Yeah, you, Rachel said, pointing her out with a rigid index finger. You stay busy with this stuff, huh? Funny seeing you here this morning.

I have a right to protest, the woman said, though there was little defiance in her voice.

You do, Rachel conceded. Youre absolutely right. But, as an FBI agent, I also have a right to question you about why you were at one clinic yesterday and another todayboth of which just happen to be at the center of a case my partner and I are working on.

Question me? she asked.

Yes. And itll be a lot less awkward if you step away from your friends there and

The woman did exactly that. Only when she did, she took off running in the opposite direction. She ran for the feeder road, away from Rachel and Jack at an angle and to the scattered buildings beyond.

Are you freaking kidding me? Rachel asked, taking off after her.

She was barely aware of Jack chasing behind her. For a moment, she was back on the training course, trying to destroy her time. And with anger and adrenaline pumping through her in equal measure, this woman that seemed to have a passion for protesting was soon going to find out just how much of a mistake it was to try running from Agent Rachel Giftand Jack was going to be reminded just how hard it was to keep up.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The ironic thing about the whole scene was that for as far back as she could remember, Rachel had liked to run. Shed done some cross country in high school, a couple of marathons during college, and tried to get in at least three runs of three miles or more a few times a week. And when she found herself running during workwhich did not happen very frequentlyit was hard not to see it as a competition.

Rachel saw the protestor in front of her, and she was closing in fast. Most panicked people did not understand how stupid it was to try running from the police or any other arm of the law if they themselves were not used to running. It was just something that a panicked nervous system insisted was the best thing to do. Still, it felt like a sport to Rachel, and she almost considered slowing down a bit to allow the protestor a bit more roomto allow the chase to go on for a few more seconds. It was a juvenile response, sure, but every now and then her competitive nature reared its head even in these situations.

Theyd crossed the little feeder road and were now running across a back parking lot, used for loading and unloading as well as employee parking. Rachel could hear Jack padding along behind her and she was sure hed give her an earful when this was over, but