Page 50 of Fighting for Mallory

Judd’s heart dropped into his stomach. How the hell does something like this happen without anyone noticing? “I’ll need names.”

“Impossible. Becoming invisible happens during indoctrination. Individual identities are scrubbed from existence. No names. No personal connections. All ties with family and friends are cut.”

“And their families? They don’t file missing person reports? Their friends don’t ask questions?”

“You would be surprised by how little we care for one another.”

Judd’s mind whirled with questions he wanted to ask Dr. Khalil, but only one mattered at the moment. “Where is your son right now?”

“I don’t know.”

“But you know where he’ll be on the twenty-ninth.”

“Yes. In Tennessee.”

“Why Tennessee?”

“The harvest moon sacrifices always occur in Tennessee. In the caves.”

“In the same location?”

“No. Too risky.”

“So, you have no idea which cave he’ll use to hold the harvest moon sacrifice?”

“No.”

“Is Nehebkau in Tennessee right now? If not, how will he travel there?”

“I don’t know. But he’ll travel by car, changing vehicles along the way. To answer your next question, he never travels the same highways twice. And he’ll stay off the interstate.”

Judd rose to his feet and ended the recording. “I think I have all the information I need for the moment. You’ll be transported to a safe house and placed under twenty-four-hour protection until Nehebkau is in custody.”

“You won’t kill him?” Dr. Khalil gazed at him through sad yet hopeful dark eyes.

“Not if he surrenders without hurting anyone or threatening law enforcement. But I’m sure you’re aware of the odds. He attacked Detective Martinelli and D.A. Hayes three times and left Martinelli for dead.” Judd paused. Her eyes glistened with tears. “I’m sorry. From this point on, you may not have access to any electronic devices. Absolutely no phone calls unless it’s to your lawyer.”

“I understand. How long will I be in protective custody?”

“Until Nehebkau is either apprehended or killed.”

“What if he eludes you?”

Judd’s jaw tightened. “He won’t.”

It took a couple of hours for Judd to coordinate with the U.S. Marshal’s office in San Francisco to move Dr. Khalil to a safe house in Eureka. He and Faith followed the standard black Suburban north on the Pacific Coast Highway, half expecting an attack orchestrated by Neheb. Some of the tension left Judd’s body when they arrived at the safe house without incident. After reassuring himself that there weren’t any electronics available in the house and issuing a stern reminder to the U.S. Marshals not to let their cell phones out of their sight, Judd and Faith headed back to San Francisco.

“What now?” she asked.

“Now we fly to Tennessee and help Luca.”

* * *

26 September

Three days until Harvest Moon

Luca and the nine other members of the rescue team rented six rooms on the bottom interior floor of a motel not far from the point where they intended to begin their search for Mallory. The sixth room had a kitchenette, so they were using it as a makeshift command center. Three sophisticated computer systems tracked the weather and provided aerial views of the surrounding geography. The secret organization Maverick and Clayton worked for provided top quality equipment and arranged military grade covered trucks to transport them to the entry point. In thirty minutes they’d be rolling out to recon the area.

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