Reign in Hell

by William Diehl

  “How about Billy?”

  “I don’t think so,” McCurdy said. “We’ll have to give her more than that to keep Billy out of it.”

  “Like what?” Hardistan snapped.

  “Well, she already has an aerial of the tractor stuck in the house,” Flaherty said. “Let her get an inside shot. She tracks through the kitchen window and gets a close-up of the actual shooting location. Explain that he was shot while he was on the tractor.”

  “Worth a try,” McCurdy said.

  “When did you start getting cozy with the press?” Vail said to Flaherty.

  “She’s the Dragon Lady, Marty. Why piss her off this soon in the game? You already blew her off once. Give her something to gnaw on.”

  “Okay, let’s do it that way,” Hardistan said. “If she wants to play hardball, tell her I’ll personally take her out of the press loop. She’ll never get another word out of the Bureau, or an interview or a press release. She can see it on CBS.”

  McCurdy raised an eyebrow. “In just so many words?” he said.

  “In just so many words.”

  CHAPTER 20

  The AMOC streaked off the runway and climbed to thirty thousand feet before banking toward the northwest. Vail sat quietly in the corner of the lounge compartment, mentally preparing himself for the meeting with the district judge in Lincoln, Nebraska.

  He would be seeking a Title 3, federal approval for wiretaps of the Sanctuary’s phones, cell phones, modems, and fax machines, as well as search and seizure warrants of the Sanctuary’s headquarters, its bank accounts and financial records. To get the sanctions, he would need to convince her that the Sanctuary was involved in criminal activity.

  He was also concerned about what was known as the rules of engagement, in the event there was armed resistance from Engstrom and his troops. Vail was determined to prevent a violent confrontation between the government and the Sanctuary. Rules of engagement were commonly established when there was a potential for armed conflict, and were intended to provide ground rules for such a confrontation. They were designed to limit the use of deadly force by government forces and also to make agents aware of the potential for violence. The rules were usually drawn up by the commander on the site, although in this case, Vail was certain Hardistan would be responsible for setting them up.

  Vail was particularly concerned after reading the rules established during the Randy Weaver standoff at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, rules stipulating that “any adult with a weapon observed in the vicinity of the Weaver cabin or in the firefight area could and would be the subject of deadly force.”

  These rules would then be distributed to FBI personnel, federal marshals, and ATF agents. Vail was particularly interested in a clause that had advised agents that “deadly force can and should be employed if the shot can be taken without endangering any children.” Weaver’s fifteen-year-old son, Samuel, who weighed only eighty pounds, had been one of the first to die at Ruby Ridge. Not only was he shot in the back, his arm had virtually been shot off. Although there were conflicting stories on exactly what had happened that night, Vail was deeply disturbed by the report, as well as the fact that Weaver’s wife had also been shot while holding her baby in her arms. That concern was compounded by the deaths of the seventy-two children at Waco several months later during Weaver’s trial.

  Vail was determined to avoid a violent confrontation with Engstrom’s troops if he got the Title 3 sanctions. The question was how.

  In the windowless communications center, Meyer sat beside Jimmy Hines, watching the electronics wizard scan the Justice Department network. To his left, a reel-to-reel was slowly and silently recording. Hines’s nimble fingers clacked away at the keyboard of his master computer while on the monitor of another computer a live helicopter shot of Fort Yahweh swept across the screen.

  “That’s Yahweh, the General’s army post,” Hines said. “The Fee-Bees run a flyover two or three times a day to see if anything out of the ordinary is going on there. We can also pick up the place on the satellite scan.”

  “He calls it Yahweh?” Meyer said. “That’s a tetragrammaton.”

  “A tetra-what?”

  “Tetragrammaton. In the original text of the Hebrew version of the Old Testament, the letters YHWH are used in place of the words God or Lord because God never identified Himself with the word God. It’s in Exodus: And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers has sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? What shall I say unto them?

  “And God said to Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM has sent me unto you. It became Jewish tradition to use the tetragrammaton, YHWH. Christians bastardized it into Yahweh, so they can pronounce it.”

  “So Fort Yahweh is really Fort God?”

