But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. – 2 Peter 2:1-3

“As always, we begin at the beginning. Let us bow our heads.” Atticus Stamm held out his arms, palms up, gazing out over the crowd of men. He turned partially to the camera and admired his freshly pressed suit in the monitor.

Stamm lowered his head and closed his eyes. “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, ‘Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.’” Stamm looked up and continued. “Thus it is written in Genesis, the first book of God’s word, and the first mandate to the human race, God’s command to us, our species, to rule over all creation.”

***

In the back of the crowd flanked by her two minders, Bina observed as much as possible. She saw some of the men obey, though a few only half-heartedly, especially those dressed in the military gear holding weapons. She’d never seen so many guns.

Bina discreetly surveyed the assembled crowd. Many people on the edges held up devices, recording the meeting. Two groups that looked like a media crew operated large cameras. A black tarp covered the cage holding Danae. The same flag Bina saw when she arrived hung from the rafters behind the cage, the pine tree with the seven mountain peaks behind and the Latin words.

The young boy from yesterday stood nearby stealing glances at her. She kept an eye on him as she turned to the back of the warehouse to locate the source of the soft moaning behind the crowd.

“And what does that mean for us today, Christian brothers, in a world still steeped in sin and depravity, still ruled by the fornicators and mud people and their dupes and minions?” the leader intoned in a broadcast-friendly baritone, gesturing broadly to the crowd and cameras. “Here, in the True Free States, we have some measure of liberty, thanks to the blood and sacrifices of our brothers and sisters in the never-ending war against the occupiers and their agents. But even with that success, here, in our midst, evil incarnate walks amongst us, protected by the usurpers, the government of the depraved. Our friends and allies worked hard on this special operation and now we have proof of the evil, proof of what the occupation government has perpetrated, proof that demonstrates the justice of our cause, the reason we continue resisting until all our people are free and we can live our lives in holiness according to God’s word.”

Bina struggled to keep her face blank, especially as one of the cameras swept across the group. This is the kind of stuff her mother warned her about, the religious fanatics who persecuted both them and the grendels, latching onto every conspiracy theory to further their own crazy ideas about who should be in charge and how everyone should live their lives. She heard the faint crying again, and when she thought the camera wasn’t on her, she looked behind her, trying to isolate the source.

“What do the Psalms tell us? ‘Out of the mouths of babes and nursing infants, you have ordained strength, because of your enemies, that you may silence the enemy and the avenger.’ Here is the latest example of our strength and proof of what we fight against.” The speaker stepped forward and with a flourish, pulled the tarp off the cage. Danae lay on the floor, still bound. Her eyes were closed, but Bina saw her ears twitch. Was she only pretending to be asleep? Had the drugs worn off?

The crowd murmured and a few stepped forward. The cameras focused on Danae.

“And what was this demon doing? Our warriors captured it in the act of abducting this young girl…” the cameras pivoted to Bina, “…for what filthy purpose, we do not know. But what is certain is that this corruption, this pollution, this foul creation of sin, transgresses in our community, in our True Free States, or anywhere on this godly earth. We will never cease our work to eradicate these demons and overthrow the occupier government.”

The crowd’s attention returned to Danae in the cage. Bina edged toward the doors where she heard the whimpering.  She walked past them slowly, stopping at each to listen, glancing back to make sure she remained unmissed. Finally, she found it. Inside, she heard a deep voice crying, muttering, and moaning with brief interludes of silence. She reached down and tried the door and found it locked. She leaned in to listen better, but the crying stopped. She returned to her place at the back of the group. One of the minders glanced at her, then back to the speaker.

“This is why we fight. This is why we must pledge anew our time, our sweat, our treasure, our blood. We must not falter, we must not doubt, we must not tolerate dissent, for our cause is just and holy. Let us conclude with the words of our Lord and Savior: ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.’” He pointed at Danae. “This is one less snake defiling our home. Let us not rest until they are all destroyed.”

He stared into the cameras striking a fierce, stately pose, then at a signal from one of the camera people, he relaxed and turned to one of the armed men standing nearby.

“Shall we meet now? I have time.” The man nodded, then turned to the other armed men and gave orders. Bina’s minders herded her back to the office and her teenaged guard resumed his post.

***

“I understand you have some concerns?” Atticus Stamm took off his suit jacket and draped it over a chair, then stood behind it, leaning on the seat back. Walter Cortez made eye contact with his lieutenants and jerked his head toward the door. They hesitated, then filed out, leaving the two men alone.

“My men are concerned that we aren’t prepared for the response. This video is going to escalate the situation, and we don’t have all our people in place.”

“I appreciate your attention to the operational necessities. That’s why our coalition unanimously selected you to lead. But that same coalition has additional priorities, some of which are only partially known to us and appear to have time constraints. Remember, ‘Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.’ Our allies and supporters expect us to act.”

Cortez frowned. “What’s the rush?”

“As I said, they are somewhat opaque. I follow my orders, as you follow yours.”

“Our people in St. Marie’s and Spokane report that the tribal militias are mobilizing. Something is going on at Fairchild. And the groups in Moscow are feeling pressured by the Nimiipuu. If our goal is consolidation of the Tri-State Free Zone, we’re not ready yet.”

Stamm paced around the desk, head down. “All that I can tell you is that some of our sponsors are urging haste. Apparently, they see a window of opportunity. The girl was an unanticipated gift. Our intelligence emphasized the possibility of capturing a demon and one of the deviants, not a civilian. The informational value of the two of them together, even if she is mud, is too great not to exploit as quickly as possible.”

“That’s also an issue. Are you sure about her? I have concerns about her presence here, and how long we’re going to keep her. Now that you have your video, both are liabilities.”

Stamm nodded. “We’ll try to get something useful on camera from her, work it in with this footage, then she can be disposed of. We can figure out who to blame. This business with the Catholics presents an opportunity.”

“Is that necessary?”

“They read the wrong scripture, their congregations are full of mud. As long as they are willing to die in the fight against the impurities, they are allies. But when the fight is finished…”

“Their militias are well-funded and equipped. We should proceed carefully with that.”

“We’ll deal with them later.”

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