Shaken (40 page)

“I am at the end of patience!” Nicolae scolded. A uniformed man handed him a key. He unlocked the gate, and the crowd fell silent.

Carpathia flung the gate open and ran behind the two. “Outside!”

Eli and Moishe stood still. Finally, Carpathia shoved them like they were animals. Eli bumped into Moishe as they stumbled toward the gate.

People near Judd gasped and moved back at the sight of the two. Carpathia grabbed Eli and Moishe by their robes and slammed them against the fence. He turned to the crowd and smiled. “Here are your tormentors! Your judges!” With a sneer he said, “Your
proph
ets! And what do they have to say for themselves now? Nothing! They have been tried and convicted and sentenced. All that is left is the rendering of justice, and as
I
have decreed it,
I
shall carry it out!”

He grabbed their robes again and pulled them away from the fence. “Any last words?”

Eli and Moishe looked at each other. The two were loved by believers the world over. They had been God's representatives on earth for more than three years. They had spoken powerfully and had never backed down from the Global Community. Now, however, they simply lifted their heads to heaven.

Judd stared at their shining faces as Carpathia walked away. He had heard about the look on missionaries' faces as they faced death, but he had never seen such peace.

Carpathia kept his back to the crowd, walked over to the fence, and pulled something from his coat pocket. He stepped back until he was ten feet away from the witnesses. Carpathia pointed a high-powered handgun at Eli. Judd reached to cover his ears, but the blast came quickly. The gunshot knocked Eli off his feet and into the fence. He crumpled to the ground in a pool of blood.

Judd bowed his head in horror, unable to speak. He felt short of breath, like someone had punched him in the stomach. Mr. Stein looked at Moishe and whispered, “May the Lord of peace give you his peace no matter what happens.”

Moishe knelt and covered his eyes. Judd had no time to prepare for what happened next. Carpathia quickly aimed the gun and fired. Moishe's body crashed into the fence and crumpled to the ground also, his arms and legs flopping clumsily.

Lionel fell to one knee. Sam looked like he was about to faint. They were all shocked at the violence they had just seen.

Carpathia put the gun away, slipped on his jacket, and bowed to the crowd. Suddenly people erupted in shouts of praise for their leader. They laughed and shouted, slapped each other's hands and danced, happy that their troubles were now over.

Mr. Stein helped Judd to his feet. The crowd surged forward, pushing them toward the bodies of the two men of God. Judd watched Carpathia and the other dignitaries get into the helicopters.

“You'll get yours,” Judd muttered.

Vicki and the others sat in stunned silence as the camera zoomed in on the dead men. Newscasters couldn't hide their glee at what had just happened.

“You can understand why the people watching this here and around the world will want to celebrate,” one anchorman said. “The potentate promised to take care of those two, and he has.”

Vicki wept. Moishe and Eli lay in ugly heaps, their leathery skin and bony hands exposed. They had been untouchable, unbeatable. Now people danced and sang as the helicopters lifted off, taking Carpathia and his group to the party site.

The camera switched from Carpathia's helicopter to Eli's face. His eyes and mouth were open, and dark red blood spread on the ground beneath him. Moishe's body was an indescribable mess of blood and bone.

“Now the party starts,” Mark said grimly.

Judd and the others slowly made their way back to General Zimmerman's house. They passed people dancing and singing, moving to the beat of the music that blared from blocks away. Some people gathered around TVs and cheered each time GCNN replayed the murders of Eli and Moishe.

A drunken man handed Mr. Stein a drink as they passed. Mr. Stein glared at him.

“What's the matter?” the man slurred. “We're done with those crazy preachers. Celebrate!”

Mr. Stein pushed his way through the crowd. At General Zimmerman's house he called a meeting of the believers. Those from Yitzhak's house attended there as well, including Jamal and his wife.

“Evil will flood the streets for the next few days,” Mr.

Stein said. “Those who do not know God won't be able to resist Carpathia's schemes.”

A man in the back raised a hand. “Will we continue our meetings?”

Mr. Stein shook his head. “I did not know it would be this ghastly. The murders and the sinful actions of those on the street are unspeakable. Let us stay here and pray. We will have another opportunity this week to tell the truth. May God give us the strength to seize it.”

Judd found Jamal and asked if he had talked with Kasim. Jamal shook his head, and Judd told him what had happened the night before.

“I was afraid he would do something like that,” Jamal said. “Thank you for saving my son's life.”

