Sometimes, but not all the time, it was moments like these that Abigail felt happy to have not lived in the shadow of the church. She was not born into religion or had any time to think upon what it meant to be alive. Granted, from the briefing, this group was ticking all of the boxes under cult. The smuggled tapes reminded her of the spectrum of gangs that Abby had experienced in her line of work back in the Ganglands unit in Melbourne. She learned from her senior sergeant of how thing were back in the eighties. How they were considered the head honchos of the police force for facing the underbelly; all awhile homicide did the cleanup work. Of how dirty thing was and that no rules were sacred. Things had changed of course and thus, so have the people involved.

There wasn't a lot to go on for preparations before they entered Eden's Gate. The Montana team's information packet was barely the size of a novella and the way it jumped, its almost skewed bullet points proved to her that they were walking right into a hell of a night. She hoped differently but without proper planning and knowledge, problems could arise and spurn out of control quickly.

Next to her in the chopper sat her contacts within the Montana unit, and to be honest, the only people she felt comfortable being with on this mission. By all means, they weren't the most compatible of groups. Heck, Abigail had seen snitches and police work more pleasantly. It only felt natural that there were some unbridled feelings between everyone.

Hard hitting Cameron Burke sat across from her, with all his attention involved in discussing whether or not it was a smart idea to get themselves involved in the situation in the first place. It was a stupid argument and everyone in the chopper knew it would happen, and that it would only cause more tension for the actual mission. Abigail was brought onto the case on behalf of Senior Sergeant Mike Stewart, who was Abigail's mentor in the Gangland unit. He was a key player in the downfall of the Santiniketan Park Association and taught Abigail everything she knew. He was a tough, no-nonsense bloke. Unfortunately, his health had taken a tumble, three months out from retirement. This was meant to be his last hoorah.

"We're here already." Abigail injected, trying to calm down the duo. "There's no point in arguing whether we should turn back or not."

Sheriff Whitehorse shook his head. "You haven't dealt with them Clearwater. Joseph Seed...he's not a man to be fucked with. We've had run-ins with 'im before and things haven't gone our way. Sometimes it's just to leave things as they are."

And look at where you are now, Abby thought, as Burke interjected again.

She had seen the marble statue that was raised from the ground. It stood in awe in front of her and she wondered how on earth were they able to build it. It amazed her how out of control things had gone already. It made her nervous, and nerves weren't good. They were all scared.

First signs of the compound appeared out of the mist as they turned to land, bonfires lighting the area. The Sheriff signaled their last chance, which was shot down soon enough. All in all, there were five people assigned for the extraction. Clearly, such a low number indicated the lack of willingness to seize control by the law enforcement. Not that they were unwilling entirely, but it was an out of sight out of mind treatment.

At first touchdown, the rules were given out like Christmas presents. Plentiful and wrapped in a yellow tape touch. Let me do the talking, don't unholster your guns. Rules, they all knew should be followed. But just because they would doesn't mean the other side would play fair.

Abigail was the first to step out of the chopper and then, Burke. Compared to him, she was slightly shorter and less muscular. Her hair was tied up and hooked through her AUS CST cap. The general bulletproof vests were given out to the marshals but due to her insistence at the kick off meetings, so did the county's men. It was far from safe and sound but it would add a layer of softening.

She followed behind Whitehorse, Burke and a shotgun-toting Hudson towards the chapel entrance. Abigail felt the shivers down her back as she glanced over the puddles of peggies. They looked trigger-happy and with hungry eyes, she wouldn't put it past any one of them to attempt stopping them. Extraction missions needed patience and level-headedness.

The entrance of the compound felt like a kennel. Dogs barked at a single move made with wired fences all around the vicinity. The church seemed the only slice of color around.

"We're going in quietly and calmly."The Sheriff reiterated. "You got it?"

"Fine." Retorted Burke. She got the feeling he wanted to be here a lot less than the rest of them.

Whitehorse nodded. "Hudson, you're on the door. I don't want anybody to get in."

Abby stepped forward. "I'll do the physical extraction. He won't be able to make a run for it if I'm on his tail."

"You sure?" Whitehorse asked.

"Dead certain."

She squinted her eyes when Burke tried to appease Whitehorse - in his own sarcastic way - by saying he'll be in the paper. It was clear to her that they would need lady luck's time tonight. And as the doors opened, the hymns drew quieter: all eyes in their direction.

At first, she saw not a face but a voice. The light from the windows created shadows wrapped around Joseph Seed's face, cloaking his intent. You could feel it in the air, his presence. He turned to face the newcomers.

"I hear reckoning." Joseph told the churchgoers, who stared at them. Stared at her with fear and malice. Things that were volatile in a closed environment. His voice echoed against the wooden walls. "But we prepared for this. They will come. They will try and take from us our guns, take our freedom, take our faith. We will not let them."

