The three of them strapped loaded Uzis on their right shoulders so they hung near their rib cages.
Mac tossed Chloe the DEW from the trunk, and she angled it over her left shoulder. He handed Hannah a small, heavy canvas bag with extra clips for the Uzi and several rounds for the fifty-caliber rifle, which Mac wrestled vertical, the feet of the bipod pointing away from
him. He supported the four-foot-long, thirty-five-pound weapon by cradling the b.u.t.t in his right palm and wrapping his left hand around the stock.
"Good thing I"m in reasonable shape for one of my vintage," he said. "Pushin" sixty, and I can still outrun either one of ya if the course is long enough."
"Not carrying that thing," Hannah said, and Chloe noticed the quaver in her voice. It was comforting to
know she was not the only one scared to death.
"Don"t bet on it," Mac said, deftly reaching up with his left foot and slamming the trunk. He held out his compa.s.s toward Hannah"s flashlight and started off. "Follow me, ladies."
Mac"s boots crunched a steady pace, and Chloe soon found herself perspiring and breathing heavily. But she felt good, and Hannah appeared able to keep up too.
The work did not, however, take Chloe"s mind off the danger. The bluffs had worked well so far. Maybe too well. If this were going to be easy, they wouldn"t be so heavily armed. Chang tracked Ming to San Diego and noticed she would not be flying out of there until early evening, West Coast time. He called her cell phone.
"h.e.l.lo, Chang," she said.
"Where are you?"
"Is this a test? Do you think I"m going to try to convince you I"m at the safe house in Chicago?"
"You have to know I"ve talked to them."
"Of course. And I can tell from the benefits to my pilots that it didn"t take you long to track me."
"But where are you specifically, Ming, and what are you doing?"
She sighed. "I am in a tiny charter terminal south of San Diego.
My papers and my look are working perfectly. No one asks to see my mark because I am in uniform, and when the pilots see my believer"s mark, they become very protective. "
"You don"t tell them who you are, do you?"
"Yes, Chang. I am a fool. No! Of course not. Why burden them with something that could bring them trouble? They cannot be held responsible for what they do not know. This is the perfect cover.
They are helping the Global Community by transporting an employee. They know secretly I"m a believer, but they don"t know I"m a woman, or former GC, or AWOL."
CC Ming, you know Father and Mother are not at home."
"I a.s.sumed."
"Then how will you find them?"
"I will ask around, in my official capacity. Maybe I will arrest them."
"You have not thought this through."
"I have, Chang. More than you know. They have to contact you somehow before I get there. You can tell them I am coming and we can set a meeting place."
"why didn"t we try to arrange this before you left?" "Because you would have refused. You think you know so much.
Well, you do. But you don"t know everything, or you would know that I cannot sit in a safe house while my parents flee for their lives. Do we know they are true believers, or have we just talked them out of taking the mark of loyalty? I must know. I must get them together with believers. I know I cannot save their lives or even my own. But I have to do something."
Chang was moved. So she had thought it through. Maybe not every detail. Maybe not strategy. But who could?
"You must let me know where you are as soon as you get there," he said.
"You love me, don"t you, Chang?"
"Of course."
"We never tell each other. We never have."
"I know," he said. "But we know we do."
"You cannot say it."
"Yes, I can," he said, "but even thinking about it makes me emotional, and I must not allow that. Not right now."
"You, emotional? Impossible."
"Don"t say that, Ming. If you say that, you don"t know me."
"I"m sorry, Chang. I was teasing you. "
"well the truth is, sister, I do love you." Chang immediately teared up, and he felt a lump in his throat. "I love you with all my heart, and I worry about you and pray for you."
"Thank you China. Don"t now. It"s all right. I didn"t want to make you uncomfortable. And anyway, I know. I know, okay?
I love you too and pray for you often. You do need to stay rational and practical, so don"t worry about me."
"How can I not?"
"Because I go with G.o.d. He will protect me. And if he decides my time is up, it won"t be that long before I see you again anyway."
"Don"t say that!"
"Come, come, Chang. It"s all right. You know it"s true. There are no guarantees anymore, except we know where we are going. I will call you from China. I will be hoping for good news about Father and Mother."
After about ten minutes" walking, Chloe moved aside and let Hannah fall in behind Mac. Hannah gave her a long look in the low light, as if to ask if she were all right. "It"s okay," Chloe said. "I"ll be right behind you." She"d had a little trouble staying with Mac, but she decided if she was behind Hannah she"d be more motivated. If Hannah could stay with Mac, she could too.
And she was right. Chloe didn"t want to give either of them the idea she was petering out. In fact, she didn"t believe she was.
They were on a gravel road now, and she had a rhythm going and her breathing was steady and deep. She was sweating through her clothes, but Mac and Hannah had to be doing the same.
Finally Mac held up his right hand briefly before have ing to get it under the fifty caliber again. He slowed and stopped, moving to the side of the road and turning to face the women. "Everybody okay?"
They both nodded.
"Anybody need a breather?"
Though panting, both shook their heads.