Sinner (24 page)

Manning drummed his fingers on the table. “Offensive to whom? Hate crimes are nothing more than a nice tag for anything that offends anyone.”

“Surely you can see the harm caused when a radio show host is allowed to get on public airwaves and berate a whole class of citizens for their religion. Or when they are allowed to rail against a class of people for their particular sexual orientation, going so far as to claim God hates their particular way of life and will send that whole class of citizens to hell. Our country should have put an end to this kind of overt discrimination a long time ago.”

“That's the cost of freedom,” Manning said. “That and the blood of those who've fought to protect those freedoms, or have you forgotten
your
history? Thank God for our Constitution.”

“What does God have to do with it?” Annie said. “Common sense is what makes this a free country. Religion, on the other hand, has always fueled hatred. Isn't that right, Johnny?”

He looked at Billy and Darcy. “Did you know I was a chaplain in the army once?”

The revelation surprised her. “You're a religious man?”

“Not particularly. But I understand a few things about good and evil.”

“And God?”

“Is good.”

So there it was. Johnny didn't share her hatred of all things religious. But she wouldn't hold that against him. She was sure his reasoning was compelling enough, given his own experience.

“The crisis we're facing today is fueled in large part by hate speech,” Annie said, pushing forward. “The keg that could explode isn't filled with gunpowder; it's filled with vocalized bigotry. The president's going to urge calm. The question is, Darcy, can you do the same?”

“That's it?” she asked. “You want me to calm the world one riot at a time?”

“I think what Annie's asking,” Lawhead said, “is how good you are in front of a camera?”

Darcy had never considered the possibility that she could affect her listeners over the Net. But why not? Assuming they were watching her eyes.

The notion swept through her like a warm blast of wind. And all she could think to say was, “Wow.”

“No,” Billy said, standing. He stepped out and faced Kinnard. “It's too dangerous, you've made that clear.”

“I agree, it's not what I had in mind,” Kinnard said.

“We agreed to leave it up to Darcy,” Annie was quick to say.

“Absolutely not,”Manning snapped. “I can't stress the danger of this, not to her—although I take your point—but to the country. If it works, are we to turn over the minds of this land to this girl? It's irresponsible!”

“People are dying, Ben!” Annie cried. “Open your mind for once.”

“How would this be dangerous to me?” Darcy asked.

Billy slid back into his seat. “Because being subjected to your voice is an unmistakable proposition. Your power is felt, not just heard.”

“And just how exactly is that dangerous?”

“It would essentially ‘out' you on a grand scale! Granted, most people would never realize
why
your words had such an impact on them, but some would begin asking questions. Once the questions start, your life is over, not only as a private citizen, but maybe quite literally.”

“He does make a point,” Lyndsay said. “Speaking to Congress might be one thing. But addressing the nation could change your life.”

Darcy was concerned to realize she liked the idea.

“Johnny?” Annie asked. “You've lived with your gift for some time, I gather. Besides the obvious, any downsides?”

“There's always a price. But you'll both figure that out soon enough. I wouldn't do it if I were you. It could ruin you.”

Ruin her? And who was he to judge?

“Assuming it works,” Lawhead said. “It would be easy enough to find out. Let's put you in front of a closed-circuit camera.”

And what if it didn't work?

“No,” she said.“I think Billy and Johnny are right. I can't do it.Not now.”

They just stared at her.

“No,” she repeated. “I'm not some kind of mind-numbing ray gun you pull on whomever you want.”

“I think you have a responsibility to your country,”Annie said. “What did you expect to do here in Washington? You need to use your powers as much as we need you to use them.”

“Don't patronize me.”

“You want it, Darcy,” Annie said softly. “You know you do.”

How dare this woman speak to her like this?

“You love the power, I can see it in your eyes.”

Johnny stood, looked at them for a moment, then dipped his head. “Excuse me, I'll have to be leaving.”He faced Billy and Darcy.“Brian knows how to get in contact with me; please come out and visit.”

“I take it you don't approve,” Annie said.

“That's not for me to judge. I've just been reminded why I fled to the desert.” To Billy and Darcy again: “Anytime you like, my house is open. Be careful, very careful.”

“Just like that?” Darcy demanded.“You fly all the way out, stay for half an hour, and leave?”

“It was a mistake to come. Remember, the enemy is within. Don't think you're isolated from danger in these ivory towers of theirs.”

He walked to the doors. “I'll take a cab.” And then Johnny Drake was gone.

The room felt suffocating.

“So will I,” Darcy said, standing.

Billy followed quickly. “And me.”

Kinnard was already on his feet.“Not a chance.We'll take your no for now. I'll take you home.”

ANNIE WATCHED the door close behind Brian Kinnard, unable to hide the amusement on her face. Simple fact: she liked them. Even without their gifts, she found Darcy in particular superbly suited for life in the capital. Not a career politician who thrived off the foggy landscape of compromises, but a real voice for change. The kind of person best suited for Washington was often the kind who hated it enough to suffer all that was required to effect change.

People like Darcy and Billy. So hard to attract, but oh so valuable if you could.

She kept her eyes on that sealed door. “Well, that went well.What do you think?”

“I think you're way out of line, even speaking about muzzling . . .Christians.” Ben Manning spread his fingers out on the table and tapped a large gold ring on the wood. “Or any religion for that matter. And Darcy presents a significant problem.We have to end this.”

The ice clinked in Deputy Director Newton Lawhead's glass. He took a sip, set the tumbler down, and slid his sunglasses into his pocket. But he offered no comment.

“I would say this is the beginning, not the ending,” Lyndsay said.

Manning continued as if he hadn't heard. “I'm the last one to suggest extreme measures, but I hope all of you can appreciate the delicate nature of our problem here.We have to silence her.”

