Wired (31 page)

“What happens if someone chases us?” Matthew said.

“I don't know what we can do except split up and hope to get back together in Wisconsin,” Graham said. “I think there's a
McDonald's on the edge of Beloit. We could aim for that stop as a rendezvous point if we need to split up. I'm going to give
Matt one of the phones in a wireless intercom set I've got out here in the garage. I'll stay in front and he can bring up
the rear. If there's a problem we can communicate.”

Adah nodded her head. “I will pray the whole time that the Holy One of Israel will protect us.”

“Good,” Graham said. “Remember. Don't stop your car until we get out of Arlington Heights. Surveillance could be anywhere.”
He thumbed over his shoulder. “I'm going to have Matt cover our car tags until we get to the edge of the town. If there's
any camera surveillance set up around or outside of our house, they won't be able to trace our car numbers for a while.”

Matt darted out into the garage.

“Any questions?” Graham said.

“Do you think we will ever come back?” Mary's eyes filled with tears.

“I don't know,” Graham said. “I have no idea what's ahead.” He shook his head. “No one can even guess what the future holds.
We can only do what seems best for all of us.”

Jackie put her arm around her daughter. “Don't worry, Mary. We're going to be all right.”

Mary didn't say anything. For once she huddled protectively next to her mother.

“Okay, Dad,” Matt said in a loud whisper. “I slipped hand towels over the tags. We're ready.”

“Let's go!” Graham ordered, and everyone rushed into the garage.

In a matter of seconds, the cars filled with passengers and the electronic garage opener sent the large door up. The cars
backed out quietly. Graham quickly looked up and down the street, but saw nothing except dark houses. At first, he drove slowly
and then pushed the caravan faster. Within minutes they paused at the entry to Interstate 90 to uncover their license tags
so they wouldn't attract the attention of the highway patrol. Within second, they sped on toward Rockford.

Traffic proved to be sparse at one o'clock in the morning and their motorcade moved easily down the broad highway. The crimson
glow of the moon beamed down on them. Bypassing the town of Rockford, they drove on north toward Janesville like any other
travelers in the night. No one seemed to be paying any attention to them.

Once they crossed the state line, the late hour took its toll and the children nodded off. The stars twinkled brightly in
the cold winter night, while Jeff, George, and Mary slept in the backseat. Jackie dozed on the passenger side of the front
seat. In the rearview mirror, Graham could see Adah and Eldad following him in Jackie's car with Matt bringing up the rear
in the hydro-coupe. So far, so good.

Graham wondered if he would feel sleepy, but the possibility of danger kept him alert. By the time they had crossed the state
line he relaxed, feeling they had broken away from any surveillance or curfews in Illinois. Their caravan sped through Madison
without incident and went north on Highway 51 toward Wisconsin Rapids.

The dramatic events of the last several weeks surfaced again in Graham's mind. Discovering Jake Pemrose's hand in funding
terrorism and Borden Carson's ultimate role in the attacks had left Graham in total turmoil, but Sarah Cates's death utterly
dismayed him. Sarah had her problems, but he could never accept her death. Clearly, circumstances had unfolded with a significance
far beyond anything he could have dreamed possible, even in six lifetimes.

A
FTER SEVERAL MINUTES
, Graham thought about his mother again. Bridges's claim that he had sent the killer stung in a way that wrenched Graham back
and forth between sorrow and horrific anger. Grief over Maria's death had not subsided, and the pain was still heavy.

Yet, Graham recognized that his feelings about death had changed. No longer was dying the staggering, terrifying monster that
everyone in his office believed it was. Graham knew that his new relationship with God surprisingly changed the hooded specter
into a comrade with a purpose he could trust.

Ringing deeply in his mind, he could still hear her familiar voice. She had been the source of so much wisdom throughout his
life, often bringing insight and clarity that no one else could offer. He abruptly remembered playing checkers with her in
the corner of their living room when he was only twelve years old.

Maria had pushed a checker forward, leaned back in her chair, and grinned at Graham. “Okay, Mr. Smarty, lets see what you
do now.”

