When Rod and Shelby took over the church several years before, it had barely five hundred members. The mostly empty sanctuary was a cavern. It was so embarrassing that curtains had to be drawn to make the large church look much smaller than it really was. Not unlike some hockey arenas that would cover the upper deck to make it look like there's a "capacity" crowd for games or for professional wrestling. But the couple's unique approach to evangelism - which had heavy doses of the Social Gospel as well as common sense about the Bible, tempered by their battlefield and espionage experience - got people to come to their church, largely by word of mouth.

First, it got back up to three thousand, full capacity.

Then it doubled to six thousand and the couple had to have a second Sunday service just to deal with the crowds.

But as the congregation kept growing, Rod and Shelby finally had to get other like minded churches to act as satellite or feeder campuses, with video links via a closed circuit. Even they were stunned when their membership reached fifteen thousand; which is why they hired Ruthie and Peter to join them. They needed licensed pastors on the team, as most of their adjutants were lay pastors who were competent but weren't able to do the most important services of all - marriages. The most important, in Rod and Shelby's opinion, because they were the most visible symbol of two people coming together to create more humans and therefore more servants for Christ.

Ruthie and Peter were delighted to be part of the team. After the disaster of the four churches they got blown over with, they plodded through three Southwest churches who only needed interim moderators until a full time pastor was found. So to finally have a real home, as well as with old friends with whom they shared an unspeakable horror, was a relief as much as a duty. But eventually they got overworked too, and when Felicity and Hope offered to join the team, they were as delighted as Rod and Shelby were - regardless whether Felicity was carrying Peter's children.

The new arrivals also helped Rod and Shelby make a very tough decision easier. The couple had continued to have numerous nightmares from their time in Honolulu as well as in Afghanistan. It wasn't just the ramp ceremonies. It was all the personnel who came to them, in their duties as chaplains, having to hear everything from post traumatic stress disorder to troops who admitted they committed adultery during their times back home between tours - and even with fellow troops during tours. And the more time they spent running between the church and their espionage missions, the more they found they couldn't keep their priorities straight - and the most important priority to them was their daughters, even more than their devotion to Christ.

So during the day between the kids' birthdays and the next Sunday service - the biggest one of the year by far - the couple reluctantly decided to apply for medical discharges. They also hired a lawyer who dealt with military pensions. They had spent thirteen and eleven years, respectively, in the Marines, but given what they had to put up with they would demand a full half pension - which normally would have been given after twenty years. That decision also helped them focus on the last minute arrangements for the next day. As for their spying activities, they decided they'd take a leave until they decided if they wanted to still be spies and if so which agency they would transfer to.

Four times a year, the entire congregation led by the now Gang of Six would meet together in one place. Usually this was at a hockey rink in downtown Saint Louis. However, once a year there was a super crusade at the local baseball field. It was an interdenominational revival meeting, with speakers from the major evangelical and mainstream churches, Protestant and Catholic. More than forty thousand would come there to share their common Christian faith and their love of Jesus. But word was a huge megastar in the First Estate would be speaking that Sunday. And so it was that nearly seventy thousand showed up, with nearly a third of them taking the field.

No one knew who it was - would it be a faith healer, a mundane TV personality, or a singer? Rod, Shelby, Peter and Ruthie were keeping it close to the chest.

At the Sunday service, there was the obligatory Lord's Prayer, then the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by several church and gospel songs. Then, Shelby took the stage.

"Good morning, brothers and sisters," she said. "Thank you all for coming. I am a woman of few words today, because my husband and our fellow ministers think it is better to leave it to our guest speaker - um, speakers. So, please welcome two people who really need no introduction ..."

The entire crowd leaned forward in anticipation. Who could they be?

"The Reverends ... Hope Anderson, and Felicity Foster Hunter!"

The crowd leaped to their feet and started cheering as the ministers walked their way out of the visitor's dugout and down the aisle to the stage, glad-handing those who were reaching out over the crowd barriers and high-fiving everyone they could. The cheers got louder and louder, and when the women made it to the stage, it became a roar. The ovation lasted a full five minutes.

When it finally settled down, it was Hope who spoke first.

