“The thing you fear most has no power. Your fear of it is what has the power. Facing the truth really will set you fr ee.” Oprah Winfrey “Vacation?” “I’m sorry, what?” Penelope asked. “Are you going to Jackson for vacation?” “Yes. Vacation.” Looking around, Penelope found herself in a middle seat of the Jackson Hole shuttle and looking up at a smiling woman about her age. The shuttle was starting to fill as new passengers boarded and stowed their suitcases. “Do you mind?” Penelope still wasn’t tracking very well. Once again her internal system had experienced a shock that baffl ed her intellect and left her numb. “May I sit with you? You never know what you’re going to get, otherwise.” “Of course,” Penelope said as she slid over. “I’m Paula Simpson.” Penelope panicked. She had forgotten the name on the new identification Walker had given her. What was she going to do? Paula leaned in and whispered. “Your name is Elizabeth Hart from Akron, Ohio. I’m a friend.” Penelope Spence stared at the woman with openmouthed wonder. “He sent me to watch over you.” A guardian angel? Penelope was finding it difficult to form words, much less sentences. 191 The Fourth Awakening She didn’t remember boarding the bus or how she had avoided being arrested. Paula leaned over and patted her on the arm. “Th e first couple a times you do that can really take the starch out of you. We’ve got a long ride, so why don’t you try to get some rest now? You’ve had a rough couple a days.” . “What do you mean, this isn’t Penelope Spence?” Wolfe demanded as he spun the woman in the chair around. She certainly looked like Spence to him. Smith’s shoulders sagged. “According to her fingerprints,” Security Chief McGee said, “she’s…” “Sally Winters,” Smith said, cutting off McGee in mid-sentence. “Hi, Robert.” “You know her?” Wolfe demanded. “Of course I know her.” Smith wanted to add, ‘You idiot’ but swallowed the urge. “She is one of Michael Walker’s personal staff .” “Senior Vice President of Communications for Walker Industries, actually.” Walker corrected. “She used her real name and passport when she checked in,” McGee stated. Without another word, Smith turned on his heels and left the room. Caught off guard, Chief McGee and Special Agent Marcus Wolfe were left standing in the middle of the interrogation room and unsure of what to do next. Michael Walker offered some advice. “I think Robert is waiting for you in the hall.” The two men, realizing he was probably correct, left the room. In the corridor, Smith was already in the middle of a call to the Director. “No, sir. I have no idea what he’s up to. We have no reason to hold the woman. She is the head of public relations for Walker Industries and you can pretty much bet she’s not the only Walker Industries PR person here in the terminal. The airplane ticket was booked in her name and she is not on any of our no-fly or terrorist watch lists.” Smith began pacing in a tight circle as he focused all of his attention on the phone at his ear. “Sir, Walker Industries has over 85,000 employees. We couldn’t put them all on the no-fly list, and until this moment we had no idea that she would be a concern.” He listened again. “This place is crawling with media, and if we arrest her I’m sure someone on her staff will tip them off. Do you 192 Rod Pennington & Jeffery A. Martin really want to see the head of Walker’s PR department holding a press conference right now?” Smith’s head bobbed up and down slightly as he listened. “I agree.” Assistant Director Smith put his hand over the mouthpiece of the phone, looked at McGee and said. “The woman is free to go.” “What?” exclaimed Wolfe, freezing the Chief in his tracks. “Which is it?” McGee asked. “She’s free to go.” Smith turned back to his cell phone. “Yes, sir. We can try to bring him back to Washington but I doubt we can hold him…” “I’ll guarantee it,” Wolfe said. A bemused smile covered Smith’s face as he glanced up at Wolfe to see if he was serious. He obviously was. “Hold on, one second.” He turned and faced Wolfe, then held his cell phone close enough to the other agent’s face that the Director would be able to hear the words directly from his mouth. “Director. I personally guarantee the delivery of Michael Walker to Washington.” Smith shook his head and grinned. “You heard it straight from Special Agent Marcus Wolfe that he personally guarantees the delivery of Michael Walker to Washington.” Smith chuckled, “I agree. Okay.” Smith closed his phone, turned to Wolfe and smiled again. “Th e Director has given you full authority and responsibility for getting Michael Walker to Washington. This is your operation now. I’m just an observer.” “Finally,” Wolfe thought to himself. The three previous escapes had occurred after