Graham had stared at the checkerboard and been mystified by what piece to move. If he had moved to the left, his mother could
jump him and pick up two checkers. However, going to the right might mean that she would end up taking even more pieces. He
wasn't sure what to do. Graham had fumed.

“You know,” Maria had said. “You are a funny little boy.”

“What?” Graham had looked up in surprise.

Maria laughed. “You are a good boy. Yes, my son, you are a fine young man, and you are smart. You do exceptionally well in
school.”

“I try.”

Maria nodded. “Yes, you are a good student and I am proud of your work, but you have one weakness, son. You tend to be naive.”

“Naive? What do you mean?”

“Well,” Maria spoke slowly, “you tend to think the best of everyone.” Her voice became more earnest. “But you often fail to
look behind their actions, and examine their motives. You don't think they are capable of the destructiveness that is natural
for them.”

“Are you serious?” Graham sounded mystified.

“It could get you in trouble someday,” Maria said seriously. “I know that you won't remember that I told you this fact,
but assuming the best doesn't always work.”

A car with bright headlights suddenly came up the other side of the hill. Graham hadn't seen another automobile approaching
them for a number of miles and the lights interrupted his memories. The car flashed past and was gone.

In that moment Graham realized that his mother had been right, very right. In the past months, he had not even once thought
about what Bridges, Pemrose, Meacham, any of them might actually be doing. Sarah Cates had been little more than a functionary
until she drank too much and tried to seduce him. Each one of them had an agenda he had not even bothered to consider and
it nearly cost Graham his life and the lives of his family. Being intelligent did not compensate for not paying careful attention.

The scene of playing checkers with his mother that afternoon returned to his mind again. They had continued playing that game
for another five minutes when Maria suddenly put her hand in the middle of the checkerboard.

“What if I told you that we are no longer playing checkers,” Maria had abruptly said.

Graham had jerked his head back. “What?”

“What if I told we are now playing the game of chess with the checkers?”

Graham had stared at his mother, not comprehending what she was saying. “You're not making any sense.”

“Well,” Maria had said with a sly twist in her voice, “what would you think if I said that the black checker over there in
the corner is now a pawn and that white one is a king.” She pointed around the board. “We could make the black checker on
the end into a rook. Right?”

“I wouldn't know what to do,” Graham said.

“It would slow you down a bit, wouldn't it?”

“Sure. How in the world would I know what was going on.”

“Yes,” Maria said. “Yes, you would be confused. Then, on the next turn I might tell you that the game we are now playing is
actually called marbles and the goal is to get our players to the other side of the board first. Now, that would finish you
off!”

“You bet,” Graham said.

Maria nodded her head. “Son, we don't go to church much, but you know that I believe in God. I've learned something that could
prove to be important to you. Just as I've been describing changing the rules in the middle of the game, the Lord often has
purposes behind the scenes that we know nothing about. We think we're playing one game, and He actually has another one in
mind.”

Graham stared in confusion. “Another one?”

We think we're living our lives in one direction, “Maria continued,” only to discover that God has taken us down a completely
different path, and then later in our life we may find out that there was a third alternative behind the scenes that we didn't
even consider. Only after a couple of decades might that last design become obvious.” Maria patted him on the hand. “Life
operates like that, you know. You might think your existence was like a checkerboard game; later you find it actually was
a chess match, and much later it turns out to have been marbles all along.”

Graham remembered staring at Maria, unsure of what to say, but feeling she had told him something of great significance. Suddenly,
it was coming clear to him. He had thought the world was sailing straight ahead—a great home in the suburbs and an important
job in Chicago politics. But in a matter of hours all the pieces on the table had been renamed. He was actually living in
the middle of a battle to stop the forces of evil from destroying the world. He and his family were plunged into a conflict
going on for centuries that they didn't even know existed. The game had turned inside out!

