The Soul Redeemer: From Victim to Victory (20 page)

The detective's effort to calm her didn't work.  Nicole jumped up and started to run out the door, but the men in black stopped her.  She fought against them, trying to break free.  "You don't understand!  I have to get home!  NOW!"

Detective Miller looked around.  The couple had taken their order and left.  The bar tender was in the back room.  He drew close to Nicole and said, "You must quiet down and not draw attention to us." 

Even in her frantic state of mind she thought he must be kidding….like his two bodyguards wouldn't draw attention!  She felt the battle rising up within her.  She suddenly grew very still as the world around her disappeared and she withdrew into herself.  Dissociation was threatening to overtake her mind as she searched for a way to process and handle this new kind of terror, but the defense mechanisms that had worked in the past were not so easily accessible since Jesus had healed her and the parts of her mind that would have taken over, were now integrated within herself.  

She stood unaware of her surroundings as her mind was working hard to make sense out this situation that was beyond her comprehension.  Surely they were all mistaken…. If she could convince that mean man of this, she could go home. 

But wait…Jake thought she was home!  This was beyond comprehension as well!  She wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't heard him say it himself.  But wait…Maybe that hadn't really been Jake.  Maybe it was a recording or a voice imitator and Mr. Polo Shirt was the bad guy trying to trick her.  Surely with advanced technology, something like that must exist.  It seemed like some part of her from deep within was screaming out for her to run, but she was unsure how to get past the men in black.  She was hoping that this was just a nightmare and would all dissipate upon waking. 

She was contemplating how she could wake herself up from this night terror when Maria touched her arm, reluctantly drawing her mind back into the realm of the present unwanted reality.  "Miss Nicki, come.  You sit here.  You have very big shock.  We work this out together, Miss Nicki.  Maria stay with you.  Jesus help us." 

Nicole was unsure if Maria's words about Jesus were a plea for His help or a reminder that He would, but her soft, calm voice and the name of Jesus broke into her thoughts as a thread of hope, and like an obedient child she sat back down at the table.

Detective Miller proceeded to calmly explain what he could.  "I know this is difficult for you, Mrs. Bailey, Nicole.  I'm very sorry that you have to go through this.  I want you to know that I am
for
you, and if you'll trust me, I will do everything I can to help you.  I am working on developing a plan to take down the people who have done this to you, but it is going to require patience, careful planning, positioning and timing.  I know this is hard for you to hear and to believe, but Nicole, if you go home now or even contact your family or friends, you would most likely be compromising our counter operation, not to mention that you would be putting your life and those of your family and others you care about at risk." 

It was all so overwhelming, and she was so tired.  She didn't know what to think.  For some strange reason, she did believe that the detective was trying to help and not harm her.  But who was the enemy?  And what did they want from her?  Why was she such a threat to them? 

It was as if another thought was turning around in her mind, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.  It had something to do with time…  "Detective, what time is it?"

He looked at his watch.  "Eight-fifteen.  I forgot about the time difference between California and Wyoming or I might have tried to put off calling Jake a bit longer."

Now Nicole's mind was truly whirling.  She looked at him in disbelief.  "What did you say?"

"It's eight-fifteen."

"No! What did you say about California and Wyoming?"

"I said that I forgot about the time difference between the two.  It didn't sound like I woke Jake up though."

Nicole's face drained of all color and she felt faint.  She closed her eyes and she did what she should have done sooner.  "Jesus, help me!  I think I'm drowning!" she cried out from the depths of her soul. 

She heard the bar tender greet another local who stayed waiting at the bar for her take out order of coffee and cinnamon roll.  She also heard another familiar Voice.

"Nicole, When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.  When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.” 

She recognized the words from Isaiah 43:2 and knew that she could do nothing but trust the Lord Jesus.  This was the key she needed to use right now.  She opened her eyes and saw the concern on Detective Miller's face. 

"Hey lady, are you ok?  I mean I know you're not, but are you?"  His flustered compassion comforted her.

"Where are we, Detective?  What state are we in?" she asked more calmly than she felt.

"We're in Wyoming.  Jackson, Wyoming.  Which leads me to my next question.  How did you get here, and why did you come here?"

Nicole closed her eyes and slowly breathed in and out before answering.  "We walked all night.  After we got away from Eddie we ran until we were too tired to run, then we walked.  We came this direction because we felt that if we followed the road back to Samaria we would be found.  And here we are." 

She opened her eyes and saw that the detective clearly didn't believe her.

He looked over at Maria who nodded her agreement.  "That's impossible," he said.

"I know.  Which either means that I'm having a crazy nightmare or that we aren't where you say we are."

The detective said, "I know for certain that we're in Jackson, Wyoming because yesterday I was in Samaria trying to track you down, but found your belongings instead.  I flew here this morning.  Just got off the plane in Jackson Hole where I picked up my truck and instead of heading straight out to the ranch, I decided to stop in town and pick up a few supplies.  I was hungry and came in here to get a bite to eat, and here you are, the person I was going to begin searching for." 

He ran his hand over the top of his head, and then shook it.  "Maybe I'm the one having the crazy nightmare."

Maria spoke up.  "With God all things are possible."  They both looked over at her.  She was smiling from ear to ear.

"I know strange things can happen," Detective Miller said without smiling.  "So you thought you were on the other side of the Sierras?"

Nicole nodded at him then asked Maria, "How did you know there was a town here Maria?"

She shrugged.  "Maria just knows in here," she answered as she touched her heart, still smiling.

Still
not
smiling, Nicole said, "I'm going to go find out where we really are." 

