La Rochelle, France
A
cton climbed out of the water, stumbling toward the sandy beach as he struggled to regain his balance with the heavy Bible in one hand and his bag with a far lighter change of clothes in the other. Laura supplied a steadying hand, and they strode from the water, ignoring any onlookers, confidence the key to allaying any suspicions.
It worked.
They rinsed the saltwater off in one of the showers, then dried off with a towel handed to him by Laura, something he hadn’t thought to bring. They quickly donned the change of clothes they had brought, then he checked to confirm the Bible had survived their swim.
The phone rang and he grabbed it from one of the bags, putting it on speaker after confirming no one was within earshot. “Hello?”
“Good to see you made it.”
He glanced around for prying eyes. “How do you know we did?”
“Because I’m tracking your phone. I know exactly where you are all the time.”
Acton frowned at the not unexpected revelation. “Okay, fine, we’re in France. When and where are we meeting for the exchange?”
“Oh, I think you misunderstand, Professor. We’re not doing the exchange there.”
Acton tossed his head back in frustration. “Then why the hell did you have us come here?”
“To get you out of Spain. Nobody is looking for you in France, at least not yet. Right now, you’re the two most wanted people in the world, and we need to get you out of Europe as soon as possible.”
He tensed, exchanging a nervous glance with Laura. “Out of Europe? How in blazes are we going to manage that?”
“I want you to get yourselves to the La Rochelle Airport. There’s a plane waiting for you.”
Acton shook his head adamantly. “There’s no way we’re getting on a plane.”
“Professor, if you don’t do exactly as I say, more people are going to die. You’ll get on that plane, and when you arrive at your destination, you’ll be met at the airport. You’ll be taken to a secret location where you’ll hand over the Bible. And assuming you followed my instructions exactly, you’ll be allowed to leave unscathed. Don’t follow my instructions, not only will more people die, but so will you.”
Laura reached out and took his hand, nodding to him, and he frowned. For she was right. They had no choice, and arguing with the man was pointless. “Fine. Where is this airport?”
“Just a moment…okay, I’ve activated the GPS on your phone. You’ll be able to use the maps function now.” The phone vibrated. “I just sent you your destination.”
“Just a second.” Acton tapped on the link in the message and the map application opened. He brought up the directions from their current location. “That’s ten minutes by car. We’re on foot.”
“Figure it out, Professor Acton. I assume you’re an intelligent man if you have that title. I’m sure you and your equally intelligent wife can manage.”
The call ended and Acton cursed. “Now what do we do?”
Laura stared at the street running parallel to the beach. “I don’t think we have much choice. We’re going to have to figure out a faster way than on foot.”
“Agreed.” He spotted two bicycles lying nearby in the sand and gestured toward them. Laura looked. “What do you think?”
“I think we’re not thieves.”
“Right now, the world thinks we’re mass-murdering terrorists. Besides, we just stole a boat.”
She sighed. “But that’s different. He’s got insurance. Whoever these bikes belong to could be teenagers. Maybe I could leave them a note telling them where we left them.”
He gave her a look. “Nooo, because they’ll find that note in the next few minutes then tell the police exactly where we’re heading.”
She sighed. “Sorry, I’m not thinking straight. We have to do something, though.”
The stress was getting to both of them, and bad decisions were being made all around. They had to act fast otherwise the bikes might be collected before they made their minds up. “I’ll tell you what. When this is all over, if we have to, we’ll put ads in the paper to find out who owns them so we can compensate them. Okay?”
She smiled. “Thanks for humoring me.”
He gave her a peck then looked around to see if anyone was watching. “Okay, I think we’re good.” Again with confidence, he walked over and picked up one of the bikes, then carried it up to the street, Laura following suit. He climbed on his and started to peddle, struggling to balance his load.
Somebody shouted behind them.
