Times of Turmoil: Christian End Times Thriller (Book 1) Read online

  Chapter 23

  Four years later…

  “We’re finally ready for the last phase of all the hard work my grandfather and I have put in these last few decades. With the election of you, David, the last pieces of the puzzle will be in place. How do you feel about finally becoming President of the United States?” asked Michael of David Collins.

  “I’m not the President yet, we still have the Election to go through next week,” argued David.

  “Details, details, don’t worry about that. You’re guaranteed to be the President, neither the Conservatives or Independents have a chance. You’ll get to do whatever you want, especially at the end of your term, when we’ll have a surprise for the American people. You do look forward to that, right? Or, did I back the wrong person from the beginning?”

  “No, no, I’m the guy who you want. So, no need to worry about some silly Presidential Election then? I have it in the bag for sure?”

  “That’s right. My years of hard work setting up the system to rig the elections came to be much easier when electronic voting came into being. All I had to do was get my hackers to hack the system and off we went. Once we’re finally rid of Christians and all those other religious freaks, we can finally do anything we want without someone complaining about it. That’s the final piece of the puzzle to put in and then we get to have all those wonderfully indoctrinated fools out there do what we want, when we want, and how we want. Of course, we’ll make sure the Election looks close enough to be convincing, but not so close that people wonder who really won. Now, go play at campaigning while I finish up my work.”

  A few hours later, Michael was approached by one of his staff, “Sir, we’ve been tracking the Atwood family like you wanted. It looks like Brian’s parents are leaving Delaney for Omaha, at least according to the trip plan they filed with the TSA. Apparently, Brian and his wife are moving into a new home and members of their family are coming to assist. Brian’s parents are by themselves, so is there anything you’d like done to them now that you have the opportunity?”

  “Do we have anyone in the area that is available to take them down?”

  “Um, hold on, Mr. Evans, I’ll have to look it up on my tablet.” a minute later, after looking up names on the wireless device, “There is someone who is available immediately. Would you like me to send an e-mail requesting he take care of the two?”

  “Yes, please do that. Make sure to give him the tracking ID number, the access to the GPS locator, and ask him to record the whole thing so I can watch his handiwork later on. Got it?”

  “I’ve got it, Mr. Evans. Your request has been sent and has been acknowledged by our friend. Do you need anything else, sir?”

  “No, that’s all. Thank you.”

  Two hours later, Michael received an email with videos attached from the man they used to do something about the parents of Brian Atwood. Michael clicked “play” on the first video and it showed the contractor driving a freight truck on Interstate 80, close to Omaha. He was going about eighty-five miles an hour as he came upon his target: a four door sedan that was only going sixty-five. The truck hit the back of the car at full speed, causing the car to start wobbling back and forth, since the driver didn’t seem to know how to counteract the force of the hit. The truck pushed the car out of the way, and the video showed the car hitting the bar ditch on the side of the interstate. The first video ended there.

  The second video was the feed from a camera positioned on the light pole on that interstate put there by the Nebraska Department of Roads. The video showed the truck hitting the car, followed by the car going off the road, hitting the bar ditch at sixty-five miles an hour, causing the car to launch into a barrel roll. The car’s speed took it over the interstate again, into oncoming traffic, where other cars couldn’t get stopped fast enough, and slammed into the car. Michael could instantly tell the parents of Brian Atwood were now dead, even though he couldn’t actually see them, but the way the car rolled and the subsequent hits turned the car into something unrecognizable as a car. The interstate piled up with dozens of wrecked cars, but the only fatality was Aaron and Mary Anne Atwood. Michael was beyond delighted with the outcome and noted in his planner that he should give that contractor more money when the time came for other projects. Michael hoped that this would enable him to corrupt Brian when the time came for him to come to Washington, since he would have no parents to lean on for support when he and his wife needed it. The revenge on the Atwood family for corrupting Jason would be finally over and done with, and Michael was looking forward to that day.

  Aaron and Mary Anne were buried in the graveyard at their church two days later. Brian and his siblings were devastated, since their parents’ deaths came out of nowhere. The driver of the freight truck was never found, but the freight truck itself was found a few miles from the wreck, since it had been stolen from a Flying J when the original driver went in to the truck stop to get something to eat for “just a second” and had left the keys in the ignition. The investigators had no clues as to why Brian’s parents were the only ones run down by the driver who stole the truck, so the case was closed. Brian attempted to figure out who did it through the FBI database when his mind was clearer, but he had no luck either.

  A week later, David Collins was elected President of the United States (continued in Times of Trouble).

  If you enjoyed this story, then please leave a review and please let everyone you know about this novel. Thanks!

  Have you read the rest of The End Times Saga?

  Times of Trouble

  Times of Trial

  Timothy Phillips

  Jon Ryan

  Xavier Doolittle

  Please visit cliffball.net for more information about my novels, read short stories that are on the site, read the blog, and sign-up to get updates by e-mail about giveaways, sales, and future releases.

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  Works by Cliff Ball

  The End Times Saga

  Times of Turmoil

  Times of Trouble

  Times of Trial

  Timothy Phillips

  Jon Ryan

  Xavier Doolittle

  Stand-alone novels/short stories

  Out of Time

  The Usurper

  Shattered Earth

  Beyond the New Frontier

  Dust Storm

  Voyager and the Aliens