Chapter XX1 Armageddon

By Frederick Rodgers

Adam opens the Holy Bible to the book of Revelations chapter 21. The year is 4013. You might ask how he came to end up two thousand years into the future. This is an exciting story that follows a nuclear submarine across the North Atlantic. A disused Second World War army research base situated in the Highlands of Scotland. An ultra secret meeting held deep in the bowels of the Vatican. It is a fast pace and exciting story that takes the reader on a long and mysterious journey. Follow the strange events that lead to the disappearance of an empty Johnny Walker whisky bottle and the suspicion of a spy in the inner circle. Meet Angus the fiery old Scottish preacher who likes a wee dram and is at the centre of this fantastic mission. Hold your breath as a Roman Army advances on our two heroes’s as they attempt to escape.
I’m afraid that is all I’m going to tell you about this story,
However, if you decide to read my book allow me to first recommend you find a comfortable seat, a glass of single malt, then you will be ready.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Frederick Rodgers
• Release date: Oct 21, 2014
• ISBN: 9781502340863

Frederick Rodgers

I was born in Belfast,Northern Ireland on the 15th January 1939 the last of six children. My mother died on Boxing day the same year and the world was at war again. The job of looking after me fell to Lily, my eldest sister. In 1942 she married a British sailor and took me with her to live in Scotland and later England. The complication with me having a different surname name to Lily caused problems with the issue of ration books etc. In March 1943 I was adopted and my name changed to Cook. I remained with Lily and her husband in a mostly unhappy situation until 1950 when I returned home to Ireland and regained my own identity as Rodgers. The years away from Belfast and family left me as a stranger in my own home. In 1954 I began the process to join the Royal Navy, and on the 14th March 1955 march off to HMS Ganges. HMS Ganges was a boys training camp near Ipswich, probably the toughest naval training camp in England. ( refer to my books for a complete history of my early and tumultuous life). Today you will find me living with my wife Linda of forty four years, in our lovely cottage located in Abram Village. Prince Edward Island. We are both retired and share our time with our two dogs and cat. We have two grown daughters and two wonderful grandchildren. Forgive me if this sounds like a sales pitch, but if you decide to read my books I recommend you begin with 'Lily & Me' then follow with 'The Royal Navy & Me' as it is the sequel.I recommend you read my first work of fiction "Chapter XXI Armageddon`` you will not be disappointedI also invite you to visit my web site at www.irishroversbooks.com and please sign my guest book.

Book preview

Chapter One

Jerusalem 6AD

Abraham shifted his position. He was stiff and cold from the long night of watching his father’s sheep. As the youngest son the night watch was his responsibility, at least it was until he got married. The thought of marriage brought the beautiful Miranda to mind, his neighbor and the love of his life. Fourteen years old now, she was nearing the time when her family would select a suitable union for her. There was only one year between them and Abraham hoped her parents saw him as an acceptable match. He was quite tall and his smooth olive skin was unblemished. Long black hair and deep brown eyes had many a village girl shyly admiring him. He never noticed them, of course. He only had eyes for Miranda. But the important question was, did she love him? Abraham wasn’t sure. He believed she liked him, and often she walked beside him to the temple. She was indeed a stunning beauty, her long silken hair danced about her head as she walked and those sparkling brown eyes were etched in Abraham’s mind’s eye. Her beauty had not gone unnoticed by the other young men in the town, and they would stop and stare as she passed by. However, he was more concerned about the Roman soldiers who leered at her when she went to work at the kitchens of the Consulate General’s residence.

Through his sleepy reverie he became aware that the sun was already creeping over the horizon, its warming rays slowly spreading across the silent land. The sheep began to stir too, knowing that feeding time was near. Abraham watched the changing shadows creep around the surrounding hills as the sun climbed higher in the sky. Soon his older brother would arrive to take over and Abraham could run home for breakfast. In the early morning silence he stood up and stretched his weary limbs, and he turned quickly when he heard a strange sound, not metallic or solid, more like a soft plop. But he couldn’t see what caused it. The land was absolutely silent. There wasn’t a living soul in sight. He strained his eyes, shading them with his hand against the sharp sunlight. Nothing moved, yet he was certain he’d heard something.

