Their only hope might be for a trucker or another driver to come to their aid.

  “Tom!”

  Levi tried to listen as Mae finally got a call through.

  “Tom! They found us and slit our tires. We’re back on the highway that leads off of Interstate 35, but we aren’t going to make it very far.”

  “They slit my tires!”

  Well, that came over the line loud and clear.

  “I’m afraid so. Luckily, Levi was able to patch them or we wouldn’t have made it this far. Look, they may come back. We kind of did something that I don’t wish to discuss over the phone. But we are going to need help and as soon as you can get it to us.”

  She listened and wrote something down and then she hung up.

  “Sounds like he’s upset about the car.”

  “Rightfully so.”

  Levi waited but she didn’t elaborate. He’d have to pull it out of her.

  “So…”

  “Oh, yes, he said to try to make it back to that Phillip’s truck stop and he’d have someone there to pick us up.”

  “What if we can’t make it?”

  At that moment the wheel jerked from his grip. He veered right and off the road.

  Mae’s eyes rounded, and she clutched the dash. When they came to a halt, she said, “What happened?”

  “I think we just had a blowout.” He ran his hands through his hair. Think, Levi, think. “Try to get Tom back on the phone while I check the damage.” He climbed from the vehicle then reached in and grabbed his cane.

  How had a simple trip to the graveyard turned into him being stranded in Kansas? Only he could have this problem.

  Only him…

  ****

  The call to Tom failed multiple times. Levi was riffling through the trunk. She heard frustrated mumbling. Dust flew from the air as his bad leg kicked upwards.

  She leaned her head back against the headrest. This wasn’t good.

  Levi returned to the driver’s seat. “I think we’re going to have to hope Tom figures out where we are.”

  Her stomach growled. “Sorry.” Heat flushed her cheeks.

  He reached around and dug in the backpack. He handed her a granola bar. She was going to half it but he drew one out for himself as well. They had to be getting low on supplies. The cave exploration was supposed to last for one day. Now it had gone for over twenty-four hours.

  She licked her lips, and he handed her a bottle of water before she even asked. She opened it and took a swig. Then she sipped slowly. The thought of asking how much they had left entered her mind when he jumped from the car and started waving his arm. The transfer truck pulled to a shuddering halt beside them.

  Levi had left open the door so she heard the driver say, “Need some help?”

  “Yes, sir. Would me and my girl be able to grab a ride to the next truck stop? We had a blowout and I’m afraid it wasn’t the first one.”

  “Sure. No problem. Just let me move a few things.”

  While the driver rearranged to give them space Mae thought over the statement that he was her girl. It was the second time he’d called her that. Each time it was probably the safest way to describe her under the circumstances, but it still felt odd.

  Levi leaned into the open doorway. “Get your stuff. We’re going to lock up.”

  She grabbed the backpack and climbed out. Levi had his bag and her bag. He locked the doors a couple of different times as if he was nervous about leaving Tom’s car.

  Mae didn’t blame him.

  She climbed into the truck behind the bucket seat and onto a bench. She slid behind the passenger seat to have a better angle of the driver.

  As Levi climbed in, the driver reached back and offered his hand.

  “Nevin Stillwell, nice to meet you.”

  “Mae Girasol. Thank you for the lift.”

  “No problem. I have a son about your man’s age. I wouldn’t want him stranded on the side of the road.”

  Levi buckled as the truck started rolling.

  “I see your cane and your tat, did you serve?”

  “Yes, sir. Until my injury.”

  “Sorry to hear that. My son is over there now. I pray for him daily.”

  “We’ll add him to our prayers as well.”

  “Much appreciated.”

  Mae watched the easy way Levi connected with the driver. The man was friendly to everyone.

  Thirty minutes passed before they reached the truck stop. As soon as they stepped from the truck, Mae called Tom and updated him.

  “I’ll call a tow. Your ride will be there very shortly. Just look up.”

  Mae had no idea what he meant but she agreed to do as requested.

  Levi thanked the truck driver. He offered payment but Nevin refused stating prayers for his son were enough. He wished them luck then pulled away from the station.

  Mae went in, used the restroom, and grabbed a cold soda for both of them. She stepped out into the sunshine as Levi opened the door.

  “What did Tom say?”

  “He’d send a tow for the car.”

  “Anything else?”

  “He said he was sending a ride and to look up.”

  “Look up?” Levi’s question came at the same moment a helicopter landed in the field next to the station.

  Mae and Levi didn’t hesitate to make the trek across the paved lot, through a fence opening, and right to the helicopter.

  “You Levi Anderson?” The pilot shouted over the noise.

  “I am.”

  “Tom Donahue sends his regards. Are we ready to get underway?”

  “We are.”

  Levi climbed in the back this time and put her in the front. She should have told him about her fear of heights. Yeah, that might have been a good idea.

  ****

  Ivan had eyes on the truck stop. He’d heard that the couple made it out of the cave and through sunflower field despite their little tire mishap. A helicopter had picked them up from the gas station.

