-haired man with keen features and a golden tan complexion popped his head up from the additional back seats in the SUV.
Joshua turned, “Okay. Are we good?”
“Who is he?” Joy asked.
“AI.”
“What’s that?” Joy questioned.
“Artificial Intelligence. Like sometimes you see in these self-driving cars a mannikin in the driver’s seat, well, this one stays in the back to act as a tour guide or relate computed info as needed.” Joshua rambled. “It’s not a ‘who,’ but a ‘what.’”
“Yes. Review your Outlook on your Smartphone.” Ray countered.
“No tracking there,” Joshua said. He read the email aloud, “Yosef sent us a “heads-up” message.”
“Okay. Continue,” Roya circled her hand to hurry up.
“He had witnessed many captured and slaughtered for their Christian faith, while preaching the gospel in Africa. A man was killed in combat to save his life. He’s in hiding. He contacted us on an FBI mobile phone. He left Africa with the FBI agent two days ago. He’s in Philly at Valley Forge College already.”
“Praise God.” Roya thanked Jesus. “Boys, we’re on our way too!”
“And here’s a snapshot of the boys on stage.” He passed the phone to the others in the vehicle.
“The FBI agent has spotted his colleagues from Task Force Special Ops. This agent is one of us. I mean, he’s working with us!”
“Good to have those from the inside.” The brown-haired man said.
“Yosef didn’t trust the FBI agent in the beginning, until he risked his life to save him, but another man got killed instead.”
“That’s deep,” Joy added.
“He’ll keep close watch on these suspicious agents at the pastoral sermon contest.”
“I’m so happy Yosef is there,” Roya said, placing her hands on her cheeks and looking up in thanks to God.
“It has only been Day One.” Joshua added.
“We won’t make it in time to see them in their first sermon broadcast by satellite?” Joy queried.
“They still have two more days of the contest,” Joshua stated and gave the peace sign.
“Good. I can’t wait to see my brothers. I miss them,” Joy cried.
“It’s okay, Joy,” Roya reached for her and held her close.
“Long as the boys don’t speak on a certain topic, the agents, according to my sources, will not touch them.” The driver spoke.
“What would that topic be?” Roya said, feeling panicked. “My sons boldly will speak what the Lord Jesus gives them,” Roya sighed.
“Keep the faith.” Joshua said. “God leads them. He will warn them.”
“Yeah, faith of a mustard seed. Only so much a person can bear,” She quoted and shook her hands, then rubbed her legs as she slouched forward.
Joshua snapped his finger. “We’ll be there in the morning, just as we planned.” He turned to Roya. His eyes darted at the others. “Yosef’s email finishes, ‘You have two days to get here. Otherwise, my FBI agent friend will call for backup.’ Now, I read it as it reads here.” He tapped on his phone.
“Huh? Backup?” Roya asked while others nodded their heads in agreement.
“I’m not sure yet,” Joshua shrugged. “I do know that we cannot allow anything to happen to them. I won’t let Roya down again,” Joshua scratched his head as he felt adrenaline shoot through his body.
“I’m okay.” Roya said softly. “I trust you got this, Josh.” She lightly tapped him on the shoulder.
“Thanks. That means a lot to me.” He said.
It’s time to do some saving!
CHAPTER 10
Adversary of my Soul
On day two of the competition, the judges had whittled the field down to ten contestants from the twenty-five who’d been able to compete all day on Saturday, with the adolescent twin pastors still in the running. Before the evening reveal, the ten remaining contestants went out in the community and preached to prison inmates. Their skills were tested at all levels, determining their ability to reach the community as well as the judges. The judges remained in the background and cameras were running in the back of the meeting room at the prison. Tavon and Javon observed their opponents as they interacted with some of the inmates as they entered the chapel. The twin brothers spoke softly with their speech coach. Each contestant only had ten minutes on the platform. They were scheduled to take the stage first in this round, as they were not expected to succeed over more experienced competitors.
“Are you disgusted with sin? Are you tired of the enemy’s traps and schemes? Have you lost sight of your goals, ambitions, or dreams?” asked Tavon.
He turned and passed the microphone to his brother, Javon. He shouted out his message, “Seek God’s power! You committed a crime. You’re spending time in a cell and you see this as your living hell. You still can repent.”
“Come on Man. Should I repent for the bull I’ve done?” One prisoner snapped.
Javon nodded as his eyes glistened. “You got it. The labels that follow you; bandits, criminals, murderers, felons—
The list goes on, and on, and on your record!” He turned to Tavon, “Hey, Bro, didn’t’ this happen before Jesus’ days and after his life on earth?”
“Yep. Didn’t our homeboy, Jesus, come from a slanderous line of criminals, murderers, whoremongers, and didn’t he sacrifice his life for ours? He saw you, you, and you and you up there, saying, I love them. I’ll die for you! I want to see you with me in the heavenly skies,” Tavon shared compassionately. He stared into the eyes of a few men.
“Nah. Not after what I’ve done,” a man grunted.