  “I suppose you could say that,” Meyer answered. “It can also be translated, ‘I will become whosoever I please,’ or ‘I will be what I will be.’”

  Hines leaned forward and listened carefully as Meyer explained where the word Yahweh came from. “You really know your Bible,” he said.

  “Well, for the first fifteen years of my life all I read was the O.T. and the Kaballah.”

  “That must’ve been rough.”

  “Not until I discovered Fitzgerald and Dickens and realized what I’d been missing,” he said with a smile.

  Hines laughed. “I can remember pissing and moaning because I had to read Dickens and Fitzgerald.”

  Meyer shrugged. “You know what they say, one man’s meat is another man’s poison.”

  “Is that from the Bible, too?”

  “Not that I recall.”

  “The Feebs have been spot-checking Crazy Abe pretty regularly,” Hines said. “I thought I’d play his latest rant for the brass when I finish copying the tape.”

  “Crazy Abe?”

  “Calls himself Abraham. Has a radio show, ‘The Wrath of Abraham.’ Sonofabitch does go on. Thirty minutes every night.”

  “What’s he rant about?”

  “Everything from gun control to the IRS to revolution. Pretty wild stuff.”

  “I’m sure Marty’d like to hear a sample,” Meyer said.

  “It’s just about finished,” Hines said, holding one earpiece of a set of earphones to his ear and checking the recording. “I’ll play it on the intercom.”

  “Good. I’ll tell them. I need some coffee anyway. You?”

  “Thanks anyway. One more cup, I’ll start talking like a tobacco auctioneer.”

  “This was recorded last night at seven o’clock,” Hines said as Vail, Hardistan, Firestone, Flaherty, and Meyer settled back with coffee in the comfort of the lounge. “I’ll skip past the opening. It’s usually some local preacher who introduces him, then there’s the Heavenly Choir and a lot of crowd response.”

  “Where does this Abraham preach?” Vail asked.

  “He doesn’t,” Hardistan said. “He records his message and they dub in the bells and whistles later.”

  The emotion-charged voice was deep and husky, almost a growl, except when he emphasized words, and then he bellowed, his voice shaking as though he were standing outside in the cold. He was interrupted at frequent intervals by voices from the crowd—voices that were dubbed in. The presentation was very professional.

  “Blessed be Jesus!”

  “Amen!”

  “BLESSED be the CHRIST Jesus!”

  “Amen!”

  “Blessed be GOD!”

  “Amen!”

  “Blessed be YAHWEH and his ANGELS and his CHILDREN!” “AMEN!”

  “A-men… a-MEN sweet Jesus AMEN… He’s here with us tonight, children… I feel his presence.”

  “YES!”

  “The Lamb of God is here…”

  “YES…”

  “… in our hearts and in our souls.”

  “YES!”

  “Tonight I take my words from Daniel, Chapter Two: Ye hav
e broken my laws and betrayeth my love, said God, and vengeance WILL BE MINE.”

  “Amen!”

  “In a few weeks April nineteenth will be upon us. A holy day, children, for on that day in 1776 our forefathers fought for independence at Lexington. It is the day in 1992 that the DEMON HORDES from outta Washington descended on Waco, Texas, burned seventy-two sinless children to death, and killed Saint David Koresh and his disciples, and you know WHY?”

  “Tell us, brother!”

  “Because they fear ANY man who has a covenant with our sweet savior Jesus Christ.”

  “Amen.”

  “It reminds us of the day the government’s assassins murdered Randy Weaver’s wife with babe in arms… gunned down his teenage son… even killed his helpless little dog.

  “Yahweh in his fury demanded VENGEANCE… he STRUCK DOWN the heathen Temple in Oklahoma City… he DESTROYED those who have turned their backs on Christ and who march with the Devil.”

  “Damn him,” Hardistan snapped. “Listen to that bastard talking about Oklahoma City. That shit…”

  “First Amendment, Billy,” Vail said, staring at the loudspeaker as Abraham raved on.