Suddenly a glint of light caught his eye, just a few yards from where he stood. Whatever it was, it was sparkling in the bright morning sunlight. Abraham felt an irresistible compulsion moving him slowly and cautiously toward the mysterious object.

It just lay there on its side in the sandy soil, not moving. He had never seen anything like it before. The unfamiliar shape and seemingly transparent material appeared not to be of this world. Abraham was scared and hesitant at first then he slowly bent forward and lifted the strange object off the ground. The surface was cool and smooth to his touch and unlike anything he had ever seen before. He could actually see though the material although the vision was somewhat distorted. The object was comfortable to hold in his hands, a square shape that tapered to a narrow neck with a hole at the top. It must surely be a container of some sort, probably designed for carrying wine or other liquids. There was a strange and unpleasant odor like nothing he’d ever smelled before when he sniffed at the hole. The markings were strange and had unfamiliar, a writing that he could neither read nor understand. Near the center there was what appeared to be an emblem, a flat red square with a figure of a man centered squarely below it. He appeared to be striding across the vessel dressed in the oddest of garments and carrying a weapon of some type. It was the most beautifully crafted container he had ever seen. Yet Abraham’s hands were trembling. What evil magic had caused it to appear here? There was no one in sight. The place was completely deserted. How could it possibly just appear in this spot? Was it dangerous or sinful? What would the High Priests do? Would they punish him for sinning and touching this aberration of evil?

He wrestled with the decision of what he should do, take it home or perhaps just bury it and say nothing. At that moment he heard his Brother Isaac calling out as he crested the hill. Isaac was three years older than Abraham, but not as tall and a little on the heavy side. The girls didn’t look at him as they did his younger brother. Abraham quickly tucked the object in his loose fitting robe to hide it from his brother. They greeted and Isaac handed his brother a freshly baked piece of bread from their mother’s kitchen. Abraham thanked him and turned quickly for home, hoping his brother didn’t notice that he was hiding something in his clothing. Heading down the hill, Abraham wondered if he should tell his parents. Of course, he knew he had to, he couldn’t possibly keep the strange object hidden for long. When he entered the house his father looked up and asked for a report on the wellbeing of the flock. Abraham removed the container from his clothing and offered it to his father to inspect.

‘What is this, son?’ His father turned it over in his hands. ‘Where did you get it?’

‘It just appeared in the field this morning, Father. Is it an evil omen?’

‘Nonsense.’ said his father. ‘This is some new type of vessel for wine, probably something new from the Roman capital. But it certainly didn’t just appear. You were probably asleep when some drunken soldier dropped it.’

Abraham knew not to dispute his father so he said no more about it. His mother took it and placed it on a ledge over the cooking area.

‘It’ll do to keep oil in,’ she said.

Chapter Two.

The Meeting

The buzz of the alarm clock pierced his sleeping brain. Slowly the British Prime Minister became aware of his surroundings as his tired mind oriented itself. Stretching his stiff limbs, he swung his feet onto the carpeted floor and blinked at the bright sunlight flooding through the bedroom window. It was going to be long and really tough day. He needed to find an agreement, some way forward in the crisis that was confronting the world leaders. A special meeting had been planned secretly under the guise of a financial organizational meeting regarding the World Bank. In actual fact all the world leaders would be discussing the dire Islamic situation facing the Christian nations of the World.

The meeting was disguised as financial because no one would be suspicious about that. Finances was an ongoing issue in the Western World for years. However, the real reason was far more serious - how to deal with the rising Islamic terror campaigns across the world. It would not be an easy question to solve, but everyone agreed it was of vital importance. The Christian World was on a serious decline, yet the majority of citizens seemed unconcerned. Unless of course, the violence occurred in their neighbourhoods.

