Turning to the Chief of Police, Michael Poploski, she asked, “Have we any idea yet on a count at the rally?”
“Close to two million people, Madeline, and counting. Inbound highways to the city, I-70, both east and west, is bumper to bumper. I-35, both north and south are bumper to bumper, and have been all night. As best as we can ascertain, there are no hotel rooms available within a fifty-mile radius of the city and we have absolutely no facilities for human refuse for those just camping out. Other garbage is piling up everywhere. Some restaurants are running out of food and we still have two days to go. Now at 20th and Main Street, there are tent cities popping up. They are also popping up everywhere else, from downtown all the way to the Plaza and Volker Park. People are offering rooms everywhere in the area charging up to a thousand dollars a day and parking for a hundred bucks. The city buses are crammed going up and down Main and into the downtown area. The Power and Light District has been busy since yesterday afternoon with some people sleeping on the outside couches. Frankly, Madeline, we are at full capacity throughout the whole city. In addition, we have a half mile cordoned in the area of Jack’s family in Independence, and even though we have the police in the City of Independence helping, it is maxing out our manpower.”
“What do you suggest we do?” Madeline asked.
“I really suggest we shut down I-70 in Columbia from the east and Topeka; if we can get them to cooperate in Kansas from the west. Then shut down I-35 from Olathe from the south, and Kearney from the north and just say the city is closed.”
“Michael, we cannot do that. Those are federal highways and we would have to have the Feds do that. We just can’t.” She looked over at the City Manager, David Phelps, and said, “How are the South people setting up the mall?”
David pulled out a rolled up drawing from his carry bag and said, “May I?” then he spread the drawing out on the Mayor’s desk. The Chief and the Mayor edged forward to look. “It appears, Mayor, that they are building a platform on the top of the Memorial near the tower. It will be higher than the wall and they will face it towards the park, but no wall behind the stage facing Union Station. I called one of their people and they said that Jack wanted it to open on both the front of the stage and the back, so everyone could see and hear him. They are also putting up over twenty-five LED Jumbotrons in the parking lots in the area as well as the park itself, going on down into City Center, and at the other ends of the park, going North on Main. They are putting up a bigger one on a high platform in front of the Liberty Memorial wall that faces Union Station. I think it is almost as large as the one at Royals Stadium.”
“The News Media is setting up on both sides of the stage and satellite trucks will be in the south parking lot of the mall. They are bringing their own generators, we hope. I think they expected this large of a crowd. As best as we can tell, most of the equipment was already here by Sunday night.
“The FBI, CIA, and Jack’s own security will be here and they are setting up in various points throughout the park. We gave the government the museum to use as an operations base. South’s group and most other dignitaries that are showing up have pretty well taken over City Center. They had reservations for almost all the rooms as of yesterday. We’ve also made the convention center available to them as needed. However, we have another problem Mayor. The White House Secret Service called us, and the President is coming. He has a front row seat by the stage. That means more secret service personnel and more security. Therefore, the Feds are bringing in portable scanners and cordoning off the entire area of seating that was supposed to be available to the public. In addition, several religious leaders are accompanying the President and his normal entourage. They also will have their own security teams in place. So, to sum it all up Mayor, we have a grand mess. Oh yes, one more thing, you know that black preacher, Reverend Marks from New York who was on the show yesterday?”
“Yes,” she replied.
“Well he is in charge.”
Chapter 61
2:40 PM CEST Day two of 1260 Brussels - The Waldger Group Corporate Headquarters, Aafre Waldger’s Office
Aafre looked at the clock on his desk and realized that he was tired. He had slept very little last night. He had tossed and turned most of the night, dozing off and on, for he now realized that everything they had ever planned and waited for started yesterday with Jack South. They were sure of it, and he was waiting for the word to be delivered to him from the Master.
He thought the Master would come to him last night with instructions, but he had not. He knew also that the Master had his own timetable and would show when he felt appropriate. Men were too troublesome and worrisome and he liked to take his time about doing what needed to be done. Aafre smiled for he knew he would take his time. It had been over five thousand years of taking his time, so a few hours or days where not going to make any difference at this point. For the most part, they already knew what to do, but they needed the reassurance that once the steps were put in place, the group was making the right decisions. It would only work once.
His group pretty well controlled the entire world, at least its politics; corporations, commerce, and what people could do, and not do. However, that power was hidden and behind closed doors. It affected each, man, woman, and child on the earth, but it was subtle and not noticed. The crazies knew they were up to something, but they could never prove it, so people and their stupid documentaries and occasional news releases meant nothing really. The next steps were going to be different. Each person on this earth and what was left of earth itself, after Jack South got through with his God’s plan, would in due time belong to the real Master of the earth. Then they would prepare for the final battle for the title of earth and once and for all, return humanity to the way it should be.
All Aafre could do now was wait. He knew it would be soon. The Master would confirm his thoughts and then they would move forward with his grand plans.