The same day as the birthday party for the children, Hope sent a terse e-mail to her parents saying she was resigning from their ministry and a third party would collect her belongings. Harrison and Prudence in turn posted a notice on their website consisting of just two sentences: "Our daughter, Hope Anderson, has ended her employment and her ministry with Grace is Yours Ministries. We wish her well in her future endeavors." Making it sound like she had been fired.

It didn't matter, however, because Hope was ready to say what she always really wanted to say. And Ruthie and Peter, Rod and Shelby, and Felicity too, knew what she wanted to say. In a ten minute screed, she thoroughly denounced her parents and their perverted interpretation of the already heretical Word of Faith, and added they were being investigated for child abuse - much to the dismay of the state district attorney, who was still pursuing the matter and just happened to attend the service that morning. And then she dropped the real bombshell.

"I know there are a lot of people here who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered," Hope said. "You have always been my brothers and sisters as much as those who are straight. But I as a straight woman, and I'm sure all of you regardless of your orientation, will not tolerate hypocrites who will say one thing and do another. So I'm just going to have to say it. I cannot say for sure if my parents are pedophiles. I hope to God they aren't.

"But one thing I know for sure: My parents are gay - both of them - and I can prove it! And I can prove they are into orgies as well!"

Hope paused. There was dead silence from the crowd for nearly ten seconds. Finally, from behind her came a shout of "NO WAY!"

Hope turned around. The voice was that of the Roman Catholic cardinal in the city. He had always disdained the Andersons if for no other reason than they peeled many parishioners from the churches in his diocese, but he wasn't expecting this.

"Way, Your Eminence," said Hope, turning askance to address him directly. "I've held this secret for so many years that I am embarrassed to even say it now. But it's time to take out the trash.

"You, sir, have done a great job of getting rid of the rot - unlike, respectfully, some of your fellow bishops. Since this is my parents' hometown, and mine, I am asking - no, pleading - for your and your colleagues' help. If my parents are indeed what their accusers are saying they are, then I'm going to need all the help, because I am now a marked woman for speaking the truth. I know you may have misgivings since I am woman who is also a minister -"

"Nonsense," interrupted the cardinal. "Abuse is abuse, and if it means taking down your parents, presuming the allegations are true, then you will have my full assistance and that of the Chancellor - the diocese's chief financial officer, who happens to be a woman herself. I tolerate neither abusers nor hypocrites.

"Besides, as a licensed minister, I have a legal obligation to report any allegations of abuse to the police and Child Protection Services. Protecting children is even more important to me than performing marriages for those who will create children - if a child hurts, then so do I. I take it personally since my twin sister, who is now in Congress, was raped by a religious brother decades ago. I promise you, Reverend, my fellow brothers - and sisters - in Christ on this stage, have your and Miss Hunter's backs."

The crowd rose and applauded the cardinal.

"Thank you sir," said Hope, relieved. Turning back towards the crowd in the field, she continued: "Well, I wanted to keep it at that, but you all have a right to know who my parents are and what I am dealing with. But my comments are being kept short today because I know you want to hear from my sister in the Blood of the Lamb, so without further ado to deliver today's sermon ... heeeeeeere's Felicity!"

The crowd started cheering and chanted, "Hunter! Hunter! Hunter!" It took two minutes for the din to die down, but finally Felicity spoke. In her soft but still evident Southern accent, she began by saying:

"I guess this means y'all forgive me, huh?"

Laughter and another round of applause.

"Thank you. Really, that means so much to me!" Felicity shed a tear of joy, and wiped it from her eye. "Your forgiveness, as much as Christ's. I never thought that, even until a few days ago, I'd be standing here in front of you. I feared that through my indiscretions, I would lose nearly everything I had. Your e-mails and phone calls, and your donations of support, have been more than a comfort. It's proof that, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, that faith really does conquer all - as the President said: 'Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right.' Anyone who claims that God is on their side, as we've seen too much over the last forty years, has got a heck of a lot of hubris - and while we're nowhere near victory, the tide is finally starting to turn on them."

Applause.

"And I also have some terrific news too …"

No Felicity, thought Peter, don't say it - not yet!

