Chapter 68: The Church

Though the offices were located on the 18^th floor of a downtown high-rise, the Church of the Inner Circle itself was located on a two acre facility off Highway 582 between Vegas and Henderson. It was average size for a church, I guess. I mean it's not like I'd been to that many. A little bigger than the one where I'd met Phoebe not so very long ago. Thinking of Phoebe created a cold knot in my stomach as I paid the cab for bringing me out. Probably best not to think about it. I didn't want to look tense or anxious. It tends to attract attention.

The building itself was all white, a mix of old traditional lines and contemporary materials and styling. The first thing that stood out to me was that the windows were set high in the walls, so that unless the floor was elevated there was no way you were going to be looking in or out, but then, most churches used stained glass or something else on the windows of the sanctuary to eliminate outside distractions. Then it occurred to me that maybe I was just being paranoid. Thinking about the churches I'd seen in my life, including the one where I met Phoebe; they all had windows placed high on the walls. Considering the cost of glass in the early days of the church it was probably to protect the glass. Regardless, it still made me want to sit next to an exit in case of fire, or lightning from Heaven, which I considered even more likely, given the venue. The windows off the foyer were set at a more traditional height and were clear glass, providing a good look at the tastefully appointed and well lit lobby.

One thing I noticed crossing the parking lot and again as I stepped inside were the cameras on the light fixtures in the parking lot and the one monitoring the main entrance, oops, make that two monitoring the main entrance. In addition to the one shooting profiles on the way in, there was a second one catching full face shots as well. Three motion sensors in the lobby, shock sensors on the windows, what else ... pressure plates under the carpeting? Seemed like a little much for a house of God. The cameras themselves were well disguised and I never would have spotted them if I hadn't been spending time with people like Reston and Malloy.

There were greeters in the lobby, shaking hands and handing out fliers as you came in. They seemed to know everyone, greeting many by name as they entered. They certainly had no trouble spotting me.

"Welcome to the Church of the Inner Circle, is this your first time visiting?"

Late twenties, athletic build, nice suit, and an ear-piece. No bulge in the jacket but everything else fairly screamed 'security'. Surprised? Not.

I reached out my hand, "David Malcolm. Yes, this is my first visit."

"We're happy you could join us, David," he said, shaking my hand. Strong handshake, definitely security; the handshake wasn't meant to intimidate but it wasn't exactly reassuring either. "What brings you to us today?"

Marketing research? Checking their advertising demographic?

"I'm in town on business, thinking about opening an office locally, and I find I'm not comfortable in most churches, so when I'm traveling I like to look for new options."

"Well, we're glad you found us," he said. "Would you like someone to show you around?"

I nodded, "Sure that would be nice, thank you."

"April?" he called in a voice just a little too stern to be called friendly. Commanding but not demanding.

I turned to find a young girl in a dress Allison might have worn to Easter services coming toward me. She was almost my height and my first guess would have placed her age at close to mine as well. Once she started moving though I quickly dropped it back down. She was willowy and moved with a dancer's grace. The dress was well designed but it was clear her bust had some help as well. Fourteen tops. Long chestnut hair, a beautiful complexion, and when she smiled, perfect teeth. She dropped a curtsy when she reached us, eyes down and averted. "Yes sir?"

"This is Mr. Malcolm, April. He is new with us today, would you escort him please?"

"I am happy to serve," she said. Then she turned to me. "Hello, Mr. Malcolm, welcome to our church. I am April and I will be happy to be your escort, answer any questions, and assist you in any way. I find it's a good idea to show new guests where the restrooms are first, if you will come with me."

She waited for me to move before turning and leading me toward a hallway on the far side of the lobby. "The restrooms are down this hallway, the men's rooms are on the right. A little further on..."

The tour was short and ended back in the lobby in front of a portrait. "This is our founder and priest, Elliott Bastion."

"Priest?" I asked. "Then you are a Catholic affiliation?"

