“I see.” The policeman’s voice edged. “We can come back with a warrant, you understand. Then you’ll have no choice but to let us in.”
“Is that so.” My aunt put on her most imperious tone. “And on what grounds would you convince a judge to give you a warrant?”
“This is a serious situation, ma’am.”
“Serious or not, I thought the Fresno Police Department had better things to do than threaten old ladies.”
“No threats here. I’m just telling you—”
“Fine then. You just go get a warrant. And when you come back and poke in my closets, I’ll hand you a dust rag so you can clean the shelves!”
The door slammed shut.
I couldn’t move. Trembling, I cocked an ear toward the window. Was the cop leaving?
Seconds ticked by. A car door shut. An engine started.
Aunt Margie’s footsteps approached from the entryway.
She rounded the corner, steps firm and cheeks red. But anxiety shone in her eyes. “You heard?”
I nodded.
“They’ll be back if they can finagle that warrant. On what grounds, I can’t imagine.”
She was right. They probably had no grounds. But what law enforcement had proven trustworthy to this point? “We can’t stay here. We can’t chance it.”
My aunt sighed.
“I’ll have to get Mom up. That won’t be easy.”
“You should leave her here. It’s safer.”
“No, it’s not, if they’re likely to find her. They’ll haul her to Wade. He’ll try to get out of her what she knows. He already sent a man to kill us!”
My aunt gazed at the floor. “You can at least take my car. They’ll be looking for yours. But where will you go?”
There was just one place we could go. Back to the Bay Area, to the heart of danger. Somehow, some way I had to find Ashley Eddington and convince her to listen to me. Because no one else would.
“I have a job to do. We’ve tried to go for help. The police. The FBI. Even Homeland Security. Nothing has worked. Now it’s up to me.”
Even as I spoke the words, I knew they were ridiculous. I was no savior of the world. I was just a widow trying to take care of her failing mother. Trying to protect her daughter.
My aunt raised her chin. “What do you need to do?”
I filled my lungs with air. Someday I would sleep again. “Aunt Margie, if I fail, the electricity will go off at seven o’clock tonight. And will stay off for who knows how long. The terrorists have to be doing it to cause chaos. Violence will follow. Looting, murder. Stay in the house. Keep the doors locked.”
Aunt Margie’s eyes had gone wide. “I thought this was about some homicides.”
I managed a grim smile. “That’s what they want you to think.”
Chapter 38
Get back here.” Stone’s terse command echoed in Tex’s head as the plane’s wheels left the runway.
He was returning to the Bay Area, all right. Furious and frustrated, and more determined than ever. How could he have failed to bring in Emily Shire? She’d make him look stupid and worthless to Stone. That was unforgivable.
She would pay. One way or another, he would get Emily Shire.
And he’d make it up to Stone, whatever it took. The man wouldn’t kill him, even if his twelve hours ended. He was too valuable to FreeNow. Too loyal. Stone had trusted Tex as part of his inner circle.
Tex watched the world fall away. Tonight it would all begin.
He and Bo were ready. They had a generator for the house, had stocked up on food and portable lanterns. While the rest of the city suffered, they would not. He wanted her comfortable, alone at night in the surrounding blackness. He would be on the streets.
She’d wanted to hit the streets with him. He’d told her no. They’d fought about it. She was just as valuable, she said. Just as well trained, maybe more.
At some point their generator and batteries and candles would run out. They were prepared for that as well. They and all FreeNow members could live off the land if they had to. Whatever it took, and however long, as they worked from within to topple the corrupt government. Return America to her once powerful state, where the people ruled and were truly free.
Underneath him, Tex could feel the plane wheels tuck themselves into its underbelly. This short flight would be the last he’d take for a very long time. Maybe forever. He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. Tried to shove his anger aside. He’d fix this, oh yes, he would.
He would get Emily Shire.
Chapter 39
A twangy country song jarred Emily awake. Her eyes popped open, tried to focus. How in the world could she have fallen asleep?
The awful music was coming from Dave’s cell phone.