“The sodomites are brazenly flaunting themselves in front of God. The expression on their faces bears witness against them, and they display their sin like Sodom; they do not even conceal it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves. Isaiah 3:9,” the deacon shouted.
Aaron’s heart began to race as he realized what was going down. He lowered his head and put his hands on the keyboard as the pastor’s voice echoed the deacon’s sentiment when he said, “We are to be diligent watchmen, my brethren. It is our duty to sound the alarm. Ezekiel 33:6 says, ‘But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require from the watchman’s hand.’ Brother Langley gave his life for shooting that detestable homosexual who paraded around as a highway patrol officer, flaunting his unnatural desire, and for punishing the other wicked sodomites for their ungodly sins. He was a true disciple and did as commanded by the Lord. The filthy fags will be held accountable for their inequities. Sodomy is punishable by death. We must finish Brother Langley’s work and do as we’ve been instructed and exact the wrath of God for their flagrant displays of homosexuality.”
Aaron’s stomach roiled at the hate coming from these men’s mouths. He rose quietly from the chair, careful not to draw attention to himself as he headed around the other side of the desk and out of the room. He kept his head down as he walked; his entire body shook under the fear of those words.
Luckily, he’d checked the connection to the alphabet boys a moment ago. The computer was recording, and the pastor had just acknowledged knowing what happened to Cody. Hopefully if he left, they would give a full confession in their anger. Aaron had barely made it out of the office, before the pastor’s door slammed shut, closing the two men inside the room behind him. His eyes had to be as big as saucers as he rushed away from that office.
“Josiah!” Julie whispered harshly, catching his attention, motioning him over to her desk. He lifted his eyes to the side outside door, estimating maybe twenty steps to that door. His heart pounded so hard and the blood rushed to his head so fast he couldn’t think straight as he moved toward Julie’s desk. Surely, he could deal with her. He was just so relieved he wasn’t trapped in that room with those radical freaks any longer.
“You must keep what you’ve heard to yourself, Josiah. It’s very important. You wouldn’t have been hired if they didn’t trust you completely.”
Aaron nodded, freaking out a little more, because in his mind, she’d just admitted to knowing what was going on too. He nodded again, turned on his heel and headed for the administration office door. It took everything inside him to walk down the hall—not run—toward the reception area and outside the front doors of the church. As he got closer, Aaron couldn’t resist the urge to bolt any longer. All the hate and malevolence oozing from those supposed men of God freaked him the fuck out. In the battle of good versus evil, Deacon Burns was a vile and malicious force and completely supported by the members of this church office.
Aaron took off running toward the house as Kreed busted through the front door with his weapon drawn. That justified his fear; Kreed would never break cover so completely without a verifiable threat. Kreed never looked his way, his entire being laser-focused on the church. Aaron barely made it up the front porch steps before he saw two large tactical vehicles flying down the street from opposite directions. As he ran past, Kreed backed away, coming inside, slamming the door shut with his foot. Only then did he turn around.
“What the fuck happened? Was that enough information? I tried to get everything I could!” Aaron yelled as his heart raced in his chest. Everything had happened so quickly that his adrenalin pumped, making him a little frantic. Kreed thrust a walkie-talkie and a pistol in his hands, and he accepted them without an argument, gripping the handle of the pistol tightly in his fingers.
“Stay put. Keep the doors locked. Stay away from the windows.” Kreed turned to leave, but Aaron grabbed his hand.
“What’s happening?”
“Whatever you did gave the visual. Helps told Burns to go after Mitch, to take him down and any others standing in their way because they were no more than abominations that needed to be cast into the lake of fire, but Hasselbeck had broken a few minutes before. He confessed what was going on. It all came together at the same time. I gotta go.” Kreed shook Aaron off, yelling a quick “Lock the door” before he left.
~~~
The Midlothian Police Department cruisers turned on the street with sirens blaring about the same time that Kreed ran across the church’s front lawn toward the building. The church was already surrounded with bureau agents and USMS deputies, all swarming both the interior and outer buildings. He stopped by a bureau truck, badge in hand as he identified himself. He pointed his finger toward the house they’d used and quickly yelled, “I need you to watch that house.”
In all his panic to get out here, Kreed had barely tugged the official marshal jacket on, identifying him as a deputy US marshal. The volume of screams coming from inside the building had him ducking while running toward the front doors, weapon still drawn, pointed toward the ground with each step he took.
The scene inside was chaotic at best. Staff members were already handcuffed and sitting or lying on the ground, depending on how much they’d resisted arrest. Kreed was cautious as he walked through the room. He looked down the hall before he continued. Vicious words echoed off the walls, drowning everything else out. The pastor was in rare form, spewing vile Bible verses of hellfire and brimstone. Kreed saw more agents than should have been needed, making him move more swiftly toward the main office. Brody Masters came out the door when Kreed was about halfway down the hall. He was talking into a handheld radio, only pausing when he saw Kreed.