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Back The Desert of Glass Save as PDF
Chapters (84)
  1. BY MICHAEL C. GRUMLEY
  2. Prologue
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
  15. 13
  16. 14
  17. 15
  18. 16
  19. 17
  20. 18
  21. 19
  22. 20
  23. 21
  24. 22
  25. 23
  26. 24
  27. 25
  28. 26
  29. 27
  30. 28
  31. 29
  32. 30
  33. 31
  34. 32
  35. 33
  36. 34
  37. 35
  38. 36
  39. 37
  40. 38
  41. 39
  42. 40
  43. 41
  44. 42
  45. 43
  46. 44
  47. 45
  48. 46
  49. 47
  50. 48
  51. 49
  52. 50
  53. 51
  54. 52
  55. 53
  56. 54
  57. 55
  58. 56
  59. 57
  60. 58
  61. 59
  62. 60
  63. 61
  64. 62
  65. 63
  66. 64
  67. 65
  68. 66
  69. 67
  70. 68
  71. 69
  72. 70
  73. 71
  74. 72
  75. 73
  76. 74
  77. 75
  78. 76
  79. 77
  80. 78
  81. EPILOGUE
  82. II
  83. III
  84. IV

Angela dabbed just above his eyebrow.  “You’ve got a good-sized cut, but the bleeding has stopped.”

He nodded.  “So now what?”

“I don’t know.”

Kneeling with them, Townsend’s phone rang and he stood up as he answered.

“Hey, Will.”

After listening, he peered up at the night sky along with Rickards before looking back down at him.  “My friend says he has a live satellite feed on us.”

“Great.  Hope he enjoyed seeing me get my ass kicked.”

Townsend grinned.  “He thinks you did pretty well.”

“That’s why I’m the one lying in the street.”

“He says he’s watching the SUVs.”

Rickards’ gaze shifted, and he forced himself up to his feet in a wave of pain.  “Right now?”

“Yes.”

“Where are they?”

Townsend waited.  “Headed back toward Saad’s estate.”

“Then that’s where they’ll be.”

Townsend held up a finger, slowly shaking his head.  “They’re not stopping there.”

“What do you mean?”

The older man looked at him.  “They’re heading out.  Due west, into the desert.  Toward the glass.”

Rickards turned and gazed westward, into the darkness.  “What in the hell is Saad doing out in that desert?”

Townsend replied solemnly.  “I’m not sure.  But if I’m right and that place is somehow connected to quantum energy… part of me may not want to know.”

Rickards took a deep, painful breath.  “I need a map.”

69

69

The four vehicles came to a stop in the darkness next to two waiting silhouettes—Saad, dressed in a long white gallibaya, and beside him, Khoury, wearing dark fatigues like the rest of his men.

Badawi and the driver both exited from the second SUV, allowing Khoury and Saad to take their places, and opened the vehicle’s rear door to check on the females.  Mona and Eshe sat together in the back seat, bound with plastic ties around their wrists and ankles.

Badawi tugged on each binding to ensure they were secure, and once satisfied, leaned out and closed the door again.

In the driver’s seat, Khoury turned off the headlights and all interior lights before reaching down to retrieve a pair of night-vision goggles and pulled them over his head.  Within moments, all the lights on the other trucks also went dark.

As the small convoy again began to move, Saad looked back from the passenger seat.

From what he could see, the woman was more attractive than he was expecting, even beneath her disheveled mess of dark hair.  His eyes then moved to the girl, who, surprisingly, appeared to be nothing special above the endless other children he’d dealt with over the years.  Nevertheless, it was a profound and meaningful moment for him, staring at her shadowed face, quiet and dirty, like her clothing, along with what appeared to be skinned elbows and knees.

It wasn’t until he noticed her arm that he held up a small handheld penlight to view the image.