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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

“Some of it.  But thankfully, shooting down my jet back then was the best thing he could have done for me.  It was flown by one of my own pilots, who suddenly grew a conscience and attempted to save a shipment of my children—from me.”

Mona stared at him with disdain, as if wanting to spit.  “You make me sick.”

“The price of naïveté.  Idealism while lacking the ability to understand the world around you.  What’s the English phrase?  Ignorance is bliss?”

When there was no answer, Saad shrugged.  “I suppose Colonel Hamed was vindicated in the end.  Perhaps even forgiven by Allah for compiling his information and giving it to someone who would actually believe him and find a way to take down the great and evil Mido Saad.”

“And I will,” Mona said, bouncing in her seat from the rumbling dirt road beneath them.

Her remark brought a devilish grin to Saad’s lips.  “Oh, my naïve child, it is far, far too late for that.”

70

70

Rickards made it to the entrance of Saad’s estate in twenty-five minutes, a massive sprawl that stretched a quarter mile in both directions.  But before reaching the heavily fortified gate, Rickards veered off into the dirt, following a trail along the property’s western edge, rumbling loudly over rougher terrain.

When he reached the end, he brought Mona’s sedan to a stop and looked forward into the darkness at the clouds of dust billowing past his headlights.

He studied his phone and the overhead image Townsend’s friend had sent.  Taken during daylight hours, it showed the same trail traveling west into the desert Rickards had spotted from the air.  He hadn’t known at the time that it ended at Saad’s estate.  The same road the SUVs carrying Mona and Eshe were supposedly now on—on their way to the glass desert.

Townsend was right.  Something was happening within that energy field.  Just like Bolivia.  Something of which Saad was obviously aware.  In Bolivia, the experience occurred just once for each person.  If this side of the planet were similar, Saad would need a different subject each time to invoke it.

He’d apparently been using children for a long time—and now he needed Eshe.  Only God knew what for.  Rickards guessed that it had something to do with the spire drawn on the girl’s arm, as if Eshe was aware of both ends of this phenomenon.

Now Saad and his men were ahead of him by at least thirty minutes.  Maybe more, with nothing between them but flat open desert.

Contemplating, Rickards stared forward through the dusty windshield and into darkness, only slightly illuminated by the partial moon above.

Townsend’s friend said the vehicles were traveling with no lights—obviously to avoid being seen.  Which is what Rickards would have to do as well, unless he wanted them to see him coming.