Cut the Dek - Chapter One

 

Cut the Dek

Chapter One

Dek Fox and his partner Noah Stone had been tracking Jared Quinn for months as Jared tried to assume Josh's identity and sneak his way into Dek’s newfound christian life after his life working as a spy for The Legacy had ceased months earlier. Franklin Fairchild, his adopted father and current boss, had been a bit miffed when one of his trusted agents was found to be untoward.

“Still at it, is he?” Franklin asked, peering over Dek’s shoulder into his monitor.

“He’s after her and I can’t figure out why. What does the enemy know that we don’t?” Dek removed his fingers from the keyboard and sat back not in distress but in concern for Faith aka Tori Waters. “As soon as Noah hit town, her life was targeted. She’s been outed in every sense of the word. Even Harry was going to get into the action before we sat him down and showed him the evidence.”

“She uses unconventional ways to connect with God,” Franklin admitted. “That triggers a lot of people to do things they think are right but might hurt her in the process. Jared dismisses his own failings and points them all to her and then takes drastic action on her life.”

“They have to have some sort of device to taunt her. She is getting messages from them without her actually talking to any of them.” Franklin showed Dek a message from Sabrina. “Jared has cloned your phone and has been trying to get to her through your connection with Faith aka Tori.”

“I don’t like this. It’s way too personal. He has to have some sort of foretelling tech that is making him focus on her. She is not the type of person to be a spy or a huge concern to anyone. The gal is practically a saint.”

***

Tori Waters sat in Carillon Park during her lunch hour and watched the influx of people going into Bells Bakeshop. She had been peeking in the windows for awhile waiting for the grand opening and today was the day. She had her camera at the ready since the Beacon’s Light needed a few photos for their online blog. It had been something she’d been managing for awhile. Just small articles about what was happening in town ever since the big paper folded at the end of the year. Pete Trainer had taken over the Beacon and made it into a real big seller which made Tori happy she was able to better take care of Henry, Cassie and Jeremy. Having a full time job really gave her a lot of comfort and a newfound purpose that he life actually had some sort of meaning.

Dek approached from the south of the park and sat across from her on the table. “They are having a special soup and I ordered some muffins to eat as a dessert,” he said. “That sound good?”

Tori smiled. She was getting used to calling herself Tori again. It was like she spent two years hiding from her true self and now she had found her real life with Dek just waiting for her to accept it. “Sounds great. I’m starved.”

Dek reached for her hand and squeezed it. It made her feel so loved when he looked at her like that and showed her affection. How lucky was that she had found such a faithful man to notice her worth?

When the food came, their server was a cute gal from Cassie’s school. Cassie had grown into quite a lovely woman and her husband, Jeremy so doted on her. She smiled at Dek and handed him an envelope. “Some guy asked me to give this to you,” she said handing it over.

The server walked away as Dek opened it to find two playing cards. One was a two of hearts with the word soulmate written on it and the other was as two of clubs with new road opens written in a familiar script he’d come to recognize as Jared Quinn's mark.

“Playing cards?” Tori asked. “That’s odd.”

“You’re right. It is.” Dek took a photo of it with his phone and set it to Echo and Franklin. They would definitely want to see this new strange evidence from the crafty Jared.

Echo came back with a quick message. “You might want to keep an eagle eye on Tori. I think that was a threat to your happiness with her. Jared is not happy she chose you.”

Chapter 9 : Still Listening

 

Faith shouldn’t have been surprised that the North Point ministry was shocked that she had gone to Harmony Church with Harry and Sonny. Harry was guest preaching and Faith had wanted to support him and get to see Sonny in action for the first time. It was a fun experience. Sonny had grabbed her hand and ushered her on the stage to sing a song he knew she would be familiar with. Sonny and Faith had known each other a long time and when he and Trisha broke up, she didn’t feel comfortable going to his church after Compass Point outed her. Now she wished she had gotten up her gumption and started going there. It was so exactly the type of church she wanted in her life.

North Point wasn’t really family-oriented although they liked to say they were on stage. They had built a new facility ten or so years earlier and knowing the size of the congregation they had back then, she realized their kitchen and eating area was way too small for them. It was no wonder they segregated everything Women’s Breakfast, Men’s Fish Fry, Women’s night of Praise. It was during the women’s night of praise she realized that North Point was really all about favoritism and recognition. Dek had his girlfriend, Sabrina as a lead singer opposite him, Norman had Kerrigan, his ex-wife but still close friend, even Ross used his new girlfriend, Jacklyn to replace her to sing So Close a few weeks back. 

It was a bit unnerving when she realized that what she wanted was what North Point might not ever be able to provide her. She longed for the kitchen/gym area like at Compass Point where everyone could congregate and have fellowship time. She missed fellowship. Even the worship team was so big she hadn’t yet met everyone on each team. North Point was so big that they had multiple worship teams. She even missed Sunday School. Now they preferred something called Life Groups where you met at people’s homes to do a bible study or devotion. Those groups were hard for Faith since her trust muscle was fairly bruised as of late.

