23

 

Lee realized he was observing something in Jennifer’s character he’d seen several times this weekend. If she thought something was right, she did it without hesitation, unreservedly, and unabashedly. There was no holding back with her. Except maybe to forgive someone who was being dishonest with her.

He smiled and vowed, for the second time, to be scrupulously honest with her. There would be no running through the flea cave for him.

Jennifer and Pastor Nelson exchanged a few words. The pastor introduced Jennifer to Mrs. Raugust and then the two women entered the counseling room at the left front corner of the sanctuary.

“Seal the deal,” he whispered softly.

He remembered how close he came to turning down Howie’s offer of his best and brightest computer-security specialist. What if he had refused the offer? The results would have been—they were unthinkable.

He needed to express his gratitude to the One who orchestrated the life-changing events leading up to this moment.

Thanks, for nudging me in the right direction. Several lives have been changed, including my own. I thank You also that many people’s lives have been spared because of Jennifer’s work. But I thank You most of all for the life that is right now being changed forever.

 

****

 

Lee opened the counseling-room door and stepped in. “Mrs. Raugust said you wanted to kill me, or something like that.”

“I was just complaining because no one, including you, told me how simple it was to hook up with God.”

“Your words tend to get pretty violent when you complain, Jenn.”

A voice, vaguely familiar to Lee, came from somewhere near the choir-robe closet. “Violent words, perhaps. But not as violent as the next few moments will be.”

Lee turned towards the voice. “Ram.” Instantly he felt like they were back in Jennifer’s car, being pursued on the freeway. “I thought you went home to Bangalore.” He pulled Jennifer close with his left arm, and his gaze swept the room looking for a way of escape. He focused on the handle of a gun protruding from the holster under Ram’s left arm. He did not want to volunteer any information or say anything to provoke the armed man. “What are you doing here?”

“I told you. I’m going to fill your next few moments with violence.” Ram placed his hand on the handle of the gun. “Did you really think you could escape so easily? And my name is Abdul Matin Kassem. Apparently, you think you have made a new convert to your polytheistic religion. Father, Son, Holy Spirit—three gods. There is only one God. Allahu Akbar! You have done much harm to the cause of Allah, so you both will suffer much. Especially you, Lee.”

Lee’s fear transformed to anger. He clamped his mouth shut, so the words in his mind could not exit. He must not say anything inflammatory.

Abdul’s hand still hadn’t pulled out the holstered weapon.

I’ve gotta keep him talking.

Abdul glared at him. “Move around the corner to the back. Do it, now!”

They began to move and as the distance between them shrank, Abdul pulled the Glock out of the holster.

“To the back.” He replayed those words in his mind.

Abdul’s plan was clear. He would kill them while he was at the back door of the building so he could escape through the alley behind the church.

There wasn’t much time left. Whatever he chose to do must be done before Abdul stepped in front of the door.

Please provide a way for us. At least provide a way for me to protect Jenn and—

“Your suffering will come from watching the new convert, Jennifer, die first. As you are about to see hollow-point bullets can quickly reveal the ugliness behind false beauty.”

No. God wouldn’t allow that. Neither would he.

When the three stopped moving Abdul stood in front of the back door.

Lee felt Jennifer’s body tense. Not the tensing of fear, but the tensing that comes before action. Thoughts flew through his mind, but he couldn’t latch on to any of them. He was on the verge of panic when a moment of clarity came.

Jennifer wasn’t afraid to die. She was going to sacrifice herself. He couldn’t let that happen.

He wouldn’t let Jennifer take a bullet. Not while there was still life in his body.

The barrel of the gun swung slightly off target when Abdul reached behind him to feel for the door handle.

He sensed this was his chance. A soft gasp came from Jennifer when she felt his muscles flex.

She knew and would try to make her move first.

Lee’s gaze was still glued to Abdul.

Will he look back there again?

Abdul took one quick glance to be certain of his position in front of the door. Once again the gun swung slightly off to Lee’s right away from Jennifer.

Jennifer launched her body at Abdul Matin Kassem.

In the same instant, Lee’s coiled leg muscles propelled his body forward powered by fury and desperation. He was stronger. He crashed into Abdul first. The sweeping motion of his left hand pushed the Glock upward and off target. A single shot cracked loudly in the enclosed area.

Lee braced for the impact. When they hit the door he planned to disable Abdul or find a way to get his own hand on the gun.

Their impact with the door never came. Lee and Abdul flew through an open doorway into the alley. They sprawled onto the pavement.

Lee landed on top. He shoved his right hand under the man’s chin. He found a choke-hold on his throat. Anger, fear, and the concomitant adrenaline energized his untrained hands as they squeezed Abdul’s larynx. He was crushing it when two uniformed officers ripped him away.

They subdued Abdul while a third man pushed Lee away from the fray.

A fourth officer grabbed the Glock as it slid across the pavement.

With his chest heaving Lee backed away from Abdul. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Peterson running towards them. He exhaled deeply, releasing much more than just the air in his lungs. Maybe it was all finally over.

“Lee, I’m going to kill you!”

Not everything was under control.

A fifth SWAT team member pinned Jennifer’s arms to her body. She now lay face down on the pavement a few feet behind where he and Abdul fell onto it.