  “An army has risen…”

  “Yes, Lord…”

  “A holy army… prepared to emancipate the children of God at the Apocalypse when GOD in his glory will OPEN the gates of Heaven for all those who believe in His holy spirit and are ready to do war and purge the earth of the denizens of Hell. That day is upon us and I say AMEN.”

  “Amen to that, brother!”

  “It is foretold in Revelations Ten: And I saw a mighty angel come down from Heaven, clothed with a cloud: And a rainbow was upon His head, and His face was as if it were the sun, and His feet were as pillars of fire: And He had in His hand a little book open: and He set His right foot upon the sea, and His left foot on the earth, And He cried with a loud voice, as when a LION roareth: and when He cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices.

  “God HIMSELF has trained us to be a CHRISTIAN army ready to fight with our Savior. As true Christians, we no longer have a choice but OBEDIENCE to the Lamb of God who died for our sins. When he returns he will return as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah and the armies of heaven will march behind him and will make war in the name of righteousness and the gates of Hell shall fall before this holy army and NO enemy nor ANY kingdom will resist its power and we WILL RULE THIS NATION with a cross of IRON.”

  “Yes… amen… amen…”

  “What has the ZOG government in Washington done for us? What has the Jew government in Sodom done for the children of God? NOTHING! They take away our arms so we are defenseless against them. We’ve given the country to the Hebe-Jeebies. The J-E-W-S who control every dollar that comes out of the mint. Remember what Daniel said: Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews. And that damned IRS, seizing your homes, your cars, your bank accounts, humiliating and degrading you, a bunch of psychos in suits operating outside the Constitution so they can get themselves a little bonus. FIVE MILLION illegal seizures in one year alone. But if we marched a million strong to Washington, would anybody hear us?”

  “NO!”

  “That’s right, children… because the Devil rules that profane Hell on the Potomac. Our politicians are thieving, fornicating, liquor-sotted whores.”

  “AMEN…”

  “Tonight, I also speak of betrayal. Of traitors in our midst. As we march with CHRIST JESUS and come ever closer to the HOLIEST realm, we know many will LOSE faith, TURN BACK to sin, FALL to discouragement and fear, lose their VISION. Some have lost the faith and now march with the HEATHEN hordes. They have turned their backs on our Holy mission, just as Peter denied Christ in his final hour.

  “In Turner’s diary, those who often shouted, ‘You will never take my gun, unless you pry my cold, dead fingers off of it,’ were the first to surrender their weapons to gun control. They were victims of COLD FEAR, like the children of Israel who cried out in the wilderness, Why have you brought us out here to die?

  “Our traitors have abandoned us and fled to the arms of our enemy, the ZOG government in Washington. They must die, must be led to slaughter, must be DESTROYED just as the denizens of Hell will be destroyed at Parousia. Their BLOOD will flow with the blood of all those who deny Christ.

  “We of the Sanctuary of the Lord and the Wrath of God declare ourselves as a Nation within a Nation, whose citizenship is of the Kingdom of God and of our Savior Jesus Christ, and not that of this PERVERSE and CORRUPT government. As it is prophesied in Hebrews Twelve and Thirteen, we will sojourn in our faith to a land of promise, a new country. We have found that place and it has its foundations in God. We desire a better country, a heavenly place where God is not ashamed to be called God. God provided this city to us and it is called Yahweh, and Yahweh will wreak the Lord’s vengeance upon this foul land and we shall RISE up from the great mountain, Horeb… on the day of Armageddon… on the plain of Parousia… as HE sayeth through the words of Daniel… We will flood across the whole earth and our God of heaven shall set up a Kingdom which shall never be destroyed, but it will stand forever.

  “I call on you to rise up with us against the heathen government. Shed the blood of tyrants. Kill the traitors. Create chaos in the granite halls of the Satanists. Slay all who threaten us. Destroy their temples, bring down their leaders and their sycophants. Prepare for the Apocalypse. The hour of redemption and delivery is with us. Send the message that those who strike out against God shall PERISH and be damned to everlasting DARKNESS and MISERY in the furnace of Hell.

  “We pray for this in God’s name, in the name of YAHWEH and Jesus Christ, amen. Amen, a-MEN! Sweet Jesus.”

  “AMEN!”

