Operation Dark Angel: The Rise of Nicolaitanes (Apocalypse Series Book 1) Page 31

  Byron was a little tired and laid his head on the edge of Gage’s bed. Although he probably should have gone back to his own room, Byron wanted to be there when Gage first opened his eyes.

  CHAPTER one hundred and thirty-two

  Nicolaitanes arrived in Jericho, Israel, early the next morning. He was looking forward to his meeting with Rabbi Chasiel Ben-Guryon. Chasiel’s scientific discovery would help end world hunger by allowing food to be grown in even the most diverse weather conditions. Nicolaitanes needed to be in control of that discovery as he could not allow it to remain in Israel’s custody. He was here to make an offer the Rabbi could not refuse. He glanced at his watch, if Rosalind was doing her job, the next Phase would be initiating during his meeting with the Rabbi.

  He smiled slyly, “Ah, life is good,”

  ****

  Josef fell asleep reading in his room. He was awoken by urgent knocking on his door. At first, he wasn’t sure if he were awake or dreaming. Josef sat up and put his glasses on.

  “Come in,” he said. Lou came into the room; he looked pale.

  Josef pushed his glasses up, “What is it, Lou? What’s wrong?”

  “You better come quickly. Pope John is asking for you and…I… I think he is dying.”

  Josef got up quickly and followed Lou back to Pope John’s room. It is happening just like the voice said it would. How did the voice know this would happen? Am I really going to become the next Pope?

  Pope John was lying on his bed surrounded by many people. A doctor was checking his pulse and shaking his head slowly. Lou looked questioningly at the doctor.

  “I’m sorry,” the doctor replied before leaving the room.

  Lou looked down at the floor. So this was it. This is the last time I will have the pleasure of Pope John’s company. This saddens my heart a great deal, but I know that soon he will be in a better place. His body is old and tired. I’m grateful for the time I had with him. He walked over to Pope John and held his hand. He leaned down and kissed the Pope’s cheek.

  “Thank you, my friend,” Lou said.

  Pope John smiled and patted Lou’s hand. He motioned for Lou to stand to the side before motioning for Josef to come forward.

  Pope John was sad. He knew his time had come, but he was not yet ready to go. Pope John wished he could be around for the completion of the plan. He wanted to see how it all turned out. John sighed, at least, he had lived long enough to see the plan placed into action. he had lived a long 85 years.

  Josef stood near the edge of the bed. Pope John held out his hand and Josef took it in his. Josef was a little nervous—he had never seen anyone on their deathbed before. He kind of wished that he was anywhere else, but here. Josef really did not want to watch the poor man die, but he knew that he would stay nevertheless. He kissed the Pope’s hand.

  “Thank you for everything,” Josef said. Pope John smiled.

  “It’s time for me to go, Josef. I want you to take my place. I know you will do a fantastic job. Lou will help you as he has done for me. All of this has been explained to the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See. They were overjoyed with the decision.”

  Josef looked into John’s eyes, “I will do my best to make you proud, sir.”

  “How did things go with the UN?”

  “Very well…better than expected. Nicolaitanes Balac was there. You won’t believe what he offered me.”

  Josef leaned down and whispered something into the Pope’s ear. Pope John smiled and his eyes lit up.

  “You have done well my son.” Pope John exhaled. He took another breath and slowly let it out—he never drew another breath. His hand fell to the side of the bed. The alarm on the machine that Pope John was hooked up to went off. The doctor returned to the room to check all of Pope John’s vitals. A few minutes later, he pronounced him dead before leaning down and gently closing Pope John’s eyes. He respectfully kissed the man’s cheek before leaving the room. The others in the room each took their turn kissing the late Pope’s cheek and shaking Josef’s hand before leaving the room. Lou was the last one in line.

  “If you need anything Josef, I will be in my room. Congratulations on your promotion to Pope. I am at your disposal,” Lou said before leaving the room.