Today’s meeting was planned to be as brief as possible, hopefully with a quick decision reached between the concerned nations. Prime Minister David Logan wasn’t sure how he had ended up as Chairman of this meeting, but it was too late to object now. What was he going to suggest? He’d had several ideas that he squashed as unworkable as quickly as they arose. There was no quick or easy answer to this issue, and with so many politicians attending, could they ever find common ground?

A quick shower and a light breakfast, and David was ready to enter the lion’s den to do battle.

Surprisingly, the meeting was very quiet, no arguments no disagreements. Everyone listened quietly and politely. The British Prime Minister proposed that all the members advise their defence departments to increase their military readiness. Most nations were already increasing their military training, even activating their reserve units. The Western nations were now on a war footing. However, none of these actions was a solution. They didn’t answer the most pressing problem - the rise of Islamic terrorism.

It was clear that the issue crossed from political lines into religious areas. A South American leader suggested they should open a discussion with church leaders. Once more, and to David’s surprise, no one disagreed. This meeting was not going at all as he had expected. A resolution was passed that the Vatican be contacted to review the facts, and hopefully try to offer a solution. After all, this was really much more of a religious issue than a political one. It was agreed that all nations would send their top advisers to the Vatican as soon as a meeting could be arranged. The British Prime Minister stressed that this meeting should also be cloaked in secrecy, and should be arranged as soon as possible.

When the gathering broke up around three in the afternoon, David headed for his office. He wasn’t sure if the meeting had accomplished anything, that by involving the Vatican they had merely passed the buck.

As he was about to enter his office he heard someone calling him, and turned around. Andrew McTavish was coming down the carpeted hallway toward him. Andrew was the elected member for Argyll in the Scottish Highlands.

‘David, would yea have a wee minute to spare? I have a wee request to ask of yea.’

‘Come into the office, Andrew. What’s on your mind?’

‘Thank you, Prime Minister. When you choose the people you are going to send to the Vatican, I’d like you to consider an old preacher from Inverary, Rev Angus MacDonald’

‘Why? Does this man have something special to offer?’

‘Aye well, yea might say so. But you’d no believe me if I told you what it is. These are difficult times so I’m asking you to trust me and send this man with our British delegation.’

‘Okay, Andrew. He can go. But I leave you to make the necessary arrangements, and to bring him up to speed on the details of our delegation. I have to confess, though, I will never understand why you damn Scots always have to do things with such mysterious way.’

‘Och, Prime Minister, do you no ken we have to be mysterious, or you Sassenachs would be taking over and raising the taxes on the price of our whisky?’

Chapter Three

The Vatican 2012

The gathering in the Vatican’s largest chamber was designed and intended to be the most closely guarded secret since the Normandy landings. For the last few hours, men and women from a variety of highly qualified occupations had been arriving from different parts of the world. They came in the dark of night, some disguised as priests or nuns. Others arrived in vehicles with darkened windows. The Swiss Guards were on high alert, watching for unauthorized personnel.

Once the list had been checked and it was confirmed that everyone had arrived, the delegates were directed to their accommodations to relax, unpack and change clothes.

Early the following morning Vatican staff directed them to seats around the table in the cavernous meeting room. As they began to sit down the hum of conversation noticeably increased and reverberated off the huge domed ceiling. Old friends greeted each other with smiles, handshakes and pats on the back. The chamber had taken on the atmosphere of a high school reunion.

A distinct noise at the far end of the chamber caused the guests to turn their heads. The large ornate door of the chamber had creaked open, allowing Cardinal Perrocelli to enter the room. He was dressed in a finely tailored dark blue Italian suit, crisp white shirt and plain tie. The Cardinal was fit and lean and carried his sixty-nine years with an air of confidence and ease. His decision to wear civilian clothes was intended to create a neutral atmosphere rather than one of the Church and Holy City.

The chamber quickly hushed as the Cardinal positioned himself at the front of the room and prepared to speak.

‘Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me