Wired (30 page)

Matt's mouth dropped. Several members of the group groaned and Adah slumped.

“What's that noise?” Bridges barked. “You got people listening in?”

“What if I've got the press here taking every word of your accusation down?” Graham pushed back. “For the record, I've got
a reporter listening. You think you scare me?”

“I should, Peck,” the mayor growled. “Don't try to bluff me. We're the people who sent that bum over to kill your mother to
test your response. Then we took care of him.
You're next
!” Bridges hung up.

Graham nearly toppled out of his chair. Once again his rationality had been nearly kicked out the back door of his mind. “They
killed my mother!” he screamed.

A
DAH PUT HER INDEX FINGER
to her lips to silence everyone. She pushed the students out of the way and immediately flipped the room's light switch,
killing all light in the office. Cautiously, she pulled the curtain back and peered out the window.

“They're outside,” Adah said. “I can see across the street the shape of men.”

Matt edged next to her. For several moments he watched silently. “Lord help us!” He pointed. “See to the left? That shape?
It's a woman. It's Jennifer. She
is with them
!” He staggered back from the window.

“They killed my mother!” Graham growled. “And now we're surrounded,” Graham said. “I'm not even sure what to do next, but
they are not going to attack us and get away with it. This time we're going to take charge.”

“They will particularly be looking for Eldad and me,” Adah said. “I'm sure their henchmen will be after anyone who is Jewish.
Rashid would order that approach.”

“Listen to me,” Jackie cut in. “I think the students should make a break for it out the back door before these thugs hit us.
I've got an idea where we can hide our family and you two.” She pointed at Adah and Eldad. “Matt will have to stay with us.
He can't possibly return to the university.”

“you're right, Mom,” Matthew said. “They've been watching me, and Jennifer knows too much for me to return.”

“Don't touch any of the lights,” Graham said. “you students run for it. After you're gone Jackie will tell us what she has
in mind. We've got few choices left.”

“Stop!” Adah demanded. “I will pray first. Then you will run.” Everyone froze in place. Graham nodded his head.

“Blessed art thou, O Lord God of the Universe. Put your hand of protection on these students. Keep them from harm and keep
the evil ones from attacking us. In the name of Yeshua. Amen.”

“Listen,” Matt said. “Don't go out the back door. Leave through the garage. Crawl low along the hedges then cut straight through
the neighbor's yard directly behind us. Once you get around their house, start running and don't stop until you reach the
Metro train station. God bless you.”

The students stealthily slipped into the kitchen and then through the garage. Jackie shut the door behind them and locked
it. The family had gathered behind her in the morning room.

“Where do we go?” Eldad asked.

Jackie looked sheepish. “Graham, I never told you about this because, well, I just didn't, but there's an unexpected hiding
place upstairs off the corner bathroom.”

“The bathroom? But where?”

“When we had to repair the frozen water pipes upstairs last winter, the workmen made a hole through the back of the dirty
clothes hamper that's built into the wall. They put down some boards behind it in the attic to make a sub-floor. Instead of
sealing it back up, they placed a piece of plywood over the back. Once the plywood is pulled away, anyone could crawl on their
hands and knees into the hamper and slide through the hole. Everything will look normal. The entry will allow us to hide in
that space at the end of the roof line.”

“You're kidding!” Graham blinked, trying to get the picture straight in his mind.

“No, it will be tight but we can all hide in there until these thugs leave.”

“Look,” Adah urged, “explain it later. Let's get up there and crawl through that hamper.”

Graham looked at Mary. Her eyes were the size of quarters and she looked terrified. “We don't have any choice, Mary. Let's
go!”

The family dashed up the steps to the second story without anyone turning on any lights and ran for the back bathroom. George
and Jeff frantically clung to the hands of their father and mother. From somewhere behind their house, they heard the sound
of gunshots exploding.

“Oh, Lord, save them,” Adah prayed aloud as she followed the family.