***

“Why are you looking so sad, son?” Franklin Fairchild asked as he saw Dek watching Faith on the monitor.

“I keep thinking one day that will be me sitting there talking with her and showing her all of this.” Dek turned the sound down. He would listen to this part later.

“She’s not leaving, you know.” he said. “She’s going to Cassie’s church and you may see her back again one day.” Franklin put a hand on his son’s shoulder. “Maybe you should go see your mom for a change. Put your focus on her for awhile. Faith will always be here. She’s not going anywhere as long as Henry’s alive. She’s here for the duration.”

Dek nodded, suddenly thinking about his mom. “It’s time we tell her about Derek.

“She’ll be okay, you know. Your mom is a fighter. Take Martin with you. She’ll dote on that kid. His smile will suck her in and heal her broken heart.” Dek then walked out and Franklin turned to the monitor.

“One day Faith we can tell you the truth about why you are here. Stay safe, honey.”

***

Derek was just as stubborn as he had been in the past. Hughes de Payne observed his from a distance since Derek Fox (aka Harry Denton) had a very keen sense of when a significant person was in his presence.

Dek was there in an instant. The man didn’t miss a thing. “You watching him again?”

Hughes smiled. “Kinda of my job, kiddo.” Harry was sitting with Faith at the Railroad Cafe ministering and pouring sugar on open wounds so old and cracked they feared he’d never heal. “She’s getting through to him.”

“That was the plan, right? To make their paths cross again?” Dek said.

“A lot of her memories from that time were compromised by the enemy. So she has no idea who he is or who he was in her life.”

Chapter 8 : Praise Yourself More

 

Chapter 8 : Praise Yourself More

The Praise Night for the Ladies, at North Point they call the women’s ministry the “Dees”. You know… lay-dees (ladies) Laying it down for the ladies. It kinda went down like Faith figured it would. She wasn’t asked to sing even as a harmony singer and the writing on the wall was getting real loud — we don’t want you, Faith.

Ross Strong was thriving as the new interim and he was being molded to lead but Faith feared her journey here was nearing its end even before it barely began. Cassie and Jeremy hadn’t wanted to attend North Point once Compass Point failed. They decided to go with their friends to their neighbor Sonny Barnes’ church over in the next town called Harmony Church. It is where a lot of the younger crowd attended. The music on the radio was in their services all the time, She was currently enjoying a few of the radio songs like: God is in this Story, Same God and Honey in the Rock. She was tempted to attend a service just to see what it was like.

That thought made her fear another outing. She had been coerced out of her former church due to wanting to see her friend sing who wasn’t even attending the church any more since she had moved out of state. It was sad since Calliope was the one friend she had clung to during her transitions at the beginning of the year. This year had just been one hard struggle after another. God was really testing her faith right now and she was trying her best to be strong.

Harry Denton, North Point’s previous pastor, was as big a fan of the Railroad Cafe as she was. So when she she saw him sitting alone in a booth near the front window, she joined him.

“Fancy meeting you here,” Faith said with a smile. His eyes lifted to hers but his quick grin didn’t light up his face like it usually did. “You okay?” she asked finally.

“I will be. Sometimes life is a journey and I was shoved off at an exit I wasn’t ready to take.” He sipped his coffee and glanced outside, his expression blank.

“I get it, you know. What you’re going through,” Faith said. “And I am pretty much fearing it is about to happen again.Sometimes people aren’t ready for people like us. We connect so easily to God in a world where it seems the devil and his minions reign. We take recognition from them and to them power isn’t in the blood but in the power that blood brings. And that is sad to me. They push Jesus aside and stand ahead of hi saying — my turn, look at me now,”

Harry chuckled. “I definitely see your point. It’s both sad and freeing. In one way i know God is moving me for a reason, just like he is moving you. But my sadness is — did I make an impact for God there at all? Did they see him through me? That is my goal.”

Faith put her hand on his. “I saw him in you.”

Ross Strong came in at that moment with Jackie Townsend on his arm. They made a cute couple. And Jackie was one of the few friends she had made at North Point. She was sad they had used her friend’s success in the worship team to poke at her. That was when Faith knew everything in life had its season.

Jackie and her friend Trisha were both working at dispatch one at the sheriff’s office and one at the police department. With Ross’s focus as a detective he came into contact with both quite often. It was funny how things worked out — almost like it was meant to be, like there was a divine plan or something. Faith smiled to herself as Jackie embraced Harry saying how much she missed him and his sermons which made Ross a bit uncomfortable considering he was the one currently replacing him.

Harry was still attending North Point but mostly at the early service. He had taken up racketball at the new courts at the Rec Center not too far from the church. There was even a rock climbing wall Faith was curious to one day check out. Rock climbing had always been one of her aspirations.