He looked at the calendar on his desk, which had Thursday, Friday, and Saturday circled in red. Last night he had decided that they would hold an impromptu meeting there in Kansas City. That way they could all get an opportunity to see Jack, or the enemy, in person. That also meant they could have their meetings on Friday and Saturday. It would work out well.
Chapter 62
8:45 AM EST Day two of 1260 Camp David, Maryland - President Richard Stevenson’s Office
President Stevenson and his Director of Homeland Security, Jamal Jones, were sitting in the secure meeting room at Camp David with the Director of the FBI, Marcus Schmidt, and the Secret Service Director, Able Richards. Marcus had called an impromptu meeting once he had heard that the President was planning to attend Jack South’s rally in Kansas City.
“Mr. President,” Marcus began, “We cannot protect you with so short a notice of your travel plans. Moreover, according to the Governor of Missouri, Kansas City is bursting at the seams. They have actually contacted the White House to allow them to use the National Guard to keep order in the city. How do you expect us to protect you, let alone get you in and out of that mad house?”
The President looked over at Marcus and then directed his comment to Able Richards. “Able, can you get me in and out and secure our presence at the Memorial?”
Able squirmed in his seat. He knew the correct answer was no, but that was not what the President wanted to hear, so he said, “We have contacted the contractors for the setup of the rally and they have assured us that there is secure seating on the stage with Jack South. We feel if we put you behind others then we can protect you from a possible attempt on your life, or as we fear, an attempt on Jack South’s life and you possibly being caught in the crossfire. There is a museum attached to the Memorial that we can use as an operations base. It will be manned by our men, the FBI, CIA, and a select group of Navy Seals. However, Mr. President, we are going to have to give the city some help. Their resources are limited when it comes to handling large groups of people. The last group of this magnitude was duri
ng your inauguration here in D.C., and it took months to get security setup for that. We have less than forty-eight hours to prepare and secure the area for your arrival and stay there.”
“Most of our resources from FEMA for human assistance are now in California dealing with that disaster. However, if you were willing to sign an executive order to let the National Guard shut down the highways and only allow commercial and residents through, and have a presence in the city, we would be helping the city cope with the shortage of police manpower to handle this mass of humanity. Then we may be able to get you in and out safely without incident.”
Marcus shook his head and said, “Mr. President, I really wish you would reconsider.”
The President looked over at Marcus and replied, “I need to be there. I want him to see me on Thursday, for the next time he sees me after that, will be in the Oval office. That will be soon. He in his own way declared war on our soil and on our world. I definitely need him to know I am there. He knows I will be there and he is waiting for me. Therefore, men, I will sign the order for the State of Missouri and the city. Help them in any way we can, even if we need to use our own funds. You have very little time to get everything in order, so I suggest you get things in gear. Also, when do you think we should be there?”
Able spoke up, “Well the rally starts at 7:30 p.m., and I would assume with all the media coverage, you would want to make an entrance and be seated well before the rally starts. Therefore, it is a three-hour flight on Air Force one, say an hour from the airport via chopper to City Center. I assume then, leave here at 1:30 or so Thursday afternoon. Mr. President, will your wife I mean the First Lady or any of your family be traveling with you?”
“Yes, my wife will accompany me, and my son. Oh, I forgot. I am staying there to attend a meeting with other world leaders Friday and Saturday. Please let the appropriate people know we are going to be there Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.” He stood up and said, “Get it done,” before leaving the room to greet the other members of government on their way to Camp David.
Marcus looked at Able after the President left and said, “Crap!”
Chapter 63
10:00 AM EST Day two of 1260 New York - Bear News, John Roddenburg’s Office
At Bear News in New York, John was going over the final details of the rally in Kansas City. Jack South’s party had given the network the exclusive coverage of the event from the stage. However, they were also to feed the Jumbotron’s and the other closed circuit units across the city.
Then as he knew, they had to time delay the feed to the other networks and affiliates worldwide. However, Network News and Brad Williams had been excluded from the coverage. They were going to court. Oh well, let them he thought. By the time they got an order, it would be over, but maybe not. It was not his problem. Most viewers would watch Bear, for almost everyone knew that Jack would not talk to The Network.
That was not all that was on his plate today. In fear of Jack’s predictions, the Asian markets had taken a huge dive overnight, which rolled over to Europe this morning. In addition, the Dow in New York was down over eight hundred points. It was assumed that if this continued, the Securities and Exchange Commission would close the markets until some of this boiled over or calmed down.
He also had the problem with the U.S. Government going into some secret meeting. He only knew that most of the high-ranking members of Congress and the entire cabinet were en-route to Camp David. There was a complete blackout on this with no information available.
His thoughts returned to Thursday’s rally. He, John Roddenburg, would be in Kansas City broadcasting live the rest of the week. He was introducing Jack South to the public, and they would conduct a one on one interview with Jack after the rally. The whole world would be watching.
The only thing that concerned him now was that Jack’s people had not given them any idea of the content of the sermon. Alternatively, what would Jack be saying? He had concerns. Jack might do something radical and the mass of people that were there would riot and cause irreparable damage. Now, he had also just found out that the President and his family were attending along with dignitaries from everywhere in the world; with the Waldger Group holding its meetings after the rally or sermon on Friday and Saturday. All of his was insane and he was right in the middle of it. The next few days would probably make his career or totally end it all in one day.