  Josef sat alone quietly with Pope John’s body. Things were moving quickly now. He was amazed. He felt a little bad about Pope John dying as he had been like the father Josef never knew. I am now Pope—well, I will be after the ceremony. So much power. I could get used to this. He looked at Pope John one last time before kissing his check.

  “Thank you,” he whispered.

  As an afterthought, Josef removed Pope John’s ring and placed it on his own finger. He won’t need it any more. He turned and left the room. Nicolaitanes had been right about this. How did he know?

  CHAPTER one hundred and thirty-three

  Obadiah greeted his friend Chasiel Ben-Guryon warmly. He was overjoyed to see his friend.

  “Aah, my friend. How are you?” Chasiel asked hugging his friend.

  “I am good. How’s the family?”

  “Fine. Fine.”

  “Come. You must come with me to my home,” Chasiel said excitedly. “I have something to show you.”

  Obadiah was puzzled. What had his friend so excited? Obadiah followed Chasiel to the barren-looking field behind his house. Obadiah was confused. Why did his friend want him this? He had no clue.

  “Take a good look, my friend,” Chasiel said gesturing to the field with his hands.

  It was terrible. Nothing whatsoever was growing there. It was just a big pile of sand—a wasteland.

  “Wait here,” Chasiel said. He went inside the shed and came back with some bright green looking stuff in a vial.

  “What’s that?” Obadiah asked.

  “Just watch my friend,” Chasiel replied.

  He poured some of the liquid onto the ground, raking it before planting some seeds in the ground. He next watered the seeds and stood back. Obadiah wondered why Chasiel wanted him to watch, it would be weeks before anything would start growing-if anything grew at all.

  “Now watch,” Chasiel said as he stepped back. He raised his hands and pointed to the field.

  A few minutes later where the seeds had been planted, green sprouts started to grow. Obadiah rubbed his eyes. This can’t be possible. Did I really just see little things sprout up out of the ground? Is this of you Lord or something else? He reached down and touched the little plants. They were definitely real. How is this possible?

  “How did you do that?” Obadiah asked.

  “That is nothing, my friend. Those seeds will be fully grown and ready for harvest in a little over three weeks. Come, my friend, there is more to see.”

  Chasiel turned and walked a couple of blocks away from his home. He stopped outside of a large wooden gate taking a key out of his pocket and unlocking it. He then looked at Obadiah and smiled.

  “Welcome to the Garden of Eden, my friend,” Chasiel said throwing open the gates. Obadiah’s mouth dropped open.

  The garden was incredible. It was the most beautiful place Obadiah had ever seen—even compared to a tropical island paradise. There were beautiful healthy full-grown trees, flowers, lush grass, fruit and vegetables growing everywhere. Obadiah was confused.

  “Yes, my friend, a few months ago this looked exactly like the barren field that I took you to a few minutes ago,” Chasiel said smiling.

  Obadiah reached down and touched a couple of the plants in awe. They really are real. This is not a figment of my imagination. Is that a mango? He reached over and plucked it from the tree and sniffed it. It smelled so sweet and ripe. He took a bite and spit it out so that he could peel back the skin. He took a bite of the yellow flesh and juice ran down his chin. This is so sweet and delicious. I can hardly believe this. This is an answer to many prayers Lord. Chasiel stood proudly watching Obadiah.

  “Do you know what you’ve done my friend? You’ve created the answer to world hunger.
We could use this to grow food for the entire world. This will make Israel a world power. Can you imagine the wealth you’re going to bring back here?” Obadiah said.

  Chasiel just smiled. He plucked a pomegranate from a nearby tree and sat down on the grass to eat it. He was thinking about what Obadiah had said.

  “You are right my friend, but there will be those who will want to take complete control of my invention,” he sighed.

  “You are probably right. You will have to be careful,” Obadiah said.

  They sat there enjoying themselves and the beauty of the garden. They spent most of the morning catching up on each other’s lives and families.

  “Oh dear,” Chasiel said getting up quickly. He had almost forgotten about his meeting with Nicolaitanes.