Tavon chimed, “So it seems that your entire world has ended,” He shook his head, “Right?”
The man nodded.
“Blaming the laws. The Man. Government,” Javon gave a normal checkoff list that prisoners have complained about. “Lost your right to vote, and cannot voice your opinions, and keep reminding yourself that you’ve lost your freedom.”
“True,” some of the inmates shouted.
“You wanna go back to society, go back to your homes, your neighborhoods, but the Parole Board expects you to have a game plan. ‘Why should we release you back into society?’ they say.”
“Yep, they do,” Several responded followed by grunts.
“Release plan,” another blurted.
“I hear and see your frustrations,” Javon paused. He glanced at the men in the chapel. “Can I get rid of this jail mentality?” He stayed there for a moment. He watched the slight nods. “They won’t let go of my past. Wrongdoings. Hold this crime around my neck.” He made an imaginary circle around his neck. “Call me names—but they spat in our Savior’s face, spewed about everything he didn’t do right—why are you eating with those sinners!” His voice ro
se in compassion. “Jesus, the homeboy, hung out with sinners. Those heathens. Jesus, you crazy! How dare you turn water into wine!”
“Right,” a man put his hand up and took an imaginary sip.
“Jesus putting demons in pigs,” Javon joked. His smile was infectious, seeing inmates cracking smiles in return.
“Men were bonded to mental illnesses, depression, ailments, but Jesus told a man to get up and walk with his bed! Spit in a blind man’s eyes.”
“Didn’t he spit on dirt, turn it to mud, and put that in the blind man’s eye?” an inmate yelled.
Javon nodded. “Hey, look now, you know that.”
The inmate beamed with pride.
“The slave mentality has lasted centuries—and it’s still in our hearts and minds,” Tavon chimed in.
Javon added, “We’re first imprisoned in our minds.” He touched his temple. “Get your minds back! Heal me. Touch me. Wake me up. Snap me out of it,” His voice roared and snapped his fingers loudly. “God tells us to have these three things.” He rose three fingers. “Faith. Hope. Love. And the greatest of them all, is love.”
Tavon pointed at himself and then Javon, “We’re not ashamed of the Gospel. Not ashamed of Jesus, the one and only Christ, and I’d ride and die for my Savior.”
Javon spoke up, “Like my brother said, “let’s be prime examples of Jesus Christ. Demonstrate love, help your brother in need. We are our ‘brother’s keeper.’ Those mafia movies say, ‘I’m not my brother’s keeper,’ then they prove it by throwing their relatives under the bus.”
Some chuckled.
“Which came from the firstborn, Cain, who didn’t answer God’s question as to where his brother Abel was, but instead said, ‘I don’t know, am I my brother’s keeper?” Put yourself in Cain’s shoes. He probably said something like this: ‘Like am I supposed to keep up with his whereabouts, his being, and keep tabs on my bro, fa real, though!’” He swayed his hands and paced the floor.
Javon jumped in with laughter, “Right, Bro. Am I my brother’s keeper?” He touched his chest and eyes darted at Tavon. “Do I have my fellowman’s back?” He turned and stretched his hand toward the audience. “Are we like the song Janet Jackson sings, “What have you done for me lately?” He sang the tune. “Do we have to do something for this man, in order for him to do for us?”
A couple of the men nodded.
“Forget this!” Javon interjected, waving his hand dismissively and slightly turning his back. “You’re thinking like this, right? What are you going to do for me?”
He got a few nods.
“Got your hand out like someone owes you something. Entitled. You and everyone you know, soooo deserving. Seeking for the presents,” he said, holding his hand out with a come-hither curl to his fingers, “and not His presence.” He pointed and glanced upward.
“Are you worth dying for?” Tavon questioned the male prisoners.
“Do you want to be free?” Javon quizzed. “Jesus sacrificed his life so you can be free, no matter where you happen to be.”
“I want to be free!” a few of them called.
“Don’t put off your freedom. Don’t procrastinate, before it’s too late. Do it ‘now’ not ‘later’. Set your minds to be free—stop wishing.” Javon spoke.
“You suffered enough. You can’t do this on your own. Where’s your brother?”
“Our brother’s keeper,” someone said. “How can I be my brother’s keeper when death is all I look forward to?”
“You know,” Tavon said, “Jesus answered that. At the Cross, two condemned men spoke to Him. The one turned to Him and derided Him. The other said, ‘Why you being that way? He did nothing to merit death, but we did. Lord, when you get there, where you’re going, will you remember me?’
The room was silent.
“Jesus turned to that man and said, ‘For your faith, today, you will be with me in Paradise.’ You see, Jesus was His brother’s keeper, honoring faith, even on that day. Yes, even here, you can watch out for your brother. You know what it takes.”
Nods and murmurs of approval moved through the group.
“Right, brother. Where’s my keeper? My brother’s keeper. Help each other. Be there for one another,” Javon said with authority.
He held the microphone towards to the audience. “Repeat after me, “I am my brother’s keeper.”
Men shouted, responding in kind.