His phone rang and he answered, “Hello, this is John Roddenburg. May I help you?”
“John, this is Sherry. Your limo is downstairs to take you to the airport for your trip to Kansas City. What should I tell them?”
“Tell them I’m on my way, and thanks.”
Well, he thought to himself, its showtime.
Chapter 64
5:00 PM CEST Day two of 1260 Brussels
His cell phone rang with a particular ring tone, which meant he needed to answer very quickly. It was Presley in New York, who was supposed to keep tabs on Jack. David answered saying, “Yes it’s me. What do you have?”
“We finally tracked the flight they took. It was a private jet leased to his attorney in Chicago. It went in the direction of Israel using normal flight plans and tracking. It appears they diverted to a landing strip owned by a Jordanian national near the Israeli border with Jordan.
“So where are they then?” David asked.
“By the time we were able to use our resources, they had already refueled the jet and taken off. We were however, able to get to one of the workers they used. They only said Jack was alone and with a woman whom some called Veronica. They also came and went in an older Israeli troop transport that was left at the landing strip. The driver of that truck was unknown to the person we questioned. We used as much persuasion as we could before he died. And that is all we have.”
David thought this over. “Okay. We know he needs to get to Kansas City, which is my destination also. You need to try to pick up his trail there if you can. Use whatever resources you have to find him before his rally Thursday night. Also, find out who this Veronica is and get some more information on her, that truck, and the driver or drivers.”
“Okay, boss,” Presley said, “We will do what we can.”
David sat back in the limo and thought everything over. Where did they go? Who did they go to see? What were they missing here? There was something not right about any of this and supernatural issues were not his thing. Pluses and minuses were things that made scientific sense and those were his world. Who was this person?
The driver stopped the car at one of the delivery gates at Brussels International Airport. After a few exchanges of paperwork and a guard looking at David in the rear seat, clearance was given for the limousine to enter. They drove to a secure area where only military planes were allowed and the driver stopped the car. The door was opened for David.
When he exited the vehicle he was greeted by a U.S. Air Force Captain.
“Mr. Matthews?”
David nodded, yes.
“Follow me.”
He was taken to an AM400 transport plane which was a new military plane primarily used by Belgium, France, Italy, and Britain. He looked at the plane feeling concerned that as a military transport, it was going to be an uncomfortably long flight to the U.S. However, when he boarded, it was almost as if he had stepped into a luxury hotel on the Riviera.
David was immediately greeted by a host, who asked for his ID. He handed it to her. After she checked his identification and returned it she directed him past a set of seats to the middle cabin, which opened up into what appeared to be a lounge. As he walked in and looked over to his right, he saw several of the people he had seen at their meeting yesterday. Then from the back, he heard the voice of Aafre Waldger, who said, “Welcome aboard David. Please have a seat.”
Chapter 65
10:00 AM CST Day two of 1260 Chicago, Illinois - Mark Anderson’s Law Office
Mark took the fax from his personal fax machine and noticed immediately the seal of the Attor
ney General of The United States on the cover page. He immediately knew that it was of utmost importance and probably had to do with something Jack was doing or had done. He scanned the cover sheet and then moved to the second page.
Mr. Anderson, it read,
We are concerned that your client, Mr. Jack South, may have left the United States and entered another country without first processing through not only U.S. Customs, but also Israeli Customs.
We have it on reliable sources that Mr. Jack South, a citizen of the United States, boarded a private plane at LaGuardia Airport in New York City, New York yesterday afternoon at approximately 1:45 p.m. EST; and then flew to a deserted airstrip on the border of Israel and Jordan.
As you well know, any citizen who avoids normal entrance and exit without going through customs, and illegally entering another country, is considered a violation of international law, especially with the Israelis.
The whereabouts of your client is of great interest to us and if in fact he did enter a country illegally, rest assured we will cooperate if that country wishes to prosecute and or inquire of Mr. Jack South’s intent, while illegally in that country.
Please advise immediately of any knowledge you may or may not have, before we issue a warrant for your client as a fugitive.
Regards,
Kenneth Giles
Attorney General
United States of America.
Damn, Mark said to himself. Now what has he done?
Chapter 66
6:00 PM CEST Day two of 1260 Israeli Jordan Border, Private Airstrip
I watched the oil lights burning along the airstrip to outline the runway, although it was daylight when our jet took off from the private airstrip. My thoughts were on the event on Thursday in Kansas City; and what had just occurred in the cave. I thought about how close I was to the men who knew and or had seen God, and knew Jesus as a friend and as a person who lived in heaven. The three: Gabriel, Ariel, and Elijah were all from heaven, not earth and I, lowly Jack, had just spent a part of the day with them in a cave in Israeli territory. It was just like in the stories of the Bible, literally, in a cave discussing God’s plans for humanity and God’s wrath.