G
UNSHOTS RANG
through the cold, winter night, but the Pecks only hurried faster to get into the dark upstairs bathroom. Falling on her
knees, Jackie started pulling dirty clothes out of the built-in hamper nailed to the wall. With the door wide open, she jerked
out the piece of painted of painted plywood at the back of the clothes catcher. Light pouring in through the window from the
street lamp cast dim shadows and gave the family enough illumination to see what they were doing.

“Okay,” Jackie said. “Adah and Eldad crawl in first. Be careful that you don't slip. We'll send the children in next, and
Graham can bring up the rear.”

Without saying a word, the two Israeli immigrants dropped to their knees and started inching through the narrow hole in the
wall at the back of the hamper.

“It's tight,” Eldad groaned.

“Don't stop!” Adah insisted. “Time is running out.”

“You children must remember not to make a sound,” Graham said sternly. “Our lives are at stake.”

Jeff whimpered, but George nodded mechanically. The distant, disjointed look had returned to his eyes. Mary shook, and Matt
put his arm around her.

“We're going to be okay,” Matthew reassured Mary. “Just don't make any noise, and watch your step. We don't want anyone falling
through the ceiling and landing downstairs.”

The little boys quickly crawled through the hole, and Mary had no problem, but it took Matthew longer. The slope of the roof
hung just above their heads.

The sound of someone pounding on the front door echoed through the house. “Open up!” a man's voice demanded off in the distance.
“We'll break in!”

“Hurry,” Graham helped Jackie. “They're coming.”

Jackie darted into the hole but her blouse caught on something. “I can't move forward!” she squealed. “I'm hooked on a nail
or something sticking out of the door.” She pushed and a ripping noise followed.

“Don't move!” Graham whispered. “Let me feel along the side.”

The crashing sound of the front door breaking open shook the house. “Find em!” Jake Pemrose demanded far down below in the
living room.

Graham felt a clamp where the door's hook fit and pulled Jackie's blouse loose. “Got it. Get in there!”

Gathering all the dirty clothing lying on the floor into the hamper, Graham started backing in. He could hear the footsteps
of the men rushing through the house. At any moment, they would come up the stairs and start searching the bedrooms. After
one last check that no clothing had fallen out on the floor, Graham pulled the hamper door shut, and started adjusting the
plywood from the backside to make sure the hole in the wall was covered.

“They're not downstairs,” a man shouted. “Check the bedrooms!” The sound of shoes pounding on the staircase became louder.

Graham fumbled with the plywood. It wasn't fitting back like it should. He could hear a man running toward the bathroom.

“The bedrooms are empty!” Al Meacham shouted. “I'll check the bathrooms.”

Graham heard the click of a round being loaded into a gun's chamber. Meacham couldn't be ten feet away from the bathroom door.
Suddenly the plywood settled into place. Graham held to the back of the board, making sure nothing slipped.

No one moved. Graham could not see the shapes of the family behind him, but he didn't stir. The sound of the hamper door suddenly
opening chilled him, but then the door slammed again.

“Where'd they go?” Pemrose's voice penetrated through the wall.

“The family's got to be in here somewhere,” Jennifer Andrews's voice drifted in. “People don't disappear.”

“I don't know,” Meacham said. “They don't seem to be anywhere around the house. Maybe they ran with those students.”

“Any of them get away?” Pemrose asked.

“I don't know,” Meacham answered. “No one expected them to take that route through the neighbors' property. We got a few shots
at them. The Pecks could have been with the pack.”

“Bridges won't be happy if they ran out the back door,” Jennifer snapped.

“You looked under the beds?” Pemrose said.

Meacham cursed. “Of course not! No one's hiding under a bed.”

“At least, look!” Pemrose ordered. “We've got to find Peck.”

The sounds of men walking away faded. No one in the corner of the attic moved. The darkness was so pervasive that they could
not see a wristwatch or anything more than the mere form of someone huddled next to them.

Graham kept his ear near the side of the wall and could hear men tearing up the house. Sounds of furniture being pushed back
and forth drifted up the stairs. Beds were being shoved around. Men kept talking, but Graham couldn't discern what they said.
After what seemed like an eternity, the house became silent again. Far off in the distance he heard several cars start, but
the family didn't move.

O
NLY AFTER AN HOUR
of total silence in the house did Graham speak. “I don't hear anything,” he said.

