Deceived by Jerry B. Jenkins Page A

the phone and dialed. “Send two guards to my office at once.” He stared at his computer, then looked hard at Natalie. “If you sent this order, then you must have been behind the escape of that teenage boy. …”
    Natalie sat still, trying to come up with a verse about feeling peaceful in a time of great stress. All she could think of was a passage from Isaiah Jim Dekker had included with his last e-mail: “But Lord, be merciful to us, for we have waited for you. Be our strength each day and our salvation in times of trouble.”
    Natalie had wondered how it would feel to be caught. There was a chance she could still talk her way out of this or come up with some kind of explanation, but the more Henderson questioned her, the more her hopes faded. She had helped the Shairtons, Maggie, and the new believer, Manny, escape from the Global Community’s snare. She had also helped Vicki, Darrion, and other Young Tribulation Force members. If the plan in Iowa went through, more lives would be saved. Not bad for a lowly Morale Monitor , she thought.
    The elevator dinged.
    Henderson seemed deep in thought. Then he said, “If you sent this order, then Commander Blakely is phony. And if that’s true, those four people he took from here are loose.” He slammed his hand on the desk. “How could I have been so stupid!”
    â€œIf that’s true and you report it, you admit your incompetence,” Natalie said. “Those orders were placed from your computer. How will anyone know it wasn’t you who made Blakely up?”
    Two guards rushed into the room and saluted. Henderson set his jaw firmly. “This Morale Monitor is to be held in a private cell until we can interrogate her further.”
    â€œWhat’s the charge, sir?” one guard said as he snapped handcuffs on Natalie.
    â€œTreason,” Henderson snapped. “And I suspect her to be a Judah-ite.”
    As they led Natalie to the elevator, she heard Henderson on the phone with someone at the Iowa facility. She prayed that Vicki and the others were already out. Vicki and the group of believers were led through a side door into an outside holding area. She looked past several GC guards to the van in front of the building. Mark walked toward her and nodded. His eyes widened as the believers were herded through the door. They both knew the van would only hold fifteen people. Counting Colin and the others, there were nineteen. Mark went back to the van and said something into his radio.
    The deputy commander and Colin walked outside to count heads. “I don’t think you have enough room in your vehicle for these, Commander.”
    â€œI’m not interested in their comfort during the ride,” Colin said sharply. “We’ll manage. Now, if you’ll open the gate, we’ll be on our way.”
    Vicki sidled up to the dark-haired girl. “The Morale Monitors at the van are believers too,” she whispered. “Tell the others to act like you’re upset that I ratted you out.”
    The girl whispered the message to the others, and it spread through the group.
    The deputy commander nodded toward a guard by the chain-link fence, and the man unlocked the gate and slid it back.
    Vicki pushed her way to the front, and one by one the kids walked to the van. “You said you’d take me separately!” Vicki yelled.
    Conrad shoved Vicki hard. She lost her balance and went down in the gravel.
    â€œLeave her!” the deputy commander said.
    The others piled into the van, some grumbling about Vicki, others complaining about how packed the van was. A few had to sit on the floor to fit inside.
    â€œWhy don’t you leave her here?” the deputy commander said to Colin. “We would be glad to take care of her for you.”
    Colin picked Vicki up by one arm, and she screamed in mock pain. “You’re not putting me in there with those people. They’ll kill