She was feeling good in this moment. It was as if the heaviness of the past was like a veil that lifted letting the four of them walk through. Oh Happy Day stàrted playing in her mind and she knew everything was going to be okay.

Still Faithful - Chapter 7 : By His Wounds

 

Chapter 7: By His Wounds - Faith & Ross, Martin

Faith looked around the Railroad Crossing Cafe and admired their design element. She appreciated when businesses took the time to make the room where their customers sat more appealing to the eye. Ross was quiet as he signaled for the waitress to take their order. Faith had been in the cafe a few times but wasn’t sure what to order. She felt a bit awkward since she hadn’t really spent a lot of time with Ross and personal conversations really weren’t his thing. They had gone to school together, their parents knew one another but they themselves hadn’t hung out. They had been more acquaintances then friends. She struggled with what to talk about and since he was so quiet, she felt a bit unnerved.

“Do you think Dek and Norman plan to use “So Close” in the regular song rotation,” he asked out of the blue as the waitress brought them their coffees and an appetizer to munch on.

“No clue. Their song rotation is a lot different than what I am used to. At Compass Point they paired music with the sermon. Here it just seems a bit more random as if they shuffled their entire song list and picked the first four that showed up at the top.” That fact had always bothered Faith but it was just a thing she had become used to. If you spoke about the scripture about how by his wounds we are healed, why not sing the song By His Wounds?

“Huh, I never really thought about why Norman always asked me about my sermon each week. I guess he was using those insights to pick songs to sing,” Ross said sipping his dark black coffee.

Faith took a mental step back. Talking about Norman wasn’t a topic she wanted to pursue. Ross knew the chasm between them was pretty large. Pastor Chase had left a lot of lies in his wake. The lie about Norman outing Faith being one of them. This was a wound he surely wanted to heal.

***

Martin Steele watched the feed on the surveillance cameras inside the Railroad Crossing Cafe and watched as Faith met with Ross. He had taken up a bit of the Watching of her considering Noah was persona non-grata lately. Franklin had agents out in force looking for both Raymond James Chase and Noah Stone. Noah’s job as a Watcher was over until the day he could explain his and James’ actions. They were supposed to be protecting Faith, not pushing her out and leaving her unprotected. Dek was also going to take up a majority of this surveillance which would test him for sure. He had never admitted to anyone that Faith was the woman he considered his life mate. Admitting weakness by showing love to another person put that person in danger and Dek was keenly aware of that fact which is why he struggled with approaching her even now.

Detective Danny Cornelius had contacted Faith relaying his location at the secret base at Area 51 where he was meeting with Taffy Appleton and Dr. Charlie Jenkins. Both Noah and James had come from this community and getting to know their histories would be very important as a way to think like they would to catch them both.

***

“Heaven’s closer than its ever been.” The words filtered through Faith’s mind. Her inner DJ was reminding her of the song “So Close” and how inspiring and in spirit it made her feel. Having coffee with Ross had been a bit awkward. Faith just wasn’t used to stepping out socially. She had spent so much time at home since her mom’s death two years earlier. It had hit her so hard. So she stayed home more because he was an introvert but also because finding friends had never been her strong suit. She was a perfectly happy and vibrant person but finding connections was so hard for her. She had had this trouble her whole life. So, when her dad started showing signs of dementia out of nowhere, and her niece and nephew came to live with her, Faith knew she had to get her act together.

That’s why the whole “let’s kick Faith out of everything” conspiracy had her so flummoxed. She was so saddened and blown away by the whole situation. James and Noah weren’t around anymore to straighten out the situation so most of her notice was put onto Norman, which she knew was unfair. The distance between them all hurt her since she had felt so close Norman, almost like a brother from another mother. She felt he was one of the few she could connect with. That was why his betrayal hurt her so much. She hadn’t seen it coming at all.

When they all perform “So Close” earlier, it felt to her like a healing was taking place. She didn’t feel that normal distance with Norman. When they would sing this song for real Dek would be singing lead with her and Norman filling in with background and keys. They were so fortunate at North Point to have an amazing worship choir. Although, a few of the gals still hadn’t warmed up to her. I guess that was the way with everything. Not every single person in your world would be your friend or advocate. They were led in song by Norman’s almost ex-Kerrigan. She didn’t know what had happened to break them up, but Faith was still praying for reconciliation. Ross had mentioned earlier in the day he had been planning to approach Kerrigan and join the worship choir. As a new deacon, inserting yourself into the church teams was important part of their ministry.

There seemed to be a lot of churches in transition in the area. Compass Point had closed due to lack if funding. They had discovered where the main leak was and had covered it up with some strong bandaids but that still hadn’t stopped the outflow of cash. It was discovered later that much of their missing money were due to the kicked out people who tithed were no longer there and so neither was their money. Many of the people left had been small young families with little to no extra income. Even families considered really well off were now of the struggle bus.

