An Unholy Redemption Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One

The television studio was like a maze as John and Mary made their way with the security guard who was escorting them to Andrews’ office. The lights above slightly blinded them as they weaved their way through one corridor after another. Cameras were standing lifeless on either side like big black beasts asleep. It wasn’t long before they were approaching a glass paned office where they could see Andrew sitting at a desk reading some papers.

“Great to see you again John,” Andrew held out his hand as John and Mary walked into his small office. “Hello again Mary. I trust your drive here was comfortable.” John held out a chair for his sister to sit on. “Please sit down, can I get you anything?”

“I would love a cup of coffee,” Mary replied.

“John, anything for you?”

“No I am fine, thank you.”

“Okay the coffee will be along shortly. I’ll just go and get my boss Rebecca, then we can discuss the final points about tonight’s interview. You know the general do’s and don’ts, I’m sure. I won’t be long.” Andrew left and shut the door behind him.

“Well, this is cosy,” John said, leaning back in his chair. The office had glass windows on all four sides, and Andrew’s desk was covered with papers scattered everywhere.

“Look, Mary,” Mary turned to see where John was pointing. People had gathered by the windows looking in on them.

“Stop encouraging them John. Doesn’t it make you feel weird, those people staring at you like that?”

“No, not at all. Hello, how are you?” He waved his hand at one of the ladies, who in return waved back at him, then all of a sudden the crowd gathering outside parted.

“Where are they all going?” Mary asked, confused, then they saw Andrew and a lady heading their way.

“Now that is a woman who demands a lot of respect from her workers. I wonder where she keeps

her whips.”

“Stop it, John,” Mary giggled as the door swung open and Andrew gestured his hand for Rebecca to enter first.

“Rebecca this is −”

“Let me guess Andrew, is it John? The one you have been going on about the last twenty-four hours?”

“Yes,” he sheepishly answered.

“Shall we begin?” She sat down at Andrew’s desk. John studied her face as she sat in front of them. She was about forty and had long black hair which was tied back in a ponytail. Her brown eyes were behind thick black-rimmed glasses, her nose was pointed and her lips were covered in a thick red mass of colour. “I gather from what Andrew told me that you are aware of some of the procedures regarding this interview tonight.”

“Yes, he told me briefly about some of the structure and what’s expected of me.”

“Um, no doubt he has left some of the important detail out, knowing him.” Mary looked at Andrew who stood awkwardly in the corner of his own office like a boy waiting to be scolded.

“I am sure my brother and I are fully aware of what is expected of us, Andrew did his best to relate to us what was necessary.” Andrew looked at Mary and managed to smile.

“Really! Well done, Andrew,” Rebecca sarcastically remarked, wiping the smile from Andrew’s face.

“So you are aware and happy with the amount of money we are paying you?”

“Yes, but me and Mary have decided to give the money to cancer research. We would be grateful if you could make the cheque payable to a local hospice.”

“Okay if that is what you really want.”

“Yes it is,” Mary replied abruptly.

“Take this then Andrew and make sure it is written out to the appropriate people, but only after the interview is complete and I’m happy it has gone well.”

“Sure, Rebecca. Right away.”

“Now I’ve been watching the news very carefully. I’m curious to know more about you, miracle man, and how you were miraculously cured of your cancer in one evening?”

“God always told me in my dreams that I would be cured of my illness and I always saw this happening, but I never saw the face of the person curing me.”

“What do you mean?”

“When I had my dreams I was only allowed to see the hands on me doing the healing, I never saw who this person was.”

“Well now you are healed and this miraculous thing has happened to you, do you now know whose hands they were?”

“Yes.” There was a long pause.

“Well?” Rebecca broke the silence.

“You’ll have to wait for the interview, then I might tell you that.”

“Well I really would like to know now and I usually get what I want.” Her words were met with silence. “Okay, fine, if you insist. I just wanted you to get a feel for what the interview will be like, that’s why I asked you those questions. Here are the structured questions you’ll be asked.” She handed him an envelope. “I compiled them myself and I think you’ll find they’ll enable you to put your story out there in the public eye. I want the world to know your story John: how you felt before, during and after your illness.”

“I don’t know if Andrew mentioned to you that tonight is not only going to be about me and what has happened to my cancer.”

“No, Andrew didn’t mention anything.” She gave a stern look in Andrew’s direction making him feel even more uncomfortable. “So what did he forget to tell me?”

“I have a very important message for mankind.” Mary looked at Rebecca’s face to see if there were any signs that she thought John was a complete madman, Rebecca was looking anxiously at Andrew with her arms folded in an angry stance.

“Go on.”

“I don’t know what this message is. All I know is that when I am having this interview, God will tell me what is to come.”

“Intriguing, are you telling me you will be prophesying on television about the fate of humanity?”

