Frantic (28 page)

“Why didn't you work from inside the Global Community?” Judd said.

“I've been loyal to the potentate and his ideas for a long time,” Kasim said. “Once I believed in Christ, I didn't think I could fool anyone. When Dan was arrested, I had to hide until I could find a way out.”

Another Peacekeeper entered the room above them. He put on plastic gloves and asked to see the bag of ice.

“What are they doing?” Nada said.

“Fingerprints,” Kasim said.

“You both handled the bag,” Judd said.

Kasim nodded. “And if they find even one print of mine, they'll match it with the database at headquarters.”

“What does that mean?” Nada said.

Kasim held up a hand and pointed toward the monitor. Another GC official ordered the Peacekeepers into the hall. “We'll do an apartment-by-apartment search. A security camera in the stairwell shows a young man and woman were on this floor. We've sealed the front, so they couldn't have gotten out. Let's find them.”

Kasim stood.

“Where are you going?” Nada said.

“We have to get that bag before they take it to the lab,” Kasim said.

As Pete drove, Vicki thought of her friends back at the schoolhouse. She couldn't wait to talk to Mark and Darrion and find out how Charlie was doing. Tolan had probably grown since they had been gone. Then she thought of Judd. Where was he? Would he ever come back to Illinois, or was he stuck in the Middle East with Lionel forever?

Chris Traickin asked about other believers in Johnson City. Pete told him what he knew. Vicki, Conrad, and Shelly kept quiet.

Vicki spotted a motorcycle behind them and told Pete.

“He's coming up fast,” Pete said.

Vicki craned her neck and saw a skinny man on the cycle. His scraggly beard blew in the wind. When he pulled up next to the truck, he waved at Pete to pull over.

“He's not GC,” Chris Traickin said, snapping on his helmet, “but this might be a trick.”

“Good thinking,” Conrad muttered.

Shelly shouted, “It's Omer!”

Pete stopped and rolled down his window. “What's up?”

Omer glanced at Chris Traickin as a few locusts flew inside. “I need to talk with Vicki.”

Chris Traickin spoke into his microphone hidden under his shirt. “We're on official Global Community business, son.”

“It won't take long,” Omer said.

“What do you want with her?” Traickin said.

Omer hesitated. “I want to say something. I-I think I'm in love.”

As Kasim climbed the ladder, Judd grabbed him. “If the GC catch you, you're dead meat. They'll charge you with deserting or worse.”

“Judd,
you're
not going up there,” Nada said.

“Why not?” Judd said. “If they catch me, I'll tell them—”

“If anybody should go, it's me,” Nada said. “If they catch us, who has the best chance of getting out?”

“They'd hammer Kasim,” Judd said.

“And they'd probably find out you were staying with Pavel and his father,” Nada said. “You don't want that.”

Judd shook his head. Nada had a point. He couldn't drag Pavel's father into this.

“She's right,” Kasim finally said.

Before Judd could protest, Nada was up the stairs and into the room above. Judd and Kasim moved to the monitor. Nada ran into the living room. She gave a mock Global Community salute to the camera.

“Hurry up,” Kasim said.

Nada placed the bag of water in the sink and grabbed oven mitts from the counter. She found another plastic bag and filled it with the ice from the first bag, then switched the bags and headed for the hideout.

Suddenly, the door to the apartment opened and a GC officer backed in. Nada ducked and scampered into the back bedroom. The GC officer turned. “Did you hear something?”

“Don't think so,” the man outside the door said. “The room's been locked.”

The GC officer walked through the apartment. Kasim enlarged the screen and focused on the bedroom where Nada was hiding. The officer walked into the room and slowly moved to the closet. He grabbed the handles of both doors and swung them open.

A few more locusts got inside the truck when Vicki climbed out, but Pete got rid of them. Conrad gave Vicki a wink as she followed Omer behind the truck. Omer looked at the ground and shifted from one foot to the other.

Vicki shook her head. “Why did you drive all the way out here?”

Omer turned his back to the truck. “You guys are in big trouble. This Traickin fellow is dirty.”

