The Sky Is Falling

One of them said, "Do you have the hypodermic?"

"Yes."

"Take her out to Rock Creek Park. The boss wants a hit-and-run."

"Right."

Their eyes turned back to the door. Passengers were streaming out, dressed in heavy woolen clothes, parkas, earmuffs, scarves, and gloves. Finally the flow of passengers stopped.

One of the men frowned. "I'll go and see what's keeping her."

He made his way down the ramp into the plane. A cleaning crew was busily at work. The man walked through the aisle. There were no signs of any passengers. He opened the lavatory doors. They were empty. He hurried forward and said to a flight attendant who was just leaving, "Where was Dana Evans sitting?"

The flight attendant looked surprised. "Dana Evans? You mean the TV anchorwoman?"

"Yes."

"She wasn't on this flight. I wish she had been. I would haveloved to have met her."

Gregory Price was saying to Dana, "Do you know what's great about the lumber business, little lady? Your product grows all by itself. Yes, sir, you just sit around and watch Mother Nature make money for you."

A voice came over the loudspeaker.

"We'll be landing in Chicago's O'Hare Airport in a few minutes. Please fasten your seat belt and return your seat back to the upright position."

The woman seated across the aisle said cynically, "Yeah, put your seat back upright. I wouldn't want to be leaning back when I die."

The word "die" gave Dana a jolt. She could hear the sound of the bullets ricocheting into the wall of the apartment building and she could feel the strong hand shoving her into the path of the oncoming truck. She shuddered when she thought of the two narrow escapes she had had.

Hours earlier, seated in the waiting lounge at Sheremetyevo II airport, Dana had told herself that everything was going to be fine. The good guys are going to win. But there was something bothering her about a conversation she had had with someone. The person had said something disturbing, but it had slipped by. Had it been in a conversation with Matt? Commissar Shdanoff? Tim Drew? The more Dana tried to recall it, the more it eluded her.

A flight attendant announced over the loudspeaker, "Air France flight 220 is ready to depart for Washington, D. C. Please have your passports and boarding passes in hand."

Dana rose and headed for the gate. As she started to show her ticket to the guard, she suddenly remembered what it was. It was her last conversation with Sasha Shdanoff.

No one knows I am there. It is what you call a "safe house."

The only person to whom she revealed Sasha Shdanoff's hideout was Roger Hudson. And immediately after that, Shdanoff had been murdered. From the very beginning, Roger Hudson had been subtly alluding to some dark connection between Taylor Winthrop and Russia.

When I was in Moscow, there was a rumor that Winthrop was involved in some type of private deal with the Russians....

Shortly before Taylor Winthrop became our ambassador to Russia, he told close friends that he had definitely retired from public life....

It was Winthrop who pressured the president into appointing him ambassador....

She had told Roger and Pamela her every move. They had been spying on her all the time. And there could have been only one reason:

Roger Hudson was Taylor Winthrop's mysterious partner.

When the American Airlines flight landed at O'Hare airport in Chicago, Dana peered out the window looking for anything suspicious. Nothing. It was quiet. Dana took a deep breath and started to deplane. Her nerves were on fire. She managed to keep as many passengers around her as possible as she walked into the terminal, staying with the chattering crowd. She had an urgent call to make. During the flight, something so terrible had occurred to her that it made her own danger seem unimportant. Kemal. What if he were in danger because of her? She could not bear the thought of anything happening to him. She had to find someone to protect Kemal. Immediately, she thought of Jack Stone. He was with an organization powerful enough to give her the kind of protection she and Kemal needed, and she was sure that he would arrange it for her. He had been sympathetic to her from the beginning. He's not really one of them.

I'm trying to stay outside the loop. I can best help you that way, if you know what I mean.

Dana walked over to a deserted corner of the terminal, reached in her purse, and took out the private number Jack Stone had given her. She called it. He answered immediately.

"Jack Stone."

"It's Dana Evans. I'm in trouble. I need help."

"What's going on?"

Dana could hear the concern in his voice. "I can't go into it all now, but some people are after me, trying to kill me."

"Who?"

"I don't know. But it's my young son, Kemal, I'm worried about. Can you help me get someone to protect him?"

He responded instantly. "I'll see to it. Is he at home now?"

"Yes."

"I'll send someone over. Now what about you? You say someone is trying to kill you?"

"Yes. They've - they've tried twice."

There was a momentary silence. "I'll look into that and see what I can do. Where are you?"

"I'm at American Airlines at O'Hare, and I don't know when I can get out of here."

"Stay right where you are. I'll get someone there to protect you. Meanwhile, you can stop worrying about Kemal."

Dana felt a sense of deep relief. "Thank you. Thank you." She hung up.

In his office at the FRA, Jack Stone replaced the receiver. He pressed down the intercom button. "The target just called. She's in an American Airlines terminal at O'Hare. Take her."