“I think they're gone,” Jackie answered.

“I'm going to crawl out, and then put the plywood back in place,” Graham whispered. “I think Mr. Big Time and his crew are
gone. Don't anybody move until I come back.” By now he could see heads shaking in the dark. “Understood?” No one spoke.

Without making a sound, Graham pushed the plywood forward and worked his way out of the hamper. Even in the dark, he could
tell that Bridges's men had ransacked their house. Beds had been pushed aside and chests thrown away from the walls. The lights
were still on downstairs and the damage was obvious. Graham inched down the stairs, watching carefully to make sure no one
was waiting to grab him. The living room was in shambles, but the kitchen didn't look too bad. Tiptoeing, he slowly peered
around the corners of each room, but the men were gone.

Because the Pecks' family cars were parked in the garage and blocked anyone pulling the stairs down out of the attic, Pemrose's
men hadn't checked the attic, but they wouldn't have seen where the family was hiding in the distant corner if they had. Apparently,
it hadn't occurred to the thugs that the students had sneaked in front of the cars and left through the side garage door.
Once satisfied, Graham hurried back upstairs to get the family out of the attic.

“Looks like Pemrose's men assumed that we ran,” Graham said. “No one's downstairs.” He offered his hand to Adah as she crawled
through the hamper.

Adah stood up and dusted herself off. “I thank God that you had such an unusual place. These men would have killed us.”

“We don't have much time,” Eldad said. “I'm sure they will be back in the morning further to look.”

“We must run,” Graham said, “and tonight is our only chance.”

Jackie sat down on the side of the bathtub. “I've never been so frightened. I thought they had us for sure.” She looked up
at Graham. “But where can we go?”

Matt smiled. “You didn't like my idea earlier, but now it might be just what we need. I don't think anybody knows about our
summer place up on Mohawksin Lake. We could drive up there.”

Graham nodded. “I thought about this earlier when I asked your mom to gather up emergency supplies. It's on the rustic side,
but we've got a complete home up there. Since it's equipped with a propane gas tank, no one would even know we were there
for a considerable period of time. I think it's our only sure bet.”

“What about money?” Mary abruptly said. “How will we eat?”

“I put money in your grandmother's old bank account and we can use her bank card. Several days ago I also set up a separate
account under a different name,” Graham explained. “We're covered.”

Adah nodded. “Eldad and I can take a train back to Evanston and…”

“No, you can't,” Jackie said. “They'd grab you in a minute. You must come with us.”

“Oh, no. We couldn't,” Adah said.

“You have to,” Graham insisted. “Your safety is too important to us. We have room up there in the forest. Don't worry. The
Bible calls this man the dragon. You must not be out there where he could breathe on you.”

“Depending on the traffic and the condition of the roads, we can drive north in four to six hours,” Matt said. “We've got
three cars.”

“That's right,” Graham agreed. “I've got my small hydrogen coupe in addition to Jackie's car and my large auto. We'll need
all of them.”

Jackie looked at Mary, standing by herself next to the wall. “Mary, I'm sorry, but you don't have any choice. You must run
with us.”

Mary didn't say anything, but only stared at the floor.

“You children can only pack a small suitcase,” Graham said. “Don't make a sound. Just get it done.” The children raced out
of the room.

Graham put his arm on his wife's shoulder. “We must run like scared rats.”

“No, not like rats.” Adah said. “We will leave like the children of Israel did when they left Egypt. Not afraid, but with
confidence, going forward in faith!”

“Yes.” Graham smiled. “Things have changed. We can leave now, trusting in our God!”

G
RAHAM HUDDLED
the family and his Jewish friends close together in the kitchen. “Listen to me carefully,” he whispered. “Remember, there's
a curfew across the suburbs. We've got to be extremely careful.”

Everyone nodded their agreement.

“In a moment we will get in the cars in the garage. Matt will drive the hydro-coupe by himself, and Adah and Eldad will be
in Jackie's car. The rest of our family will stay together in my car. I'll raise the garage door and then we'll fly out of
here.” He looked around carefully at each one of them. “Okay?”