  Not surprising. Secret agents should have means to move around quickly. However, this was a setback that his team could ill afford.

  If one of them had a photographic memory as he suspected, the fact that they almost had a working laser would put them ahead; however, it was possible they couldn’t remember. Or they didn’t want to remember.

  One well-placed rocket would take them out of the sky and ensure his group would be ahead of the game no matter their memory status.

  He needed to call the boss before it was too late.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Levi watched Mae. She was shaking from head to toe. Her knuckles were white as she grasped the seatbelt. He should have considered that she might be afraid of heights since she was afraid of so many other things and she’d balked at crossing the bridge. She was an NSA agent, though. She’d mentioned the police academy. Didn’t they have some kind of requirements?

  The pilot flew them over a copse of trees. Levi wasn’t sure how long they would fly or if perhaps they would land and drive again. He didn’t even know where they were going.

  “Where are we going?” Mae asked over the headset.

  “McConnell Air Force Base. They’re expecting you.”

  Mae seemed to relax. That shouldn’t be too long of a trip if Levi remembered correctly.

  When they touched down, they seemed to be expected. They were placed in a black SUV with dark windows and driven to an unknown location on the base. No one spoke. Mae grabbed his hand and squeezed. If she was trying to reassure him, she needn’t have bothered. He wouldn’t be reassured until he was at home in his one bedroom apartment watching reruns of old cartoons.

  They entered an underground garage, parked, and were escorted by five men armed with M-16s into a briefing room. The heavily armed men left them there alone. Levi survived his surroundings. There wasn’t much. Old manila colored phones sat on a long oblong table surrounded by chairs on wheels. Two large machines sat in the corner. The furniture looked like it came out of an eighties magazine for underground military facilities shown on television.

  Mae clutched the backpack before her while he clung to the straps on their clothing bags. He thought about dragging out the plans and rolling them out on the desk. When it was discovered they’d destroyed the correct one, he would take the blame. He’d probably be trading his one room cozy apartment for an eight-by-ten cell, but Max had given up his life for Levi and this had been his one request.

  A woman in a white lab coat and circle glasses perched on the end of her nose entered the room. Her hair was secured in a tight bun and showed signs of gray around her temples.

  “Good evening. Please take a seat.”

  Mae didn’t move until he helped her. Then he sat himself.

  “Tom Donahue had Rory Chance call us about some plans for a laser design. This was not your original destination but some chatter about shooting down a helicopter made us reroute you.”

  Mae gasped. Levi squeezed her hand beneath the table.

  “That being established, you may relinquish the plans to us. Your car had been retrieved and the tires replaced. Once we have the plans you are free to go.”

  The lady hadn’t introduced herself. Levi worried about the anonymity, but still he drew out the plans and unrolled them on the tabletop. The scientist lady moved her glasses up and began studying them. “Interesting. This seems to be Walter Gram’s failed attempts.”

  Levi shrugged. The desire to blurt the truth was teasing his tongue.

  “Was this all of them?” The scientist lady pushed the glasses farther up onto her nose and looked at Levi.

  Mae spoke, “We were attacked in the cave after we found the first one and we handed it over to the assailant. Levi smudged out the number so the thug wouldn’t realize they didn’t have the original.”

  “You did a good thing.” The lady paused. “So, no others then?” She waited.

  “This is what we have.” Mae responded, thankfully.

  “Very well.” The scientist rose and took the plans to a large machine. She scanned them then put them in a shredder. The pages disintegrated before their eyes. All of Max’s work just…gone.

  “I’ll have you escorted to your car.”

  The lady disappeared to be replaced by soldiers in uniform once more. They were taken back to the parking garage then driven onto the base.

  Tom’s car looked shiny and new. Levi thanked their escorts and got into the car. After they exited the base, he found a safe place and pulled over. He got out using his finger over his lips to silence Mae.

  The whole thing had been too easy. They hadn’t given the lady a real answer about the other plan. Neither of them had wanted to lie. And he knew the military. They wouldn’t give up that easily.

  As he walked around the vehicle, he made a close inspection. He found what he was looking for and hoped wouldn’t be there. A tracker was in the wheel well. He took it off and threw it in a bag. There was another in the trunk.

  Inside, the vehicle were several listening devices. Levi removed them and threw them in a plastic bag that Tom had put in their packs for garbage. Once they reached a stop, he’d give them a lot to listen to and someone really fun to follow.

  ****

  Mae wrote a note. They listening?

  He nodded, and replied on the paper, Talk.

  She’d talked all right.

  “What a day! I can’t wait to go home and put my feet in my massager.”

  Levi cocked a brow, but played along. “I wish I had one of those. Maybe I’ll go for a pedicure.”

  Mae laughed silently behind her hand.

  They kept up the ridiculous dialogue until they reached a rest area. Levi placed the trackers on a van full of teenagers and put the listening devices on a dog he saw doing its business.

  Mae sat back and watched.

