Mark of Evil Read Free Page B

“Just have to be careful. Need to keep an eye on the sky.”
    “The drone-bots have a recognizable pitch to the engines,” Ethan said. “I can usually hear them coming.”
    “Anyway,” Gikas went on, “let’s get back to why you’re here.”
    Ethan jumped to his main point. He explained how he needed assurance that if his Remnant followers joined Jo Li’s underground economy they would not be linked to anything criminal. No dirty money. No tie-in to drugs, prostitution, human trafficking.
    Gikas stretched out his arms in wonder. “What kind of people do you take us for?” He laughed loudly and so did his bodyguard.
    “Ethan March is a guy with principles,” Louder said. “I thought you knew that.”
    “Okay, okay,” Gikas replied. “I know about you people. Goody-good. Nicey-nice. All squeaky clean and talking all about God and Jesus. Which is why I’m happy to tell you that our trading system is completely legit. The people who trade back and forth in our system are just people who didn’t get BIDTagged, and so they need to be able to buy and sell some other way. Jo Li’s system is legal because he found a loophole in the law.”
    “I need to see how his financial system actually operates,” Ethan said. “I need more information.”
    “For that, you will have to talk to Mr. Jo Li himself,” Gikas said.
    “Where is he?”
    “Not here,” Gikas replied.
    “Close?”
    “Not very. Hong Kong.”
    Ethan took a moment to consider that. Then he asked something very different. “Tell me, Gikas, do you believe in God?”
    Louder smiled as if he wasn’t surprised.
    Gikas answered, “Sure. Yeah. Why not.”
    “You don’t sound very convinced,” Ethan said.
    Gikas winked at his bodyguard as he answered. “It’s just that, you know, there’s a lot of unknowns.”
    Ethan asked, “Do you know anything about this huge rock we’re standing next to?”
    Gikas took a step toward the historical marker attached to the outcropping and eyed it. “Yeah, something about Paul the apostle doing something here. Some religious thing.”
    Ethan began to explain how two thousand years ago, at that exact spot, Paul had told the great philosophers of ancient Athens about the God who had been unknown to them but could be known through His Son, Jesus.
    The big bodyguard shuffled his feet and nudged Gikas, motioning with his head, like it was time to leave. But Gikas took a second to study Ethan. “You people are a strange bunch,” he said and thrust an index finger toward Ethan. “I’m going to have to figure you out.”
    “Will you arrange the meeting with Jo Li?” Louder asked.
    “Maybe,” Gikas said with a shrug. “It’s up to him, not me. He’s the big guy. I’m a nobody.”
    “Wrong,” Ethan said with a smile. “God thinks you’re somebody.”
    Gikas was about to reply, but now Ethan hushed him as he held a finger to his lips. He gazed straight up. “There’s a drone-bot approaching. I can hear it.”

    A second later they were all eyeing the sky.
    Ethan searched for somewhere to hide. The high mount of the Acropolis was too far away. He would never make it. Down toward the city? That was a mile at least to the nearest building. Probably more.
    Now they could see the clean white underbelly of the drone approaching their position.
    “We’re exposed!” Ethan yelled. He pointed to the grove of trees off to the side of Mars Hill. “Head to the trees.”
    Gikas yelled back, “They’ve got body sensors. They can still scan us in the woods.”
    As he started racing toward the trees, still limping slightly, Ethan explained, “But the bullets may get blocked by the trees!”
    He watched the drone dropping in altitude over their position. Then the laser orb on the belly of the unmanned attack plane flashed. On the ground Ethan was bathed with red light. “I’ve been painted!” he cried. “Everyone scatter. Get away from me!”
    “Ethan!” was all Louder had time to scream.
    A mere three