Sinner (28 page)

“No. But I could use a little pick-me-up, and I can tell you have it.”

Annie had felt her voice before and was now asking for it again. What, she was Annie's personal drug now? But the idea appealed to her.

“All right.You're going to open all the doors we need, Annie, beginning with the president and the Senate Judiciary, who will sponsor the bill. An emergency session of Congress will be called and the bill will be presented tomorrow for debate. I will address the House of Representatives, because you will see to it that I am allowed to. And I will also address the Senate. Once the bill is passed and signed by the president, the states will have forty-eight hours to ratify the amendment in compliance with a deadline passed in the House by common vote. Do you need more, Annie?”

“I do.”

Her words were like a soothing balm, reinforcing what Annie already knew and desired. Like a preacher reassuring a choir shouting, “Amen, brother, preach it!”

“A new law based upon the amendment will be voted on and signed into law within forty-eight hours of the ratification. Yada, yada, yada . . .” Darcy leaned forward, drilling Annie with her stare, knowing that Lyndsay was watching her with as much interest. “I could go on and give you all the little twists and turns as you've outlined them, thrilling you with details that would bore an average person to tears.”

She returned Lyndsay's stare. “But I won't. Instead I'll tell you what's really interesting here. It's the part you play. You've always dreamed of making a difference. Of being remembered as a figure that changed history. Which is what you're going to do, because you're going to make sure Billy stands in front of every single undecided politician so that he can find out exactly—and I do mean exactly—
all
those nasty secrets, which is what I need to persuade them to vote the right way. He's going to do that because of you. Do you need more, Lyndsay?”

“Yes.”

“Do you need more, Annie?”

Sweat beaded her forehead. “I do, Darcy.” She said it softly, without apparent emotions, but Darcy knew that she was only covering up a deep-seated pleasure that probably surprised even her.

“You're going to make sure I get to speak into the hearts and minds of each and every man or woman whose vote we need for a two-thirds majority. We're going to succeed,Annie, because Billy and I will know which buttons to push and how to push them. We'll try not to make enemies, but if we do, we'll protect ourselves by holding information about them that would be released in the event we were ever harmed. The kind of information that Billy will have in reams and reams. The kind he already has on both of you, or will have in the next few seconds now that I've brought it to the surface for you to think about.”

She paused for that dose to work its bit, and then continued.

“In the end we will convince the House, the Senate, the president, all nine Supreme Court justices, and, maybe most importantly, the governors of those states who sit on the fence if we need their vote. And we will succeed, because of you. Because of us. Because of our commitment to each other.”

She stopped, then pushed further. “This is your day, both of you. You will stop at nothing to accomplish the objectives you've laid out for us. Do you hear me? Nothing. And you will owe Billy and me a great debt for helping you achieve this plan. Wouldn't you both agree?”

“Yes,”Annie said, struggling now to maintain an air of calm. “I would say that puts it accurately.”

“Wouldn't you say, Lyndsay?”

“It think that's fair, yes.” She looked like she'd been slapped.

“And if we help you achieve your objective—changing the first amendment in the Bill of Rights so that it limits protected speech—if we do this for you, you
will
agree to give us something in exchange, and you will be bound to that agreement in good faith.”

Kinnard put his hands on the table. “Darcy—”

“No,”Annie interrupted.“No, it's okay. She's right. What did you have in mind, Darcy?”

“Billy?”

He winked at her. “Anything permitted by law.”

She nodded once. “There you go, then. Anything permitted by law. Is that fair?”

“I would say so.”

“You don't have any resentment toward me for asking this while you look in my eyes, do you? I don't want you to feel compelled unless it follows your true feelings. You do want to do this for us, right?”

Of course, the phrasing put Annie in a bit of a bind, unless she really did think the request completely unreasonable, which Darcy knew she would not.

“No.” Annie looked at the attorney general, who was grinning. It was the first time she'd felt Darcy's power personally. “Lyndsay?”

“No, not at all. Oh my, I think we might actually have a shot at this.”

“Then you both swear to give us what we want, permitted by law?”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” Darcy looked at Billy and spread her hands. “Anything else?”

“No, not from me. I think I get the picture.” He slid his glasses back on, and Darcy followed his example.

“Where and when do we start?” she asked.

Annie took a deep breath, replaced her own glasses. “With the president. In fifteen minutes.” She pushed her chair back and stood.

“I think history's going to like you, Billy and Darcy. I think I'm going to like you very, very much.”

The Books of History
, Darcy thought.
She's thinking of the Books of
History
. And her heart skipped a beat.

II

WORDS OF POWER

The Apostle who saw the Light with his own two eyes said this:

I came to you in weakness
and fear and with much trembling.

My message was not with wisdom
or persuasive words,
but with power . . .

First-century letter written by
Paul to those in Corinth

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Day Fourteen

THEY WERE calling the last week “the five days that changed America,” but to Katrina Kivi, nothing had changed. Certainly not the kingdom of light that greeted her every morning, so to speak. In fact, nothing had changed except the newscasts on the Net, and for some reason the news never really felt very personal. Secondhand data from secondhand sources. Long before this so-called crisis, Kat had seen a thousand images of flag burnings, street violence, and Molotov cocktails exploding against cars, even if it was in other countries.And now it was coming to America, for real.

But it still didn't
feel
real, not next to her new real.

It had been all constitutional and civil liberties dialogue, all day, all night, all on the Net.Worse than a sci-fi marathon, only real.

Kat stood on the cliff 's edge next to Johnny and Kelly, overlooking the valley before them. Except for the chirping of birds and the occasional rattle of lizards dislodging pebbles on the rocky surface beneath them, the day was quiet up here in the mountains.

