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The first voice he heard, clear as if she were talking to him on the phone,
was
Amanda's.  Yes, sir, I understand. You need not worry about me, no sir.
Now Carpathia spoke:  I trust everyone got enough to eat in Dallas. We will
have an entire flight crew joining us in San Francisco, and we will be well
taken care of throughout our flight to Baghdad and then on to New Babylon.
Another voice:  Baghdad?
 Yes, Carpathia said.  I have taken the liberty of flying into Baghdad the
remaining three loyal ambassadors. Our enemies might have assumed we would fly
them directly into New Babylon. We will pick them up and begin our meetings on
the short hop from Baghdad to New Babylon.
 Mrs. Steele, if you would excuse us 
 Certainly, Amanda said.
 Gentlemen, Carpathia spoke more quietly now, but still clearly enough that
Rayford could understand every word. Someday he would have to thank Earl
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Halliday on behalf of the kingdom of Christ. Earl had no interest in serving
God, at least not yet, but whatever motivated him to do Rayford a favor like
that, it was certainly going to benefit the enemies of the Antichrist.
Carpathia was saying:  Mr. Fortunato remained in Dallas briefly to arrange my
next radio broadcast from there. I will do it from here; however, it will be
patched to
Dallas and broadcast, again to throw off any enemies of the Global Community.
I
do need him in on our talks in the night, so we will wait on the ground in San
Francisco until he is able to join us. As soon as we leave the ground out of
San
Francisco, we will trigger both L.A. and the Bay Area.
 The Bay Area? came a heavily accented voice.
 Yes, that is San Francisco and the Oakland area.
 What do you mean by 'trigger'?
Carpathia's tone became grave.  'Trigger' means just what it sounds like it
means,
he said.  By the time we land in Baghdad, more than Washington, New York, and
Chicago will have been decimated. Those are just three of the North American
cities that will suffer the most. So far, only the airport and one suburb have
suffered in
Chicago. That will change within the hour. You already know about London. Do
you gentlemen understand the significance of a one-hundred-megaton bomb?
There was silence. Carpathia continued.  To put it in perspective, history
books tell us that a twenty-megaton bomb carries more power than all those
dropped in World
War II, including the two that fell on Japan.
 The United States of Great Britain had to be taught, came the accented voice
again.
 Indeed they did, Carpathia said.  And in North America alone, Montreal,
Toronto, Mexico City, Dallas, Washington, D.C., New York, Chicago, San
Francisco, and Los Angeles will become object lessons to those who would
oppose us.
Rayford whipped off his earphones and unbuckled himself. He stepped through
the cockpit door and made eye contact with Amanda. He motioned for her to come
to him. Carpathia looked up and smiled.  Captain Steele, he greeted him,  is
everything well?
 Our flight is uneventful, sir, if that's what you're asking. That's the best
kind of flight. I can't say much for what's happening on the ground, however.
 True enough, Carpathia said, suddenly sober.  I will soon address the global
community with my condolences.
Rayford pulled Amanda into the galley way.  Were Buck and Chloe going to stay
at
The Drake again tonight?
 There wasn't time to talk about it, Ray, she said.  I can't imagine what
other choice they'd have. It sounds like they may never get back to New York.
 I'm afraid Chicago is a certain someone's next target, Rayford said.
 Oh, I can't imagine, Amanda said.
 I have to warn them.
 Do you want to risk a phone call that could be traced? she asked.
 Saving their lives would be worth any risk.
Amanda embraced him and went back to her seat.
Rayford used his own cell phone after making sure his first officer had his
own earphones on and was otherwise engaged. Reaching The Drake Hotel in
Chicago, Rayford asked for the Williamses.  We have three guests named
Williams, he was told.  None with the first name of Cameron or Buck or
Chloe.
Rayford racked his brain.  Uh, just put me through to Mr. Katz then, he said.
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 Herbert Katz? the operator said.
 That's the one.
After a minute:  No answer, sir. Would you like to leave a message on their
voice mail?
 I would, Rayford said,  but I would also like to be sure that the message
light is lit and that they are flagged down for an urgent message should they
visit the front desk.
 We'll certainly do that, sir. Thank you for calling The Drake.
When the voice mail tone came on, Rayford spoke quickly.  Kids, you know who
this is. Don't take the time to do anything. Get as far away from downtown
Chicago as you can. Please trust me on this.
Buck had had innumerable run-ins with Verna Zee in the Chicago office. Once he
felt she had overstepped her bounds and had moved too quickly into her former
boss's office after Lucinda Washington disappeared in the Rapture. Then, when
Buck himself was demoted for ostensibly missing the most important assignment
of his life, Verna did become Chicago bureau chief and lorded it over him. Now
that he was the publisher, he had been tempted to fire her. But he had let her
remain, provided she did the job and kept her nose clean.
Even feisty Verna seemed shell-shocked when Buck swept into the office late
that afternoon. As usual in times of international crisis, the staff was
huddled around the
TV. A couple of employees looked up when Buck came in.  What do you think of
this, chief? one said, and several others noticed him. Verna Zee made a
beeline for
Buck.
 You have several urgent messages, she said.  Carpathia himself has been
trying to reach you all day. There's also an urgent message from a Rayford
Steele.
Now there was a choice for all time. Whom should Buck call? He could only
guess what spin Carpathia wanted to put on World War III. He had no idea what
Rayford might want.  Did Mr. Steele leave a number?
 You're returning his call first?
 Excuse me? he said.  I believe I asked you a question.
 His message was simply that you should call your hotel room.
 Call my hotel room?
 I would have done it for you myself, boss, but I didn't know where you were
staying. Where are you staying?
 None of your business, Verna.
 Well, pardon me! she said and marched away, which was Buck's hope.
 I'll be borrowing your office temporarily, Buck called after her.
She stopped and spun around.  For how long?
 For as long as I need it, he said. She scowled. Buck rushed in and shut the
door.
He dialed The Drake and asked for his own room. Hearing the fear in Rayford's
voice, not to mention the message itself, made the color drain from his face.
Buck called information for the number of the Land Rover dealership in
Arlington
Heights. He asked for the sales manager and said it was an emergency. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]