"We're taking a boat?" Francine asked. He nodded. She lifted her purse, and Arthur shook his head: leave it. She slipped a plastic pack of family photos from her wallet and tossed the rest aside almost angrily, face contorted.

"Aren't we going to lock the car?" Marty asked. Arthur hurried them away, leaving the tailgate open.

You do not need possessions. Bring nothing but the clothes on your back. Empty your pockets of change, keys, everything. Bring only yourselves.

He tossed his keys and change, wallet and comb, onto the asphalt.

They walked through an open gate in a chain link fence onto a long, broad pier, lined on each side with the gently bobbing masts of fishing boats. "Hurry," he urged.

Francine pushed Marty ahead of her.

"All this for a boat ride," she said.

At the end of the pier, the boat he had visualized awaited them. There were indeed about twenty people standing and sitting in the back. A young woman in faded jeans and a windbreaker guided them onto the ramp and they boarded quickly, taking their places in the back. Marty perched on a smelly pile of worn netting. Francine sat on a winch.

"All right," the young woman shouted. "That's the last."

Only now did Arthur dare to let his breath out. He glanced around at the people on the boat. Most were younger than he; four children were in the group besides Marty. There were no passengers past late middle age. As he looked into their faces, he saw that many had been involved in the network, and yet they were not being rewarded for their labors. Others on the network had been left behind; many not on the network, like Marty and Francine, were going along.

Still, nobody seemed to have any idea where they were headed. The boat pulled into the choppy bay waters and headed north. The sun cast welcome warmth, and the winds over the bay took most of it away.

The young woman came around to each of them and held out her hand. "Jewelry, please," she said. "Rings, watches, necklaces. Everything." Everybody handed over the valuables without complaint. Arthur removed his wedding band and nodded for Francine to do likewise. Marty surrendered his Raccoon wristwatch without complaining. He was very sober and very quiet.

"Do you know where we're going?" a young man dressed in a business suit asked the woman as he handed her a gold Rolex.

"Out near Alcatraz," she said. "That's what the skipper tells me."

"I mean, after that?"

She shook her head. "Has everybody turned in everything?"

"Will we get our things back?" a small Asiatic woman asked.

"No," the young woman in jeans replied. "Sorry."

"Is Becky and Aunt Danielle and Uncle Grant coming with us?" Marty asked solemnly, watching sea gulls glide over the boat's wake.

"No," Francine answered, taking the word from Arthur's lips. "Nobody else is coming with us."