Chapter 6 - The Sunday Sermon
I sat in the command center of Elias's underground facility, wrapped in a warm blanket.
A wall of massive monitors displayed live camera feeds from Garrick's church.
The sanctuary was packed with hundreds of devoted worshippers.
Garrick was standing behind the wooden pulpit, wearing a perfectly tailored suit and a solemn expression.
Miriam sat in the very front row, wearing her finest Sunday hat and nodding piously.
"Are you ready?" Elias asked, hovering his finger over a glowing red button on the keyboard.
"Do it," I ordered without a single second of hesitation.
On the screen, Garrick raised his hands to begin his opening prayer.
"Brothers and sisters, we gather today with heavy hearts," Garrick lied beautifully into the microphone.
"My beloved wife, Elena, is currently battling terrible demons, and I ask for your prayers."
Before the congregation could bow their heads, the massive projector screen behind him flickered to life.
Instead of the usual Bible verses, a highly detailed bank ledger appeared in bright, undeniable high definition.
The crowd gasped collectively as the numbers filled the screen.
"What is this?" Garrick stammered, frantically waving at the sound booth to cut the feed.
The sound engineer panicked and pushed buttons, but Elias had completely locked them out of the system.
The screen shifted to a series of undeniable wire transfers.
The graphics clearly showed money moving from the church orphanage fund directly into Garrick's personal offshore account.
Then, an audio recording began to play at maximum volume through the sanctuary speakers.
It was a recorded phone call between Garrick and Sarah, the fake nurse.
"The church is so stupid, Sarah," Garrick's voice echoed through the massive room.
"They just keep donating to the orphans, and I just keep funneling it into our Cayman account."
"Once Elena dies from the infection, we collect the five million, and we leave this pathetic town forever."
Absolute chaos erupted inside the church.
Deacons stood up and began shouting furiously at the stage.
Miriam jumped out of her seat, her face turning completely purple with rage and humiliation.
"It's a deep fake!" Garrick screamed into the microphone, sweat pouring down his face.
"The devil is trying to destroy this ministry!"
But the congregation wasn't buying a single word of his pathetic excuses.
Several large men from the church board rushed the stage and grabbed Garrick by the arms.
Miriam tried to run out the side door to escape the furious mob.
But as she pushed the exit doors open, she froze in her tracks.
Waiting for her in the church lobby were six federal agents wearing tactical vests.
They slapped handcuffs onto Miriam's wrists and dragged her out into the bright Sunday sunlight.
Elias leaned back in his chair and took a sip of his coffee.
"Well, that went entirely perfectly," he noted with a satisfied smirk.
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But my eyes remained locked on the monitor showing Garrick's office.
Sarah was quietly sneaking out the back window of the church, carrying a very specific black briefcase.
