Hunted (11 page)

“A hundred yards,” Luke said. “I'm in the observation tower. Everybody hold your position, except you, Tom, and give me a report if they're coming into the cellar.”

Judd put the scope away and waited. Wind blew the grass above his head. What if the two came around the house and found them? Then what? He took a breath and waited.

Chang had been questioned by his boss, Aurelio Figueroa, before, but he had never been in Director Akbar's office. The director's secretary glanced up when he walked in and motioned to a conference room. Chang sank into a leather chair as the Peacekeeper pulled up a questionnaire on a computer screen. Chang saw his picture with the vital statistics such as his age, height, weight, nationality, how long he had been employed by the Global Community, etc.

Has someone found out about my father?

When the Peacekeeper finished taking information, he excused himself, walked out of the room, and closed the door.

Chang realized how isolated he was. If the GC discovered he was the mole, they would have him executed on the spot and the rest of the Trib Force wouldn't know of his death. It might even put the others in danger, since Chang's computer at home carried the contact information for just about everyone.

Chang tried to calm himself. This was exactly what the GC wanted, to upset him enough that he'd appear nervous and say things he didn't want to say. Chang told himself that David Hassid had covered his tracks well and that no one but Chang could access the information in his computer.

By the time Suhail Akbar and the Peacekeeper walked into the room, Chang had stopped sweating.

“I hope we're not keeping you from anything important,” Akbar said with a smile.

“What you deem important, Director, is of the greatest importance to me,” Chang replied.

Akbar sat. He was in his early forties, from Pakistan, and gave Chang the impression he meant business. He looked over the screen and checked the stats as the Peacekeeper looked on. Chang wondered why two were needed for this meeting, but he quickly put the thought out of his mind.

“I suppose you're wondering why we've called you here,” Akbar said, crossing his legs and raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, sir.”

“You know we've been searching for an informant inside the palace. A mole.”

“Yes, I've been questioned about that already.”

“I know, and you passed. But we're putting all employees through another interview. We know the mole is still here.”

“How, sir?”

Akbar clicked on the computer, and a copy of Buck Williams's
The Truth
appeared onscreen. “This, for one.

Have you read it?”

“I thought this material was forbidden.”

“Good man. It is. But we have to keep tabs on the enemy.” He pointed to a section of the first page. “There's information here that no one could possibly know unless he were here in the palace or had a friend inside.”

“He tells the truth?”

Akbar frowned. “He gives an accurate account of things that happen here, conversations, activities.”

Chang's stomach tightened. If Akbar hooked him up to a lie detector right now and asked if he had ever had contact with Buck Williams, he was sure he would fail. “And you're talking to me because … ?”

Akbar smiled and leaned forward. “How well do you know your boss, Mr. Figueroa? How well do you know your fellow employees, like the one who sits in the next cubicle—” he snapped his fingers at the Peacekeeper— “what is her name?”

“Rasha, sir.”

“Have you noticed anything unusual about any of these people and how they act?”

Chang's muscles loosened. He could talk all day about his fellow workers. And he would give Akbar as much information as he wanted.

Judd lay as still and as low as possible in the grass. Mosquitoes buzzed around his head, and he wanted to swat at them but couldn't.

“I thought they said nobody ever comes to this place,” Lionel whispered.

“I guess there's always a first.”

The two strangers tromped up the gravel walkway that led to the house. Soon they were on the porch. Judd strained to see their faces, but they were too far away.

“Full alert everyone,” Luke said. “They're going inside.”

11

JUDD
raised his head and stared at the two on the front porch. One leaned down and looked in the windows, putting his hand to the glass and peering inside. The female knocked and yelled, “Anybody home?” Satisfied, she opened the door.

“No mark of the believer, no uniform, and unarmed,” Judd whispered into the intercom. “What should we do, Luke?”

“Everybody hold your positions,” Luke said. “Maybe they'll take some food and leave.”

Judd heard movement to his left and saw Tom snaking toward the house through the tall grass. He found Judd and Lionel and lay down beside them. “We've never had anybody just walk onto the property like that,” Tom said when he caught his breath.

Judd described the two.

Tom nodded. “They could be bounty hunters and we'd never know it until they pulled guns out of their back pockets.”

