Two.
"You're already the sharpest man I know." Audrey leaned into him, slipping her arm around his waist. It felt like heaven.
"Thank you, doll."
One.
"Mr. Berman!" Yonker called.
Audrey squeezed his side a little. Kaldar turned. "Yes?"
Yonker came toward them. "If you folks attend tonight's service, I can see to it that you can come and worship with us tomorrow at the Wooden Cathedral."
Got you, you greedy sonovabitch.
"We don't want to be a bother," Kaldar said.
"Please!" Ed raised his hand, as if blessing them. "As a fellow Christian, I'd hate for you to miss out on the opportunity to witness God's glory. I won't take no for an answer. Tonight at seven. I'll be looking for you."
Fifteen minutes later they were out in fresh air. They stayed in part, strolling leisurely to their Hummer. Kaldar opened the door and helped Audrey into her seat, then unhurriedly got in, started the engine, and pulled away from the curb.
The church disappeared behind the buildings.
"The kids did great," Audrey said.
"The kids did fantastic," he agreed.
"Risky mentioning Magdalene," Audrey said.
"We were losing him."
"Still risky. You take chances, Kaldar."
"Fortune favors the brave."
"Or the prepared." Audrey pulled a prepaid cell from her purse and punched in a number.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Calling Magdalene to let her know we're canceling our evening appointment. Who knows how long Ed's reach is? He might have someone in her office."
JACK watched Kaldar and Audrey exit the building.
"The Witness work is over for the day," Paul called out. "Go on."
The kids around them scattered. Some went back to the dormitory, others headed for the exit. In a moment, only Jack and George were left standing. Farther down the hall, Ed Yonker stuck one finger into his ear and raised his cell phone to the other.
"No dinner today. Sorry, boys." Paul spread his arms. "That rich woman messed up all of our plans. But you had McDonald's anyway."
"It's fine," George said.
Jack grimaced. "Thanks for nothing. We'll be going now."
Paul reached into his pocket and peeled off a small rectangle of paper. "This is the address of the Children Services Center. If you go there and register, you can come here and hand out more flyers. If you do really well, you can sleep in the dormitory here, too."
"Dude!" George leveled a look of pure scorn at him. "We'll find our own place to sleep."
Ed Yonker snapped the cell phone closed and stomped down the hall toward them. A heavy stink of cloves clung to his clothes and hair. Jack moved out of Yonker's way. George occasionally smelled like that after a session in the estate laboratory. Ed was playing with heavy-duty magic.
Ed's gaze snagged on Jack. "You!"
Jack cringed. "I didn't do nothing."
"Leave my brother alone!" George moved forward.
Ed pointed at Jack. "The Berman woman likes you." He turned to Paul. "Clean them up. I need them on their best behavior tonight and tomorrow."
"What? But they aren't registered with the Center . . ."
"I don't give a goddamn if they're registered or not. That bastard Berman is trying to buy the Graham Building from under me. No wonder that slick sonovabitch was trying so hard to slip away. That's fine. He might have fifteen million, but I've got my hooks into his wife. Before long, he'll be signing Graham over to me. Mark my words." Ed stabbed his finger in Jack's direction. "Get them cleaned up, Paul. I want them at tonight's service and tomorrow at the camp front and center." He turned and stomped down the hall.
Paul stared at them helplessly.
"A hundred bucks," George said. "Fifty for my brother, fifty for me."
Haeh-heh. "For fifty bucks we'll be nice to the rich lady." Jack nodded. "She likes my hair."
"And if we stay overnight, we get our own room. With a lock," George said. "And we sleep light."
Paul shook his head. "Fine. A hundred bucks and a separate room it is."
"Deal!" George stuck his hand out, and Paul shook it.
006
THE church service was boring and tedious, Jack decided. George had once dragged him to a lecture Declan's granduncle Tserebus was giving on the practical applications of flash. This was only slightly less dull.
It started exciting enough. Paul herded them into a huge room and made them sit next to Audrey and Kaldar. Jack sat on Audrey's side and George on Kaldar's side. Then a big choir came out and sang "hallelujah," at first quiet, then louder and louder, until Ed Yonker appeared from the back and walked through the aisle, shaking hands and hugging people.
"He thinks he's a rock star," Audrey murmured under her breath. Her mouth was still smiling. Jack couldn't figure out how she could talk like that, with her mouth stretched out.
Yonker kept hugging people until he got all the way to the stage. Then he picked up a microphone and started talking. And talking. And talking . . .
". . . God wants us to live a full life. Let's think about it for a moment. What does living a full life really mean? It means being healthy, in spirit, in body, and in your work. God loves us. And that love, oh that love is all-encompassing. We are His special children. We are the chosen ones." Yonker waved his arm. "God has chosen us above aaaall of his creations. Above the beasts of the forest, above the fish of the sea, above the birds in the air, above the angels in Heaven! God wants us to succeed! Are we a success if we're not healthy?"
Yonker held the microphone out to the audience.
The crowd answered, "NO."
"No." Yonker got terribly serious. "Are we a success if we're not happy?"
"NO."
"If we are God's chosen, than how can we glorify His Name if we're sad and wretched? How can we be a witness to His Power if we are weak and lacking? We can't. We must stand strong. We must stand united. We are the Blessed. We must provide an example of His Love for us, for we are His Will upon this Earth. We must spread His Glory to the farthest corners, so those who don't know Him look at us and seek Him out."
Jack pondered if he could get away with sneaking out to "use the washroom" and decided he couldn't.
"People come to me, and they say, 'Ed, how can we help bring God's will to those less fortunate?' And I say, 'Share. Share the blessings that God bestowed on you. Give of yourself to the Church, and the Church will glorify God in your name.' I will tell you now, those who sit on their checkbooks and hoard their money in their bank accounts, those people do not witness for our God. You must give! Write that check today. Fill out that direct transfer form the children handed you at the entrance. Fill it out and sign your name if you want to go to Heaven, and send it to the business office."