Lemuel scratched his head. “These are serious accusations.”
“I’m not the only one who has seen the truth. Mother Rachel saw it too. That’s why she tried to kill Hannah. She knew that, through the diviner, Hannah was trying to destroy the brotherhood itself. I went to visit Mother Rachel in the asylum. She told me as much though nobody believed her, poor soul. She, too, heard Hannah speak.”
“So, you weren’t lying about that?” Enoch asked in surprise.
“Of course not! I took a voice recorder with me into that room. Then the next thing I knew, I felt an unseen hand slam me into a wall, knocking me unconscious. When I awoke, the recorder was missing. Tell me how a mere slip of a girl managed all that? There was nobody in that wing of the compound to assist her.”
“Maybe the devil helped her,” Lemuel concluded.
Joshua nodded gravely. “And I told my father as much. Sadly, our diviner has fallen so deeply under Hannah’s spell that he refuses to listen to the two people he trusted most. Mother Rachel is in an asylum, and I’ve been excommunicated. Our only crime is that we tried to avert disaster by making him see the truth.”
The two guards silently pondered the facts Joshua had laid before them.
The spymaster glanced out the window and realized that the Bronco was nearing the outskirts of the city. Although traffic had slowed, they were still proceeding at a rapid pace. He didn’t have much time left to save himself. He needed to raise the stakes.
“And now the diviner has hatched a mad scheme to take on the entire Fallen World. Tell me if that wasn’t inspired by the devil.”
Enoch and Lemuel traded skeptical glances.
“It’s the first we’ve heard of it,” the driver said.
“So, you haven’t heard the rumors about the secret lab?” Joshua challenged.
“You’re not saying that it’s real!” Lemuel exclaimed.
“Quite real. I’ve been there myself, in fact. It’s run by a foreign doctor who has created a terrible biological weapon. My father intends to unleash it on the Fallen World.”
“The Blessed Nephilim aren’t supposed to mix in the affairs of the Fallen,” Enoch protested. “We were commanded by our founder to live apart and keep ourselves pure until the Day of Judgment.”
“My father obviously has other plans for us.” Joshua gave a regretful sigh. “His obsession with Sister Hannah has deranged his thinking. If you follow where the diviner leads, the devil will surely drag us all down to hell, and the witch will have her revenge.”
“That can’t happen!” Lemuel’s voice held a note of panic.
The spymaster edged further forward in his seat. “It’s imperative that my father be stopped. The brotherhood must be restored to a state of grace.”
Enoch glanced at Lemuel. The latter nodded.
Without warning, the driver swerved into the right lane and took the next exit. Once off the expressway, he pulled over to the side of the road and switched off the engine. Then he turned to regard Joshua intently. “Tell us what you want us to do.”
The spymaster suppressed a triumphant smile. “Turn the car around and head back north. Everything will become clear to you shortly.”
Chapter 43—Forced Retirement
Leroy Hunt sat in the director’s office at the secret lab, his Stetson resting on his lap. He checked his wristwatch and drummed his fingers impatiently on the armrest of the sofa. He’d been cooling his heels for half an hour waiting for the doc to return. It had been a week since he overheard the whistlepig’s conversation with the big Russian. Time enough for the doctor to wrap up the last of his chores. All the water bottles had been delivered to the compound for distribution. Aboud had already told the preacher this would be his last day of service and his staff would take over from here. That meant the old man had no further use for the doc and Hunt had been given free rein to do what he did best.
The cowboy had never visited the inside of the lab before. It was easy enough to stroll through the front doors which surprised him. No security at all. Leroy figured that the place was buried so far out in the country that nobody would stumble across it unless they had business here. When he entered the underground complex, he contemplated going in search of Aboud. One look at the decontamination chamber reminded him what lay on the other side of those steel doors. The cowboy wisely decided to let the little doc come to him, so he made a beeline for Aboud’s office and took a seat. His wait came to an abrupt end when the door opened, and two men strode in.
“What’s up, doc,” Leroy said conversationally, making no effort to rise and greet the new arrivals.
Aboud looked stunned. “What on earth are you doing here?”
Leroy gave a lazy smile. “The boss sent me. Who’s your friend?”
A pencil-thin Indian man, even shorter than Aboud himself, stood at his side. Judging by the grey streaks in his hair, Leroy guessed him to be about fifty.
“My name is Maskeen.”
“Mr. Metcalf told me you’re the number two man.” The cowboy’s smile broadened. “Just the feller I was hopin’ to meet. Hail, hail, the gang’s all here.”
Maskeen glanced quizzically at Aboud for clarification.
“This man works for our benefactor,” Aboud explained. Directing his next words to Leroy, he asked, “What do you want?”
“Me?” the cowboy repeated innocently. “Nothin’. It’s the boss who wants somethin’. He wants to know why you been doin’ business behind his back. You and your buddy Vlad.”
All the color drained from the doctor’s swarthy complexion. “I don’t know anyone named Vlad.”
“Oh, sure you do, doc. Think hard. Big blond Russian feller. Shady arms dealer. Kinda famous too. Why, he even rated a red notice from
