The Regime: Evil Advances by Tim Lahaye, Jerry B. Jenkins Read Free Book Online

kind of naiveté will result in more of the same, Reiche. Get Ion in here. Let us find out if he has an opinion regarding anyone from the bank meeting the other day.”
    “Ion?”
    “Yes! Ion!”
    “Well, I was under the impression he had left us.”
    Carpathia cocked his head. “Left us? Without my knowledge? Impossible.”
    “Actually, I am quite certain. He has taken a similar position with a firm in Moldova.”
    “This cannot be! No notice? No one informing me?”
    “I just assumed that if I knew, you knew. Would not Personnel have kept you in the loop?”
    “Apparently not, Reiche. When did Ion leave?”
    “Just days ago.”
    “No severance, I hope. I mean, not giving any notice. Amazing. Tell me he did not join a competitor.”
    “Oh, he did indeed, Nicolae. I am so sorry you were not informed. I would have told you myself, had I only known—”
    “You should have!”
    “—that you would have been left out of the normal protocol. From now on I will be sure you are kept informed of every eventuality.”
    “Not Tismaneanu. Tell me Ion did not go to work for Emil.”
    “Good call, sir. That is precisely where he has gone.”
    Nicolae stood and slammed a fist on his desk. “Tismaneanu Tech is owned by a crook, and everyone

    knows it. Emil lives here so he can serve in the Adunarea Deputatilor, and yet everyone knows he really lives in an apartment in Galati, just this side of the border from his headquarters in Moldova!”
    Planchette sat nodding solemnly, which only infuriated Carpathia more. If Reiche knew all this, why didn’t he do something about it? Why didn’t Nicolae himself?
    “Well, I am glad he lives here, Reiche. Do you know why?”
    “Tell me, Nicolae.”
    “Because I live here too.”
    Reiche looked blank. What a dolt for a man so revered in spiritual circles.
    “He is looking for a third term as a deputy in the lower parliament,” Nicolae said. “How would he like to be soundly defeated by a newcomer?”
    “You’re not saying—”
    “Of course I am saying! Hold on a minute.” Nicolae sat at his desk and called Corona Technologies in the States. “Jimmy,” he said at last, “Nicolae Carpathia here. All right, I found out it was Tismaneanu who got the contract with you for Europe.”
    “You didn’t hear that from me, Nicolae.”
    Carpathia glanced at Planchette and raised a fist. “No, you are in the clear. But I need to know they have only the oral-cellular deal and are not privy to cellular-solar.”
    “That is correct. I have told no one but you about the latter. And frankly, my people are excited about your confidence in us.”

    Irene was more than curious. She was desperate to know. “Jackie, can people with dementia or even full-blown Alzheimer’s become believers?”
    “In a lucid moment, who knows? It would obviously have to be a work of God in more than one way. They would have to be clear of mind long enough to understand what someone was saying, and that someone would have to be there at the right time. And then the patient would have to be receptive.”
    “You can imagine what I’m praying for, Jackie.”
    “Of course. How bad is Mrs. Steele at this point?”
    “She has the most promise. There’s little doubt it’s Alzheimer’s, but for now she has just short-term memory loss, a lot of confusion. And she’s starting to get agitated.”
    “And Mr. Steele?”
    “We’re losing him. He’s not with us much of the time, but rather than being spaced out like a lot of his fellow patients, he’s upset. It’s as if he knows he should be able to remember things, express things, all that. But he just can’t.”
    “Not at peace then.”
    “Not at all.”
    Carpathia walked Planchette onto a balcony over his veranda. The wind whipped through a cloudless sky, and the sun highlighted the mountain peaks on the horizon.

    “I never asked how you took care of my fathers, Reiche.”
    “It was prudent that you did not. It was one of the most distasteful