Chapter 6 : Lost in the Past

Chapter 6: Lost in the Past

"You mean your heart was with Faith and even Alison could tell you weren't invested in your relationship with her."

Dek waited to respond to Norman. "It was never like that with Alison and I. She knew where I stood with Faith. After Ethan died during that stint before the twin towers fell and I was brought in to take over Faith's handling, everyone was so on edge. Even Faith stopped writing. It was heartbreaking to watch her. Ethan and I were pretty close, so I was aware of Faith before Franklin tasked me to take over her protection and be her Watcher. I was halfway in love with her then. " 

"How did you get past the psychological tests. No one in their right mind would put you in charge of her handling if they knew you had feelings for her."

Norman was used to Dek's spy talk. His twin brother, Kevin was Franklin's adopted son.  It had taken years for Norman to track Kevin down. Technically, Faith was his sister, they had yet to discover if it was a blood tie or a soul tie. Not many knew that Faith had been captured in college and many memories extracted from her, including the memories of Kevin, Ethan and The Legacy. 

Dek continued. "Gia was in that accident with Ethan and an experimental chip was used to help her brain heal from the damage. Unfortunately, for her, it saved her memories but drastically changed her personality.  They were all freaked about her so passing that test hadn't been difficult."

After you handed her over to another Watcher when you retired, why didn't you approach her then? Start a real friendship, then relationship? I have seen you do that so many times with perfect strangers."

Dek sighed, "She wasn't ready."

"Says who? The man who has been in love with her from day one? You let that newbie take over her handling. He didn't know what he was dealing with -- you did."

Norman looked so much like Dek most people assumed they were related. They actually weren't st all but had grown up in an unusual community of very secretive people who had a hidden agenda. They were people of high morals that didn't fit into what the world would see as normal.  But their ultimate agenda was to save the world, make the world a better place and kick demons, minions and devils out of people's lives. 

Del could tell Faith's worth the moment he met her. It was a meeting the Black Council had stolen the memory of. Most of her Legacy experience was gone from her mind, but she periodically liked to write in her journal about her spy guys. 

She was such a young kid when he first met her. She has come in with her brother Kevin to live in the Fairchild mansion. No one was sure if they were Franklin's love children or orphans he had saved from unforeseen circumstances. Franklin was pretty secretive about everything concerning his immediate family. 

Dek, Ethan and Kevin used to jokingly call the mansion Franklin's Legacy or Stone House. Kevin was almost ten years older than Faith and she basically stayed to herself not requiring other people to entertain her. 

Many people in The Legacy had some sort of psychic ability. Faith had a legion of angels constantly surrounding her and she was just used to speaking to her angelic friends in her mind. The main problem with Faith's ability was that a legion of demons stood just beyond those angels constantly threatening her life and mental stability. 

If a stranger walked into the room at the moment they would naturally assume Dek and Norman were related. They were both thin but fit and had similarly styled salt and pepper hair. Both had been dark haired in youth and as most people in their late fifties and early sixties, their hair had whitened or lightened in time with each of their life’s struggles. The two of them, Dek and Norman great up in the same unusual very secretive community of people who had a hidden agenda. The residents were of high morals that didn’t always fit into what the world would see as normal. This groups’s ultimate agenda was to save the world, aka make the world a better place kicking the demons and devils out of people’s lives.

Dek could tell Faith’s worth the moment he met her. She was such a young kid back then as she came into their community with her brother Kevin to live in the Fairchild mansion. They jokingly called it The Legacy or Stone House. The thing definitely looked like a castle. Kevin was over ten years older than Faith and even from day one she pretty much just stayed to herself. The reason being, she not only had a legion of angels hovering around her but unfortunately also a legion of demons looking to push her down and use her as an example. And because of this, her life wasn’t always the easiest but Dek made it a mission in his life to watch out for her.

Men always hovered around the outskirts of Faith’s life but none ever seemed to want to commit to her. Her dad, Henry, was old school Legacy who was Franklin’s right hand man. Franklin was the mostly unseen head of the Legacy and the Knights Foundation. few saw him in person but all knew of him and his ultimate power. Franklin encouraged Dek to keep an eye on Faith early on. The man could sense a part of his heart that would never really let Faith go and Franklin counted on Dek being faithful to his adopted daughter.

Franklin had recently assured Dek God was ready to release Faith’s lost memories back to her. He definitely wasn’t sure how that would play out. The Council had been the one to extract them using her old boyfriend who had been ushered into the Council by the Deep State and his own dark legacy family ties. Her old boyfriend was still a money man at heart but the was looking to redeem himself and Dek just couldn’t trust the guy.