  “What’s wrong my friend?” asked Obadiah

  “Nothing is wrong, I am just late for an important meeting. Why don’t you come with me? I should think that you will enjoy meeting a friend of mine.”

  Obadiah stood up, “Where are we going, my friend?”

  “I’m going to meet with my friend Nicolaitanes. I think you will like him. He has some amazing views to help our people,” Chasiel said excitedly. “Now come.”

  Obadiah walked with his friend through the streets towards the center of Jericho. He had a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. He was not sure what was going on, but he thought it best to accompany his friend.

  CHAPTER one hundred and thirty-four

  Rosalind sat alone in the situation room; she had a few minutes before everyone would return. She turned on the televisions; the countdown clock showed—20 minutes 40 seconds and counting down. She sat quietly watching the clock. Slowly everyone returned to their seats.

  “Where’s Nicolaitanes?” Sampson asked walking into the room.

  Rosalind raised an eyebrow at him, “Nicolaitanes does not answer to you or any of us for that matter. Now if you don’t mind go down to the lab and tell General Ludlow to get on with it.”

  Sampson got up angrily and walked down to the lab. “That woman gets on my last nerve,” Sampson said to himself sulking as he walked downstairs.

  ****

  General Ludlow was really nervous. This next phase was going to create a lot of chaos and he really wasn’t sure if he really wanted to continue, but he also knew that if he didn’t he would end up like Charlie.

  CHAPTER one hundred and thirty-five

  Karin packed a few bags and loaded up her suv. She went back into the house and packed some non-perishable food, bottles of drinking water, toiletries, diapers for the twins, baby formula, and other essentials. Satisfied that she had everything that they would need, she went back into the house to get the twins and Oscar, the family dog. She fastened the boys into their car seats, made sure Oscar was in his spot and backed down the driveway. Karin had no idea where she was supposed to be going or how far away it was, so she decided she’d better make sure the tank and gas cans were full just in case. Byron had sounded so afraid.

  “Lord, direct me in the way you want me to go. I have no idea of where I should go. Watch over Byron and Gage. Protect them and keep them safe as only you can. Thank you, Father. In Jesus’ name, amen,” Karin prayed while she waited for the gas pump to shut off.

  A hand lightly touched Karin’s shoulder, making her jump.

  “Sorry, I did not mean to startle you,” a young woman said.

  “I’m sorry; can I help you with something?” Karin asked cautiously.

  The woman hesitated a moment. “I noticed the fish symbol on the back of your vehicle. Are you a believer? Do you have twin boys?” she whispered.

  “Yes….yes, I do.”

  “Well, I have my family packed in my car over there,” she said pointing to her Grand Am. “This is going to sound a little crazy, but I was told to wait here for you and take your family with mine to a safe place.”

  Karin raised an eyebrow at the woman before looking over at her car.

  “I’m sorry lady, but I don’t know you! Forgive me, but why should I trust you? Who told you to wait for me?” Karin replied a little afraid. She started inching her way back to the driver’s door. This woman is off her rocker. How does she know about my boys? Who is she and what does she want?

  “Look, lady, I understand how weird this must seem. I have a fish symbol on my car as well. I was told to come to this gas station and wait for a silver suv with the fish symbol on the left rear bumper. There would be a lady and her twin boys in the vehicle. I can’t really explain it, but I think that it was God telling me this. So please, can we go now? It’s not safe here. I’m not going to hurt you, please trust me. We really have to go now! My name is Mary,” she replied extending her hand.

  Karin stared at her. Go with her. Now, why would I have thought that? Was that you Lord? If you think it is okay then I’ll go. After a few moments, she took Mary’s hand. Something in Mary’s eyes spoke to her spirit reassuring her.

  “Okay, I’ll follow you,” Karin said slightly wary.

  “Good,” Mary said hurrying to her car.

  “She really looks scared. I wonder why?” Karin whispered.

