Page 58 of The Presidents Shadow

We are fortunately off to a good start.

Within twenty-four hours, Burbank has the tickets delivered to Laksa’s inbox, all while Margo keeps a steady stream of emails coming from the account. By all indications, Laksa is leading life as normal, with no suspicions he is being monitored.

My job is to convince the dean of the Scientific University of the South in Peru that his entire campus needs to be evacuated and shut down. I expect resistance and have a string of arguments prepared, but the dean is happy to comply—none of the major institutions of learning across the world wants to be the site of the next tragedy.

Then it happens. The fake flight to Peru takes off. Will this plan of mine actually save this sad, threatened world of ours?

CHAPTER 77

IT TAKES MADDY only a second to recover from the shock of finding Belinda inside the trunk. With extreme effort, Maddy is able to lift the lid high enough for Belinda to squirm, stretch, and struggle in order to climb out.

The two bound young women twist and flop around on the floor of the van like two freshly caught fish tossed onto dry land, then come to their knees. Maddy brings her bound hands up to her face, raising a finger to her lips and signaling to Belinda that she needs to be quiet.

Maddy realizes she may have a small surge of mental energy inside her that can help them.

She imagines Dache’s stern stare as she tugs at her restraints. No luck.

She takes two slow, deep breaths, searching for peacefulness and concentration, just as Dache has taught her. Maddy tries forcing her ankles apart. Not enough force. Not enough strength.

Has Dache deserted her? Has he been a bad teacher?Impossible. Has Maddy been a lousy pupil? Hmm. A possibility.

As she struggles with her useless efforts to harness her powers, she and Belinda look at each other. Maddy sees the fear and anxiety in her friend’s eyes, and, more than ever, she longs to be able to help. But her own fears have made it impossible to engage in the deep concentration necessary for her to access her powers.

Maddy’s frustration brings her close to tears.Get a hold of yourself!she thinks. Then she finds the determination to stay focused and strong. At least her innate grit has not evaporated.

She tries something new. She manages to free the index finger on her left hand with a painful yank. But suddenly the trailer swerves to a halt. Brought up short, the girls are tossed against the wall.

The roar of traffic stops. The abrupt silence is eerie. The two young women are almost on top of each other.

A loud scratching noise. Within seconds, Maddy and Belinda realize that the locked door to their traveling prison is being opened.

CHAPTER 78

BELINDA LOOKS SURPRISED and confused to see the two men who enter the van. Maddy, on the other hand, is not at all shocked to see that one of them is the repugnant Robert McCarthy. She doesn’t know the other one, but he has the same sneering mouth and blazing eyes as the sleazy detective.

“Sorry we had no seats available in first class, ladies,” says McCarthy, almost as if he’s being serious. “I hope business class was acceptable.”

While McCarthy doesn’t laugh or even smile, his companion—whom Maddy has already silently nicknamed the Stooge, supplies a nauseating, loud guffaw.

“We thought you two divas could use a little fresh air,” says McCarthy.

The Stooge chimes in. “And if you need a bathroom break, you’ve got the whole forest.” He gestures to the open trailer entrance. Yes, it is wooded and green. Maddy assumes they’ve parked on the side of some highway.

“I’ve got to take a wicked piss myself,” says the Stooge.

“Hold on,” says McCarthy. “Let’s do the other thing first.”

The other thing? Maddy is genuinely terrified and knows that Belinda must be as well.

Then both men kneel down—McCarthy near Belinda, the Stooge next to Maddy.

As soon as the men come close, Maddy notices that both kidnappers are wearing something strange on the sides of their ears. Small white electrodes are protruding from just above their sideburns.

Each man’s device is attached in the back with a slim gray wire. The devices themselves emit a tiny blue flash every few seconds. Maddy does the one-Mississippi count and discovers that the blue light appears every four seconds. What’s this all about?

Communication orders from a central location?

Whom are they getting their instructions from?

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