ZONDERVAN Mark of Evil Copyright © 2014 by Tim LaHaye This ...

Mark of EvilPonytail was aiming his gun down at him. Ethan swung himself outof sight onto the patio.An elderly couple sat there on the deck in folding chairs. Theywatched him, wide-eyed with mouths agape.“Folks,” Ethan announced hurriedly, “you’d better go inside.” Hepointed to the sliding door that led to their little porch. “Stay there foryour safety. I’m borrowing one of your chairs.”The elderly man nodded hesitantly, like he was trying to understand.He and his wife rose unsteadily to their feet, Ethan helping thewife until she had both feet planted beneath her, and made their wayinto their apartment.Ethan snatched up a folding chair and collapsed it. He steppedup to the edge of the patio and waited. Two seconds later Ponytailcame sliding down the rope with his gun now jammed in his pocket.When he saw Ethan staring back at him, he grabbed frantically at theweapon, trying to yank it out of his pocket as he swung back and forthon the rope.Ethan raised the folding chair. “Stop persecuting God’s people.”He swung the metal chair and smacked it into the man’s midsection.Mr. Ponytail dropped off of the rope and fell straight down, clippingthrough an awning and finally landing on his back on the roof of a car.Ethan grabbed the rope and finished rappelling down to the sidewalkbelow. The ponytailed thug was rolling around in pain on thecar’s roof like a turtle on its back. Reaching into his pocket, Ethanpulled out a gospel tract and tossed it onto the man’s chest. “Read that,”he said to him. “Seriously. You’re on the wrong side. There’s still timeto turn your life around.”Then he placed under the windshield wiper of the car a few oldfashionedinternational CReDO currency bills. He’d heard a fewmerchants were still accepting those remnants of the last one-worldcurrency that had been in circulation before the world’s money systemwent totally digital. Those bills would cover the damage to the11