"Shortly after I arrived in Saint Louis," Felicity said instead, "I paid a visit to my long time neurologist going back from my university days here. I'm happy to say that the last three weeks, the back pain that has plagued me since I was six is gone. After twenty nine years, I am in remission from NF1!"

Huge applause, with some 'Amens' and 'Praise God!' from the crowd. Even Ruthie pumped her fist in a victory-like fashion. At least, she thought, Felicity would no longer have any pain, especially when Peter and Felicity made love.

"I also know," continued Felicity," that the journey I'm been in the last month has been a revelation. Being isolated as long as I was, then my decision to come forward was not just because of the man who became my lover and is now - my partner. It was because God leaned on me to fight back, too. Speaking of which ... I only found this out when I came here to Saint Louis. So here goes ..."

Lord Jesus, forgive me, for I am really about to sin, by lying, thought Felicity. But this is about protecting Peter's children - mine, and Ruthie's too - the truly innocent ones!

Then aloud, she continued: "It turns out that, contrary to what I first thought, my boyfriend was not married at the time we started our intimate relationship. He still loves his ex-wife so much that he still thinks of him as his wife, the mother of his children, even though they are now divorced. But they in fact actually divorced four months ago. This was confirmed by the woman to me.

"My boyfriend and I were indeed promiscuous but we did not commit adultery - and at his insistence, we first had only online sex for three weeks, then only when we finally met to set up my vodcast we did become intimate. And it also turns out, the woman was so despondent about the breakup of her marriage that she decided to have and did have an intimate relationship with another woman at exactly the same time. It may be whirlwind, but the man and I knew we were meant to be together the moment - we were together. With the wife's blessing, her ex-husband and I married just three days ago - and only then consummated officially our relationship."

The crowd gasped when she announced the elopement. What they did not know was, that when Hope registered the divorce papers, she leaned on the judge to backdate the decree to the date Ruthie and Peter actually separated, that is they started sleeping in separate beds at home, on the day they decided divorce was pretty much inevitable ... but they held off on making it final, hoping there was a chance for them. His affair with Felicity and hers with Lisa was the proof they needed that there was no hope at all. The legal fiction - or fraud - gave Peter and Felicity the excuse to prove that their children were not conceived out of wedlock, even though one of them actually was - a one week difference or less between them would not be noticeable even to a trained OB-GYN.

"No matter how brief our courtship has been, there is no doubt in our minds that Jesus brought us together. And the ex-wife agrees. She even gave me one of her most prized possessions - the most prized of all for her - as a wedding present.

"So who is it then? Who is my husband? And what was the gift?

"I can't tell you any of those, not yet. I would want to; but the children are still in grief over their parents' breakup and while they have forgiven their parents for their infidelity to each other - and by extension to the children themselves - they still need time to get adjusted to me being their stepmother. They said they have accepted me, and I believe them, but it's going to take time for them to heal. When they do, then I'll give the name. I hope it won't be too long until I can do so."

The rest of the posse was barely holding it in. So were their children who were in the front row. How much longer could it be, before her lie and their conspiring to cover up the truth was exposed?

Felicity paused again. She was lost in her thoughts for about twenty seconds. Then she began her sermon.

"If I were to repeat everything I have said before, it still wouldn't stop my detractors from continuing their path, much as I have prayed forlornly for them to change their ways. I mentioned before I have a lot of dirt on them.

"I wasn't expecting to ever cross paths with Hope. I certainly was not expecting for her to confirm my suspicions I have always had about her parents. But I definitely was not expecting for her to present a smoking gun regarding the orientation of her parents.

"I'm not so much angered at Harrison's and Prudence' hypocrisy as I am that they made their daughter repeat those lies to everyone. She found out about them when she was barely school age. If it had been so from the beginning, that is if her parents had told her they were living in separate bedrooms for the purposes of sex and together only when they weren't, she would not have so much minded. To walk into an orgy as she did at such a young age ... I can't imagine how much it would have damaged her. To be told to shut up about it ... Yikes.

"I can't know for sure about what it did to Hope - you'll have to ask her - but I do know this about me. I lost my parents in a car crash when I was fifteen. I was in the car too but by the hand of God I lived. I was in traction for six weeks and because I have no surviving relatives I was sent to a group home until I was eighteen. No one wants to adopt a teenager - well there are some, including some friends of Ruthie's here. Two teenagers and two youngsters, all siblings, one disabled. Talk about courage! Both the foster parents and the children.