Fear gripped him again. “It’s OK! It’s OK! She doesn’t mean it literally!” He lowered his voice. “She never means it literally.”

“Don’t bet on it!” Jennifer shouted.

A uniformed officer lifted her to her feet, but still kept her arms clamped tightly to her sides.

Peterson stepped in trying to restore order to the scene—order which hadn’t come even though the perpetrator was cuffed and laying on his face in the alley. “Let her go, Officer Ruska,” Peterson’s deep voice boomed. “It’s OK. I know this young lady and, well…” Peterson’s voice softened. “It’s just OK.”

When the policeman released her Lee took a step towards Jennifer, but she ran at him full force. He stuck out his hands to absorb the force of the collision.

She grabbed him in a fierce embrace. Her yelling continued. “You promised! You promised no more chances. No more sacrificing. No—” Jennifer’s protests grew softer and less coherent. They became sobs.

All the tension of the freeway chase and the caves had returned in an instant. It was now draining from her through the yelling, the sobbing, and the tears.

The two stood in the alleyway with arms wrapped around each other and with Jennifer’s head pressed tightly against his chest.

There were no more words.

The alley grew quiet until Peterson, who was standing over Abdul, began barking commands. “Get this man out of my sight. Use whatever restraints you need to keep him under control and…” Peterson paused, “if anybody tries to read him Miranda rights, I’ll have that man’s badge. Is that clear?” Peterson paused again.

Heads nodded.

“Good.”

Peterson’s words sounded distant to Lee as he pulled Jennifer close. Other words—words from Jennifer’s favorite “hymn” found their way from yesterday into his conscious mind. He whispered them softly to Jennifer, “Two hearts are one now.” He didn’t need to interpret. She was a bright woman. She could deal with his double meaning.

Peterson, behind them, spoke their names to someone. “As long as they stay over there don’t bother Lee and Jennifer. They’re not disturbing any evidence.”

Lee placed his hand under Jennifer’s chin and tilted her head upward forcing her to look at him. The large brown eyes could be piercing, but now they were filled with tears. There was no trace of anger left in them. He pulled her close and kissed her forehead.

Jennifer’s words began again, but they came softly now. “I had already made my decision. In my mind it was done.”

“I’m glad it was only done in your mind.” He paused. “So now that you know who you belong to and where you’re ultimately going, you’re fearless?”

“It doesn’t work that way.”

“What you mean, Jenn?”

“The fear was still there, but love overcame fear. Then you spoiled it all.” Once again the fire returned to her spirit and the piercing look to her eyes.

“Oh, brother.” He prepared for round two. “I don’t think I spoiled it. I just tried to do the same thing you tried to do. You can’t blame me for it. But I think God had a better plan all along.”

Her piercing look softened. “And what’s the better plan, bringing Peterson here at just the right instant?”

“That’s part of it. But I think He wanted some new relationships to have time to grow, maybe for a lifetime.”

Lee’s words absorbed Jennifer’s remaining emotions like a sponge. She became limp in his arms.

He supported her for a few seconds.

When Jennifer stood on her own again she kept her arms around him. “Please tell me it’s over—that everything is OK, now.”

“It is all OK now, Jenn, except for one thing. Maybe I’m the one who should get angry this time. I saw what you were doing—what you actually did. Do you know how much you scared me?”

“You deserved every bit of it. That’s exactly how I felt in the cave when I saw what your plan actually meant. You wanted to toy with the goons for revenge instead of getting safely off from the mountain. Don’t ever do that to me again.”

“I’m sorry I made you feel that way. But you don’t have to sacrifice yourself for me to prove you love me, or to prove anything at all. You don’t have to do anything, but just be you.”

“I wasn’t sacrificing myself to prove that I love you, but because I do. You ever heard of Jesus, Lee?”

There was a warm smile on Jennifer’s face and he was already basking in it.

Jennifer was right where she belonged in his arms.

He sighed and relaxed. The stress of their latest brush with death was over. After all they had endured it was hard to believe there would be no more nerve-wracking stress.

The spunky Jennifer Lee had completely fallen for was back. Maybe being forgiven would make granting forgiveness a little easier for her. He hoped so.

Jennifer, with her arms still around him, looked into his eyes and spoke softly. “Lee, one of these days I’m still going to kill you.”

He tensed for another round, but the playful look in her eyes told him the fight was over.

“I’ll bet you say that to all the guys.”

“No. I’ve never wanted to kill any guy but you, Lee.”

“How silly of me.” He looked down at her eyes. “I thought I had a reason to be jealous.”

She met his gaze. “You don’t have to be jealous. I only say that to people I love.”

“If I remember correctly that was the plot of a horror movie.”

“I’m not a character from some horror movie, but I probably should confess that I have a big problem.”

He brushed a wisp of hair from her face. “What’s that?”

“I tend to use hyperbole for effect. You know, a bit too much.”

“Yes, you do. But as long as it’s only hyperbole I forgive you.” He kissed her forehead.

“If it wasn’t hyperbole you wouldn’t get the chance.”

Another smile told him, at least for the next few moments, all was forgiven. Once again everything was good and warm between Jennifer and him. One thing he had learned with Jennifer, any current state of affairs could only last a few moments. In this case, a few wonderful moments.