  “Shut that damn thing off!” Hardistan said with disgust.

  “A bit radical, wouldn’t you say?” Flaherty said.

  “A bit radical, hell. His fuse is lit,” Meyer said.

  “Do you think sane people listen to that crap?” Flaherty asked.

  “Them that do, do,” Hardistan said. “He’s been foaming at the mouth like that for months. I suppose even rational people can buy into it eventually.”

  “The decent folks in Montana, which is most of the people out there, are scared to death of Engstrom,” Sam Firestone said. “Six thousand crazies is a lot of crazies.”

  “He’s preaching sedition and anarchy,” Hardistan said.

  “It’s called freedom of speech, Mr. Hardistan,” Meyer said. “Unless we can prove he’s responsible for a specific act of violence, he can say anything he wants.”

  “He’s the mouthpiece for the movement,” Vail said. “What time was he on the radio?”

  “Seven, for half an hour,” Hines said.

  “That whole diatribe about traitors was a reference to George Waller,” Hardistan said angrily. “Abraham was on the radio preaching about Waller’s murder thirty minutes after it happened, before anybody but Waller’s wife and his assassin knew he was dead.”

  “No,” Meyer said. “There’s an hour time difference.”

  “That’s right,” Vail said. “He was preaching murder thirty minutes before Waller was hit.”

  “He knew it was coming,” Hines said. “That show was taped two or three days before the murder.”

  “I think it’s time we bring Abraham in for a little talk,” Vail said. “We’ve been trying,” Hardistan said. “We’ve been trying to track the son of a bitch down for months.”

  “What’s he look like?” Meyer asked.

  “Who the hell knows?” Firestone said. “He’s the best-kept secret since the atom bomb.”

  “The guy’s on the air five nights a week and nobody’s ever seen him?”

  “We haven’t been able to get a fix on him,” Hardistan said. “He sends the tapes in to a radio station near Helena owned by a businessman named Lewis Granger. Granger’s the syndicator but he claims he’s never met Abraham, just talks to him on the phone occasionally, Abraham initiates the call
s. Sometimes the tapes are postmarked St. Louis, next time it’s Atlanta, all over the country. We’ve analyzed the originals, the packages they came in, tracked them back to the initiating post office. Zero-zero.”

  “So why’s he so shy?” Flaherty asked.

  “Maybe he’s hot. Maybe he’s on the run.”

  “Maybe he’s got a side job. Traveling salesman.”

  “Maybe, maybe, maybe. Let’s put him on the A list and let’s put this… what was the businessman’s name?”

  “Lewis Granger. Lives outside Helena on the lake.”

  “What lake?”

  “Canyon Ferry Lake. It’s in the Black Belt Mountains. He has a million-dollar spread out there.”

  “Is he connected?” Vail asked.

  “To the Sanctuary? Not that we can determine,” Hardistan answered. “He was very cooperative, let us review his telephone records, files on the show, air contracts, anything we wanted. Says he talks to Engstrom occasionally about the sponsorship but doesn’t know him that well. Owns nine radio stations, most of them middle of the road. One station is definitely conservative. Carries Limbaugh, couple of other talk shows with a right-wing agenda, but the only radical program is the Abraham show. Our people have interviewed Granger several times, at his anchor station in Helena and at the lake house.”

  “Put him under a microscope,” Vail said. “And here’s our new motto: Don’t trust anybody.”

  CHAPTER 21

  Abraham sat in front of the TV with the sound beamed way up. He could hear Mordie and the girls in the kitchen putting together his breakfast. He pushed his white contact lens down under his lower lid and watched intently. He was interested in the WWN report of a murder in Ohio that had attracted the FBI. He knew the victim was George Waller. He knew the shooter but did not know his name. What he didn’t know was why, for a brief moment, a face from his past was suddenly on the screen.

  His nemesis, Martin Vail.

  He was sure it was Vail, particularly after seeing the photo of him tacked to the communications center wall with the words “Anybody know this man?” printed under it. Abraham knew him, all right, but he couldn’t tell anybody. Even Mordie thought he was blind. Now there was Vail again, at the scene of Waller’s execution.