"Anyway, this group home, was supposed to be co-ed but same sex on different floors. Supposed to be. One night, two 'gentlemen' residents took it upon themselves to rape me. They actually drew lots on who would deflower me, and it became a Double P with the winner in my tunnel of love, and the loser in number two. Then they switched and I got both the first serving and the sloppy seconds. And they spit the guts out of me. Lots of blood, and during my period too. The clincher: They were both PKs, they were only living at the home because one each of their respective parents were being investigated on bogus child abuse allegations. The other parents respectively - were cops specializing in domestic violence! 'Do as I say, not as I do?' I got lessons early on in that! I prayed to Jesus for me not to get pregnant from either or both their seeds, products of hate. Thank Him, I didn't.

"University, several boyfriends. All wonderful men who knew of what happened, helped me to heal as much as they could, both out of bed as well as in. The first boyfriend there, that's when I truly lost my virginity. I was, though, on a downward spiral, going deeper into despair and my lashing out at people in the worst possible way. Not to mention drinking several beers in a row and trebling the prescribed dosage for my painkillers, which I now no longer need. Both losing my parents, and the rape, nearly took everything out of me.

"But while I have always been a Christian, it wasn't until one day when I was at my most despondent, during spring break in my junior year, and I was literally on the verge of committing suicide, that the Bible somehow fell off the shelf in my dorm, slammed me on my head, and bounced in front of me and opened on a page that had the following verse in the upper left of the left handed page - 'I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.' Hebrews Thirteen, five. It was the message I had been waiting for. I burst into tears

"It was there and then I dropped to my knees that I asked God to heal me from what had been done to me, and for Him to forgive me for what I have ever done wrong. It was at that moment, even though I was baptized as an infant, confirmed as a teenager and have been a Christian my whole life, that I became born again. And that whatever happened from there, He'd always have my back no matter how often I tripped."

Huge applause. Even the ministers behind Felicity who were skeptical of the 'born again' experience (although about one in five of their parishioners, including Catholics, said they were) were joining in.

"The think-tank I worked for - what to say of that? I have always despised the Word of Faith, but I never imagined how bad it was until I joined that ministry. If I knew what would come out of that - the radio show, that is - I'd have better prepared myself!" She laughed and the audience joined her. "I've always loved singing, religious songs as well as the regular stuff - and watch yourselves, A-listers of LaLa Land and Nashville, now that my songs are officially in the mainstream, I'm coming after you next -!"

Even more laughter.

" - but my regular work there at the organization, ratting out the rot, that's what really got me started. And that, and not my music, is the core of my work. And it continues to be.

"Which leads to the obvious question - why did I decide to have an affair now? And why get married? Well, until this past week, I hadn't had sex for nearly seven, eight years. A woman has needs. And it was a younger man I slept with, to be fair.

"I'm thirty-five and I don't have a lot of time left to have children. But God has told me the time is now. Soon it will be time to pass my work on the next generation, and I have to begin the groundwork now. My husband and I want our children, and his other children, to be as Christ centered as possible. My man's children with his ex, they are already very much that and they are proud to be adjutants in the war already. The war will never end, but it's time to take the upper hand when we have it now, and to make sure we keep it. My new husband and I are well positioned to do that, along with his ex, their children, and the team they are connected to. Praise be to God!"

Cheers and sprinkled "Amens!" was the reply.

"This is no ordinary war," continued Felicity. "There is the oft repeated line that if you say a lie enough times, sooner or later it becomes accepted as truth. Well, that's not really the quote. Actually, Joseph Goebbels didn't say that at all. It's more like, 'when one lies, one should lie big, and stick to it; and you keep up the lies, even at the risk of looking ridiculous.' That's the way Big Oil operates in trying to railroad people into supporting questionable energy projects. Since they have way more money than tree huggers, they manage to sell their lies. So it is with Big Pharma, Big Steel - and the Word of Faith!'"

More applause.

