"Yes," Mrs. Pappas said, and she stepped forward to take it.

"Tell me about the truck.. Four wheel drive?"

"Yes. But not new, not fast. Five speed manual transmission, very heavy and powerful."

"As soon as I connect with my other two team members, George and I will take the truck and pick them up. The GC expects us to head for the Ptolemais airport, but that's a suicide run. We have a plane at an abandoned strip eighty miles west of here. If we can head that way without attracting attention, that's where you'll find the truck tomorrow. If we draw a tail, pretend you never saw that truck."

"I want to come," Castas said.

"I'm sorry, no. Unless you are going all the way to America with us, there would be no way for you to help us and to also escape."

"But I "

"tee will accept all the ammunition you can spare. I would say if we leave now, our chances are only about fifty fifty. Agree, George?" "No, sir. I think that's optimistic. But I agree it's our only option and that we need to go now."

Mrs. P. held up a hand. "There is nothing wrong with working while someone is praying. Someone put extra ammunition clips in a bag while I pray.

"Our G.o.d, we thank you for our brothers and sisters in Christ and ask you to put around them a fiery ring of protection. Give them G.o.dspeed, we pray, in the name of Jesus. Amen."

George took the bag and got the keys and directions to the truck, while Mac huddled in a corner and tried to bring up Hannah and Chloe on his walkie talkie. Chloe was on the phone to Chang when she heard Hannah take a radio message from Mac and give their location off the road and behind underbrush north of the city.

"This is urgent," Chang was saying. "I don't have time to call everybody individually, so get this. All Ptolemais GC Peacekeepers and Morale Monitors are on high alert. They have abandoned the woods and are beginning a sweep of the entire town.

We're talking hundreds of personnel and all working vehicles.

"They've found Elena's body, know they were the victims of an impostor on her phone, and are tracing that phone with GPS. If George has it, they'll know where he is, and if he ditches it, it needs to be far from the Co op. "The airport is crawling with GC, and though the Rooster Tail is sitting on the tarmac as if it's ready to go, it has been drained of fuel. If you can't get back to Mac's plane, the best I can offer is to try to get Abdullah's pilot friend to Larnaca on Cyprus tomorrow. "

"Thanks, Chang," Chloe said. "Hannah tells me Mac and George are on their way. Forget Larnaca. We'd never get there. It sounds like the net is being drawn in all around us. Tell everyone we love them and that we're doing our best to get home." Mac was driving toward the north road with George in the pa.s.senger's seat when he got the call from Chloe about Elena's phone. "That's easy," he said, stopping in the middle of the road. "Stick Elena's phone under the front tire, George," he said.

The truck flattened the phone.

As they reached the north road, Mac saw a sea of flashing blue lights in the distance. "We're toast," he said.

"They're not looking for this truck," George said. "Don't do anything suspicious."

"Like picking up two armed women?"

"Drive on. The women will see the GC and know we'll have to come back."

"When would we have time to do that?"

"What are you going to do, Mac?" "They're setting up a roadblock. Stick the weapons and ammo under the seats and get a cap on. There's a better description of you than me out there. You can't hide big but you can cover blond."

Chloe and Hannah lay on their stomachs, watching the long line of GC cars, lights flashing. "There's the truck," Hannah said.

"Most of the GC are driving by them. Guess they don't need all those for a roadblock."

One GC car stopped on each side of the road, and a Peacekeeper held up a hand to stop the truck and wave through the rest of the squad cars.

"Hannah, if you can hear me, give me one click."

Chloe looked at her. "Was that George?"

Hannah nodded and clicked her walkie talkie.

"All right, I've got Mac's radio on the seat here, and I'm staring straight ahead and pretending not to be talking, so I may be hard to hear. Listen carefully. If you have the DEW with you and can turn it on, give me a click."

Hannah turned on the weapon and gave another click.

"These guys are going to check us out. I'll leave the radio locked open. If it sounds like they're going to look closer, incapacitate both of them. Understand?"

Click.

"Here they come. Stand by. If one comes to my side of the truck, please use very careful aim."

Click. Chang was exhausted and wished he could call it a night like most everyone else at the palace except Suhail Akbar and the literally indefatigable Carpathia himself, who did not require sleep anymore. Chang would not, however, be able to sleep anyway until Mac and Chloe and Hannah and George were safely in the air. Ire stayed at his computer, available to help. Meanwhile, he tapped into Carpathia's office.

"I really must stay on top of this Greece thing," Akbar was saying. "I'll return as soon as I can."

"Is it not something you can do from here, Suhail? The nights are so long, and there is much to learn from the daylight regions."

"Forgive me, Potentate, but we have had a serious breach of security. I am an a secure phone to Ptolemais and on a secure e mail connection. The situation is about to be resolved, and I will hurry right back."

"And we can see how the morale effort is going in Region and in Region ? "

"Of course."

"There should be audio and video feeds where I see the last holdouts taking the loyalty mark, worshiping my image three times a day, or suffering the consequences. They are suffering, are they not?"

"I'm sure they are, Excellency. I don't know haw you or I could have been clearer on that."

"And the Jews? There are many Jews in bath those regions who might be enjoying the sunshine right now, but who do not know that this is their last chance to see it. Am I right?"

"You are always right, Highness. I however, few people anywhere are truly enjoying anything with the seas as they are. I don't know how the planet can survive such a tragedy."

"This is the work of the Judah ites, Suhail! They tell the Jews they are G.o.d's chosen. Well, they are my chosen ones now. And what I have chosen for them will taste bitter in their mouths. I want to see it, Suhail. I want to know my edicts are being carried out."

"I will see to it, my lord. By the time I return, someone will hook up the monitor to reporting stations in those regions so you may be brought up to date."

"This security breach, Suhail. It is here, inside the palace? "

"That's all we can conclude, sir. If such misleading, wholly false information can be planted on our main database from a remote location, we are much more vulnerable than we imagined.

Bad as it is, we are most certain it is coming from inside, and that should not take long to trace."

"You remember, Suhail, what I have asked for in the way of treatment of the Jews, not to mention the Judahites. That would be retribution far too lenient for one under my own roof who would deceive me in such a way. "

"I understand, sir."

"The perpetrator must be put to death before the eyes of the world." "Of course. "

"Suhail, have we not combed our entire personnel list?"

"We have."