Dek wasn’t sure why Franklin was letting the man back into Faith’s life. It would definitely be a shock when he stood on stage for the first time and announced Jim Williams as their new pastor. He wasn’t to come in town for awhile but knowing the man as he did, he feared Jim would make a surprise appearance sooner or later. He was currently finishing up a project in his old church and was coming in town to take care of his ailing parents. Dek wasn’t sure he liked the idea she could find a bit of common ground with a man who had shoved her out in the cold when she was a kid.

Still Faithful - Chapter 5: Mindstorm

 

Chapter 5: Mindstorm

Dek Fox stood on stage and could only watch as his friend, Det. Ross Strong invited Faith out for coffee. Ross had finally taken his chance and asked Faith out. It had been a long time coming and he should have been happy for the man but mostly he was annoyed with himself that he had let yet another opportunity pass him by where Faith was concerned.

Not many knew who he really was. No one thought about spies anymore. Those days were long gone, done and dusted. But one didn’t forget surveillance missions like the one with Faith. He had watched her for decades before an unfortunate accident had taken him out and had his colleague replace him. When you become a Watcher, you tend to get your feelings all messed up since you really don’t know the person you are surveilling, but try explaining that to your heart.

Twelve years ago Dek had moved here and made a home in Park Ridge and North Point Church. He was told to stay away from her but living in the same community seemed the best option for him. Six months ago, Faith had walked into his church and all the breath left his body. What was she doing here? Why had she changed churches? And why was his heart still so invested?

He felt like throwing his guitar across the room but he relented. What good would that do? Plus, he liked this guitar. He ran a hand through his short mottled gray and white hair and sighed. He could see the smug smile on Norman’s face. He was one of the few who knew the truth about him and Faith.

“I take it you didn’t like the “So Close” performance?” Norman asked. “She has a right to be happy, you know.”

Dek sighed. “I know. I know. I have maintained my distance for so long it is hard to take action now that times have changed.”

“They haven’t changed that much,” Norman explained. “Technically, the new guy is still her Watcher. That surveillance mission will never end as long as she is alive.”

“Is he even still doing that?” Dek wondered aloud.

“No clue. He ran away when the whole missing money thing started showing up. He could be following leads for all we know,” Norman said. “We are pretty sure James aka Raymond Chase is the culprit. It’s always the pretty boys, ya know?”

“I thought Ross was following up on that?”

“We set Danny to look up some details,”  Norman admitted. “Hey, I thought you said you were over Faith. Didn’t you move on with Alison?” Norman tried not to chuckle. Alison Corday had been a co-worker back in the day and he had a brief affair with her before they broke it off. Norman couldn’t help but give him a hard time about it. Alison was a twin and the complete opposite of her sister, Kaye.

Dek began to calm down as he gained a handle on his emotions. “We tried to make a go of it but she knew where my heart truly was.”

Still Faithful - Chapter 4 - "So Close"

 

Chapter 4: Ross — “So Close”

Song featured in this chapter is “So Close” by Amanda Cook and Brandon Lake

Ross Strong was touring around North Point where he was soon to take up the deacon position they had currently open. He had done six months of interim work over at Compass Point before they closed which made him sad. There had been so much promise in that church and their old pastor had practically killed it with a few desperate actions. Ross had been on the pastor search committee at Compass Point calling that pastor, and he wondered how such a sly man had passed through all their security checks. As a police officer, it gave him pause and made him more diligent in his own job as a result.

Not many lights were on in the North Point building since only a few rooms were being utilized on this day. He could hear Norman in the sanctuary practicing with Dek Fox. The two would make a great team. Both were musicians and singers. Lots of talented people in their midsts. Faith being one of them. He prayed a majority of the congregation would transition with the staff but he knew a few would make other choices. And he would definitely miss the old church. It had felt like home. He hoped this church would elicit such a response to him. Only time would tell.

As he entered the sanctuary, both Dek and Norman were on stage singing. Dek on his acoustic guitar and Norman playing the keyboard. They had just started into a song the three of them had been considering adding to their current rotation of songs called “So Close.” He could see Faith standing just beyond the stage lights amidst the seats and worshiping to the song. In her hand was a microphone Brady the sound tech had just handed her. She barely noticed him put it into her hand. He sat in the booth gesturing to Ross to pick up the microphone he had laid on the counter next to the mixing board.

He grabbed the mic as Faith walked onto stage as if in a worshipful trance and began to sing the female lead to “So Close.” Ross approached from stage right and stood behind Faith as she began the chorus. Ross sang a harmony part softly behind her.

Heaven's closer than it's ever been

I can feel You so close, so, so close

When it feels like my world's caving in

Oh, God, I need You so close, so, so close

Ross could totally relate to the lyrics as could both Faith and Norman. Their worlds had all been caving in for awhile now. He wasn’t certain about Dek but the song seemed to be speaking to them all.

Faith leaned back and her back hit Ross’ chest. As she turned to look at him their eyes connected and for the first time the bond he had always felt with Faith shone in her eyes. And suddenly the lyrics took on a personal tone. Norman and Dek exchanged glances as the two of them finished the song with a flourish.

