Resurrection

Chapter 41 :The Servants of Abraham

This was the vision of Abraham, I carefully folded the crisp page across as I scanned over the large and indiscernible crowd:

"We have heard a message from the Lord:
An envoy was sent to the nations to say,
"Rise, let us go against her for battle"—"

We were exposed to the world and we needed to walk the fine line between fame and infamy as we plotted the next series of events. Timing and some level of tact were part of our strategy and with Beverley as my mouthpiece, we were able to distance ourselves from Ned while also honouring his sacrifice. News of the assault on the terrorist cell was met with an almost 50/50 division among most decent God-fearing Americans, with some labeling us a bunch of fear-mongering cultists while others saw this as an act of vengeance and retribution against the heinous crimes of ISIS or Al Qaeda. Like many of our Islamic counterparts we did not take credit for our violent skirmish nor did we condemn it, allowing members of the public to read between the lines or draw their own conclusions. As a result, membership continued to escalate and the compound required expansion to house all of the new initiates of our congregation. Each of my inner circle was to take on a leadership role and we would branch out further into the Texan wilderness. Each team would operate on a fragmented basis in case of capture.

Yes, Just like a cell... If the system works...

The assault teams were there; David got a promotion. Our hackers were in their silo. The ministry of information were working their magic. Meanwhile, like the military everyone continued their basic training.

We embraced a symbol for our religious order, unlike the Nazis we did not take a Hindu symbol for good fortune, instead we adopted the traditional crucifix but as the hilt to a sword: simple yet effective. As more flocked to our symbol and to hear rhetoric that was quickly blurring from sermons into rallies; we continued initiations, though we didn't always use LSD as our supply was dwindling before the next batch could be obtained. Through another quick skirmish we received the attention of a left of centre politician who was starting to deride our fine upstanding church. How I discovered this tidbit of information was interesting:

***

I was interrupted by a knocking at my bedroom door. My immunity to hymns and gospels was starting to build, however I needed moments to recover from the odd intense migraine and undertake my own unique form of meditation.

I'll let your imagination conjure up what images would relax me.

I was expecting Beverley for her usual sabbatical sensual foreplay, though this time it was Ned's widow Edwina. It hadn't taken much time nor effort on my behalf to lure her betwixt my cotton sheets and around my totem pole. I guess the life of a beard had taken its toll on her and she looked for more organic pastures once the opportunity arose. It took very little convincing, not only did I have status on my side but I looked into her eyes with mine, allowing the intelligent design behind each lens shimmer outwards, entrancing her like Dracula with a certain Lucy Westenra.

It was after another romp in the boudoir that we engaged in the pillow talk that I would normally loathe, however like this case, these moments could be quite useful. It was astonishing the amount of information that would come spewing out of the mouths of those I seduced. Sexual prowess worked like sodium pentothal.

"Well that was more than adequate." I commented.

"Wow Father Abraham, you say the sweetest things." She half choked out in semi astonishment.

I laughed in response to hers.

"Call it a lack of charisma on my behalf." I quipped.

"Well nothing could be further from the truth normally, especially since all of your latest sermons... plus Beverley's input." She said, eyed gazing into mine in search of a visual confession.

She sighed after saying this.
"What troubles you, my child?" I asked. Given the sexual nature of our meeting, I considered this a perverse way of addressing her which again may have made me feel even more like a member of the church....

She interrupted my delightfully sickening thoughts.

"That's the trouble isn't it? As we rise, so do our enemies?" she questioned.

"That was always expected. Not all share our faith and vision for the future." This last little bit particularly tickled my hubris. Again, very little mention of her dearly departed Ned.

"Is there anyone in particular?" I inquired. I half suspected members of the nearby mosque.

"It's a politician, something like Johnny Bridges,  or honest Johnny or something typically corny like that. His base of operations is normally Austin but he's been doing the rounds out this way. I saw him first hand on my shopping trip denounce the Guardians of Christ."

"is that it?" I asked.

"He went on to say that cults like this one would soon feel the wrath of justice and we were all to be thrown behind bars. He said investigations would soon be underway." She continued.

"Unfortunately my dear he is necessary to our plans. Why without the presence of evil can good ever be truly realised." I assured her.

Are you still rolling your eyes, Adam?

While the idea of outside agencies could be of concern, most of this news was necessary to further our cause. These thoughts were interrupted by another knocking on the door and I opened up to another offering from the church, a certain nubile teenage girl easily lured by me and probably shoved along by an enthusiastic mother in the hopes of getting pregnant by the Father. I cast my visionary trance over Edwina and the next sacrifice, and a three-way love tryst was rekindled again. I was hoping for a moment that Adam was enjoying himself in there for once.

Do you hear me you little pervert? Enjoy!

While the flesh of the other two seemed to slap in unison as we blurred into a warped mess of kin-aesthetic energy, I stared through the two female counterparts as if they were merely stale air as I contemplated the next move. Like a good manager of these people, how to delegate appropriately for the best impact was the chief concern. Bond villains liked to stroke cats in these moments. My release was much better and far more cathartic, no matter whether you were truly a saint or a sinner.

After this night of further indulgence, I would launch each of our teams, a multiple headed hydra that would plunge further into the hell of the known and the chaotic. I would not try to react to chaos like so many law enforcement agencies, you either create the chaos or you become part of the maelstrom.