  When he climbed back inside the car, she wrote, are you sure you got them all?

  He shrugged and wrote, I think so. I can’t talk about feet anymore.

  She laughed and wrote, I’ll look too.

  Feet. She couldn’t talk about them anymore either.

  She did her own sweep of the car. Nothing seemed out of place or resembled the other devices so she would assume they were in the clear. She wasn’t happy about being bugged.

  They’d risked their lives to get those plans. Plans that should have been destroyed ages ago.

  Walter should never have hidden them. He could have saved everyone a lot of trouble if he’d gotten rid of them before he ran off and disappeared. He probably just didn’t want to destroy his work.

  She needed to think about something else. Like getting out of this car. “How much farther until we find a place to rest that is more comfortable than this car?”

  “I say we drive another hour or so then stop.”

  “Music?”

  He agreed.

  Conversation stopped. Whether he was worried they missed something or because he was tired of talking, she wasn’t sure.

  Instead of stopping in an hour, he let two pass. If they had gotten to all the hotels in a one hour radius then they would be disappointed. It was a good idea.

  He stopped the car and exited. He grabbed his bag from the back seat then put it back. He drew out clothes and only the things he needed.

  Being so distrustful was keeping them safe but it was sad they had to do that when they were only trying to protect everyone.

  He secured a room in an upscale hotel. It had all the amenities the other hadn’t. She didn’t question until they were inside the room.

  She flopped onto the couch. “Any reason for the swanky hotel?”

  “I figured they would be less likely to look here.”

  She was okay with that answer. “You think we could order food.”

  “I’m glad you asked.” Levi picked up the phone and ordered, picking a dish she’d ordered before. She was happy with that.

  He showered while she waited.

  Mae stared out the window. Soon their little adventure would be over. They would go their separate ways. He’d go back to being a file clerk and she’d go back to staring at the computer screen. Unless she tried to find a new job, which was looking more and more appealing every day.

  A knock on the door caused her to jump and grab her chest. She released a long breath as she walked to the door. Peeping through the hole she spotted a young man in hotel uniform with a rolling tray of food.

  She eased the door open and he waited until she opened it all the way before entering. He rolled the tray in. She handed him a ten dollar bill and he thanked her and left.

  After the door closed and she locked it, her muscles relaxed. Was this going to happen forever? Would everyone she met seem like they were trying to do her in?

  Five minutes passed before Levi came from the luxury bathroom. He was swathed in a thick white robe. He grabbed his covered plate off the tray, took a seat, lowered his head to pray then started eating.

  “Join me.”

  She grabbed her own plate and sat beside him. He didn’t ask but she had checked the entire order to make sure everything was correct.

  He reached over and squeezed her hand so quickly she wasn’t sure it even happened.

  Their relationship would be something she would need to review and soon. Once he was out of her life, she wasn’t sure what she would do with herself.

  Honestly, she didn’t want to think about that. Him not being a part of her life was going to be change she could do without.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Levi retired to the bedroom as Mae retired to the one on the opposite side. The bed was the perfect amount of firmness, but nothing was helping the pain in his leg. He needed to realize he wasn’t who he used to be. The cane sitting next to the bed should be a reminder that not only physically but spiritually and mentally he was different as well.

  “God, help me. I don’t know where to go now.”

  His eyes closed as he was still muttering a prayer for guidance.

  The morning wakeup call was a surprise.

  “Levi?”

  “Tom?” He rubbed sleep from his eyes and rolled over to look at the clock. “Why are you calling so early?”

  “Did you remove all the stuff the military put on my car?”

  “I did.” He laid his head back on the pillow.

  “They aren’t happy.”

  “Too bad. I’m not happy about giving my life and part of my body to them and then being treated like a criminal after doing a job they haven’t been able to do for years.” Then, when they did try to do it, they sent a novice who could have easily gotten herself killed. That was something he would explain to Tom later.

  “I understand, but they think you’re hiding something.”

  Levi laughed. He was but he wasn’t sharing that over the phone, he might never share it. What was the point? It was gone. And according to that weird technical description Mae gave, it might not have worked anyway.

  “Look, you retrieved the plans. You delivered the plans. I think you should go home. Telling them about the other people who took a flawed plan was a good idea.”

  A baby cried in the background, and Levi heard hushed whispers. Leah must be listening in.

  He sighed. “It was true.”

  As if he hadn’t stopped talking, Tom continued, “When you get home, they are going to send someone to question you about this assailant. You need to give an accurate description. You and Mae.”

  In other words, their stories needed to match.

  He understood.

  Other than remembering it wrong, it shouldn’t be a problem. They were both there when it happened.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow… at your apartment.”

  “Okay.”

  Tom hung up without a goodbye.

  Levi rolled to the side of the bed and sat upright. He massaged the pitted skin of his upper thigh. It was six-thirty. He wished he could go back to sleep but it wasn’t going to happen. In order to make it back to his apartment within the day they needed to start right away.