Annie faced the senator, surprised by his bitter tone. “Silence her? What exactly are you suggesting?”

He pulled off his glasses and met her stare head-on. “I'm suggesting that all of this is horribly irresponsible. I can't be a party to it. That child could walk into any bank and leave the wealthiest woman in the world. Imagine what she could do in a war, or a presidential race, or . . . or . . .” Manning was too flustered to elaborate.“She could single-handedly bring this country to its knees in the worst of ways. She has to be stopped.”

“No, Ben, she has to be guided. If she fell under the wrong influence, yes, then we'd have a problem. But she's not a child, and I don't see her as the kind who will easily fall under anyone's influence but her own.We work with her, not against her.”

“Agreed,” the attorney general said. “And for goodness' sake, we protect her.”

Ben Manning stood abruptly, scowling. “You can't protect her. No prison can hold someone who has the power to seduce the first person who looks into her eyes. You're flirting with disaster. A vial of the deadliest virus. Drop it and we all die.”

Lawhead cleared his throat. “You're suggesting we kill her, Ben?”

He didn't answer. He didn't have to. If they couldn't find a way to win Darcy and Billy's complete confidence, they could indeed have a very awkward problem on their hands.

But kill them? The very idea seemed ludicrous to Annie.

“We protect this country at all costs,”Manning said. He walked around the table and strode for the door.“It's your job to figure out how to do that.”

He turned back with his hand on the knob. “And if you don't, I will.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Day Six

KELLY DROVE the car down the street that wrapped around the school yard. Kat sat quietly beside her. Johnny was unexpectedly called out of town Saturday night, so Kelly had agreed to take her to the court-house and return her to Boulder City High during the lunch hour.

It had been four days since Kat's change, and those days had passed like a dream. She really did feel as though she'd been birthed into a new world. Everything was new to her.

The debate, however, had become a familiar fear. She'd imagined her face-off with Asad a hundred times, and each time it brought a tingle to her fingers.Who was she, to engage in such a debate? But she would do it anyway, in just a few hours when the bell rang at day's end.

During her time with Johnny Saturday, he'd shown her an account written by a prisoner named John the Apostle, who had actually been with Jesus while he was on earth, thousands of years ago. The basic truths of Jesus's teachings hurried through her mind like soft echoes in a deep canyon. Big words that sounded strange but right. Perfect.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart. Love your neighbor as your-self
. Simple enough. Jesus was all about love.

The kingdom of God is among you. I am the Light of the World. The
Truth, the Way. No one can go to the Father but through me.
Again, simple enough. Truth was all about Jesus.

Others were less obvious.
The gate to heaven is narrow; only a few will
pass through it. Unless you leave your mother and your father for my sake,
you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Unless you eat my body and drink
my blood, you cannot follow me.

The world will hate you if you follow me
.

Clearly, following Jesus wasn't a casual affair. She'd never imagined such startling, narrow-minded teaching could follow so easily in the path of love, love, love, all you need is love.

But it made perfect sense to her heart if not her mind. Jesus wasn't merely a good and wise prophet; he was God, and he was pointing the way
to
God. To himself. As it turned out, following that way came at a price few were willing to pay.

It cost their own pride, as Johnny put it. Their self-interest.

You won't make it through the narrow gate because your eyes are on
yourself and your own endless arguments and you'll run into the wall, O
blind one.
That's how she had put it, and Johnny smiled.

So then, the debate. Johnny had been right in saying that truth was best shown, not simply argued. She had no idea what kind of words she could use to show Carla and Asad and the rest of them that Jesus was the Way.

It would be foolishness to them. Which, appropriately enough, was another one of Jesus's teachings.

The car rolled to a stop in the parking lot and Kat opened her door.

“So I can come over after school then?”

“Johnny will be back this afternoon.Why don't you come for dinner?”

“Really? I'll check with my mom, but that should work.”

“What does your mother think of all this?”

“We haven't really talked about it. I mean, she knows something's up, but I wanted to wait until we actually have some time to talk it through. Not sure she would believe me, you know what I mean?”

“Cried wolf a few too many times?”Kelly said.“Don't worry, she'll see the change.”

Kelly said it all with a smile, that perpetual smile, so constant that at times Kat wondered if it had been surgically affixed to her face.

She'd told Johnny about finding Kelly behind the shed, crying, but he only turned away. Kelly had been through hell in Hungary, he said. She had been caught up in an underground training camp for assassins hired out to the world's largest governments. Her mind had been stripped and forced into a mold that she'd since rejected.

She'd been his handler, he said. Forced to manipulate him before they'd fallen in love and gone on the run together. Without her, he'd be dead or worse, a vegetable. He owed his life to her. Johnny said it all with a knot in his throat and then dismissed the subject.

Kat wondered if whatever had happened hadn't blinded him just a bit. Not that she was jealous, but . . . just who
was
Kelly anyway? She never talked about Jesus. She never joined in the discussion. She never did anything but sit there with that flat smile, rubbing Johnny's back.

“That's what I was hoping,” Kat said. “Okay, see you.”

“Six?”

“Cool.”

Kelly left Kat standing in the parking lot. The school grounds were quiet this time of day. A man on a riding mower was cutting the grass around the fountain pond, and two groundskeepers had weed cutters out, trimming the edges of the walkway around the concrete slab that surrounded the water.

Blue sky above, sun blazing hot. She headed for the lunch wing.

Tires squealed past her and she saw a news van brake to a hard stop. A camera crew spilled out and began to run toward her followed by a blonde woman dressed in a blue business suit.

They ran past.

“What's going on?”

“Stay outside,” the blonde woman said.

Kat ran after them.

“Where is it?”

“In the lunchroom,” the reporter said. “From what I've heard it's a mess in there. You need to stay back!”