The Sky Is Falling

"Yes, sir."

Jack Stone turned to an aide. "When is General Booster returning from the Far East?"

"He'll be back this afternoon."

"Well, let's get the hell out of here before he finds out what's been going on."

Chapter Twenty-Four

DANA'S CELL PHONE RANG.

"Jeff!"

"Hello, darling." And the sound of his voice was a blanket wrapped around her, warming her.

"Oh, Jeff!" She found that she was trembling.

"How are you?"

How am I? I'm running for my life. But she could not tell him that. There was no way he could help her, not now. It was too late. "I'm - I'm fine, darling."

"Where are you now, world traveler?"

"I'm in Chicago. I'll be back in Washington tomorrow."When are you going to be with me? "How - how is Rachel?"

"She seems to be doing okay."

"I miss you."

Rachel's bedroom door opened, and she stepped into the living room. She started to call Jeff's name and stopped when she saw that he was on the phone.

"I miss you more than you can ever imagine," Jeff said.

"Oh, I love you so much." A man nearby seemed to be staring at her. Dana's heart began pounding. "Darling, if - if anything happens to me...always remember that I - "

Jeff was instantly alarmed. "What do you mean if anything happens to you?"

"Nothing. I - I can't go into it now, but - I'm sure everything will be fine."

"Dana, you can't let anything happen to you! I need you. I love you more than anyone I've ever loved in my life. I couldn't bear to lose you."

Rachel listened a moment longer, then quietly went back into her bedroom and closed the door.

Dana and Jeff spoke for ten minutes more. When Dana finally hung up, she felt better. I'm glad I had a chance to say good-bye. She looked up and saw the man still staring at her. There's no way one of Jack Stone's men could have arrived so quickly. I need to get out of here. She felt a rising panic.

Dana's next-door neighbor knocked on Dana's door. Mrs. Daley opened it.

"Hello."

"Keep Kemal home. We're going to need him."

"I'll take care of it." Mrs. Daley closed the door and called to Kemal. "Your oatmeal is almost ready, darling."

Mrs. Daley went into the kitchen, took the oatmeal off the stove, and opened a bottom cabinet drawer filled with packets of drugs labeledBuSpar. Dozens of empty packets were at the bottom of the drawer. Mrs. Daley opened two new packets, hesitated, then added a third. She mixed the powder in with the oatmeal, poured sugar on top, and carried the cereal into the dining room. Kemal came in from the study.

"Here you are, love. Nice, hot oatmeal."

"I'm not very hungry."

"You must eat, Kemal." Her voice was sharp in the way that frightened him. "We don't want Miss Dana to be disappointed in us, do we?"

"No."

"Good. I'll bet you can finish every bit of that for Miss Dana."

Kemal sat down and began to eat.

He should sleep for about six hours, Mrs. Daley calculated. Then I'll see what they want me to do with him.

Dana raced through the airport until she passed a large dress shop.

I need to hide my identity. She went inside and looked around. Everything seemed normal. Customers were busily buying merchandise and clerks were taking care of them. And then Dana looked out the shop door and she could feel her flesh crawl. Two menacing-looking men were standing there at each side of the entrance. One of them held a walkie-talkie.

How had they found her in Chicago? Dana tried to control her panic. She turned to the clerk. "Is there another way out of here?"

The clerk shook her head. "I'm sorry, miss. That's only for the staff."

Dana's throat was dry. She looked out at the men again. I have to escape, Dana thought desperately. There has to be a way.

Suddenly, she grabbed a dress off the rack and started to walk to the entrance.

"Wait a minute!" the clerk called. "You can't - "

Dana was approaching the door, and the two men started to move toward her. As Dana stepped through the door, the sensor on the dress tag triggered an alarm. A store guard came rushing out. The two men looked at each other and stepped back.

"Just a minute, miss," the guard said. "You'll have to come back inside the store with me."

"Why should I?" Dana protested.

"Why? Because shoplifting is against the law." The guard took Dana's arm and pulled her back inside. The men stood there, frustrated.

Dana smiled at the guard. "Okay. I admit it. I was shoplifting. Take me to jail."

Shoppers began to stop to see what was happening. The manager came hurrying over. "What's the problem here?"

"I caught this woman trying to steal this dress."

"Well, I'm afraid we'll have to call the pol - " He turned and recognized Dana. "My God! It's Dana Evans."

Whispers rippled through the growing crowd.

"It's Dana Evans..."

"We watch her on the news every night..."

"Do you remember her broadcasts from the war...?"

The manager said, "I'm so sorry, Miss Evans. Obviously there's been a mistake."

"No, no," Dana said quickly. "I was shoplifting." She held out her hands. "You can arrest me."

The manager smiled. "I wouldn't dream of it. You can keep the dress, Miss Evans, with our compliments. We're flattered that you like it."

Dana stared at him unbelievingly. "You're not going to arrest me?"

His smile widened. "I'll tell you what. I'll trade you the dress for an autograph. We're big fans of yours."