Under the Radar. Fern Michaels

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      Nikki licked at her dry lips and worried her bottom lip with her teeth as she contemplated the stack of papers in front of her. She flexed her fingers before she started to sift and collate the inch-thick pile of printouts she’d just run off. How did Charles do this and not make mistakes? She’d lucked out, though, with Avery Snowden, a pal of Charles’s from the old days. Like Charles he was a former British intelligence agent and only too happy to get back into the game. She had to admit that she was surprised at how much the man actually knew about the Sisterhood’s activities, which meant Charles trusted him implicitly.

      Nikki perused the papers in front of her one more time before she stepped away from the computers and marched down the steps and over to the round table, where the other Sisters were waiting for her.

      “I think we’re in business. Mr. Avery Snowden, Charles’s go-to guy and the one who heads up the behind-the-scenes network Charles uses, is on board and will get back to me within the hour. In other words, we’re going to see Annie’s and Myra’s money working for us. I will say this, Avery was a tad upset that we were not going to be compensated for taking on such a large-scale mission. He said money talks and bullshit walks, but whatever he could do, he would do.

      “He explained it this way. It takes thousands of people to make the network function to our advantage, and if one of them just makes phone calls or lends a car or buys materials, they all have to be paid, and it adds up at the end of the month. He said this particular network has people waiting in line to help because our reputation is so sterling. We can always help ourselves to some of the HOE’s funds when we’re finished. Just enough to pay all those people for helping us. They’re stealing it to begin with, so we’ll just steal it back. Works for me,” Nikki said loftily, as the others nodded to indicate their agreement.

      “Our biggest hurdle right now is getting off this mountain and to Utah. When I told Avery this mission involved the polygamy sect, I heard him suck in his breath. The authorities, as we all know, are all over those people, especially in Texas and Arizona. He admitted he didn’t know anything about the HOE group in Utah but said he would know everything there is to know by the time he calls me back.”

      Nikki turned to Alexis. “Is your Red Bag filled? Do you need anything? If so, make me a list, and I’ll pass it on to Avery.”

      “I don’t need anything, Nikki. I replenished what I’d used when we got back from Vegas. Everything’s good to go.”

      “Did any phone calls come in while I was working on the computer? Yoko, any word from Harry?”

      Yoko shook her head.

      Annie’s phone rang. The room turned silent as they tried to make sense of Annie’s end of the conversation. Kathryn scribbled the word “speakerphone,” and Annie pressed the button. Pearl’s panic-stricken voice invaded the room.

      “It’s a huge white bus, no lettering on it that I can see. The girls are getting excited like they know who it is.”

      “Why are you traveling by day, Pearl? I thought yours was a nighttime operation,” Annie said, her voice rising with anxiety.

      “Things changed rapidly. There was a deputy who was a little too curious. I’m sure the Highway Patrol is monitoring my last stop or will be soon. You need to call and put my people on alert. By now I have to assume those polygamy people are looking for the girls. I just crossed the border into Idaho. You know what that means. They are gaining on me, and the girls are getting really excited. They keep saying the Prophet is coming to take them home. Don’t even think of telling me to try and outrun them.”

      “Stay calm, Pearl, and leave your cell phone on for as long as you can so we know what’s going on. Just put that ear bud in your ear and none of them will be the wiser. Help is on the way, but unfortunately you’re all the way across the country, and it’s going to take a while. If they just want the girls, give them up. You have no other choice. Do you have your gun?”

      “Yes, in the you know what, under the you know what,” Pearl responded. “Do you want me to…to use it?”

      “God, no. Well, not unless you have to. My best advice is to play along, you’re taking the girls to safety because they wouldn’t tell you anything, and when you mentioned the police, they panicked. You’re being a Good Samaritan, that’s all. Make up some fictitious clinic that takes in unwed mothers in Idaho, and that’s where you’re headed. Remember, Pearl, they can identify you, the barn, and George and Irma.”

      “I know, I know. The people I just left have a plan in case something like this ever went down. Have someone call them right now to put that plan into effect. Oh, oh, the van is trying to cut me off. I have to pull over. I can’t risk an accident with the girls on board.”

      “Okay, I’ll stay quiet, but leave the phone open on the seat,” Annie said.

      The Sisters crowded closer to make sure they could hear everything that was going on. They heard Pearl downshift, heard the brakes on the bus start to catch. They could hear the excitement of the young girls as they whooped and hollered. Then they heard Pearl release the catch that would open the bus’s doors.

      “Who are you? What do you want? I’m going to call the police if you don’t get away from this bus right now!”

      A big man in his midfifties stepped up into the bus. His hair was gray as was his moustache. He was dressed—Pearl sought for the proper word and finally came up with it—nattily. She wondered if young people these days even knew what that meant.

      “There’s no need for hostility, ma’am. We just came here to pick up our property. We’ll be on our way unless you give us a problem. We mean you no harm, and we are not carrying weapons.”

      “What property?” Pearl blustered. “I don’t have anything that belongs to you. You can’t just come aboard here and tell me what to do. These young girls need medical assistance. I’m taking them to…”

      “No, you see, ma’am, that’s where you’re wrong, you are not taking these young ladies anywhere. These young ladies belong to me and these gentlemen behind me. They belong to us because they are our wives.”

      Pearl could feel her blood start to boil. “Stop with the nonsense, these are just young unwed pregnant women. They’re not old enough to be married. If you take them, you are kidnapping them. I’ll have to alert the authorities.”

      “No, you won’t do that because you just crossed the state line from Utah into Idaho and our wives live in Utah. I’ll be the one doing the calling, and I will press charges if you don’t release these women to me right now.”

      “Let them go, let them go,” the Sisters hissed. “Let them go and get out of there, Pearl, before those stupid goons make good on their threat.”

      Pearl knew when she was beaten. She nodded. “At least tell me where you’re taking them. I want to know they’ll be safe.”

      The big man, the spokesman of the four-man group, smiled. “Why, ma’am, I’m taking them to Heaven on Earth, where we all live a satisfying, righteous, happy life.”

      The big man turned to the girls and shouted loud enough to be heard into the next county, “Come along, darlings, Daddy is taking you home. Say good-bye to the nice lady, and let’s be on our way.”

      “Tell me something, how did you find us and who are you?” Pearl asked as the girls lumbered off the bus.

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