Page 24 of The Presidents Shadow

No, a high-speed run through Central Park won’t help solve any of those problems, something Maddy quickly learns as her body begins to fail, but her mind is still spinning in circles. She slows down, then slows some more, then stops. She now stands at the top of the stone staircasethat leads down to Bethesda Fountain and a crowd of people who are seated nearby.

Breathing heavily, she puts her arms above her head and walks toward the west side of the park, until she reaches the forestlike wild acre that sits close to Belvedere Castle.

Suddenly overwhelmed with fatigue, Maddy crouches down next to a boulder. She lifts her T-shirt and wipes her sweaty face. She is alone. Completely alone… until she isn’t.

She hears a voice. The man says, “Ah, an accidental seminar.”

It’s Dache. He has found her. No one apparently can escape the great and gifted monk.

“You have ignored our meeting time, Madeline. Unacceptable. You know that.”

She wants to respond intelligently, but all she can think of isgimme a break.But she knows that such a disrespectful phrase is also unacceptable. Finally, she simply says out loud what she is feeling inside.

“Everything I touch is falling apart. I haven’t created any real changes for Belinda. I certainly can’t find Chloe. Joanna ran out on me. I accidentally killed someone trying to help Lamont. And as for my boss…”

She stops talking. To her surprise she manages to hold back the tears.

Dache does not approach her. Dache does not try to soothe her. He is always beyond that sort of action. And he expects that Maddy should be also.

“I will give you one rule, and the rule is an insight to cherish.”

Then, in the voice of an old-fashioned Sunday preacher, he says, “Problems belong to all people. Solutions belong only to the chosen few.”

Then Dache is gone.

CHAPTER 31

MY PERSONAL AND private cell phone is restricted to only the most confidential and approved-for-clearance messages.

That means that the phone is mostly for urgent communications from Margo, Hawkeye, Jericho, Burbank, or Tapper. Yes, the occasional world government sources will reach out to me on it—and whoever that caller might be is still identified by caller ID.

I’m still reeling from Jericho’s surprise return from the dead, and the few times that he has called me on my cell since then, I’ve been overwhelmed with renewed joy. He was able to escape the building in Kyoto before it collapsed but had been so overwhelmed by the destruction and need of the people there that he considered it his duty to stay and help where he could. That accomplished, he’d come home as quickly as possible, not wanting to delay his return even long enough to give us some forewarning.

But it’s not Jericho calling this time.

The phone buzzes, and the caller ID flashes a group of letters and numbers that completely confuses me. 744ADS455. I’ve never seen this combination before, and I’m very reluctant to connect. I press the Decline button.

Within seconds the phone buzzes again. Damnit.

I know it could be risky, but I also know that anyone who has this number likely has a very good reason for using it. Before I answer, I click to allow for video calling and see a harmless-looking young man staring at his own screen.

I say, “To proceed with this call, please identify yourself.”

The young man says, “Please hold for Dr. DaSilva.”

“Please identifyyourself,” I say sternly.

The young man complies. “I’m Kevin Forrest, assistant to Dr. DaSilva.”

“Good start, Mr. Forrest. Now, if you could please identify Dr. DaSilva.”

He doesn’t hesitate. “Dr. DaSilva is a senior officer in the Townsend administration.”

So, his office hasn’t given up, even after I kicked the president off my property. They must desperately need my help in this crisis that could potentially destroy the entire world.

“This Dr. DaSilva. What’s his role in the administration?”

He corrects me. “Herrole. Her full name is Anna DaSilva, and she has been asked by President Townsend to speak to you regarding an issue of importance.”

---