Hidden Thrones (21 page)

Jack had
no idea what had just happened or what this little encounter was going to cost
him. He was about to get a lesson in how to ruin a wonderful evening in fifteen
seconds.

Emily
stared at him in a way he had never seen before. “What was that?”

Jack,
still in the land of
I Don’t Have a Clue,
said, “Wow, that was pretty
cool, huh? An interview for the Washington Post.”

Emily’s
blood pressure was on the rise. “You do realize that you didn’t even introduce
me to her or recognize the fact that I was sitting here.”

“I didn’t
really have time. I mean, she was just here for a few seconds.”

Emily’s
eyes bored down on him. “You mean you didn’t have time because you couldn’t
take your eyes off of her long enough to remember that I was here. Do you know
how that makes me feel? She looked at me like I didn’t matter to you.”

Jack
wasn’t done digging his hole, his inexperience threatening to bury him. “She
only wanted an interview, that’s all. I think you’re making too much of it. Why
would she look at you that way? She seemed very nice.”

Emily had
had enough. Jack had yet to learn that a man could never defend another woman
to his girlfriend or wife and live to tell about it. Jack had just committed
the cardinal sin of relationships.

Emily
couldn’t believe what she just heard. In her mind, Jack had just chosen this
woman over her. The last thing she wanted was Jack sitting somewhere with this
hot, career woman pouring his heart out and telling his life story when she was
supposed to be the one right in the middle of that life.

Emily
looked at Jack, her big blue eyes softly speaking volumes, “I don’t want to
come off as some kind of jealous freak, but no offense Jack, you didn’t think
that was a little unusual or strange? I know you have over ten thousand
followers on Twitter and nobody believes in what you do more than I do, but really?
The Washington Post? That woman is up to something.”

Jack
might have been a little naive when it came to women, but he was slowly
realizing two things. One, that he had just been set up by an enemy that he was
used to dealing with in a much different way, and two, Emily had proven once
again that she was the one God had put into his life for the long haul.

Jack
reached out and touched her hand. “I apologize,” he said, lowering his head in
embarrassment. “I should have been more aware and I should have introduced you
immediately. I was taken by surprise and I let myself get enamored by all her
compliments. You’re right. Something’s up and I should have seen that.”

Emily
reached out with her other hand, tilted her head slightly, and said, “And...?”
She was waiting for a confession.

Jack knew
what she wanted to hear. It just killed him to have to admit it, “And, because
she was pretty.”

Emily
smiled. “Pretty? She was super hot and you know it. That’s okay this time, Jack
Bennett, but there better not be a second time.”

Emily
leaned in, placed her hand on his cheek, looked deep into his eyes, and kissed him.
Not just a kiss, but a long, incredible kiss. One that let him know that she
was hot too. Of course it also didn’t hurt that Emily knew Lisa, the reporter,
was watching from afar. By the time she let him go, Jack had forgotten about
everything else but her.

Emily
flipped her beautiful blonde hair back over her shoulders. Knowing she had made
her point, she said, “Let’s get out of here and go for a walk.”

“Sure,
that sounds good to me,” Jack said with a big smile on his face. “It’s a
beautiful little town and a really nice night, so let’s go.”

Jack left
cash in the check folder and gave the waiter a nice tip. He always believed in
tipping well. Emily and Jack walked out of The Chart House smiling, hand in
hand. As they walked by Lisa’s table, Jack suddenly felt something in his
spirit. He glanced back at Lisa and gave her a cordial smile because that’s
just who he was, when he noticed something he hadn’t seen before. It was a kind
of shadow or shroud hovering around her. When he looked back again, it was gone.
The Lord had just reminded him that he wasn’t meant to do this alone; that
Emily was a gift He had given to him, and him to her for a multitude of
reasons. Jack had been given the faith to dispose of demons face-to-face, but
the enemy had many more covert ways to destroy a life, and it was apparent that
the Lord had given Emily her own gifts.

Once
outside, they turned and walked along the brick sidewalk on North Union Street
past the Torpedo Factory Art Center. Emily looked up at the two-story building
and noted, “I’ve heard of this place, but never been in it. Was it really a
torpedo factory?”

Jack knew
all about it, of course. He loved history and was happy to be talking about
something else besides what just happened. “Yes, the Torpedo Factory Art Center
was once an actual torpedo factory. It all began the day after Armistice Day, the
day marking the official end of World War I. It was November 12, 1918.  Ironically,
on that day, the U.S. Navy began construction on the original building, the
U.S. Naval Torpedo Station. It was once fully operational. I read that i
t’s now the home to over 165 professional artists who
work, exhibit, and sell their art there.”

Emily gazed at Jack. It never ceased to amaze her how many
different things he knew about. They turned down Kings Street, which was old
town Alexandria's Main Street. It was paved in cobblestones, very picturesque
and historic. It was a beautiful night to walk under an absolute perfect moonlit
sky.

Jack knew
they had a lot to talk about, including the fact that someone very powerful was
having he and Frank followed.

“So, I
have something I have to tell you tonight.”

Emily
kept walking, her facial expression unchanging as she enjoyed the scenery. She
was beginning to expect the unexpected from Jack considering her brief history
with his outlandish adventures.

“Okay,
what is it?” She braced herself.

“Well...”

“You know
I hate it when you start with
well,
but go ahead.”

“Someone
is having Frank and I followed. It started a couple of days ago.”

Emily stopped
in her tracks. “I knew it! It was that day in the café, right? I could tell
something wasn’t right. I half expected you to say something last night.”

“I was
going to, but we were having such a great night.”

Emily
gave him a sly smile, agreeing with him totally. They stopped right in front of
a bench under one of the many trees that lined Kings Street.