"No, though many assume so because of his title, but the title of priest goes back far beyond the Catholic faith. Many ancient cultures used the title to indicate their holy men. The word 'Priest' is a translation of course, but it is from these ancient beginnings that he takes the title, for he is the chosen of God, sent to lead us in His way, our spiritual leader and one day guide, to the throne and presence of God."

The tour ended at this point and I was surprised when she did not leave.

"Thank you, April, I don't wish to keep you from your family."

"Sir? We are all family and it is my pleasure to escort you, but if you would prefer another... ?"

Thought so, she was my keeper as well. Stay with the nice young man, make sure he doesn't go anywhere he shouldn't; see or hear anything he shouldn't. I wondered how different her replacement would be if I requested another? I also wondered if she would be punished for failing if I did. Not a risk I was willing to take for the sake of curiosity.

"No, no," I assured her. "I just did not expect to have a private guide at my beck and call for the entire visit. What if I have to use the uh..." I pointed toward the far hall.

"Well, I wouldn't follow you in and hold your hand, but I would see that you did not become lost anywhere on your way there or back, as well as making sure that our exit and re-entry did not disturb the service." Music began playing behind the closed doors. "Ah, it's time. Come with me please and I'll help you find a good seat." She laced her arm through mine and started forward. No one seemed the least bit concerned that this young member of their church was so intimately attached to someone they had never met before.

During my tour, while we were waiting, and even now, as we passed into what passed for a sanctuary in this outer circle of hell, I saw many people that I knew from my research into the group, including Dr. Victoria Essex who was dressed in a skirt suit and apparently having no further problems with her arm. Hightower must have somehow 'healed' the psychic trauma of the dream and restored it. Good to know. I also saw Steven Hendricks and his wife looking every inch the happy couple. One thing I noticed was that there were distinct groupings, reminding me of the lunchtime cliques at school. Like those cliques, there was almost no fraternization outside the group. Apparently everyone had their own circle and were expected to stay there. Or was that their own 'inner circle'?

As we entered the auditorium I was immediately struck by several things. One was the relative austerity of the room. For a church raking in the bucks that this one was, I had expected a lot more. The membership wasn't huge, the total in attendance today not more than maybe a hundred and fifty but based on the IRS figures I had seen; the church had to take in several million a year.

The other thing that struck me was that the layout of the sanctuary was ... unusual. I was halfway down one aisle before I realized what it was. The seating was arranged in concentric circles, or rather, half circles outward from the pulpit. It was not glaring by any means, and from floor level you almost had to be looking for it, but then, I was looking for pretty much anything and everything that might be even a little bit wrong.

The music continued for a few more minutes and then the choir came in. The audience grew quiet when they began to sing. For good reason too, they were very good for a small local church group. I think they could perform almost anywhere, though of course this was Vegas and I doubted there were a lot of venues showcasing gospel music. The music itself was straightforward, exactly what you would expect from any church you may visit almost anywhere in the country. Announcements were made and then their 'priest', attired in simple robes came out. I was expecting that creepy feeling that Phoebe had experienced when she was here but I didn't sense anything out of the ordinary. Yet.

The sermon was very simple, again something you would expect in almost any church in America on any given Sunday. Apparently they had been working their way through the gospel of John and were now into the events of the last twenty four hours before the soldiers came for Christ; the Passover meal in the upper room, the gift of communion and how it had changed the structure of the church. Communion always made me think of the Catholic Church for some reason, even though pretty much every Christian church serves it at least a few times every year.

I'll be honest; I have a problem with the Catholic Church, not Catholic people, just the church. And not even the modern church really, but I often wondered — If Jesus had known about things like the Inquisition or the Crusades, would he have waited in the garden for the soldiers? It's funny; I never really understood how hard that must have been until one night when I was watching television. It was that same science fiction show where I had learned what 'walkabout' meant, different episode, but the same show.

