Herbert said, "And how am I supposed to live with myself if anything happens to you? Besides, think about it. You stayed calm. You fought back. You saved my life. You don't have anything to prove."

"No," Jody said. "My demon is still out there. I am going and you can't stop me. I can outrun you."

"Don't be fooled by the wheelchair, Jody Joyner-Kersee," Herbert said. "When I want to, I can fly." He removed her finger and began redialing. "Besides, I can't let you die. We're going to need you at a trial. I was with a German government official this morning, Deputy Foreign Minister Richard Hausen. He's devoted to their destruction. Get your vengeance that way."

"He's devoted to their destruction," Jody repeated. "And they're probably devoted to his. Hundreds against one. Who do you think is going to win?"

"That depends who the 'one' is."

She replied, "Exactly."

Herbert looked at her. "Touché," he said, "but you're still not going."

Jody's mouth twisted. She rose and started walking away. "Bullshit. Bullshit!"

"Jody, quiet down!" Herbert hissed. "Judy-- come back."

She shook her head and kept walking. Swearing, Herbert hung up and started after her. As he rolled up the slight dirt incline in a small thicket of trees, twigs cracked behind him. He stopped, listened, swore again.

Someone was coming. Either they'd heard them or had come to check on the police officer. Not that it mattered. Jody was about twenty yards off and still moving away. He couldn't call to her lest he give himself away. There was only one thing to do.

It was charcoal-gray dark beneath the leaves. Slowly, quietly, Herbert rolled behind one of the trees. He listened.

There were two sets of footsteps. They stopped moving just about where the body would be. The question was, would they continue or retreat?

After a moment the footsteps continued in their direction. Herbert slid his stick from beneath the armrest and waited. Jody's footsteps. retreated to the right. He was frustrated at not being able to call to her and tell her to stop.

He let his breathing fall to his abdomen to relax him. "Buddah Belly" they had called it when he was in rehabilitation. When he was taught that a man wasn't measured by whether he could walk but whether he could act