“Wow,” Norman gasped. “I think this convergence of our churches is going to be a blessing in disguise.” He wiped his brow. “Did you feel that? So powerful.”

Still Faithful - Chapter 3 - Norman's on the Case

 

Chapter 3 - Norman’s on the Case

Ross and Norman spoke in hushed tones watching Faith and her family for ten more minutes before Ross had to rush off the take a call forwarded to him from dispatch. Norman had recently discovered why Faith had left the church. Norman himself actually hadn’t had anything to do with Faith’s outing and he was ready to approach her. Ross, of course, was totally against it. He was still in wait mode. Norman was tired of waiting, Waiting got them no where. Sometimes you just had to take action and see where life would take you. He just wanted to see if Faith could give him some mercy and be open to talking to him about what had happened. He hated this distance between them.

Ross too wanted Faith back at Compass Point. Norman wasn’t sure Faith knew the old pastor had taken the church funds leaving a nice trail right to her front door but Ross was still in the mode of showing Faith was innocent until proven guilty.

Norman had recently spoken to Hailey, the old pastor's wife, who had returned secretly to town with her two girls. The whole situation was just a mess all around. So much deception that you would think wouldn’t happen in church life, but Norman knew evil still lurked in church halls no matter what they did. The Devil’s minions were everywhere, awake at all times.

Norman approached the house from the back door and Cassie was sitting on the porch as Faith made dinner for her unconventional little family. It probably wasn’t as unconventional as he thought since many people had similar issues to Faith.

“Hi, Norman,” Cassie said so easily. He realized in that moment that kids were so resiliant. 

“Hey, kiddo.” Norman accepted her quick embrace not really looking up from her smart phone. “How’s Faith doing?”

Cassie grimaced. “She’s sad. One or two of the girls at North Point are complaining about her. Aunt Faith is pretty new, and her voice is different from theirs, she likes CCM, they prefer Hillsong. They just didn’t like different. She was the newest one on the team. But Dek, the worship pastor, picked her to be his main background singer. Torked them off, for sure."

Norman spoke to Cassie a bit more then watched her go inside. He asked her not to tell Faith he had come to visit just so that she would’t freak out. Ross had told him Faith thought he was the one who outed her. Of course the wasn’t true. The old pastor had outed quite a few key people before he ran off into the night. No one was aware but Compass Point was closing due to lack of funding after the old pastor stole away in the night with all the church funds. 

In that moment he had a great idea. He needed to use music to send Faith a message that he was still faithful to her and working with her on the worship team. Of course, it wouldn’t be this current team. He and Dek Fox were currently working on a way to integrate both of their praise teams into North Point’s current rotation. That would give them quite a big team of members. They were currently considering whether different teams for each service would be viable.

One of the songs would definitely have to be Still Listening because he was certainly still Faith’s advocate even though circumstances had sullied their friendship. He was on a mission to bring their friendship back to a nurturing place. And truly, he needed Faith’s influence in his life. She and her calm assurance helped to balance his life. Right now the panic attacks he used to experience were starting to return and it really concerned him.

As he walked to his car he knew tonight he would need to pull out his journal and start getting his feelings on paper again. His breakup with Kerrigan was front page news and that too was unsettling. God was hearing his prayers every day, multiple times a day since he was living life in the struggle.

Still Faithful - Chapter 2 : Faith's Journal

 

Still Faithful - Chapter 2 

Excerpt from Faith’s journal

As I sit here watching my niece Cassie thrive after the awful events of the last year that had her acting out and running away from my sister, Andra, she is finally beginning to thrive. I didn’t take her out of the Compass Point Kids since she was doing so well there and even Dad was getting comfort over there from a bunch of ladies over at the Village, a community center for the elderly Norman had put into place after I was chased out. My heart still aches, but I know one day I may be called back there since my heart is still faithful to that community. I can feel myself reawakening and noting the little things again. You know what I am noticing right now? Insights and memories.

I’m recalling how my old pastor would converse with his wife on a Sunday morning. He was all smiles and fun but Hailey was so solemn and sad looking. I continually wondered what was going on there with the two of them. Neither seemed happy just being a couple. They stood apart from each other and it felt so clinical and blank of emotion. I wanted them to be happy, to be that perfect couple who would show the rest of us how to be a couple loving and living with Christ in our lives. 

But there was nothing there to latch onto. No side hugs, or bear hugs, I could totally see Norman being a bear hug type, but my old pastor was just too standoffish. It was quite a difference from when we first called him to church. He proudly showed me his year of sermons in a spread sheet. Totally mapped out and ready to go. Before he left, he had just been phoning in his sermons, no passion for his topic and strangely, re-inventing the same sermons from a year or two earlier. Made me sad. He was just a creative guy who had somehow lost his inspiration not only to lead but to serve his people and city.