“Again,” Tavon chimed. “Say it, again.”
The judges’ eyes beamed at the twin pastors.
“Give a hand to these young twin pastors for taking the time to speak to you all, and deliver a remarkable sermon, here in the chapel. Thank you for your crowd participation. This ends this segment on Riches for Life Empowerment TV.” The newscaster said.
“End it,” The media specialist stood and drew his finger across his throat. .
Some of the prisoners came to shake the young pastors’ hands, and personally thanked them for coming. Others hissed or made snide remarks before leaving the chapel. Tavon and Javon stepped off the stage and each took a swig of water from the bottles handed to them.
The next contestants stepped to the stage as camera gear moved to focus on them. The media specialist gave signals to begin recording.
Tavon and Javon carefully observed their fellow contenders and their delivery, watching the reactions and statements made by the inmates.
“Hey Tav, maybe we should’ve given scriptures, too. Benediction?”
“Nah. We did what the Spirit gave us. The best thing about this competition is seeing how people react to our competitors. We’re still learning!”
“You believe the enemy didn’t snatch the word. They received it, and it stuck.”
Tavon tapped his brother’s chest with his finger, “I believe it penetrated and is marinating in their spirit still. We can do nothing if we don’t work together. That was Jesus’ message. Compassion and care.”
“Thanks, Bro. You knew what I needed to hear,” Javon smiled as he squeezed his brother’s shoulder.
Tavon and Javon shared a hi-five, and figured they had this one.
Afterward, the prison inmates were escorted and sent back to their cellblocks. The judges, cameramen, staff, officers, and guests exited the chapel and were escorted out of the prison complex. Buzzers went off.
Javon stared at the blinking red lights before exiting the secured gate of the prison complex. “You think?” He said as he flashed his ID to the gate officer.
“Don’t, bro,” Tavon answered.
“Thank you.” The officer said after touching and scanning their IDs.
“I hope they didn’t break out in fights after we delivered the message.” Javon added after the secured gate closed.
Tavon rubbed his shoulder. “Hey. We did our part. Don’t worry.”
All the contestants dined at an expensive, high-class restaurant, and ate whatever they chose on the menu. Some ordered lobster, fries, and soda. Others ordered a burger, fries, and shake. Tavon and Javon ordered a southern meal: smothered chicken-fried steak, mashed potatoes, and green beans with a buttered dinner roll. After dinner, some practiced their evening speeches and others took a nap in preparation for the worldwide televised event coming up that evening.
The twin brothers went back to their hotel room. When the twin brothers heard a knock at the door, Tavon ran to the door and looked out the keyhole. It was a familiar face. He jumped up and down like a kid in a candy store.
Javon gave him a crazy stare. “Open the door, Tavon!” Why is he acting like me?
“Hey boys. How are you?” Yosef smiled once the door opened. Both of the boys hugged him, ecstatic to see him after hearing the news that he’d been deported to Africa a couple months ago.
“Yosef, what did they do to you over in Africa?”
“How did they transport you over to Africa?”
“What happened over there those couple of months you disappeared?”
“How did you get back?”
> Yosef smiled as he looked at each of the boys volleying questions back and forth like a tennis match.
“Did you secure your work VISA?” Tavon finished.
“Wow, you grew dreads?” Javon said in astonishment. “you’ve gotten darker, is it real hot over there in Africa?” Javon sniggered.
Tavon slapped Javon’s arm to stop criticizing his hair and African heritage.
“Can I get a word in edgewise?” Yosef asked.
“Remember, when we last saw him, he had those designer twists. In those months, his hair grew longer. Will you cut those off?” Tavon wondered.
Yosef chuckled, held his hand up for them to pause on their questions and comments, “I have someone I would like to introduce you to,” He flagged the person to come over to the door. Yosef introduced them to his friend and FBI companion, “This is Agent Snoop. His real name is Derrick Kennedy.” He placed his hand on his arm and pushed him forward to step inside. “These are the twin sons of Solomon and Roya Whitmore I told you about. Here is Tavon,” he said, pausing to make sure he was making the right call, and Tavon nodded, “the eldest of the two, and Javon Whitmore.” He smiled, showing all his teeth.
Tavon and Javon shook FBI agent Derrick Kennedy’s calloused hand.
“Sorry, boys, for this intrusion.”
“No, you’re fine,” both spoke. “Tell us why you are here.”
“To come to your room while you’re preparing for your upcoming speech on stage tonight.” Agent Snoop continued and lowered his head.
“Oh! Have a seat, please,” Javon offered.
“Thanks.” Agent Snoop responded.
“Would you like something to drink?” Tavon offered.
Agent Snoop shook his hand back and forth, “Thanks, no.”
“Boys, there’s something you need to hear from my friend, Snoop,” Yosef eyes darted between the two.
“We have some troubling news,” Snoop begun.
“I sensed it,” Tavon blurted.
“What did you sense, young man?” Agent Snoop asked.
“I would like to know too,” Yosef inquired.
“Call me Tavon,” he responded.
Marked Souls Page 17