"This is what Rabbi Ben-Judah was talking about on TV," Mrs.

Stein said.

"Exactly," Chaya said.

"It's what I discovered. We Jewish people have been looking for Messiah. But he has already come."

"If your father knew I was talking to you"-"You said you didn't care what Dad thinks," Chaya said.

"Please, Mom, let me show you more."

Vicki made lunch while the two talked. Chaya told her mother about her friend at theUniversityof Chicagowho had explained who Jesus was and what he had done. At times Mrs. Stein argued, but each time Chaya gently led her back to the Bible. Before they ate, Vicki thanked G.o.d for Mrs. Stein and prayed for her upcoming surgery.

"Give her the peace that pa.s.ses all understanding."

When she looked up, Mrs. Stein was crying.

When Judd called Bruce later that afternoon to tell him about Mark, Bruce sounded weak.

"You OK?" Judd said.

"I can't talk long," Bruce said.

"But don't worry. I'll be all right. And so will Mark. He has to make his own decisions."

Mrs. Stein thanked Vicki and gathered her things. Her surgery was set for Friday morning atNorthwest CommunityHospital.

"Don't come to see me until the next morning."

"Dad can't keep me from seeing you."

"Please," Mrs. Stein said, "we can talk Sat.u.r.day."

"Mom, don't go into surgery without settling this."

"That is between G.o.d and me. I will take it up with him in my own time."

Judd and John met secretly with Vicki and Chaya late the next night, and they brought each other up to date.

"Mark's ready to give his life for the militia," John said.

"When a person is that committed," Judd said, "there's no way to stop him."

"Tie him up and stick him in the bas.e.m.e.nt," Vicki said.

Judd laughed.

"I'm serious," she said.

"Give him something that puts him to sleep, and lock him up till this blows over."

"And how long are you going to keep him?" Judd said.

"He'll never trust us again."

"We'd only be doing it because we care," Vicki said.

"And if it works, we use it as a new evangelism tool," John said.

"Lock all non- Christians in Bruce's bas.e.m.e.nt 'til they see the light." Vicki said, "He's your cousin! I'd think you'd care more about him than that."

John stared at her.

"I do care. I want to knock some sense into him, and I'd do it if I could. He's bigger than me, and all that training has made him hard as a rock. "

"Have you thought about going to the authorities?" Chaya said.

"I know it's drastic, but if they know about it beforehand, they can stop it, and no one gets hurt."

"I couldn't think of giving him over to the Global Community goons," John said.

Judd had been quiet.

"If the militia is really planning a strike against the Global Community," he said, "one of their targets has to be Nicolae Carpathia."

"Of course," John said.

"They wouldn't be able to restore President Fitzhugh if they don't take him out."

"Which puts whose life in danger?" Judd said.

"Rayford Steele's!" Vicki gasped.

"Bingo," Judd said.

"Maybe Mrs. Steele's, too. I wonder if that would change Mark's mind?"

"It wouldn't," Mark said, and everyone jerked to attention.

"Hi, everybody. Thanks for inviting me."

Judd didn't know what to say. John stared at the floor.

"I don't want anyone to die, and I don't want to die.

Captain Steele knew the risks when he took the job.

"Have any of you considered the possibility that I'm right? I'm going to fight the enemy of this country and the enemy of our souls. People are going to die no matter what. You ought to support me and be thankful the militia is willing to put it all on the line."

"n.o.body questions your motives," Judd said.

"We just don't want you to throw your life away."

Chaya said, "Isn't Scripture clear that no uprising will stop the Antichrist?" Mark shrugged.

"That's your interpretation," he said.

"If G.o.d calls you to do something, you've got to do it no matter what other people say. I thought you'd be behind me. If you can't support me, fine. But don't get in my way."

The phone rang, and Vicki handed it to Judd. It was Loretta.

When he laid the phone down he felt sick to his stomach.

"What is it?

"Vicki said.

Loretta found Pastor Bruce on the floor of his study," Judd said.

"They're taking him to the emergency room!"

Judd raced toNorthwestCommunityHospitalinArlington Heights. He found Loretta with an elder from New HopeVillageChurch.

"Bruce was disoriented," Loretta said nervously.

"He didn't want us to bring him, but he looked so pale."

Eventually a doctor told them, "We're going to monitor him here tonight. His heart rate is erratic, but he's resting.

Could be a heart attack, or he may have picked up something overseas.

You can see him if you make it quick. "

Judd was shocked to find Bruce hooked up to tubes and monitors. Judd took Bruce's hand, which was limp and unusually cold.

Bruce's eyelids fluttered. He whispered, "So tired. I wanted to surprise them Sat.u.r.day."

"Surprise who?" Judd said, but Bruce didn't respond.

Bruce's Bible lay on the stand by the bed. Judd opened it to one of Bruce's favorite pa.s.sages, and his voice broke as he leaned close.

"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."

"Bruce was disoriented," Loretta said nervously.

"He didn't want us to bring him, but he looked so pale."

Eventually a doctor told them, "We're going to monitor him here tonight. His heart rate is erratic, but he's resting. Could be a heart attack, or he may have picked up something overseas.

You can see him if you make it quick. "

Judd was shocked to find Bruce hooked up to tubes and monitors. Judd took Bruce's hand, which was limp and unusually cold.

Bruce's eyelids fluttered. He whispered, "So tired. I wanted to surprise them Sat.u.r.day. " "Surprise who?" Judd said, but Bruce didn't respond.

Bruce's Bible lay on the stand by the bed. Judd opened it to one of Bruce's favorite pa.s.sages, and his voice broke as he leaned close.

"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."

"Stop treating us like little kids," Lionel said at breakfast Friday morning.

"It's not right to have meetings without us."

Ryan was furious.

"Mark is our friend, too," he said.

"We've got a right to know what's going on."

"I was afraid you'd want to follow him," Judd said.

"What was I supposed to do?"

"Let us go see Bruce then."

"Can't. Sorry."

"See," Ryan said.

"This is the same thing."

"They won't let you in," Judd said.

"Maybe when he's feeling better."

"I'm going to send him a card," Ryan muttered as he slammed the door.

Judd called Loretta for the latest on Bruce. She said, "He rested through the night and told me he wants to be out in time to meet Rayford and the rest tomorrow. "

"So that's what he meant about meeting people for lunch," Judd said.

"Is Captain Steele flying Carpathia into the country?" "I don't have a clue."

Vicki drove Chaya to the hospital Friday morning and saw Chaya's mother and father walk in. Chaya left a bouquet of flowers at the front desk for her mother. They asked about Bruce, but the nurses were tight-lipped.

Patricia Devlin, the head nurse, said, "Family members?"

Vicki said, "Daughter."