I am sitting here wondering how big our church could have been if he hadn’t limited himself to just a certain demographic. He wanted the young and hip people just like him. But young and hip people do not a church make. You need elders with their wisdom and children with their innocent faith in what could be. The man had been so talented and friendly. He had all the aspects to create a mega church. But secretly he was pushing out elderly and older adults to form a specific church. We need all generations to create a balanced church. The young church alone couldn’t keep the church afloat and it began to fail. Then Norman and Ross stepped up after the pastor ran away. The whole thing reminded me of a 4Him song: Future Generations - “I won’t bend and i won’t break. I won’t water down my faith. I won’t compromise in a world of desperation.”

That was exactly what he did. My old phone pastor had compromised his faith. I think we all do that at times, but in his case the kicking out of the older generation hurt his church growth. My old church where I served in a choir did the same thing but in the opposite. They embraced the older generation and kicked out the youth. 

The church is meant to appeal to everyone — to be a shelter in the storm of life. I prayed my old pastor and Hailey would come together and find each other again. I prayed that creative spark would be embraced by his heart in an amazing way and maybe make whatever church he would serve at again be blessed by his obvious talent.

The pastor had outed a deacon right before he left. He said, if you find yourself in a dark place, you aren’t being pushed out by God, you are being planted. Prepare to grow. I am praying Norman and Ross can make Compass Point grow again. And I pray my old pastor finds his inner light, his God spark, and shows the world the man I knew was inside of him.

Still Faithful - Chapter 1 - The Arthur Agency (TIME TUNNEL)

Chapter 1 : 

TIME TUNNEL - The Arthur Agency: A Story of Faith 

“So, we can just break into Faith’s illusion created by the demons?” Toby Jackson sighed, “That is just bizarre!”

Detective Danny Cornelius, part time time walker, opened the time tunnel chamber and positioned them both inside. “This is more of a viewing room into Faith’s story. The demons have been black magic-ed, so to speak, into the story world she is creating. Since so many characters are based on real people, they are able to gaslight her via these same people who have no idea the whispers they are getting in their heads are being used to taunt Faith. It’s all actually doing a number on her mind and soul.”

“Woah, intense!” Toby wriggled in the seat restraints and wondered out loud. “How long does it take to break into someone’s illusion?”

Danny laughed. People always seemed to relate time travel to stories like the Time Machine or Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. But the Sonic Machine gifted to them by the good galactics was very silent and only a green light on the console told him they had entered Faith’s illusion successfully. “We’re here. Technology in our possession is pretty advanced thanks to our galactic friends.”

Toby chuckled, “Galactic friends? Awesome.”

Danny shook his head wondering who Toby was channelling, Bill or Ted. The guy definitely should have been briefed before coming on board the Time Tunnel History Lessons Project or HLP which he frequently noted to himself was the Help Me Project. Time was saying “help me, fix my glitches.”

Standing quietly behind them was Lincoln Linus, one of the galactic managers of the Time Tunnel He was a large black man who wore a pin striped suit he could have pulled straight out of the forties. Linc was just one of many galactics who helped them transverse the time space continuum. The other woman who worked with them was Tessa Wainwright, a lithe platinum hair blonde with a permanent scowl. Not a woman you really wanted to mess with.

Linc spoke up using his intense baritone. “We will begin with entering her real life then show you what is about to unfold,” he said. “She really doesn’t see this coming and we will have to manage this a bit so she won’t go completely off the rails when she discovers Trisha, her good friend in the worship team was the one who betrayed everyone.”

***

Faith Waters could see Norman Baxter getting into the red SUV across the way over at Compass Point Church. He was a fit middle aged man in his fifties who had a bit of gray running through his temples already. Quite a contrast to her hair that only seemed to get darker and curlier over the years. When she had attended CP and eventually served on the worship team, it had been easy to run over to church whenever they needed her. Now her church was across town and not so convenient. Plus, she was only a background singer and not a lead so her burden wasn’t very heavy. She had done that purposely since she didn’t want to unexpectedly fall for someone she knew would never be available to her romantically. Basically, she was just hanging out on the outskirts of her new church life licking her wounds from what had happened at Compass Point six months earlier.

She really did miss the place and the people but Norman had secretly unfriended her from Facebook and kicked her out of all the church’s online groups. She still didn’t know why. Back in February she had wanted to work with the staff after she left her last job earlier that year but quickly felt like an outsider among people she’d known for years.

He glanced her way, his expression blank. Norman’s distance vision wasn’t that good and she was far enough away he probably couldn’t see her sitting on the porch and relaxing after a busy day at work. He was leaving for the day too. She had heard Norman was going to be working with Dek Fox, one of the musicians over at North Point Church where she now attended. He needed insights into what to do with the worship team after the worship leader left shortly after the old pastor. Everyone at Compass Point was still healing and a new minister had been called but he wouldn’t be available for a few months. Her old friend, Detective Ross Strong, who was a current Deacon had stepped up to take the interim position.