Jack
pointed to the bench, “Let’s sit for a minute, okay?”

Emily
looked at him, knowing something big was coming. She sat.

Jack took
her hand and said, “We think it’s Senator Wellsenburg.”

“Oh,
Jack,” Emily gasped, a worried expression crossing her face. “So you guys went
and ticked off a U.S. senator? And not just any old senator, but a powerful and
influential one? Is that what you’re telling me?”

Jack looked
like a kid who just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “Yeah, I guess so.
But there’s more to this than what you might think. There is a good chance the
senator is involved in things that could cost him his senate seat and possibly earn
him prison time. Remember me telling you about that night when Frank prayed and
gave his heart to the Lord?”

Emily
nodded, “Sure, how could I forget that? The night you faced the demon and the
angel came and saved you and Frank. That doesn’t happen to everybody, Jack.”

“Well…” he
caught himself. “Sorry. We believe that the senator is somehow connected to the
demon we saw that night.”

“What?” Emily
sat straight up, her eyes growing wide. “How can that be? How can a U.S.
senator, someone who is supposed to be helping people and protecting our
country be connected to a demon? Jack, this is way out there, even for you. I
mean, I believe you, but wow! He’s the one keeping tabs on you and Frank?”

“It looks
that way.”

Emily
leaned in, grabbed Jack’s hands, and held them tight. “What are you going to
do? Do you think someone is watching us now?”

Jack
wished he had a more comforting answer to give her, but he didn’t. “I don’t
know,” came tumbling over his lips. “There is only one guy following us that we
know of, so I think he’s probably got his eye on Frank more than me right now.
Frank is in D.C. tonight. He might have more information to give me in the
morning. He is meeting with an old friend from The Bureau. Hopefully he has
some insight.”

Emily
needed more. She wanted to know how all this stuff worked. She always prayed
and read her Bible, but this was deep stuff and she needed a more detailed
explanation. She had been doing her best to keep up with Jack, and it wasn’t
like they hadn’t talked about it, but now this was getting dangerous and
personal.

She
pushed her hair back, sat up straight, and said, “Okay, Jack. It’s time. Tell
me how and why this kind of thing happens? I know there is evil in the world. That’s
easy to see, but this is different. I mean, this is in-your-face New Testament
stuff and beyond.”

Jack
smiled and leaned in closer, he was so taken with her. He was amazed the way
God had put them together. Here he was sitting next to this smart, incredibly
beautiful girl who couldn’t get enough of God, and for some strange reason that
he didn’t understand but was truly thankful for, couldn’t get enough of him.

“Okay,
I’ll do my best. Some of this you already know, but I need to start from the
beginning for it to make sense.” He took a deep breath before continuing, “The
world is racing down a road that will soon end in a great battle called
Armageddon. Now just about everyone has heard of that term. To most, it means a
lot of different things: the end of the world, an alien invasion, a great
catastrophe of some sort, and on and on. But, most do not understand that this
coming battle between absolute evil and the Creator of the world was prophesied
about thousands of years ago. Satan is now in the final stages of grooming the
world powers, including the U.S., to ultimately rebel against Christ. He
believes it is possible to defeat God and rule the world and all known creation
by himself.”

Emily’s
eyes widened. She was a little familiar with the subject because of teachings
she had attended over the past few years, but she had never heard it explained
so clearly.  Jack had a knack for teaching and explaining things. She could
listen to him all day.

“Where in
the Bible does it say that?”

“In many
places, in different ways, but one of the oldest writings may be in the book of
Psalms.”

Jack
reached in his pocket and pulled out his phone. It had several Bible apps on it,
along with a ton of his favorite research apps and websites. He paged to Psalm chapter
two and read it to Emily.

“ ‘Why do
the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?  The kings of the earth take
their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his
Anointed One. Let us break their chains, they say, and throw off their
restraints,’” he read. “The scripture is telling us that in the time before
Christ’s return, there is going to be a move away from God and His
commandments. Eventually, the devil will convince the world that they can
defeat Christ and do away with all his moral laws and teachings.”

“Is that
when the Antichrist will come?” Emily asked.

“Yes, but
first Apostle Paul tells us there will be a falling away, meaning that even
Christians who may have followed the Lord at one time will completely fall out
of love with God and go back to their old ways, embracing the message of the
coming world leader.”

Jack
could sense that all this was beginning to really disturb Emily. He sat back on
the bench and put his arm around her. Emily put her head on his shoulder and, looking
up Kings Street towards the Capitol Building, said, “Is that why are we seeing
more demon activity? Because we are getting close to this great battle?”

Jack
kissed her forehead wishing they didn’t have to have this discussion on such a
beautiful evening, but he was well aware how important it was for Emily to
understand what was going on.

“Demons,
fallen angels, and evil spirits have always been around. The difference is that
there are now seven billion people on the planet and a great number of them are
entertaining spirits and inviting them in to their lives - not only individuals,
but whole nations as well. Of course many don’t realize it. I mean, the devil
doesn’t show up in a red suit with horns and say ‘let’s make a deal.’ It
happens when they turn their backs on God and the truth of God’s word. It creates
a spiritual vacuum that Satan is more than happy to fill.”

“I guess
I always knew this stuff existed, but it gets a lot scarier when it’s happening
to you or someone you love,” Emily said pulling Jack in even closer. “But how
can fallen angels and demons materialize as regular people? Is that in the Bible?”

“Yes, it
happened in the days of Noah. Angels came down and took the form of men, took
other men’s wives for themselves, and had children with them in an effort to
take over and rule the then known earth. That was one of the main reasons for
the flood.”