"And as much as it makes me cringe to use another reference from the coward, Herr Goebbels had it right on the money when he said, 'If Christ came back, he would drive out his treacherous servants out of the temple with a whip!' The Word of God has become a marketable tool, when it should ever be just about the Word of God, not financing one's personal swanky lifestyle!"

The applause became tumultuous.

"And yes, I will admit that I am quite well off, from my book and record sales," said Felicity. "Yes, I have quite a large custom built house back in Enid. And yes, I am a sinner. But I have always tried to be as humble as I can. I do donate to charity, but I do that in private, and I pray in private too. And I have as much as possible tried to render the acts of mercy - feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, give shelter to the homeless ... all of you know the drill. I don't make a show of it, I do it because it brings me closer to God, not because I get a tax deduction although of course I do. The same goes for all of us on this stage. And we who have tried to do right by the less fortunate rather than plow them underfoot, say that those who have turned a blind eye to the weak are about to get a rude awakening. Because we have awakened from our slumber, and we are going to build the City of God with our own hands and those who have refused to lift a finger for the less fortunate or do it only for the sake of outward appearances but continue to decay on the inside, as a wise man once complained about, will have to answer to God - not us! Especially the two losers who claimed they raised a man from the dead in Africa!"

The crowd roared and stood up yet again. Impromptu, they sang 'Onward, Christian Soldiers.'

Once this had finished, Felicity said, "And so let's open up our Bibles to Luke, Chapter Ten." She finally reached over to a pitcher and poured herself a cup of water. She swallowed and turned to the rest of the posse. They all gave their thumbs up. Peter wanted to wink at his wife but resisted. This wasn't the time, not yet.

"We all are familiar with the Parable of the Good Samaritan. A priest and a Levite walk by a guy beaten up by bandits. The third, a Samaritan - and for the record Samaritans were Jews who did sacrifices on Mount Gerazim and not at the Temple Mount thirty miles to the south - well, the Samaritan saw the guy and paid for the guy's medication, room and board. Why did he go out of his way to help an enemy? Well, the great Dr King - yes, him - put it this way on the very night before he was murdered: 'The first question that the priest asked, the first question that the Levite asked was, 'If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?' But then the Good Samaritan came by, and he reversed the question: 'If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?'

"That too has been at the base of my ministry. I can't tell you the number of letters I've received in my lay ministry both personally and at the think-tank before then, about people who got ripped off by false preachers and by faith healers who only had faith in themselves so they would get rich off the con. Why won't these guy and gals treat them like neighbors instead of commodities? Not to mention, urging them to bet on very speculative commodities. Ask these guys behind me, my new teammates. They won't play the market and they urge their - and my - parishioners, not to go headlong into the business either. Who ends up winning anyway, especially when there's a margin call? Will they, do they, stick up for their followers? No, they don't. They make form letters look like personal replies, and they throw the prayer requests out the dumpster and keep the money. It's been done and it's still being done that way.

"And this goes back to me. I hurt a woman in the worst way possible, but I pledged to her that she and her children will be taken care of if their father falls short. In turn, she has said she'll have my back when and if I have children, and of course with the same man. It's not just the right thing to do, it's just plain common decency!"

Peter wasn't sure how much more he could hold out. He wanted to just say it. He began to lean forward as if to stand up. Ruthie, his ex-wife, squeezed his arm and prodded him back into his chair.

"Pete, it's all of us or none of us," she whispered to him. "We'll tell the truth once the blood-work proves for sure it's a boy and a girl - and we'll all tell the truth together!"

"It could destroy us all," he whispered back.

"You stood up for Felicity, you stood up period. That makes you a real man. And Felicity is a real woman. She's the real thing and you belong with each other! It'll be fine - and if we lose some of the followers, you and I still have my parents and my siblings. And she and I each have two stepchildren. That's all that matters right now!"

Peter exhaled, hoping the mother of five of his children - three deceased in utero - was right.

"I really don't know what else to say. Maybe these guys and gals here will give me a rain-check for later on ... I think Hope has extra time as well. Maybe we can make it a Q and A. We've got an hour left!"

Another ovation.