The crowd started to stand up. Burke and Whitehorse both felt that the time for action was within the next few moments. But as the crowd begun to stand up around them, and the voice of Joseph getting louder, it became apparent that they would have to be so dearly careful.

"Joseph Seed." Burke held up the warrant. "I have a warrant issued for your arrest on the suspicion of kidnapping with the intent to harm. Now, I want you to step forward and keep your hands where I can see 'em."

A line formed between the two groups.

"Here they are." Joseph, without a qualm, held his hands up in the air, gently. He almost seemed too calm to Abigail. "Locusts in our garden. See, they've come for me. They've come to take me away from you. They've come to destroy all that we've built."

At the urging of Joseph, the crowd was becoming belligerent, reaching for the men's' guns and Whitehorse ordered them to stand down. The last thing Abby wanted was for shots to be fired as that would ignite the situation even further. She watched Whitehouse and then at Joseph, who parted the sea of people.

"We knew this moment would come."

Over Joseph's shoulder, Abigail watched as three people shifted to stand behind him. She recognized them from the briefing photos. John Seed's eyes were locked on hers. It was a feeling of disgust but also, she felt Joseph's control. It was crazy how it worked, How his words weaved the cradle he kept to soothe those who listened; to the extent that it had. It was her to break the stare off first, as Burke gave her the all-clear for the arrest.

He told them "God will not let them take me" as his followers left, at the least, unwillingly. They would not go down without a fight, she knew. Not when their prophet has assured them with the utmost confidence that they would not take him.

"We're going to do this slow and calmly Joseph," She said, taking his right hand and cuffing it. "I doubt we both want a fight."

Over the sounds of clicks tightening, Abigail listened as Joseph chuckled. "We both know it is you who are the aggressors."

"That's harsh," Abigail muttered, cuffing the other hand together and proceeding to read Joseph his rights. Everything had to be done or problems would arise later down the line, in court. She knew of John's background and no doubt if it were made to court, loopholes would be scrutinized. She turned to face his back and placed a hand on his shoulder for guidance. "Alright, let's hit the road. We have a seat with your name on it Joseph, it's probably missing you right now."

"Let's go" Said Whitehorse, and thus, they opened the double doors.

Abigail paused, hearing movement behind her. As she looked over her shoulder, she saw Faith Seed stop John in his path. The situation outside was becoming heated, and the sound of trucks and voices were becoming louder with each passing moment. She kept Joseph at an arm's length and stared straight back at John, hoping quietly that she might come off as intimidating enough not to be messed with.

"I recommend you stay here if you don't want to be caught up in the hostilities outside or arrested for interference." Abby turned and started walking to where Burke was ushering them. "It's safer."

Outside was chaos and outside was where things changed.

Three Days Later

Location: Joseph's Ranch, 4 AM

It had been cold the night before, cold from the gales of wind coming off of the lake. You could see the other side and the fishes that swam underneath. For now, the Seed family kept warm in their houses, one in each region to act as a hub. John finished filling the bowl with warm water and headed back upstairs to Joseph's room.

The helicopter crash had been a small victory, a small prayer answered in the dreams of John. They had captured most of the hostile party, save for a few who had run of into the woods in the hopes of escaping.

He loved his brother and would not wish harm to come upon him. Unfortunately, the crash had damaged a part of his foot and lower calf, and had become infected. This had caused a fever, in which it had fallen upon John to care for his elder brother.

Joseph was awake when John entered. He lay on the bed, the majority of his body covered in the light bedsheet, spare the injured leg, which was propped up on a pillow. He watched as John gently closed the door, placing the bowl on the bedside table and sitting on the other side of the bed. The wound needed to be cleaned and redressed. The doctor had assured him that the fever and infection will pass, that it just needed to be looked after carefully.

After unwinding the soiled bandages, Joseph spoke up.

"What is wrong, John?" Joseph quietly smiled. "Your mind seems to be wandering today."

John sighed, and placed the used bandages into a plastic bag. There was no use in avoiding it; he just had to say it.

"I cannot forget that night" He admitted, staring out the window and into the dark. "My mind keeps replaying her. Her warning keeps ringing every time I wake up and I'm left with an emptiness." He sighs out, rubbing his eyes."I think my sins are starting to reach out for me, again."

"So you saw it too."

Joseph slowly sat up and reached for John's hands, to which he cupped in his own.

"That woman has a fire within her that will be your salvation John. I've seen it. Her words haunt because they protect" He smiled. "I had a message from God a month ago. God told of you taking a wife, one with a calmness that cools your raging fire. Make no mistake John, she was sent here for you. She just doesn't know it yet."

And in that moment, in the eyes of his brother, John saw hope. He closed his eyes and prayed.

God was good.