  CHAPTER one hundred and thirty-six

  Byron woke up startled by a noise in the hallway. He wasn’t sure of his bearings for a moment. After a minute, he realized that he was still in Gage’s room. He looked over at Gage, but he was still asleep. Byron didn’t think Gage would be waking up anytime soon so he decided to go back to his room to lie down. He may as well get a little sleep while he waited for Gage to wake up. Besides, what else could he do? Byron left a note for the nurse asking her to retrieve him when Gage was awake. He walked back down to his room.

  Byron tried to sleep when he returned to his room, but he was unable to. Figures. I get into my own bed and now I’m wide awake. He sighed. He looked around the room. His gaze kept resting on the clothes folded up on the table. Why do my clothes seem so important right now? He did not have a clue, but obviously, there was a reason.

  Byron slowly got out of bed and walked over to the table. He carefully lifted his clothes, but he did not see anything right away. Hmmm. He decided to go through the pockets, perhaps there was something inside one of them. In his front jean’s pocket was a small flash drive. He had no idea where it had come from. He had never seen it before. How did this get in here? Where had it come from? Better yet, what is on the drive and why do I have it? He picked up the drive. He looked around the room but did not see a computer. He carefully put the drive and his clothes back exactly the way they were before climbing back into bed; he could hear someone coming. He thought it best that no one else see the drive.

  CHAPTER one hundred and thirty-seven

  “Grant, let’s get a move on. I have a list of targets this time. You need to call ahead and have eight groups of missiles ready. Remind them that they all need to launch at exactly the same time. Is that understood?” General Ludlow said.

  Grant lowered his head—he was still thinking about this. When will it all stop and be over with?

  “Grant!” General Ludlow called.

  “Yes sir, I understand. It shall be done, sir.”

  Grant picked up the phone and relayed the message; there wouldn’t be any problems. He sighed and looked at the countdown clock.

  “2 minutes and 15 seconds left and counting,” Grant whispered. He looked around the room, everyone seemed really anxious.

  Sampson walked into the lab. “General Ludlow, have you initiated Phase Two yet?” he asked.

  General Ludlow was annoyed. “Sampson, do you see that countdown clock?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, when it says 0 hours 0 minutes and 0 seconds left, then and only then will we be initiating Phase 2. Am I clear?”

  Sampson glared at him. “Make sure that you do,” Sampson replied leaving the room.

  “Grant, make sure the feed is going up to the situation room,” General Ludlow ordered.

  Grant double checked to make sure the video feed
was being sent upstairs—he did not want to make that mistake again.

  General Ludlow stood staring at the paper in his hands—the time on the countdown clock had almost run out. He closed his eyes. Is this really happening? These are all new targets. This was not what we agreed to in the beginning. They keep changing things. How can this possibly be for the betterment of mankind?

  “General? General Ludlow?” Martin called.

  General Ludlow looked up, everyone was staring at him. He noticed the countdown clock now said 0 hours 0 minutes and 0 seconds remaining. He sighed; it was now or never—his life or theirs. What was he going to do? He closed his eyes for only a moment.

  “Grant, prepare the missiles for launch. Here are the launch codes. The targets are as follows: 40◦ 47’ N 73◦58’E, 04◦ 38’N 74◦ 05’W, 32◦54’N 20◦4’E, 38◦53’N 77◦57’E, 55◦05’N 38◦50’E, 39◦56’N 116◦24’E, 51◦30’N 0◦7’W, and 31◦47’N 35◦10’E,” General Ludlow commanded.

  There were gasps in the room as slowly some of them recognized some of the targets and the magnitude of things.

  Grant typed in the coordinates but was hesitant to push the enter key. Once he pushed enter there was no way to abort the launch. His finger hovered over the key; he looked up at the General. Just what are we doing?

  “Are you sure about this, General Ludlow? Surely some of these targets cannot be right,” Grant asked pleadingly.

  General Ludlow sighed, he knew exactly how Grant felt—he was wondering the exact same thing. How could they do this?

  “General Ludlow, get control of this situation right now! Remember what we are doing here is for the good of the people; it must be done. Do not back down, you know the consequences if you do,” the voice commanded.