“Shouldn't we jump them before they find someone?” Judd said.

Tom spoke into the intercom. “Luke, we think it might be better to surprise these two rather than the other way around. What do you think?”

“They're in the kitchen,” Luke said. “If you can get the jump on them, go ahead.”

Tom stood. “Lionel, you stick with me. Judd, go around to the back door and wait for my signal. Let's go.”

Chang fully answered Director Akbar's questions about his coworkers. He said Aurelio Figueroa was the most loyal employee he had known. The more Chang spoke, the more frustrated Akbar became.

“So you haven't seen anyone in the department who might be funneling information to Buck Williams?”

Only when I look in the mirror
, Chang thought. “I know it would make sense for the person to be fluent in computers and technology, sir, but I can't say there's anyone who fits the profile of a Judah-ite near me.”

“That's all,” Akbar said, waving a hand and clicking on the computer for the next person to interrogate.

Chang went back to his desk, counting the minutes until he could go home and send the information he had gleaned about the bounty hunters to Judd and Lionel.

Judd moved quietly to the back door and waited for Tom's signal. The man and woman rummaged inside. The kids had cleaned out the refrigerator and stored supplies behind a false wall near the pantry, so there wasn't much food left.

“Okay, Judd, now,” Tom whispered in Judd's earpiece.

Judd flew inside the door as Lionel and Tom burst into the kitchen. Tom pointed the advanced weapon at the man and woman. They held up their hands and dropped the food, two rancid apples and some moldy bread.

“Hands behind your head, on the floor!” Tom yelled.

Luke ran in and patted them down. “No weapons.”

Judd had them hold out their right hands and saw they had no mark of Carpathia. He helped them up and pulled out two chairs.

The man had a week's worth of beard. He was thin, with dark hair and blue eyes. His forehead was a dark red, sunburned from exposure. The woman also had dark hair and a pretty face. She looked ghostly thin, and her lips were parched.

“You two look like you could use something to eat,” Luke said. He motioned to Tom who brought fresh bread and cheese from the pantry and put it on the table.

The two devoured the food in seconds, then drank fresh water. Luke sat beside them and asked where they had come from.

“Savannah,” the man said. “We were trying to get to a relative's house in Charleston, but we ran into trouble.”

“Bounty hunters?” Tom said.

“I guess,” the man said. “They were looking for anyone without the mark. We hid in a shack on the beach, then traveled at night.”

“Why didn't you stop when you saw our warning signs?” Luke said.

The woman leaned forward. “We were so hungry and tired, we didn't care. We figured if there was radiation, at least we'd die trying to find food. What is this place?”

“Not so fast,” Tom said. “How do we know you're not working with the bounty hunters or the GC?”

The man shook his head. “I don't know that we can convince you, other than the fact we haven't taken Carpathia's mark.”

“Why didn't you?” Lionel said.

“Why didn't
you?
” the man said.

Luke slammed a rickety chair to the floor and it cracked. “We're not the ones asking for food. Now stop jerking us around.”

The man held up both hands. “Okay, we've gotten off on the wrong foot.” He wiped his hands on his shirt. “I'm Lee McCarty. This is my sister, Brooke.”

“And you want us to believe you walked from Savannah with nothing but the clothes on your back and wound up here?” Luke said.

“You don't have to believe anything, but it's the truth. We had enough provisions to make it to Charleston—at least that's what we thought.”

“We had to leave our stuff when those guys chased us,” Brooke said. “That was a couple of days ago.”

Lee pushed back from the table and stood. “Thanks for the food. We're sorry we bothered you.”

“We can't let them go back out there,” Lionel said, turning to Tom and Luke.

“Sit down,” Tom said. “You're the first people we've seen since we found this place, so we're a little skittish.

Tell us something about yourselves.”

Lee sat and Brooke picked up their story. “Our parents were divorced when we were in high school.”

“Names?” Luke said.

“Linda and John.”

“Where did you go to school?”

“Milton High in Florida.”

Tom wrote down the information as Luke asked who her favorite teacher was and the name of the principal.

Brooke answered quickly, and Judd felt sorry for her.

“Look, it's obvious you don't trust us and don't want us here,” Lee said. “We'll head north to Charleston tonight—”