She stepped outside the Saloon and took a deep breath of fresh, sweet air.  The hills surrounding the town were not that different than the foothills near Samaria, but as she looked past them toward the mountains, she noticed the snow covered peaks that reached into the deep blue sky that was spotted with banks of large, dark storm clouds, and saw how different they were from her own mountains.  There was no snow on her mountains.  And the sky.  It was big sky.  That was how she had heard Wyoming described, and that is how it felt to her as she looked at it. 

She turned her attention to the picturesque little town that was now bustling with activity.  Several people passed her on the boardwalk but something held her back from asking them what would be a stupid question from their perspective.  She walked a few yards and looked across the street at a sign that read, "
BIG SKY Bait and Tackle Shop
."  She spied a T-shirt hanging in another storefront window that had a large fish and the words "Jackson Hole, Wyoming" printed across the front of it. 

She stood looking at the sign and the T-shirt for several minutes while her brain once again struggled to understand what had happened.  She recalled hearing people on "It's Supernatural" with Sid Roth talk about the Lord transporting them from one place to another; like Philip had been in Acts 8. 

"Is that what You did to Maria and me Jesus?" she questioned.  "Because I can't come up with any other logical explanation for this.  But if you did, why?" 

There was no answer and she turned and went back inside the Saloon. 

"What's the date, Detective?" Nicole asked as she sat back down at the table.

"August 15
th
," he said as he checked the date on his watch. 

"Well, yesterday, August 14
th
, I was at home in Samaria running the Inn.  I know it was the 14
th
because I wrote the date down several times.  I drove into the mountains to take Eddie to his brother's house.  I was supposed to meet Jake for dinner and a meeting, but instead I walked all night through the mountains and now I am in Wyoming.  What do I do with that?"

Nicole wasn't speaking to any one in particular; nor was she expecting an answer.  She was past the denial stage and was coming to a recognition of her situation, if not quite acceptance of it.

"You come with me to my ranch where we can all get some sleep so that we can deal with this more clearly later," the detective answered.  "There may even be some things you can do to help our agency bring these guys down."

Sleep sounded good.  But she wasn't sure she liked the idea of going to a man's house that she didn't know.  On the other hand, what choice did she have? 

"I'd like to speak to Maria alone for a moment," Nicole said.

He closed up the box that held her things, and then he and his men got up and walked over to the bar together with the box. 

"Hey buddy," the bartender joked as he wiped down the counter, "Pickin' up on a couple a ladies, huh?  I'd say it was time for you to make a move." 

The detective mumbled something unintelligible. 

The other man laughed, and said, "Whatever you say buddy.  It's just that I was beginnin' to wonder if you even liked the human race.  Now what can I get for you?" 

Another mumbled answer and another laugh followed by, "Comin' right up."  

Nicole turned her attention back to their situation.  "What do you think Maria?  Should we trust him?  Our options are limited… We could take our chances, leave, and keep on running, face whatever danger we come against in trying to get home, or we could trust the detective to help us."

Maria said, "I think Miss Nicki decide what to do."  She took hold of Nicole's hand and said, "Whatever you do, Maria will go with you."

"But do you think we should go to his ranch with him?"

Maria's answer was to look inside her money pouch.  She turned it upside down and two quarters fell out.  "I paid the bill when you were outside.  We can't sleep in Motel.  We could sleep in park."  She made a funny face as she said this.

Nicole laughed in spite of her anxiety and dilemma.  As crazy as all this sounded, she knew deep down in her spirit that what the detective said was true.  She looked up and nodded at Detective Miller.

He came back to the table and set the box down while he remained standing.  He looked Nicole directly in the eyes.  "Please trust me lady.  I know that you don't know me, but the way I see it, however you got here, you were delivered to my doorstep so that I can help you.  You have to believe that I am doing what has to be done in order to get you back home."

Nicole didn't sense anything bad coming from him.  In fact what he said about her being delivered to this spot for a purpose rang true in her spirit.  She looked over at his two body guards who were still at the bar but who were looking at her as well and their eyes seemed to be speaking security, not fear to her. 

She asked, "Detective, if Maria and I want to walk out of here and never see you again, would you let us?  Do we have a choice?" 

"You always have a choice.  Even when you are being forced to do something, there are choices you can make."  He must have seen the annoyance in her eyes at his avoidance of her question because he then added, "Yes, you have a choice.  If you decide you want to do this on your own, I'll let you.  It would be a mistake, but it's your call."

Nicole looked at Maria for direction, but saw that there was no help there. 

With a deep sigh, the detective answered, "Look lady, I'm not kidnapping you.  I'm trying to help you.  So if you reject my help, refuse to listen to reason and want to stay here, then you are free to go; although I don't know where you can go where you'll be safe.  They'll have an army out looking for you very soon."

Nicole was too tired to think clearly and finally decided that she needed to listen to her spirit.  She closed her eyes and entered into the tabernacle.  "Jesus," she whispered.  "I need help.  I don't know what to do!" 

Jesus was clearly standing beside her, and without saying anything, He placed His hand on her shoulder and poured His peace into her heart. 

Nicole opened her eyes and said, "Ok Detective.  We'll go with you."

He smiled and thanked her for trusting him, then stood up and said, "My truck is right out front."

Nicole suddenly thought of Jo.  "Wait.  Do you know where my dog is Detective?  I was hoping that somehow he had gotten home, but Jake inferred that he wasn't."  A hopeful thought pushed its way through all her weariness and fear.  "You have my things, so do you have Jo too?"