There was a young ... monk I guess. Not a priest or anything, just a low level member of some obscure temple in the future. Anyway, he was talking to someone else about how hard that must have been for Jesus, knowing they were coming for him, and why, and he said he wondered if he would have had the courage to remain. In the end it turned out he did. Apparently he had been a very bad person in the past. So bad that they sentenced him to what was, in their minds, the ultimate punishment; what they called the death of personality. At first glance it sounded like the right to lifers had eventually won out, but at best it was a compromise. The body lived but the person died. Highly trained telepaths gathered up everything you were and locked it away in a little box in the mind, and threw away the key. Then another team went in and rebuilt a new personality, and when you woke up, you were someone else, with no knowledge of your former life, like being born again. Apparently the temple took him in, and only one person knew what had happened to him, what he had been. Well, not specifically who he was or what he had done, but that he had been ... rebooted I guess, and given a fresh start. Anyway, someone figured out who he was and wanted revenge for his past. Eventually they found a way to break down the telepathic blocks so that he remembered who he had been and what he had done. They planned to kill him, but they wanted him to remember first. I mean, what's the point of getting revenge on someone if they don't know why? His new self was so appalled at what he had been that he waited for them to come for him, and didn't fight back when they tied him up, tortured, and eventually killed him.

"Hey? What are you doing?" Jamie asked.

Suddenly I remembered where I was and my attention snapped back to the present. I hate it when I do that. It always seems so ... disrespectful to let my mind run off on a tangent like that when I'm supposed to be learning about God. Not that I was really interested in learning anything this particular church taught, but still, it happened a lot when I was in church, and I always felt bad about it when I eventually caught myself.

Where was I? Oh yeah, the whole time Bastion was preaching I noticed that his gaze roamed over the entire congregation and it seemed that at one point or another he made eye contact with everyone. Eventually, he got around to me.

As soon as his eyes touched mine I felt like I was the only person in the room. My chest felt tight and though my first instinct was to look away I found it hard to do so. Then his gaze moved on and beside me I felt April stiffen slightly.

"Fucking weird!" Jamie said.

"Watch your language," I admonished her, "we're in church."

"Get real bro. Remember where we are. God doesn't live here. I doubt He even visits. What the hell was that?"

"I don't know, but it felt a lot like what Phoebe described, and weird doesn't begin to describe it. I felt like he was trying to look inside of me."

"Yeah, and it felt like if he wanted to and tried hard enough, he just might be able to. Be careful Jimmy, there is a lot more to this guy than meets the eye."

"I thought we had pretty much established that before we got here."

"We suspected something was different about him, something in his mental makeup that kept us from bridging him. Now I'm thinking that's not it, or at least not all of it. If he looks at us like that again, don't try to break away, instead try to hold his gaze longer. I want to see what happens."

"Be careful Jamie, we're on dangerous ground here and we don't know what's going on."

"Duh!"

It took a while but eventually his gaze did come back to us. I didn't have to try to hold his eye; he was working hard at holding mine. The pressure was off the chart, like he was trying to climb inside my head or something. Suddenly I felt Jamie exert herself and jerk my eyes away.

"I know how he does it." Jamie said. "Jimmy, we need to get out of here. Right now works for me, but that's a red flag I don't think we should wave. When he starts his closing prayer make for the door."

"And go where?" I asked. "We don't have a car."

"Shit! Okay, use that as an excuse if anyone asks. We left early to call a cab. Damn it!"

"Why are you so worried?"

"Why am I worried?" she asked. "What, are you kidding? Didn't you feel that?"

"Feel what?"

"Shit! Jimmy, he was trying to plant a suggestion just by looking at us. If I hadn't been here it probably would have worked."

"You're kidding!" I said, stunned.

"No, I'm not. Jimmy this guy can do hypnosis without any of the usual gimmicks. Just making eye contact is apparently all he needs. No wonder he's so fucking good. Jimmy, he does what you do without even touching his target, and he does it while you're both awake."

"You mean like ... mind control?"

"Call it whatever you want, it certainly explains why they couldn't get a conviction. Remember what Rebecca said about supposed eye witnesses recanting on the stand? Now I know why. He told them to! Jesus, we need to get out of here."

"What was the suggestion he was trying to implant," I asked.