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Inselhotel 
Potsdam, Germany

 

“What should we do?”

Tommy rolled over to face Mai, brushing some stray strands of hair from her face, though it was merely an excuse to touch her. “I don’t know.” He thought for a moment. “What would the professors want us to do?”

Mai shrugged. “They’d want us to stay safe.”

Tommy grunted. “Well, that should be fairly easy. We’re in Germany, and they’re in Poland.”

“Are they? We really have no idea where they’re taking them, do we?”

Tommy’s eyes widened. “You’re right.” He brought up a map of Europe, pointing at Poland. “They could be heading in pretty much any direction, even Russia.”

Mai propped herself up so she could get a better look. “I doubt that. They’d have to go through Belarus or Ukraine, and those are controlled borders.”

“Aren’t they all?”

“No, not in Europe. Most countries are part of the Schengen Agreement, which means open borders. No passports required.”

Tommy was once again impressed with how smart his girlfriend was. “So they could be traveling almost anywhere within the European Union.”

“Yes, but let’s think about this. They won’t head east, because those are all controlled borders. They could head north to the Baltic Sea, but those ports are going to be watched closely.” She pointed at the map. “They could head west to Germany, or south to the Czech Republic or Slovakia.”

 Tommy scrolled the map. “You know, if they went south, they could stay in the former East Bloc countries. Things aren’t as tight there as they would be in Germany or France.”

Mai nodded. “True, but really, except for heading east, I don’t think we’ve completely ruled anything out.”

Tommy growled in frustration. “And we can’t even be sure they didn’t go east, because maybe these guys have bribed someone to let them through.”

Mai sighed. “If only we had some clue as to which way they headed.”

Tommy’s eyes widened. “Maybe we do!”

“How?”

“The cellphones! There would be a record of the phones the network connected to, and where. If these guys had even one cellphone turned on before they activated the jammer, we might be able to track it!”

“You can do that?”

Tommy stuck his hand out. “Hi, Tommy Granger, hacker extraordinaire. Nice to meet you.”

Mai giggled. “I know, I know, I should never doubt you when it comes to computers. It’s one of the things I love about you.”

He paused, his stomach flipping. “Love?”

Mai blushed and turned away. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”

Tommy smiled, his heart hammering. “Do you, umm, love me?”

She stole a glance. “I, ahh, I…”

He grabbed her by the shoulders and stared into her eyes. “I love you too!”

Her face brightened, making her more beautiful than ever, her smile almost stopping his hammering heart. “I love you!” She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him hard before finding his lips and dropping a kiss on him that removed any doubt about how she felt.

She pushed him away. “The professors,” she gasped, and he groaned in response, adjusting his shorts.

“Right, I almost forgot.” He sneaked one last peck.

She loves me!