Glorious Appearing: The End Of Days Read Online Free Page A

then.”
    “But just for smiles, where is he? Last I heard he was on a bullhorn outside Herod’s Gate. Moved there from his bunker near the Sea of Galilee. Unless they were just broadcasting his voice.”
    “No, it was him all right. He’s moved his entire command post inside the Old City.”
    “Impossible. I’m lookin’ down on it right now, and the place is crawling with—”
    “I thought so too until I heard where. Underground.”
    “You don’t mean—”
    “Solomon’s Stables.”
    “How do I get in there?”
    “Follow somebody. Carpathia’s got an entire regiment there, and I got your new name on the list.”
    “That might not have been prudent, Chang.”
    “Why?”
    “What if I choose not to go, am discovered missing, and someone sees me elsewhere?”
    “Well, there is that possibility, yes. Tell them you’re on your way.”
    “What if I’m not? I mean, I’d love to be your eyes and ears here, Chang, but my priority is Buck. And nothin’ we know about Carpathia now is going to amount to a hill of beans anyway. What’s gonna happen is gonna happen. Can you get me off that list?”
    “Not without looking suspicious. Sorry, Mr. McCullum. I thought I was doing the right—”
    “Don’t worry about it. None of it will matter tomorrow, will it?”
    Mac saw GC activity and other choppers putting down at the Tombs of the Prophets, south of the Mount of Olives, east of the Old City. Caravans of jeeps quickly loaded the disgorged personnel and raced them toward the conflict. As soon as Mac stepped out of his copter at 2:45 P.M., an officer directing traffic pointed him to an armored personnel carrier. Mac saluted and jogged that way. He joined a dozen other like-uniformed soldiers, who merely nodded at each other, tight-lipped, and rode in stony silence.
    The cavalcade headed north on Jericho Road and turned west in front of the Rockefeller Museum onto Suleiman Street.
    “We headed to Herod’s Gate?” someone said.
    “Is it open?” someone else said.
    “Damascus Gate,” the driver announced.
    As they passed Herod’s Gate, Mac joined the others in pressing against the windows on the south side of the vehicle. Somehow the resistance continued to hold the gate.
    “If you’re assigned to the potentate,” the driver said, “follow me to the entrance to the stables. Everybody else head for the staging area at the Church of the Flagellation. When we have enough personnel, we’ll attack the insurgents from behind and blow ‘em out Herod’s Gate.”
    Mac felt himself swelling with pride over what Tsion and Buck had apparently accomplished before the rabbi was killed. If they had been at Herod’s Gate, they were responsible for helping hold that position against overwhelming odds. And neither of them battle trained.
    Mac assumed Buck would agree that Tsion would not want his body removed from the Old City. He only hoped Buck had found an appropriate spot for the rabbi. Bodies fallen in an active battle had a way of getting trampled beyond recognition. That wouldn’t matter tomorrow either, but Mac knew he and Buck would be on the same page.
    Mac found himself fighting anguish. No way Buck would let them worry and wonder for this long. Surely he could have found a way to check in if he was alive.
    When the vehicle stopped and the driver gave the order, Mac and the soldiers got out and moved as directed. Mac dropped several paces behind his group and phoned Chang, speaking quietly. “Anything?”
    “Nothing.”
    “I’m not going to succeed, am I?”
    “What do you want to hear, sir?”
    “You know.”
    “I’m past pretending, Mr. McCullum.”
    “I appreciate that. Maybe I should just proceed to my assignment.”
    “To the compound?”
    “Yeah. I know I should have my head examined, but I’d love to be with ol’ Nick when Jesus gets here.”
    Chang felt Naomi’s strong fingers on either side of his neck.
    “You’re tense,” she said.
    “Aren’t you?” he said.
    “Relax, love.