Heiser-The-Facade - Sparkling Eyes

justify this!" Brian shouted."We're in the midst of a holy war!" he growled, his anger aroused. "The sooneryou realize that, the better. Think of me as your Rahab," he added, calming down."So we're supposed to believe that you just murdered this guy in order to—""Save your lives? Yes, that's what you're supposed to believe," he glanced at thestunned woman."He was no threat; he was trying to help us," Brian pro-tested. "I thought youwere listening.""We'd better get the Colonel," Melissa fretted. "I can't believe that guard didn'tbreak down the door—wait a minute, how did you get in here anyway?""The guard left soon after you entered. I sent him away when I dismissed theothers. I got in because I have access to this room—to all the rooms, actually. I have fromthe beginning."Father Benedict waited for a response, but Brian and Melissa were speechless."This man would have killed you both when he was done using you," he asserted."Although there's a remote possibility his guilt was genuine, he was most likely solicitingyour trust for some future advantage.""But he wanted us to kill him," Brian argued."I'll wager he was counting on your own goodness that you wouldn't go throughwith it," he countered."You sound paranoid, Father," Melissa charged."Really? Tell me then, how did the good major know you were going to beescorted to Brian's room?"The two thought for a moment, but couldn't produce an answer."How is it that the major told you he was forced to use his ID card to enter yourroom, and not an override master," he interrogated Brian, "when I used my own overridecardkey to enter just now?" he finished, holding up both cards.Again, they were without a response."I'll tell you why," he said confidently. "By having you use his ID card instead ofthe override, yes—he gave you a chance to escape, but he also gave the Colonel a meansto track you through the Facility. If you were caught, he could claim to have beenoverpowered, or held at gun point and to have made sure you got his ID card instead ofthe override so you wouldn't get far.""That is possible," Brian conceded, looking at Melissa. "How is it that you have asecond card anyway?" Melissa questioned suspiciously."Even if I'm wrong about his motives," the priest went on, ignoring Melissa, "hewould never have been able to avoid detection by the Group after today. Once he fell intotheir hands, he would have found some way to barter for his own life. He'd havedelivered your heads on a platter somewhere down the road if the Group promised himhis life. I'm quite confident that I'm correct about his real intent—he'dhave used you and then cast you aside. Your own refusal to kill him made my actionnecessary.""I've heard of Jesuit ethics, Andrew," Brian said, shaking his head and still gazingat the major's lifeless form on his floor, "but this—“"But nothing. You made the moral decision since you lacked the knowledge ofthis man's propensities and intentions. You had no biblical right to take his life. I, on the307