The Tower A Novel (Sanctus)

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For the second time that day the propellers of the C-130 clawed their way into the cold air and slung the plane up into the low,

buffeting clouds.

Inside, strapped in the same painful jump seat as before, Shepherd’s battered body felt every judder and lurch. He consoled

himself with the knowledge that the flight to Charleston would be marginally shorter than the inbound journey had been.

He and Franklin were studying the background files on the Reverend Fulton R. Cooper, fruits of Shepherd’s first real test-drive

of the laptop and its ability to probe deeply and effortlessly into the databases of the FBI. He hadn’t had long but even so the

speed and range of information it had managed to spit out had been impressive. Of course it didn’t hurt that Fulton Cooper was a

public figure.

Shepherd read through the documents chronologically, starting with Cooper’s humble beginnings in the seventies selling bibles on

the road alongside his father after his mother ran out on them. It was his father who had encouraged his son to preach at fairs

and small town chapels, realizing that his son had a rare gift to engage a crowd and that business was always brisker whenever he

spoke. At fifteen, Cooper had already started preaching on TV, first as a guest of other televangelists then on his own show where

his lively blend of infomercial techniques, personal appeals and assertion that modern Christianity was exemplified in the

American dream caught on so fast he was nationwide in less than three years and pulling in half a million dollars worth of pledges

per show. Then it all came tumbling down.

His wife suddenly left him and appeared on a Primetime Live exposé accusing him of being a habitual drunk and wife beater. The

file contained copies of photographs and medical records going back years showing the black eyes and broken fingers Cooper had

inflicted on her, as well as screen grabs taken from a security camera, which showed him kicking her repeatedly in the driveway of

their house after returning home from a fundraiser. She filed criminal charges, his TV shows were immediately cancelled, and he

ended up going to jail for criminal assault.

Cooper staged a press conference the day he was released re-pledging his life to Jesus and begging forgiveness for all the sins he

had committed while Satan had taken possession of him. He had spent his time in the wilderness, he claimed, and had put the

temptations of the devil behind him now the Lord had revealed a new path for him as a modern crusader. The last few pages of the

file showed exactly how this had manifested itself. There were extracts from his sermons against other religions, details of his

various media campaigns outlining his opposition to the construction of non-Christian places of worship anywhere in America and

his call to pass a law making Christianity the only religion that could be legally taught in American schools. But by far the most

powerful component of his new mission was a charitable initiative called ‘Operation Saviour’ which, according to the literature,

gave ‘spiritual help and healing for warriors on the frontline of the holy wars’. It raised money to send medical help and

psychiatric counsellors to servicemen and women fighting in religiously sensitive war zones such as Afghanistan and the Middle

East and helped them get jobs when they returned home again. It had won Cooper some very high-powered admirers. There were

pictures of Cooper smiling and waving on stage at various political rallies, standing shoulder to shoulder with senators,

congressmen and members of the cabinet from several administrations.

The buzz of static cut straight through Shepherd’s head as Franklin flicked on the comms. ‘What d’you think?’

Shepherd stared at the most recent photograph of Cooper, beaming for the cameras at a Presidential primary. ‘He seems an unlikely

terrorist.’

‘They’re generally the most effective sort.’

‘Also, Dr Kinderman and Professor Douglas are two of the smartest people I’ve ever met. I’m not sure I buy it that someone like

Cooper could persuade them to sabotage their life’s work.’

‘Maybe he had something on them, every man has his weak spot and every man has his price. Or perhaps they found the Lord and then

Cooper found them.’

‘Professor Douglas had already found Him.’

‘Really?’

‘Not all scientists are Godless heathens. I heard him deliver a lecture once on the relationship between religion and science

where he said studying the stars was just another way of trying to get closer to God. He equated it with saying a prayer. So I’m

having trouble seeing how he could destroy the very thing that enables him to do that. It would be like persuading the Pope to

blow up St Peter’s.’

Franklin chewed over this last piece of information. ‘How much do you know about Operation Fish?’

Shepherd flicked back to the top sheet and re-read the Questioned Documents results that had thrown up Cooper’s name in the first

place. ‘Wasn’t it some kind of religiously motivated witch-hunt?’

‘It was if you believe certain sections of the press. It was an inter-departmental internal investigation prompted by whispers

that various offices of government had been infiltrated and were now being run by a large Christian network whose agenda didn’t

necessarily coincide with the national interest. Part of the investigation was a data-catching initiative to flush out radical

Christians: it’s not just the extreme Islamists the government wants to keep its eye on, dangerous and crazy is still dangerous

and crazy no matter which God you bend your knee to. Anyway we put out a story that Darwinian evolution was going to be made a

mandatory subject of study in all schools then set up a petition to collect the names of people who were violently opposed to it,

which is how Cooper fell into the net. Guess he sees himself more of a “made in the image of God” kind of way than just some

high-functioning monkey.’

‘What happened to the investigation – did they ever make any arrests?’

Franklin shook his head. ‘A combination of pressure from both houses and an effective press campaign claiming it was an attack on

the first amendment got it shut down before it could bear any fruit.’

‘But isn’t that exactly what a powerful secret network working inside government would do to prevent itself from being

discovered?’

Franklin shrugged. ‘I just obey orders, and there was no political desire to keep the investigation going. Targeting Christians

in an overwhelmingly Christian country is never going to win many votes, particularly post 9/11 with Islam becoming the new

communism. The average guy on the street would probably be quite happy to discover a group of powerful Christians were quietly

running the country. But here’s a thought for you, this network was supposed to extend far and wide, not only in central

government but also in law enforcement, the judiciary – NASA. So if, as you say, Professor Douglas was a man of faith maybe he

was part of this network, maybe Kinderman was too. And people of strong faith will do anything if they believe it’s God’s will.

So whatever preconceptions you have about the Reverend Cooper, or your Professor Douglas, you need to be under no illusion that

whoever we are chasing down here are powerful and very motivated people. We need to tread carefully, Agent Shepherd, there’s

nothing more frightening than an enemy who thinks death is just a gateway to something better.’