“Yes I am.” There was a brief uncomfortable silence broken only by a glance at one another.

“I’m not entirely sure about this, but we’ll go with it and mark my words, I’ll be closely watching, ready to cut anything inappropriate and make sure you answer those questions first. Heaven knows it took me ages to compile them. You have two hours to think of some answers. It’s nice to meet you. Andrew and word in my office now please.” She stood and waited at the door for Andrew to open it for her.

“See you in a bit,” Andrew whispered to them and quickly followed Rebecca to her office.

“That was certainly different. I think the word witch comes to mind.”

“Mary, how could you say such a thing? More like a dragon.” They both giggled, then watched as some of the other workers outside started to gather by the window again.

“Don’t look now Mary, my freaky friends are back.”

“Ignore them, come on let’s look at the questions.”

 

In the office down the corridor, Rebecca was sitting at her desk and Andrew was standing awkwardly in front of her. “Believe me Andrew, I’m not too happy about you doing this interview. I feel I could make a better impression. However as you managed to get the scoop and with the pressure from my bosses, I had to agree to you doing it.” Andrew knew that although Rebecca was very good at her job behind the scenes, her bosses knew that she wasn’t a people person and they wouldn’t allow her in front of the cameras. “You will stick to the structure and not deviate from it, is that clear?”

“Very clear, boss.”

“And if our prophet wants to do his piece towards the end, allow him. The public will decide if he’s a man of God or a total madman. You’d better go and keep them company and get them to sign some forms. I go and do a studio check.” Andrew went back to his own office to rejoin Mary and John.

Back at David’s house, they were finishing their meal. “Ruth my love, that was a meal fit for a king.” David was sitting back in his dining-room chair, Ruth was drinking the wine and Lucifer was finishing the last scraps of food of his plate.

“So,” Ruth asked, “you two aren’t going to tell me what happened this afternoon?”

“Sorry gorgeous, let’s just say it was very revealing, not only to our brotherhood, but more importantly to Luther here.”

“Ruth.” Lucifer turned in Ruth’s direction,

“Yes Luther.”

“I promised everything will be revealed tomorrow, that is the only thing I can assure you of.”

“I’ll leave you boys and your secrets. I’m going to get ready. David you can wash up and I’ll see you in a while.”

“I suppose I’d better do as the boss says. Have you finished Lucifer?”

“Yes, thank you,” he handed David his empty plate.

“You are coming with us tonight, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I’d like that. It’ll take my mind off about tomorrow.”

“Yes, ever since we got in the car, you’ve had a concerned look on your face. I know you’ve told me as much as you can, but if there is anything I can do, just let me know?”

“Thank you, but I’ll also go and get ready and leave you to your womanly chores.” David laughed. “Very funny, I’ll see you in a while.”

David left the kitchen with the plates piled up in his hands. Lucifer started to slowly walk up the stairs, still contemplating the forthcoming events. He knew that he was going to die tomorrow, but how and why were the two questions burning in the back of his mind. In the bedroom, he sat on the bed and put his head in his hands. For the first time since being cast into human form, he didn’t want to leave it. Lifting his head, he noticed once again the picture of Jesus. This time he didn’t feel hate and contempt at the face looking at him, but instead he felt empathy for the suffering that Jesus had endured while being nailed on the cross. “Well brother, it looks like I’m about to meet my fate tomorrow. Then maybe we’ll see each other again and you’ll find it in your heart to forgive me.”

His thoughts were disturbed by a knock on his door.

“Bathroom is free.” Ruth had finished having a shower and was heading back to her bedroom. David was still downstairs washing up; Lucifer could hear the plates knocking together in the kitchen sink. He told himself to pull himself together, grabbed a towel and headed for the bathroom.

 

Back at the television studio, Andrew had returned to Mary and John and was discussing the upcoming interview. “Andrew, you have a real charming boss there, don’t you?”

“She’s okay really. She might seem a bit harsh on the outside, but inwardly I think she cares too much. If it wasn’t for her, this studio wouldn’t run at all.”

“Still, I think she still could be a bit more polite.”

“I agree,” John joined in the conversation. “Anyway, let’s forget about Rebecca and concentrate on tonight’s interview.”

“Yes, we’ll be on air in about two hours. After we’ve finished up here, I’ll show you where the green room is. That’s where you’ll be before you’re called in front of the cameras.”

“Wow, this is really exciting. I can’t believe this is actually happening.” John was again acting like an excitable schoolboy, Mary thought.

“First, you have to sign some forms. One is to say you agree to the amount of money, the other is a form telling you of your and our rights. Basically, what goes out on air is agreed by both parties. I know it’s live television, but if anything embarrassing happens we have the right to stop transmission. Is that clear?”

