Natesh said, “Okay, we’re ready.” He gestured towards the folding chairs. After they both sat down, Lena said, “Are you okay? Remember, don’t be nervous. Just speak slow and from your heart.”
“Sure thing.”
She looked at the camera. “Okay, I’m here today with Mr. Chuck Beulah. He’s a strong Christian and a patriotic American. And he believes that people around the world should be able to practice their religion without fear of government interference. Isn’t that right, Mr. Beulah?”
Lena had a few names on her list. Chuck Beulah was the first one they had tried. He started off a little shaky, but once he got going, Lena was sure that they would be able to use the footage. That was good. It would save her having to do extra work.
“Yes, ma’am. That sure is right. My church — and my country — are the most important things in my life. I believe in Jesus Christ and the holy God above. Now you look at what those Chinese are doing over there, and it’s a mess. They’re Communist baby-killers. And I think it’s just awful.”
Lena said, “And how do you feel when you hear stories of Christians not being allowed to go to the church that they want to go to? Not being free to practice their Christianity?”
“The Chinese government should allow all Chinese to practice Christianity. Only then, with the help of the Lord Jesus Christ, can China be saved.”
“But what about the Chinese president? He has said that religion can be harmful. That only state-sponsored churches should be condoned.”
“The Chinese president is flat wrong. He’s against God and the people.”
“Would you support removing the Chinese president?”
“Absolutely. If the Chinese president is against God, he should not be in charge of those people over there.”
“Are you aware of the government-mandated abortions in Chinese law?”
The man’s face contorted a little, as if searching which word he should grasp onto. But eventually he found it.
“I’ve heard about all the abortions in China. And that’s what I am trying to make more people aware of. It’s awful. They kill little baby girls just because they want a boy.”
“What do you think should be done about that?”
“Someone should stop those guys! I mean, they’re killing babies.”
“What would you do if you saw someone trying to take one of those poor women and force her to abort her baby, against her will?”
“I would kill ’em. I think those Chinese communist bastards who do that deserve to die.”
“Thank you for your passion, Mr. Beulah. Someone should put a stop to this madness. Tell us about what you do to help Chinese Christians and protect the persecuted.”
Chuck scratched his beard. “I have a website where I blog about these things. And every second Tuesday of the month, me and a few guys from my church, we go up on the corner of Fifth and Main, in town. And we take a megaphone and signs and tell the whole wide world what we know about it. And I do believe that it makes a difference. Maybe not everyone, you know, but even if we can just illuminate a few people’s brains — that’s all I’m saying.”
Lena said, “And what is your religion?”
“I’m a Baptist, ma’am.”
“You are a Christian.”
Chuck shot her an odd look. “Yes, ma’am, I am a Christian.”
“And what do you think about the atheists in China who want to persecute Christians?”
“I think all atheists are going to burn in the eternal fires of hell. Especially those in China, cuz they’re killing all them Christian babies. Atheism is one step away from worshiping Lucifer himself.”
Lena had to be careful here. She wasn’t sure if he’d say it exactly the way that she was hoping for. But editing would take care of the rest. “The president of China is reportedly an atheist. What do you think should be done to him?”
Chuck didn’t disappoint.
“If the Chinese president is an atheist, then he is an enemy of all God-fearing Christians. He deserves to die, just like the rest of ’em Satan-worshippers. He’s part of the problem then. Spreading atheism and killing babies. And now they’re trying to sink our Navy ships and killing our brave armed forces. Damn those bastards to hell. Pardon my French.”
Lena looked back at the cameraman, who nodded. “We’re good.”
Lena slapped her hands on her knees. “Okay. I think we’re done here. Thank you for that, Chuck. You were excellent.”
She turned back towards the van and signaled, and the doors opened. Two of the Chinese special forces soldiers walked toward them.
“Who are they?” Chuck asked, bewildered.
The charter aircraft flew from the US to Mexico, and then to China. The Chinese special forces men had remained behind, meeting up with other operatives in Jinshan’s network. They would be very busy in the coming months.
Dozens of special operations teams would be stationed throughout the United States. Training only at night, in secluded rural locations. Scouting out positions and targets. A gas pipeline. A highway intersection. A radar. So many undefended targets. It was only a matter of which ones to prioritize. But Jinshan had made that decision. The soldiers at the camp in Liaoning were training for their special targets even now.
But Lena didn’t worry about that. She had other concerns. Lena sighed as she looked at Natesh, sitting in the seat next to her. Several rows forward of the drugged and sedated American. Chuck Beulah was a nutjob, as they say. But he would serve a purpose.
Lena had seen how upset Natesh had been after her men had killed Beulah’s wife. But what was Lena supposed to do? The woman had seen them when she’d walked outside, her husband screaming at the sight of her men’s machine guns. The wife had obviously had to be eliminated.
Natesh was a brilliant mind, but intelligence had no correlation with mental fortitude. Everyone had their limits, and Natesh was reaching his. It was time to see how bad he had gotten. From that, she would determine what her options were going forward.
Lena broached the subject delicately. But it was like placing a pin into the skin of a water balloon. Everything came tumbling out. Natesh was sobbing after five minutes. Lena tried to say all the right things. She even embraced him for a short moment. A robotic, empty hug. A check in the box, to let him know that she cared.
“You have to get me somewhere else. I can’t keep doing this. I can’t keep seeing all this violence. It’s not what I wanted. It’s not who I am.”
Lena watched Natesh’s chest heave. He wiped his red eyes and tried to regain his composure, realizing, no doubt, that he sounded like a pathetic child.
“Natesh, let me ask you something. Do you still believe that we’re doing the right thing?”
He looked up at her, a flicker of instinctive worry in his eyes. Then, quick nods. Reassuring words. “Of course. Lena, I know that what Jinshan is trying to do is the right thing. I just… I’m not made for this type of work. Put me somewhere that I can help plan logistics and manage people. Give me a team and I’ll optimize your workforce. But what we did to that man’s wife…”
She fought the urge to roll her eyes. So they had placed two bullets in the forehead of Chuck Beulah’s wife. Get over it already. Lena was glad to see that Lieutenant Lin’s men could obey orders. When Lena had given the word, they had not hesitated to kill the woman. Then they had left the scene quickly.
Lin’s team would need to be careful to keep a low profile on the American streets. Lena wasn’t quite sure when Jinshan would call for the first wave of the strike on America. But until then, she must assume that American law enforcement investigations would proceed as normal. And she didn’t want the FBI looking for groups of Chinese special forces who were killing the wives of crazed evangelicals.