“Carl, you’d have to be out of your mind to try something like that!” John Edwards replied. “You know as well as I do that Dallas has become a center for the Union for Peace. If you go to Dallas, you’ll almost certainly be arrested. You don’t have proper identification. You’re an outsider.” He put his hand on Carl’s shoulder. “And if they arrest you, my friend, they will surely kill you. You’re a wanted man.”

“John, you may be right, and believe me, I’m not discounting the dangers. But you know that millions of people are depending on us for their very survival. If we don’t get supplies now, everything here stops. Our entire printing operation will be out of business. Our mission will be over.”

“How does Lori feel about this crazy idea?” Pastor Jack asked.

Carl looked a little sheepish. “Well, I haven’t exactly told her yet. If she thinks I’m going to Albuquerque, she won’t be as worried. Hopefully, I’ll be back before she realizes that I went a little further than that.”

“You’ve got to tell her,” John said. “She has to be part of the decision-making process.”

“You’re right,” Carl said. “I will.”

“One more thing, Carl,” John persisted. “What assurance can you possibly have that the supplies you want are available in Dallas? That you can arrange some kind of shipment back across the border? Or that your old friend is even alive?”

“I made a contact in the resistance with someone who worked at the agency until about the time the new economic policy went into effect. They laid him off then, but he arranged to . . . well, borrow some stuff we needed a time or two. I’ll contact him and see if he can set something up with Larry.”

“Next question,” said John Edwards. “How will you get there?”

“Well—” Carl paused. “I’ve called Tony O’Reilly, and he said he’d get me a motorcycle with the UP logo. I’d have more flexibility than if I was driving a car.” He shrugged. “I don’t have it all figured out yet, but with O’Reilly’s help, and the help of the resistance along the way, I think I can make it over there and back.”

“Carl, I don’t know if you are brave or just foolhardy, but if you feel that this is what you must do, then go ahead. Please be careful, but rest assured that we all will be praying that the Lord will keep you safe in this dangerous mission.”

They shook hands, then embraced, and Carl was gone.

AS CARL EXPECTED, LORI WASN’T HAPPY about his making the trip. “Not only is it dangerous because of the UP patrols,” she exclaimed, “but you haven’t been on a bike in twenty years! As far as I’m concerned, that’s the biggest danger of all.”