“Yes, give me the forms. I’ll sign them straight away.”

“Don’t you want to read them first?” Mary had a concerned look on her face.

“No, I am where I am because God wanted me to be. I have every faith in what’s going to happen tonight.”

“Okay, if you’re sure.” She nervously watched as John put pen to paper and scribbled his name in the appropriate place.

“Good, now that’s done, I’ll take you around and show you the studio so you can familiarise yourself with it. Studios can seem quite daunting, but some people feel right at home in the surroundings. Are you ready?”

“Ready, as I’ll ever be.”

John was at the door opening it before the other two had chance to get to their feet. Outside the office was a long corridor with desks on either side, some workers had their heads and faces stuck against a computer screen while others watched John the miracle man walk by.

“He’s really excited about tonight, isn’t he?” Mary looked up to Andrew’s remark as they both watched John ahead of them introducing himself to whoever took an interest.

“Yes I think tonight is the most important night of his life.”

“Mary, did God really cure him?”

“That I don’t know. All I know is that I prayed on the night of him being admitted into hospital and in the morning he was completely cured. It was certainly some kind of miracle, whether God was involved or not, who knows?”

“Yes, God was!” John shouted down the corridor to them.

“How did he hear that?” Andrew marvelled. “He was too far to hear what we were saying.”

“Yes, it is a little unnerving. He seems to know what people are thinking. He told me that God tells him what people are thinking and talking about.”

“Interesting and slightly uncomfortable. I don’t want him knowing my innermost thoughts, though I must say I am really looking forward to doing the interview myself, it’s my biggest story so far.”

“And it will be the biggest one you will ever do,” John called down the corridor again. Andrew lifted his eyebrows and Mary laughed.

“John, turn left, there. That’s the make-up department. This will be our first port of call, then I’ll show you the studio and introduce you to some of the ground crew and the camera operators.”

“I must say,” Mary confessed to Andrew, “as it’s getting closer I’m getting a little excited myself. Even though I won’t be in front of the cameras, just being there for my brother is a very proud moment for me.”

“Come on sis, take a seat.” John was already in a big black leather seat and one of the make-up artists was putting a towel around his neck.

“You know that Luther will be here soon. Imagine what he would think seeing you all dolled up?”

“Who’s Luther?” Andrew asked.

“Oh, just a close friend I’ve recently met.”

“More than just a friend Mary. I’ve seen the way you to look at each other,” Mary could see John’s smiling face reflecting in the mirror.

“That is mine and Luther’s business.

“Of course it is. I just have to go and check on something. I’ll be back in about half an hour.”

“Thank you Andrew, see you soon.”

“Luther will be here soon and you have to look your best for him,” said John.

“I know, I can’t wait to see him again.” She held out her hand to her brother and they held hands with their heads back, enjoying the moment.

 

Back at the house, Lucifer was ready to leave.

“David, have you changed yet?” Ruth called. Lucifer and Ruth were downstairs waiting for David who was upstairs putting the finishing touches to his look.

“He is worse than a woman when choosing what clothes to wear, especially when we’re going somewhere important. David!” she shouted again

“I’m coming, I’m coming.” David almost ran down the stairs, while moving the top part of his tie side to side to make sure it felt comfortable. “Come on you, Mr Beautiful,” Ruth had grabbed him by his arm and was pulling him away from the mirror.

“Yes come on David, Mr Handsome,” Lucifer joined in the fun and ruffled David’s hair with his hand.

“That is not funny.” David pulled his head away from Lucifer’s intruding hand. Lucifer laughed, but he felt more serious when thoughts of tomorrow raced back into his mind.

“Ruth have you got the car keys? I left them on the kitchen table.”

“Here they are.” David looked to see Ruth dangling them between her finger and thumb.

“Thank you,” he said and grabbed them from her as he rushed past. “You two coming?” he called out halfway down the path.

“After you,” Ruth gestured to Lucifer.

“No please,” Lucifer returned the gesture and let the Ruth leave the house first.

 

At the studio, Andrew had returned to see how the make-up session was going.

“How are you two getting on?”

“Fine I think,” John said, eyes shut as the make-up artist was applying the last of the foundation. Mary couldn’t speak; she was having the last of the red lipstick painted on her lips.

“Next, I’ll show you the studio where all the action happens.”

“There you go, all done. You can open your eyes now,” the make-up artist said, pulling off the white cloth and spinning John around in his chair.

“How do I look?”

“Still the same old John, but now you have a very feminine glow about you,” Mary joked as she got up from her chair.

“Wow look at you. Do you realise how gorgeous you are Mary?”

“No I’m not, it’s only the make-up.”

“Actually, you’re pretty without the make-up,” Andrew said before rushing off ahead to save himself embarrassment. Mary and John followed him arm in arm, giggling.