they had turned Walker over to Smith. His guys would never let him escape. Wolfe pushed the button on the intercom and barked to his men. “The woman is free to go.” A few moments later Sally Winters emerged from the interrogation room and smiled at Assistant Director Smith. “Good seeing you again, Robert,” she said cheerfully, as she headed down the corridor escorted by two airport security men. Wolfe shook his head as he watched Winters walk away. “I can’t believe this,” Wolfe muttered. “You’re just letting her walk out of here like this.” “If I were running this operation instead of you, Marcus, I probably would have put at least two of my men on her,” Smith replied. Wolfe glared a hole through Smith before pushing the button to the 193 The Fourth Awakening intercom. “Parks, Taylor.” The door opened and two burly men stepped out of the holding room. “Go follow the Winters woman and don’t be afraid to let her know you’re there.” The men nodded, then sprinted down the corridor aft er her. Before the door to the holding room fully closed they heard the sounds of shouts and the scraping of chairs. The door flew open and one of Wolf ’s security crew was standing in the doorway ashen. “Did you stop him?” “Stop who?” Wolfe demanded. “Walker,” he said, “One second he was there, the next second he was gone.” “What do you mean, gone?” Wolfe shouted, as he stared through the one-way glass at the spot where Michael Walker had just been. Th e heavy leather belt that moments earlier had been around their prisoner’s waist was folded neatly on the chair. The two agents Wolfe had sent to trail Sally Winters were hustling back down the hallway. “Sorry, sir, but we lost her.” “What do you mean you lost her?” Wolfe demanded. “It was like she just vanished.” “That didn’t take long,” Smith said as he tossed his phone to Wolfe. “Just hit redial to get the Director.” . PPenelope Spence, AKA Elizabeth Hart, had been asleep long enough that the sun was starting to set. “Hello, sleepyhead,” Paula Simpson said. The shuttle bus was pulling into an airport, and for the briefest moment Penelope was afraid they had returned to Salt Lake City. But, this airport was much smaller. Th e elevation seemed higher and the mountains were in the wrong place. Seeing the puzzlement on Penelope’s face, Paula said, “This is the Idaho Falls airport. The shuttle stops here before heading over the pass to Jackson.” Penelope ran her tongue across her teeth; they were covered with fi lm, and the inside of her nose felt like it was full of tiny, hard cockleburs. “Here,” Paula said as she handed Penelope a liter of bottled water. “It’s a lot less humid here than what you’re used to, and you’ll need to stay hydrated. At this elevation, and with it being so dry, you’re going to think you’re not sweating. But that’s not the case, it just evaporates instantly.” 194 Rod Pennington & Jeffery A. Martin Less humid was an understatement. Having spent nearly her entire life at sea level in the oppressive humidity of Charleston, Idaho felt like it was trying to suck every drop of liquid out and dry roast her. “You’re going to need to use more moisturizer, and you’re defi nitely going to need some of this.” Paula handed her a small tin of lip balm. “Th anks, ah…” “Paula.” The shuttle pulled to a stop and the driver opened the door and announced that they would be leaving in half an hour. “Here,” Paula said as she handed Penelope a small plastic bag. Looking inside Spence found a nearly identical set of toiletries to the ones Walker had given her earlier in the day. “Does Walker buy this stuff in bulk?” Paula bristled slightly and looked around to be sure no one was listening. Everyone else on the shuttle had already left the bus or was in the process of gathering up their things to exit and no one had heard the exchange. She leaned in and whispered, “No names when we’re out among the general populace. Understand?” Penelope Spence nodded that she did, wondering when the cloak and dagger stuff would start to become more second nature. “The things he remembers to take care of is friggin’ amazing sometimes.” The two women stood up to leave when Penelope noticed that Paula had left her purse. When Penelope reached for it, Paula stopped her and shook her head no. The two women left the shuttle and the automatic doors of the terminal opened as Paula exclaimed, “Nuts! I forgot my purse.” She turned on her heels and jogged back to the shuttle. A few moments later she rejoined her traveling companion. “What was that about?” “I was checkin’ to see if we were being followed. If you do a quick and unexpected 180 you can usually spot a tail instantly. They’re so surprised they will usually do something stupid to expose themselves.” Penelop............