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any action there is a necessary consequence." The first thug shot out his arm to strike. But suddenly Brother Paul was inside the man's reach, whirling around, heaving and the man tumbled headfirst over Brother Paul's back and landed hard on the ground. Scot gaped, not comprehending what had happened. But the second thug was already on the robed man, foot swinging in for a brutal kick. Brother Paul stepped nimbly aside, caught the foot, and levered the man down. "I want you to understand I hold no animosity for you," Brother Paul told the men on the ground. "Allow me to help you up " And he lifted the second man back to his feet. a a T T n n s s F F f f o o D D r r P P m m Y Y e e Y Y r r B B 2 2 . . B B A A Click here to buy Click here to buy w w m m w w o o w w c c . . . . A A Y Y B B Y Y B B r r The leader was openmouthed. "The creep can fight!" he exclaimed. Brother Paul made a formal little bow to him. "I tried not to hurt your men. Please leave now all three of you."91 For a moment the leader seemed ready to attack. But he thought the better of it. Brother Paul's motions had been too sure, too effective, and his poise was too great. The action had been no fluke; he could very easily have put the men down unconscious or with broken bones. "Come on, boys." The three left. They just turned away as if they had lost interest. Wanda whirled on Brother Paul. "You never even hinted you could fight like that! Why did you keep it secret?" "In my youth I was a student of judo, the so-called 'gentle way' of self- defense," Brother Paul admitted. "It is not a talent I regard with pride, but rather a legacy of my past, and I'm sorry to have used it." Scot shook his head. "All the time you knew you could take them, but you reasoned and backed off and tried to talk us into leaving peacefully " "And I called you a coward," Wanda said, chagrined. "I was," Brother Paul said. "I took a somewhat violent way out, because I was afraid of the consequence if I didn't. Perhaps there was a better way, had I acted correctly. I shall have to meditate to see where I went wrong." "Where you went wrong!" Scot exclaimed. "You saved the farm! Would your Order condemn you for that?" "Oh, no, not the Order. Individual Brothers and Sisters have differing standards. Some would not hesitate to use such a tool, or feel guilty about the manner of handling the situation so long as the results achieved significant growth and realization. There should be no hesitation in using power as forcefully as needed in each experience. It is always the Vision that prompts all motivation and subsequent actions in conjunction with thorough understanding of the divine laws, the universal principles. Eventually this brings about the perfected state. But there were complications here, and I do not know my own code well enough to be sure that I applied it correctly."92 "But we were about to get beaten up," Wanda protested. "Maybe raped, killed " "The alternative might have been worse," Brother Paul said. "Men might have been killed needlessly, and the conscience of a young woman could have been severely tested. I felt I could not permit that." a a T T n n s s F F f f o o D D r r P P m m Y Y e e Y Y r r B B 2 2 . . B B A A Click here to buy Click here to buy w w m m w w o o w w c c . . . . A A Y Y B B Y Y B B r r Both Scot and Wanda made gestures of confusion. "We might have tried," she said. "But we never could have " Brother Paul crossed to Lucy, who remained frozen as she had been all along. "Sister, permit me," he said. He put his hand gently on her right arm, drawing it out from the clasp of her other hand. And Scot and Wanda gaped again. Lucy's right hand held a tiny gun. "I am sure she would have used it in your defense," Brother Paul said. "Lucy is completely devoted to your effort." Numbed, Scot examined the gun. It was no toy; it had a clip of four bullets, yet was so small it had been completely concealed in her hands. He realized that she had kept it pointed at the thug leader throughout.93 Brother Paul took the gun from her hand. "Would you like me to pray for you?" he asked her. "You have been through a terrible trial." Big-eyed, stiff-faced, she nodded. "Pray for us all," Wanda said. One tear trailed down her cheek. "We didn't know... anything." Brother Paul dropped the gun on the ground, held Lucy's hand, and reached for Scot's. Scot took Wanda's hand, and she completed the circle by taking Lucy's free one. They all bowed their heads. "In the name of that Vision we all share," Brother Paul murmured, "we ask the understanding and compassion of the Divine Spirit, by whatever name we know it. We ask that we shall become better able to handle the problems we encounter, and to arrive at more compatible solutions. We ask that we learn what it is we can do to help this girl achieve her own perfected state, and never to face the prospect of such violence again. For we love her."94 And Scot felt an almost tangible power in Brother Paul's hand, like an electric charge but with no shock. It passed through him and on to [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |
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