have another disaster like the church attack. There are only three of us left. The five cowards who would not fight with us have received their ‘reward.’ We must seek to survive as long as possible so that we can complete our mission, but do not be deceived — you will die today, Saturday, Sunday or soon thereafter. But before you are taken, we will have struck a blow these American infidels will never forget. Those cowards who claim our faith but will not stand with us will know the meaning of terror when they find the remains of the five, just like Farsi.”
In the invisible, Legion smiled approvingly. “They have learned well,” he thought. He watched with anticipation as their Keepers poured the Dark Master’s influence into their hearts and minds. “Death to the children of these infidels” was their mantra; “kill them now before they can grow to be enemies” was their mission.
Already present at Kingdom Daycare were Susan Stafford and Sam Will. They had arrived before 7:00 AM to be visible as the children were dropped off by the parents. At 7:30 AM, they separated, with Susan remaining at the front for any late arrivals and Sam at the back to be visible to the children playing there before formal activities began at 8:00 AM. Susan watched carefully for what she sensed was coming, yet she was strangely at peace.
The forces of light had been active early on this cold Thursday morning. They had awakened believers throughout the world with a compulsion to pray for children. Their prayers moved the Spirit to inspire Susan’s awareness and peace. Those called to pray wondered for whom the prayers had been solicited. Soon, everyone would know.
Air Force One landed right after Susan and Sam arrived at Kingdom Daycare. The president had been successful in slipping out of Washington without notice. As the plane taxied to a secured location under the protection of the Alpha Force, he too found himself strangely burdened to pray for children. So he did.
Back in Williams, an unmarked military vehicle had just picked up the Bookseller
and Paul Phillips at the warehouse to take them to meet with the president. As they left the city limits of Williams, the stolen vehicle driven by Ackmid Hasine arrived at Kingdom Daycare. The three in black hoods rushed from the car to their assigned positions, with automatic weapons raised. Janice Foster screamed and grabbed her child as she saw the three figures, pulling little Todd back into her car and falling on him in a single motion as he cried. Bullets pierced the glass flying over her now prone body and striking the other door. Hasine ran toward the car to finish his kill as the other two momentarily froze to watch.
Susan had seen the men as soon as they left the car and immediately ran from the front door toward them. She fired at Hasine, hitting him twice in the back as he had turned to kill the mother. He fell, hitting the car as the remaining two opened fire, striking Susan numerous times in the chest and legs. As she fell, Sam Will raced around the corner, firing at the terrorist who had been heading toward the backyard hitting him in the chest and face. The remaining terrorist quickly spun and returned fire, hitting Will in the arm, side, and leg. As he fell, the terrorist ran toward the door seeking to complete the job they had come to do. Up from the ground, another shot was heard that dropped the terrorist before he could reach the porch. Writhing in pain and cursing, he was immediately paralyzed as his spinal column was severed and his weapon slid out of reach.
Across the tracks, the gunshots had been heard by the Alpha Force team members assigned to secure College Church for the memorial service, and a strike force was immediately dispatched to address the threat. They arrived moments later, followed by the ITN camera crew who had been setting up for the service. Sam Will had crawled to Susan Stafford, holding her as she whispered, “Sam, there is a letter inside my jacket. Please read the letter. Forgive me. I’m so sorry,” and just like that, she was gone. But the end for Susan Stafford was very different from the two who came to kill the children, for as evil as she had been, she had been made a new creation in which ‘the old was gone.’14 She faced death and judgment as a sinner forgiven.
Sally Johnson and Pete Samson arrived soon after. Medical personnel were working with the critically injured terrorist and trying to stabilize Sam Will’s injuries — which although numerous, were not life-threatening. One medic observed to Sam, “Either you are the luckiest man on earth this morning, or God doesn’t want you dead yet.”
Before they separated him from Susan Stafford’s body, Sam had reached into the inside pocket of her jacket for the plastic bag containing the letter, now covered with her blood. He quickly breathed out the story of Susan’s last moments and gave the unopened plastic bag to Sally Johnson. She wiped the blood off and placed it in her coat pocket to read later.
Emerging from her car frightened and traumatized, but with only superficial wounds caused by the breaking glass, Janice Foster held Todd close while thanking God for protecting them both. Ambulances arrived to remove the two injured men as the ITN camera crew brought the whole scene live into homes across the world. The president had been notified and was watching as the television crew tried to reconstruct during a live broadcast what had just happened. They interviewed anyone who would talk with them and showed the children safe inside the house. America breathed a collective sigh of relief. Those who had been called to pray now knew why and paused to thank God for His gracious protection of the children and for the joy of being called to be a part of what He was doing that morning.
The Secret Service insisted that the president leave for Washington immediately, as they could no longer guarantee his safety in Williams. The president responded firmly and ordered them to stick to the schedule. “I am going nowhere until after the service, and I will speak at the service. You do the best you can, but don’t interrupt the service and don’t unnecessarily inconvenience the mourners. I am not afraid. Don’t be afraid.”
“But, Mr. President,” the chief insisted.
“But nothing,” the president responded. “You go do your job, and if I get killed, blame me. There will be no further discussion on this,” he said insistently.
Janet added gently, “Jeff, it’s alright. We really need to do this.”
“Yes, Mr. President,” the chief responded in surrender and left to organize the impossible.
Still Blind
Across the city behind a small family grocery store, Gloria Morning screamed hysterically as she dropped her garbage bags and ran from the grisly sight which confronted her. There in the large trash receptacle were five headless bodies and five heads. The Williams College students who had sought to house the terrorists but not be involved in the killings had paid the price for fence-sitting.
In Washington, still unaware of events in Williams, Chairman Crow was making his opening statement for the hearings on the dangers of religion and the need to amend the Hate Crimes Act to address the threat caused by religious intolerance. Present and prepared to testify was Williams College professor, Dr. Daniel Thompson, who had been waiting for a stage from which to declare publicly the need to change what he called, “America’s religion-based foreign policy toward Israel” and accept political reality.
Former President Leonard Cox had earlier inked a deal with one of the major networks for an exclusive on his upcoming trip to Syria to discuss the causes of hate with the Sheik in response to his invitation. Majority Leader Howard had called in Harkins constitutional law professor, Dr. Trice, to prepare for the beginning of tomorrow’s judiciary committee hearings on alleged abuses of the government in launching a racially motivated attack on Arab students and faculty members at Harkins.
As aides rushed to pass notes to the participants, decisions were uniformly made to ignore the events in Williams and continue with the hearings. “Don’t be concerned,” Chairman Crow told the majority party members after his introductory comments. “This will be turned to our advantage, but now is not the time to address it and change the focus. The events in Williams this morning are really nothing more than further evidence of the danger of religious fanaticism gone wild. Had the president responded positively to the Sheik’s invitation, this would never have happened. It’s the president’s fault. We have to deal with these people, or the violence will never end.”
Back in Williams, word of the discovery of the five bodies was passed by police