Ross Strong in fact was just far enough away from Faith’s house that she couldn’t see his cruiser idling on the street. He knew she was still hung up on Norman so he hadn’t made his intentions known yet. He was definitely wanting to have a more stable relationship with her first then move it on to something more romantic. Faith wasn’t one to just jump into dating without first testing the waters. Her interest in Norman was causing him a bit of panic. Not for his own intentions but Ross was concerned if Norman discovered her crush, he would use it to his advantage

The old pastor at Compass Point was the one who had convinced Norman to push out Faith. Not because of her crush but because Faith was too upstanding a citizen to let go of the fact that the pastor was using the church funds as petty cash and was just about ready to finish his con game and rush out of town, which is what he ended up doing, All the petty cash gone and church funds liquidated. Ross was still trying to find the man and bring him to justice which is why he was here idling at Faith’s house right now. He’d gotten a tip someone might be looking to attack someone from Compass Point and his greatest fear was that Faith had gotten into her old pastor 's crosshairs.

Ross saw Norman get out of his car after pulling up behind his cruiser. The two had become closer friends since he had taken over the interim position and many of the pastoral duties. He relied a lot on Norman since his job as a police detective sometimes took a lot of his notice. Norman slipped into the passenger seat of Ross' cruiser with a friendly smile and a quick question. 

"Hey, boss. What's up?  You get a lead on our old pastor?"

Norman could see Faith through the kitchen window trending to get dad, Henry. Her niece Cassie was focused on her phone sitting at the kitchen table. Henry had gone through a lot since the death of his wife two years earlier. He was now only coming out of the depression that Norman feared may haunt him for the rest of his life. Norman felt for the man.

Ross' answer broke into Norman's thoughts. "Unfortunately, it's not good. DNA tests along with fingerprints came back from the lab. Looks like his name is really Raymond Chase."

Norman cursed under his breath.

"You've heard of him?" Ross asked raising a curious eyebrow.

"I've come across his father a number of times in my previous career. Bailey Chase is the head of a nasty organization known as The Trust. Faith has actually run across them in the past. I never met the man but had heard of him. Not gonna lie, a real sociopath. Half my age and built like a football quarterback" Norman cursed again. "This is not good. No wonder he I insinuated himself into her life. Could be payback of some sort." He paused momentarily. "I'm getting an insight she may have known her old pastor in college. Might benefit is to pull in Jim Williams. "

Norman pulled out his phone and texted Detective Danny to check out the real name of their old pastor asking him to add alias. The response was just a thumbs up. No one knew Norman was also on the Park Ridge PD. He hoped between the three of them and their intern Toby they would get more details on exactly what they had in front of them.

Story insight - Noah - Long Term Op

 I am in a season where my Noah character's fate is being decided. I have discovered there might actually be two different Noah's. One from the past and the current one. Here is the backstory I was creating for Noah as a build up to the new story:

Long Term Op - Noah

I’m afraid I might need to explain myself from the start of this big monologue you are going to witness. I am not a bad guy. Not really. I had a job to do and I did it in service to my country and my God but sometimes what I do is not exactly the most honest or noteworthy. I sometimes have to do what seem to be bad things in order to aim people in the right direction in their lives. That is what happened with Faith. Kind of.

Late in the fall of 1998 I received a message on my old beeper. If you don’t know what they are, they are the communication technology before cell phones. The number was from an old friend of mine and the code was a dire warning, one we had set up years ago. The phone exchange we used was out of service that day. So I had to sneak into the teleconference area to find my message.

To be honest, I was shocked by what he was asking me to do. This person he wanted me to keep track of was a long-term handling job that I wasn’t sure was still being done in this day and age. He must have been following Faith since she was a child. She wasn’t much older than I was at the time. In fact, I had just started my military career and was just a newbie in the time traveling history lessons fix-it program. There is no real technical name for it in the military but Dek worked in a similar vein in a foundation run by some higher ups in Ministry. Ministry is the time traveling Ephesians 6:12 group inside of a bigger group called The Legacy.

I had to be careful because Faith’s old boyfriend’s loyalties were being questioned and he worked in the Legacy. So Dek pulled me in because he trusted me and my honesty. Plus, I owed him my life. More than once, actually.

Fast forward to today. I’m in a bit of a pickle right now. I have had to kick Faith out of my church. It was supposed to be short term thing to protect her but six months earlier she had been cohered out of her job at the newspaper. And now she was in a major healing moment. I have spoken with some Legacy prophets and learned she was working with God doing the obedience to God writing. Somehow Marcus Baal, you know, the Baal from the Bible, had sent some demons onto her with the help of Satan and now I am her biggest enemy. It’s only because Baal and Satan used my image to manipulate her. Now we are having to bring Dek back in to help manage the situation. The guy is retired but he has a soft spot for Faith so he is definitely helping me figure this mess all out.