Judd nodded. “I'm scared of what he might do next, now that Carpathia has killed the two witnesses.”

Jamal put a hand on Judd's shoulder. “Please help me find him and bring him home.”

“I don't think Mr. Stein wants us to go out—”

“Please,” Jamal said.

Lionel pulled up the Global Community's Web site and looked for any news about Vicki and the others at home.

He found two stories about fugitive kids in Illinois, but nothing about them being caught.

He wrote Vicki an e-mail and asked for an update. He told her about being at the Wailing Wall and all he had seen. The whole spectacle seemed like a bad dream, but it wasn't, and the world would never be the same for anyone.

After sending the message, Lionel checked out the kids' Web site and discovered new material that could only have been written after the deaths of Eli and Moishe.

Don't be surprised at the murder of the two witnesses,
Lionel read. He guessed Mark had written the update.
Just remember that the week is not over
.

Lionel smiled. Carpathia may have won one battle, but he would not win his war with God.

Judd left General Zimmerman's house later that evening and walked to Kasim's apartment. Along the way he passed hundreds of people celebrating the deaths of Eli and Moishe. Drunken men and women danced in the streets.

When Judd reached the plaza where the opening ceremony had been held, huge crowds were gathered to listen to musical acts. The noise was deafening. Judd found a schedule of events and noticed that Z-Van had been added to Friday's event.

Judd followed a drunken man and woman inside Kasim's building and took the stairs. Judd listened at Kasim's door, but he didn't hear anything. He jiggled the doorknob and was surprised when the door swung open.

Judd entered, shut the door, and found Kasim sitting on a wooden chair looking toward the plaza. He didn't turn when Judd entered but kept staring at the stage.

Though the windows were closed, Judd could still hear the booming music.

“Why did you leave your door unlocked?” Judd said.

Kasim had recovered well from his wounds, but his face was badly bruised. “I'm waiting for a delivery.”

Judd shook his head. He didn't want to know what kind of delivery. “I'm here to take you home. Come with me.”

Kasim turned, his eyes flashing with anger. “Did you see what Carpathia did to them? Those people out there are celebrating because two men are dead.”

“Don't take this into your own hands,” Judd said.

“What if I'm right? What if I'm the one who's supposed to eliminate Nicolae?”

Someone knocked at the door. Kasim told Judd to hide in the next room. Judd scurried inside and listened.

The door opened and closed, but Judd didn't hear any voices.

Judd looked into the hallway. The room was empty.

36

VICKI
and the others moved about in a daze. Though they had expected the deaths of Eli and Moishe, the violent way they had died affected them all.

Darrion showed the kids some of the secrets of the house. Her father had prepared for emergencies. She led the kids to a downstairs game room and pushed a button under the wet bar. A section of the wall moved slightly, and Darrion pushed it all the way open. Inside was a type of shelter built into the side of the hill behind the house. Along the wall, shelves were stacked with cans of food.

“Did your dad think you'd have to use this?” Mark said.

“By the time he had this built, he was getting suspicious of the Global Community. He wanted to make sure there was a place we could all come and be safe.”

Vicki was amazed at the space inside the secret room. If the kids ever needed to hide, this would be perfect.

Darrion led them upstairs to the loft. A small ladder was stored under one of the beds, and Darrion propped it against the wall. She opened a tiny door high on the wall. Inside was something that looked like a telescope.

“I'm not sure how the thing works,” Darrion said, “but if you put on these goggles, you're supposed to be able to see a long way and tell if anybody's coming.”

“Heat imaging,” Conrad said. “If somebody's hiding in the bushes outside, those will show you.”

While Darrion showed them other surprises throughout the house, Vicki turned on the television to catch more reaction to the killing of the two witnesses.

A news broadcast showed Leon Fortunato speaking in front of a crowd. Music blared in the background as Fortunato said, “The time has come to recognize the truth about our potentate. He is a deity. That's right—a god. And perhaps
the
deity, the creator God and savior of all mankind.”

People cheered as Fortunato listed Carpathia's accomplishments. When someone from the press asked about the death of Peter the Second, Fortunato waved his hand and looked to another reporter.

The only person who spoke about Peter was Carpathia himself. In an interview shortly after killing the two witnesses, Carpathia admitted that he was tired of the Enigma Babylon Faith and said it would not return. “Individual souls can find within themselves the deity necessary to conduct their lives as they wish. I esteem individual freedom over organized religion.”