Chapters (48)
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Table of Contents
- Chapter One: Fender Bender
- Chapter Two: Bigfoot Burrito
- Chapter Three: Treasure Hunt
- Chapter Four: Open Sesame
- Chapter Five: Central Intelligence
- Chapter Six: First Flight
- Chapter Seven: Park It
- Chapter Eight: Next Steps
- Chapter Nine: Search Strategies
- Chapter Ten: Overflight
- Chapter Eleven: Barn Doors
- Chapter Twelve: Saturn Fly-By
- Chapter Thirteen: Getting a Clue
- Chapter Fourteen: Hacked
- Chapter Fifteen: The Spy Game
- Chapter Sixteen: Investigations
- Chapter Seventeen: Break-In
- Chapter Eighteen: Battening Down
- Chapter Nineteen: Shoring Up Defenses
- Chapter Twenty: Third Time’s the Charm
- Chapter Twenty-One: Proxy
- Chapter Twenty-Two: Rescue
- Chapter Twenty-Three: Chase
- Chapter Twenty-Four: Spies R Us
- Chapter Twenty-Five: Surveillance
- Chapter Twenty-Six: Making Plans
- Chapter Twenty-Seven: Going In
- Chapter Twenty-Eight: Infiltration
- Chapter Twenty-Nine: Accidental Captive
- Chapter Thirty: Interrogation
- Chapter Thirty-One: Reaction
- Chapter Thirty-Two: Kidnappings
- Chapter Thirty-Three: Reviewing Options
- Chapter Thirty-Four: Public Debut
- Chapter Thirty-Five: Distractions
- Chapter Thirty-Six: The Big Reveal
- Chapter Thirty-Seven: Regrouping
- Chapter Thirty-Eight: Waiting for Results
- Chapter Thirty-Nine: It Hits the Fan
- Chapter Forty: Disassembly
- Chapter Forty-One: Wrapping It Up
- Chapter Forty-Two: Negotiations
- Chapter Forty-Three: Coda
- About the Author
- About the Publisher
“They’d be committing a significant portion of their lives to this, though,” Nat said.
“Lifespans are much longer with Covenant medical knowledge,” Sheldon replied. “This is not as big a commitment for them as it would be for you.”
Patrick waved his arms to get everyone’s attention. “This is all very interesting, but we still haven’t gotten to square one on what we’re going to do about it. Any ideas?”
We exchanged glances, but no one volunteered a response. Even Sheldon withheld comment.
Chapter Thirty-Two: Kidnappings
Chapter Thirty-Two: Kidnappings
Day 25. Monday morning
I stood on the porch, steaming travel mug in my hand, waiting for Patrick. Dad had informed me at breakfast that I’d need to make alternate arrangements or drive myself to work in the Buick, as he was working from home today. Patrick, always ready to help, had agreed to pick me up.
He came around the corner into our driveway as usual, almost but not quite on two wheels, and skidded to a stop right in front of me. I got in the car with as much dignity as I could muster, and tried to ignore the gravel-spewing donut as he came around for launch.
“If you break a window, Dad’ll make you pay for it,” I said.
“Well, someone will pay,” he replied. “I don’t think your dad really cares who.”
I grunted and sipped my coffee as we sped off down the road.
We were coming around a curve just outside of town when Patrick abruptly hammered on the brakes. In front of us were two vehicles, parked in a V, blocking the road. One of them had more than a passing resemblance to the fake cop car that had chased us the other day, but without the roof lights.
Patrick skidded to a stop and stuck it in reverse immediately, having correctly analyzed the situation as not good. Then he said, “Aw, shit!” as something thumped into our back end.
I just had time to turn and see a large four-by-four blocking our escape when someone dressed up in military gear poked an automatic weapon at me and yelled, “Get out, now!” I could hear something similar happening on Patrick’s side of the car.
Raising my hands first, I slowly reached for the lock button and pulled it up. Immediately the guy grabbed the door and yanked it open, then stepped back with the rifle pointed at my head. “Out.”
I subvocalized, “Sheldon, help! We’re being arrested or kidnapped or something. No cloaking fields, but they could be employed by the Loranna.”
Sheldon’s reply came back right away. “Understood. I can track you, unless they put you in a Faraday cage. I’ve alerted Natalie in case she’s a target as well. She’s already on her way to work, but has pulled over. I’ll pick her up immediately.”