Rolling hills in front of Graham's car became filled with trees. Even though it was too dark to see them, Graham knew that
tall pines were starting to appear. The town of Wausau wasn't far ahead… but what was
really ahead?
What was actually on the other side of the hills, waiting for all of them out there in the future? Graham knew more danger
would be waiting than he had dreamed possible. His simple decision to trust God had plunged him into a battle where checkers
did
suddenly become chessmen.

He took Jackie's hand. She mumbled slightly and snuggled up next to him, warm and good. They could walk through this time
together and endure. Mary was a problem, but the family could struggle and still stay together. He was thankful that Adah
Honi and Eldad Rafaeli would be with them. The times would be hard, but in the midst of the battle Graham felt thankful, and
that was a new kind of hope for him. Thankfulness. Yes, and that was a good feeling.

“Dad,” Mart's voice echoed over the earpiece in Graham's ear. “I'm being followed!”

O
THER THAN
the headlights of the four cars, blackness surrounded the Pecks like a shroud. Flying down the highway at 80 miles an hour,
Graham carefully studied his rearview mirror to understand what was happening behind him. Adah Honi was still following his
bumper and he could see Matt driving at a safe distance from her, but another car was clearly on his son's taillights. Graham
picked up the transmitter and spoke softly.

“Son, we're in Wisconsin. If it's not the highway patrol, no one from Illinois has any jurisdiction. They can't legally stop
us.”

“I don't care what's lawful,” Matt barked. “I'm not sure where I picked this guy up, but he's clearly on my tail.”

“Can you see who's in the car?”

“No, but he keeps talking into a cell phone. He's getting instructions from someone.”

“Do you want me to pull over and stop?”

“Dad, I think stopping would play into his hands.”

Graham thought for a minute. “Then let's try another angle. I'm going to slow down to fifty-five miles an hour. Let's see
what he does.” He took his foot off the gas pedal.

After fifteen seconds, Matt called back. “He's slowing down exactly like we are. No question but that this guy is following
us.”

“We need to know who he is,” Graham concluded. “You got a flashlight. Right?”

“Yes.”

“I want you to do this maneuver carefully, Matt. We don't need any wrecks. Set your rearview mirror so you'll get a clear
facial view. Then turn on the flashlight and shine it over your shoulder. Find out if you've seen this creep before.”

“Here goes nothing.” The intercom went dead.

Graham hung on, hoping the light wouldn't cause an accident, but he didn't know any other way to fathom who was on Mart's
bumper.

Suddenly, the earpiece buzzed. “Dad! I saw him. Jake Pemrose is following us! He's in the car by himself.”

“Pemrose?” Graham gasped. “Lord help us! Okay, Matt. Hit the gas. I want you to pull around Adah and get in front of me. Let's
see what Mr. Big Time does now.”

Graham watched his son abruptly pull over into the opposite lane and fly up the road. The lightweight hydro-coupe had the
capacity to jump thirty to forty miles per hour in seconds. Matt drove up parallel, gave his father a wave, and shot ahead.
Graham watched carefully. For the moment Pemrose stayed behind Adah.

“What's happened?” Matt asked.

Graham kept speaking quietly. “He's still back there. We can drive this way for a while, but he's got to make a move sooner
or later.”

“Yeah,” Matt said. “What's he trying to do?”

“I don't know.”

But Graham did know. Bridges had threatened
him
, not the family or the Jews traveling with them. He had information that would hurt the mayor and Graham knew how to use
it. While Pemrose might hurt someone in the family, the only person he would want to kill
was him
.

Graham looked around his car. He had never been much of a sportsman and didn't really like guns. Unfortunately, he hadn't
taken any handguns, rifles, any weapons. He searched across the seat. No knives… no sharp-pointed objects… nothing. There
wasn't one thing in the entire car he could use to protect himself. Nothing.

Headlights flashed behind him. Jake was starting to move out. All Pemrose needed to do was to draw parallel with Graham's
car and the man could shoot a handgun from the shoulder. At the least, Graham would go crashing off the highway into the ditch
at a speed that would produce a horrendous crash. At worst, Pemrose would kill him.