Page 20 of A Gathering Storm

“You’re right,” Victor said. “And there’s more. Kirkpatrick is forming an international police force that will be made up of every branch of law enforcement all the way up to intelligence.“ Victor paused for a moment, and Seth could tell something monumental was coming. “And Daniel Pamphili will head it up.”

“Pamphili?” Seth exclaimed but then replayed the things he had witnessed about the man. Pamphili was polished but gave the impression of being calm and easygoing. “There’s something about that man that gave me the chills.”

“Me, too, and with good reason.” Victor told him about Abby’s encounter with the new leader of the international police.

“Are you thinking what I am? Is this guy the real antichrist, and Kirkpatrick is just paving the way for him?”

“We’ve been discussing it here, and I’d say there’s a good chance he could be. We’ll keep watching his actions and see what happens next. In the meantime, there’s something I want to talk to you about.” Victor told him about the suggestion of creating several global compounds for those trying to escape the looming turmoil.

“That’s a great idea, but we’ll have to find a way to vet the people coming in before they reach the different locations. I wouldn’t put it past Kirkpatrick to try and infiltrate our team.”

“Me neither. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s already happened.” Victor mentioned the man from Denver who was supposed to be on the way to rescue Seth and his team. “We’ve lost contact with him completely. James is doing his best to track the man down, but I believe he’s a ghost. I apologize for that, Seth. Because of our misstep, you and your wife were injured.”

Seth realized they had a big problem on their hands trying to check out every person who was reaching out to the team via the website. They’d need more people to set up checkpoints. “Let me see what I can do about providing James’s team some help.” He thought about Chase Carpenter, the young man who had been Victor’s chief of staff and had helped Seth transition to the presidency.

“We have some good people still in Washington who need to be evacuated before Kirkpatrick imprisons them.” The growing number of supporters would need to be relocated to Idaho, and there would be more coming. “We’ll need to plan on more people living in Idaho. Can you make room?”

Victor released a breath. “We don’t have a choice. It’s too risky to set up another location in the US right now. The camp here is enormous, and there’s space to grow. I’ll see if I can set up a team of people to start expanding the living spaces.”

Would they have enough food, water, and heat to provide for the new members coming their way? He sure hoped so.

“Thanks for everything, Victor, especially your prayers. I feel them working. God is watching over us. How soon before Abby and Brookes reach you with the new members?”

“They’ll drive straight though, so another fifteen hours under the best of conditions.”

“That’s a lot of time to be exposed.” With everything that happened, Seth had completely forgotten to ask how the interrogation of Martin Collins had gone. He voiced the question now, curious whether Collins had mentioned anything useful.

“We didn’t learn much. Not surprisingly, Kirkpatrick didn’t trust Collins with a lot of details. I’m sure the distrust increased in recent days. Collins did mention the location of the missing nukes. Victor told them they’d been in Anana Harbor all along.”

“Unbelievable. We sure need to get them out of play.” Yet the chances were slim they’d find them in Alaska. If Collins had knowledge of the weapons’ location, Kirkpatrick would want to move them quickly. “As soon as we’re on our way, I’ll be in touch. Until then, keep everyone safe there. And we could use your continued prayers.”

Over a thousand miles separated them from their safe haven, and Seth had a feeling danger would be their constant companion every step of the way.

Chapter Seven

“Ihave something.” James’s words caught Cole’s attention. He could tell from James’s expression he’d found something big. Cole grabbed Eva and headed over to the computer screen that James was studying. “What did you find?” Cole asked while several others gathered around.

“I was able to position a satellite over the location Collins gave us for the nukes. I used the satellite’s thermal nuclear capability to search for radiation levels.” He pointed to the screen. “They’re high.”

Cole stared at the data on the screen. “They’re still there. Why wouldn’t he have moved them by now?” He didn’t like it. Kirkpatrick had people working for him that could transport the nukes out of Alaska without being questioned. Why leave them there when Kirkpatrick had to know Collins would tell them the location? “It’s a setup. He’s trying to force us out in the open.”

Victor agreed. “It’s too dangerous to make that move now. I say we keep a watch on the location for now.” He looked at James. “Will you be able to use the satellite without it pinpointing our location?”

James shook his head. “Not for long. But I’ll switch out satellites. Still, if we want those nukes, Kirkpatrick won’t keep them exposed for long.”

Cole ran a hand across his bleary eyes. “Do what you can to keep track of them, but we can’t afford to be exposed. We have a lot of people counting on us to protect them and there are more coming.”

“You got it.”

“Thanks, James. And when you and your team have time to breathe, I need a moment.” Cole was still reeling from his conversation with Victor moments earlier. There was so much work to be done. It would push everyone to their limits.

James glanced between Cole and Victor. “We can take a minute now. This seems important.”

It was. “Great, let’s use the kitchen.” Cole turned to Eva and Sidney. “You both should be part of this. We can use your skills.”

The team filed into the kitchen and pulled out chairs around the table.

“You want to tell them about what we discussed?”

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