The marathon service went well into the evening. Finally at 8 pm, the "blood sisters" returned to the stage. There were lineups of people asking some really tough theological questions, even little kids - these weren't powder puff people. The women answered them all as cogently as they could, using layperson's terms instead of theocratic mush. One eight year old asked about a faith healer's pushing people on their backs as they were allegedly "healed" and clearly stoned into hypnosis and the preacher saying it was a holy thing that happened.

"You don't worship God by falling on your back. That's how you worship Satan. You worship God by prostrating yourself forward. Isn't that right, Reverend Hunter?" said the girl.

"It's Felicity, darling, and yes, you're right - you're using your reasoning and discernment!" said Felicity. The audience applauded. "And there's a reason you fall forward to worship God. If the gates of Hell should open before you, you have a chance of getting back up and running, if God doesn't snatch you into Heaven first. If you're on your back on the other hand and the red gates opened, you'd never see Satan snatching you into Hell before it was too late! You're really smart - I think you have what it takes to be a minister."

"I'm going to be one, sister. I just accepted Jesus as my Saviour. He then told me he wants me to be a minister, and I said yes to that too!"

The roar from the crowd was so loud that even those on the stage had to cover their ears - respectfully to the young girl, naturally.

A man, in his thirties, asked, "The two who ran into Jesus on the walk to Emmaus, right after the Resurrection. We know they were disciples of Jesus though not among the Twelve Apostles. Were they brothers, a brother or sister, husband and wife, just roommates?"

"Want to field this one, Hope?" joked Felicity. "I was ordained last Thursday, you've been a minister for fourteen years!"

"Rub it in, Felicity," said Hope, rolling her eyes. "Who knows? I'd like to think they were a man and a woman. Siblings or a married couple. Maybe a father and daughter. But it doesn't matter their status, what matters is that when Jesus died they thought they and their posse had lost everything they lived for. Then He came back and they didn't have a clue who He was until he did His disappearing act. They then realized they knew who He was but were afraid to admit it. In the same way none of us should be ashamed to proclaim the Gospel. It doesn't matter if we're conservatives or liberals. Jesus is for all races, nations, all classes, all ages, and regardless of sex. He is with us twenty-four-seven and whether we live alone or with someone else, arms length or not, we owe it to Him to spread the Word as He has to us!"

"Amen!" said Ruthie. More cheers from the crowd.

About half way through the session, a man came up. Hope took a deep breath.

"Yes, Patrick?" came the frigid voice of Hope. It was her radicalized brother. She was expecting a confrontation. But she wasn't expecting what was being said next.

"You want back, sis, you've got it from me too." said Patrick. "Mom and Dad, they both had their way with me when I was just starting to become a man. Matter of fact, Mom got pregnant by me and promptly got an abortion. I'm a total hypocrite for saying one thing and meaning another, even worse than them. But I totally believe you. They would do something like what you said, and I'm here for you all the way. My family, too. And I'm so sorry, Hope, that I didn't up for you when you were raped!"

He ran up on stage and embraced his sister, crying uncontrollably. She returned the hug and started weeping as well. Now both knew they truly were orphans - their parents had abandoned both of them.

While everyone was going home, Harrison and Prudence, who had watched the whole service on live streaming and had been scowling throughout, became livid when they saw their son make his announcement. Harrison picked up the phone.

"Ed? Can we meet outside in the gardens?"

Ten minutes later, the two men met outside.

"Why outside here, sir?" asked Ed.

"Just in case the offices are bugged," replied Harrison.

"You think we are?"

"After Hope ratted us to the feds and Felicity hacked into our financials, yes."

"So it's true, all of it? You stole all of that money?"

"Yes."

"And you raped your own son?"

"Yes."

"And stood aside when your daughter was raped - by me?" said Ed proudly.

"Yeah."

"And you and Reverend Prudence are both gay?"

"Indeed."

"So how do I figure into this?"

"Have you ever thought how much you would accept, to kill someone?"

"Like a contract killing?"

"Yes."

"Fifty thousand - a hundred, depending on who it is."

"How about Patrick?"

"Two fifty."

"You'll get way more. Do it, and you'll get a million in your Swiss bank account," Harrison scowled. "But he has to be dead, not injured, or you get no money."

"Consider it done, sir," said Ed.