Johnny stood still, breathing in the scent of pines and clean air, staring at the small Colorado town they'd come to see.

Paradise.

A large crow settled on a bare branch to Kat's right, eyed them with a beady eye, and cawed. Its head jerked a few times as it hopped down the branch, holding firm with long clawed feet.
Caw, caw
. Jet black. It leaped into the air and flapped away, calling out over the valley, as if announcing their presence to all who might be interested.

Kelly stood to one side, staring south, not looking terribly comfortable. But Kat hardly blamed her; it had been clear from the beginning that Johnny's hometown held a nearly mystical, very personal place in his mind.

“So, this is it, huh?” Kat said.

He didn't bother answering, because they all knew the question was rhetorical. Of course this was it. The real question was what
it
was.

Upon learning two days earlier about Johnny's occasional pilgrimage to this spot, Kat had talked her way into accompanying them. By helicopter.

“This is it,” he said. “The place where I lost my sight. And saw for the first time.”

Kat looked at the town. A single black strip of asphalt ran down the center, bordered by the kinds of buildings she would expect in any small town like this. A church complete with a steeple, surrounded by a huge lawn. A large community center. Gas station, odd shops, maybe a bar and a grocery store, though she couldn't actually see clearly enough from this distance.

Beyond the center of town, fruit farms filled the valley before it rose again to the mountains across the valley. Several green fields spotted the otherwise wooded landscape. A couple hundred homes dotted the valley, in rows around the town and like scattered seed beyond.

“And why are we here again?”

Johnny swiveled his head and faced her. “Because a very good friend of mine, Samuel, suggested that I have a date with destiny here.”

“Now?”

“He seems to think so, yes.”

“Samuel?” She waited for him to explain.

Johnny frowned. “A friend from Paradise a long time ago. I talked to him yesterday. He would have been here, but he seems to think I should face this alone.”

“Face what?”

Johnny didn't seem eager to elaborate.

“Why can't you just tell me what happened here? You don't trust me?”

Johnny looked at her for several long seconds, then looked down the valley and told her about the birth and death of Project Showdown.

When he finished, Kat stared at him, stunned by his casual account of such improbable events. Who would believe that such books existed?

But then, who would believe that the kingdom of light existed unless they had seen it with their own eyes?

She cleared her throat. “What happened after that? The town doesn't look like it's on its knees any longer.”

“No. No, the town pulled out, but at a high price. And Black escaped unscathed.”

A crow cawed again, but Kat didn't know from where. She was fixed on the town below, mind lost on what must have happened here not so long ago.

“We're linked, Johnny. You know that, don't you?”

“Is that so?”

“You brought me into this kingdom.”

“No, I don't think so . . .”

“And I'm not about to let you just drop me off at the nearest bus station now that we're here.”

A slow grin twisted his lips. “I like the way you speak, Kat. I really do.”

“That's a promise then?”

“It's a promise.”

“What about you, Kelly? Did Johnny bring you into this kingdom?”

She chuckled. “Not exactly, no.”

“But you do believe.”

“Of course.”

“You're with Johnny. I mean in heart and soul.”

“Yes.”

Kat scolded herself for asking such an obvious question that could only be interpreted by both of them as a kind of childish jealousy.

“Not to worry, you two,” Kat said, gazing out. “I'm not suffering from a bout of youthful infatuation. Just to set your minds at ease.”

“Infatuation? With whom?” Johnny asked.

The blind man was indeed quite blind when it came to matters of women, Kat thought.

Kelly was still smiling. “With you, dear,” she said.

“Yes, with you,” Kat said. “I'm sixteen, you know.”

“My, you are a straight shooter,” Johnny said.

It occurred to her that none of this was remotely necessary. She just felt so comfortable around him. Maybe she
was
developing a crush on him.

“Awkward,” she said.

“Not at all,” Johnny said, deadpan. “Thank you for setting my mind at ease.” Then he offered her a smile. “Think of me as your spiritual father.”

That was it, of course. The realization set her completely at ease. And if he was her spiritual father, then she had every right to look out for him as any daughter might. No question was out of bounds. Starting with why he was going to marry Kelly. Just to be sure.

“That's good, because I don't have a father, not one that I know anyway.”

Kelly stepped up, arms crossed, and stared at the valley. “So then, it's begun.”

“So it seems,” Johnny said. “The supernatural reality that so many pretend to believe in has crossed over in physical form. The books did that for us. And now the stage is set for a new kind of conflict.”

Kat's only experience with the kingdom of light revealed in Jesus had been quite physical, but she knew that very few had been exposed to such a dramatic unveiling as she had.

“You don't mean a physical conflict?” she said. “Or do you?”

Johnny nodded at the valley. “What do you see, Katrina?”

“The town that you grew up in. Paradise.”

“But that's the same answer you would have given me two weeks ago. You know better now.”

Realization dawned. “I see a valley filled with the struggle between good and evil. To be more precise, I
wish
I did, because I know it's there even though I can't see it. If you would just open my eyes again . . .”

“So much of what really happens in this world can't be seen with those round balls in our eye sockets. You could pluck them out and still see as bright as day. Or you could walk around with the prettiest blue eyes carved from the sky and be as blind as Black himself.”

“Exactly.”

“The valley is teeming with every sort of wraith from hell you can imagine, you just don't see it. Light defeated the darkness in this valley once, but I do believe that darkness is coming again.”

Johnny frowned. “Samuel thinks the monastery existed for the sake of what will happen here. This final showdown.”

“When?” Kelly asked.

Johnny's jaw muscles flexed. It was always hard to guess what he was thinking because of his dark shades, but that he was emotional about the prospect of returning to Paradise was obvious.