The Mark: The Beast Rules The World Read Online Free Page B

sound.
    “Rayford, where are you?”
    “I don’t want to say, Hattie. Talk to me. Where are you?”
    “Colorado.”
    “Specifically.”
    “Pueblo, north end, I think.”
    “GC has you?”
    “Yes. And they’re going to send me back to Buffer.” Rayford was silent. “Don’t leave me hanging, Rayford. We go back too far.”
    “Hattie, I don’t know what to say.”
    “What?!”
    “What do you want me to do?”
    “Come get me! I can’t go back to Belgium! I’ll die there.”
    “What do you expect me to do?”
    “The right thing, Ray.”
    “In other words, jeopardize my life and expose the Force to-”
    Click.
    Rayford couldn’t tell whether she hung up because he had insulted her or because she heard someone coming. He told Albie the conversation.
    “What are you going to do, my friend?”
    24
    Rayford stared at Albie in the emerging light and shook his head. “That woman has caused us no end of grief.” “But you care for her. You’ve told me before.”
    “I have?”
    “Bits and pieces. Maybe Mac told me.”
    “Mac doesn’t know her.”
    “But he knows you, and you talk, no?”
    Rayford nodded. “We know they let her out of Buffer, thinking she-”
    “Buffer?”
    “Belgium Facility for Female Rehabilitation.”
    “Ah, I’d better remember that.”
    “Anyway, we know they were hoping she would lead them to us at the gala in Jerusalem, but she-”
    “Excuse me, Rayford, but do you want me to set a course over the old safe house or just head directly for
    Palwaukee?”
    “Depends on whether I decide to go to Colorado.” “Your choice, but if I may say so, I expected you to be more decisive. I am just playacting, yet I appear more of a leader than you are. Your people admire and respect you-it’s obvious.” “They shouldn’t. I-”
    “You’ve reconciled with them, Rayford. They forgave you. Now become their leader again. What are you going to do about this Hattie Durham? Decide. Tell me, tell the people in the Strong Building, and do it.” “I don’t know, Albie.”
    “You’ll never know. Just weigh your options, consider the pros and cons, and pull the trigger. Either way, the
    25

    old safe house is fewer than ten minutes out of the way. Start with a small decision.”
    “Let’s have a look at it.”
    “Good for you, Rayford.”
    “Don’t patronize me, Albie. We’re in a GC chopper. We won’t look suspicious anyway.”
    “But you’ve made a decision. Now think aloud about the more important one. Are we going to Colorado?”
    “I was saying, rather than lead the GC to us, she went straight there. Her family is gone, but maybe she thought she could hook up with friends in Colorado. Who knows? I couldn’t even tell you whether her confounding the GC was a stroke of genius or dumb luck, but I’d lean toward the latter.”
    “So she may be leading you to them rather than the other way round.”
    Rayford turned away from Albie and looked out the window, praying silently. It hadn’t been that many years since his lust for Hattie Durham had almost cost him his marriage. He took the blame for that, but since then she had been nothing but trouble. He and the others in the Tribulation Force had loved her and counseled her, provided for her, pled with her to receive Christ. But she would not be persuaded, and she pulled dangerous stunts that compromised the safety of the Force. For all he knew, she was the reason the GC had finally discovered the safe house.
    Rayford’s phone chirped. “Hattie?”
    “I heard footsteps. They’ve got me in a small room in a bunker about an hour south of Colorado Springs.”
    “I’m a long way from there.” “Oh, thank you, Rayford. I knew I could count-” “I haven’t decided what I’m going to do, Hattie.” “Of course you have. You won’t leave me here to be
    sent back to prison or worse. What do I have to do,
    promise to become a believer?” “Not unless you mean it.” “Well, if you don’t come for me, you can kiss that