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was outside alone, making sure no ambush was afoot. Chloe would never forgive
herself if a needless transmission gave someone an audible target. If Socrates
led her right to this lean to or whatever it was, unless she was seen, she
couldn't be in any danger. If the other three were there even if Stefanich was
there she'd still have plenty of time to call for the others.
Mac knelt in the cool dampness of the cramped cellar. The single bare bulb
hanging from the ceiling revealed irregular shapes on the earthen floor. With
his flashlight he tried to determine whether George had been mistreated. It
was impossible to tell if
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those were flecks of blood among the footprints and indecipherable shapes.
It's where I would terrorize a hostage, Mac decided.
He shined his light in every corner, flipped off the cellar switch, and was
headed upstairs when his phone chirped. Eager to get outside to the rendezvous
but hesitant to be on the phone in the open air, he paused on the stairs and
flipped it open. Was it his imagination or had he heard a voice from out back?
He assumed
Hannah would have done her perimeter scan and would be waiting with Chloe by
the tree in front.
Mac didn't dare say anything, so he just listened to the phone.
"Mac
It was Chang, but Mac didn't want to acknowledge. He pressed a button on the
keypad.
"Mac? That you?"
He pressed the button longer.
"Okay, you can't talk, but neither can I until I can confirm it's you. One
beep if the following is true; two if it's false: After the first book in the
New Testament, the next four have exactly the same number of letters in their
titles."
Now Mac for sure heard a voice from the back. Male. Chang's statement was
true, but was it one for true and two for false or the other way around? He
hesitated, listening while creeping to the top of the stairs.
"Mac would know this," Chang said. "One if true, two if "
Mac pressed one quickly.
"Could have been a lucky guess," Chang said, and Mac closed his
eyes. Come on!
"You have a contact in a very strategic location. Give me a beep for the
number of letters in his sister's maiden name"
What? Chang would be so clever at a party. Okay, Chang's the contact. His
sister is Ming Toy. Three. Wait! Maiden name. Same as Chang's. Wong. Four. Mac
punched them quickly, now peeking out of the darkened shack toward the back.
He could see nothing.
"Okay, Mac, right. Now listen. Talked to Stefanich as Konrad.
He's going to make his guys bring Sebastian to you, so stay put but don't
waste time. He claims they've found the underground headquarters and will raid
it at midnight. I don't have any numbers on the Co op people there. Do you?
One if yes, two if no."
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Mac pressed twice. "I don't even know that they have phones. Can you send
somebody to help? One if " Mac beeped once. "Are you in immediate danger?" Mac
beeped twice. "Okay, so you're somewhere where you can't talk. GPS shows you
still where I talked to you last. Someone there with you?" Twice. "Outside?"
Once. "See them?
"
Twice.
"Okay, you hear them. Have you got personnel outside?"
Onc e.
"Both? "
Onc e.
"I'll let you go. You want me to stay on?"
Twi ce.
"Check in when you're clear. I want to know we're doing something for the Co
op there."
Mac put his phone away and crept outside. Half a dozen armed
Peacekeepers milled about by the car.
"I say we take it. We've hiked for hours."
"No keys."
"So hot wire it."
"Come on! Supposed to be only five hundred more meters."
The Peacekeepers headed east. Mac circled around to the front. So
Ste fanich sent backup. Wonder if that's all of 'em?
Neither Hannah nor Chloe was by the tree. Mac made a noise through his teeth,
in case they were close by. Nothing. He knelt in the darkness. The Fifty was
in place. The DEW was gone.
It felt to George as if Aristotle had turned left onto the road and driven
east for about twenty minutes before pulling off to the side and waiting. He
had once been able to keep track of the passage of time, but now he had to
fight sleep. If he had to guess, George would have said they sat, not moving,
for more than an hour. But neither would it have surprised him if it were
actually twice that long.
Finally Aristotle said, "What do you think?"
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"We could have gone long ago," Elena said. "The place clears out early, and
there aren't that many people there anymore anyway."
"Plato? "
"Yes, go! We've got to get back up here before long."
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