“What?” Vicki said. “How do you know that?”

“I finally talked with your people in Illinois. I was online with your friend Mark, when that Roger guy from the gas station came to the house. He said you were taking Traickin back to Illinois, and Mark told us Traickin's a GC plant.”

Pete yelled for Vicki, “We need to get moving!”

“Give me another minute!” she yelled back.

“Mark also told me to warn you that Traickin might be wearing a wire,” Omer said.

“You mean the GC are listening to everything we're saying?”

Pete honked the horn.

“Go,” Omer said, “and get rid of this guy before you get to Illinois.”

Vicki hugged Omer. “Have you thought any more about what we talked about?”

“Maybe we can talk when you get home.”

Vicki got back in the truck. Conrad and Pete teased her and she blushed. “He ask you to marry him?” Pete said.

Vicki ignored them and scribbled a note to Conrad. She hid it when Chris Traickin took off his headgear and turned. “What did your friend want back there?”

Vicki shook her head. “I spent some time at his mom's house, and I guess he has a crush.”

When Traickin turned, Vicki passed the note to Conrad. His mouth dropped open and he passed the note to Shelly.

What do we do?
Shelly mouthed.

Vicki put a finger to her lips. After a few miles she pecked Traickin on the shoulder. “Can I see your helmet? I've wondered what it feels like to wear one of those things.”

Traickin hesitated. “I'd rather not. If it gets damaged . . .”

“You're not working for the GC,” Conrad said. “That thing's only for show, right?”

Traickin chuckled. “You're right. But only for a minute.”

He passed the helmet to Vicki. She looked at it, then leaned forward and hit the window button by Pete's arm.

“What are you doing?” Pete said.

“Taking care of a little business,” Vicki said. She threw the helmet out the window. The helmet slammed onto the road and cracked.

Chris Traickin cursed.

“What did you do that for?” Pete said.

“Roll up the window!” Traickin yelled. Pete hit the button.

Vicki said, “We're going to see if our friend here is telling the truth.”

Judd leaned closer to the monitor. “Is she in the closet?”

Kasim stared at the GC officer. “If he finds her, we'll have to rescue her.”

The officer backed away, scanned the room again, and walked into the living room. He picked up the bag of ice and left.

“Whew,” Judd said, “that was close.”

Nada crawled out from under the bed and crossed to the closet. She was almost to the trapdoor when three GC officers bounded back inside the room, yelling and pointing their guns.

Nada screamed. Judd jumped from his seat, but Kasim grabbed him. “Wait.”

The officers led Nada into the living room. She broke free and kicked the door closed. The officers screamed and dragged her back to the living room, throwing her onto the couch.

Kasim frantically loaded information onto a disk from his computer. When he was finished, he ran a program that destroyed all the information on the computer. “This is it. One way or another, we're not coming back here.”

Vicki stared at Chris Traickin as Pete pulled to a stop at the side of the road. Locusts swarmed around the windshield yelling, “Apollyon!” Traickin looked terrified.

“Are you wearing a wire?” Vicki whispered.

Traickin glanced at Pete, then back to Vicki.

“What's going on?” Pete said, squinting.

Vicki explained what Omer had said. Pete ripped Traickin's uniform open and found a tiny microphone. Pete tore the microphone away and smashed it against the dashboard.

“They're going to be here any minute!” Traickin screamed. “They're onto you!”

Pete grabbed Traickin's head with one hand and rubbed at the man's forehead with the other. The mark smudged a little.

“How did you know how to fake this?” Pete said.

Traickin pulled away. He reached for the door handle but spied the swarming locusts and shrank back.

“You're not going anywhere,” Pete said. “Talk.”

Traickin shook his head. “I'm not telling you anything!”

“Fine,” Pete said. He reached for the window button. “Maybe letting a couple of locusts in will change your mind.”

“No!” Traickin shouted. When Pete removed his hand from the button, Traickin said, “I serve Nicolae Carpathia. When the militia uprising started, under the command of President Gerald Fitzhugh, I was asked to go undercover and expose the rebels.”