drawing attention to himself. Obviously they belonged to some shadowy government agency but which one? He wished he’d asked to see their ID’s more closely when they’d come to his house but they’d intimidated him, no doubt that was part of their play. He did know one thing though, whichever organization they belonged to, it was well funded judging by the hardware they were using.
Ed’s biggest fright came on Friday, when one of the men at his office mentioned that there’d been house to house searching along his street the day before. He’d thought they must have been looking for an escaped prisoner or a terrorist or something. If only Ed could have told him it was nothing so sinister. For some reason they knew he’d gone to ground around here, somehow they just knew, damn them! Maybe because there’d been no further sightings elsewhere, the trail had gone cold? Ed didn’t know, but he did know that time was running out. Whatever they planned to do to help the angel, they’d have to do it soon.
Ninah was worried too, but for a different reason. Oblivious to the more sinister side humanity had to offer, but knowing she had to keep Gabe a secret anyway, she was just worried about his growing apathy and tension. Though he was never anything but patient and placid with her, she could nevertheless sense a change in him. He became more distant and less interested in playing games; sometimes he’d just sit there and stare at nothing for long periods of time. Young though Ninah was, it still hurt her to see him like this.
For Donna, as the week wore on she found life getting more complicated rather than less. For a start, despite her efforts to the contrary, she hadn’t managed to secure any more time alone with their incredibly attractive guest. She believed if given a second chance she could probably entice him, if she moved gently that was, but alas she’d not been able to set it up, and not getting her own way was something that never had sat well with her. Also, Ninah seemed to sense that her sister was trying to knock her out of play in what she considered to be essentially, her game. Ninah may have sympathy to spare for her angel, but her feelings toward Donna were beginning to border on open hostility.
Added to that she could feel her period coming on and was fighting that premenstrual, ‘grumpy for no reason’ feeling. Then to top it all off, Billy Kennedy decided to pick this of all weeks to show he had more than just a casual interest in her. He’d come around on his motorbike on Thursday to see her and ask her out. Donna hadn’t been particularly interested in talking to him and although she wasn’t rude, she was a little short and eventually he got the message and left.
God! She thought, why now? Why couldn’t he have hit on her like that months ago? Was it because she’d stopped fawning all over him and he now considered her a challenge? Men!
For Billy’s part, far from being discouraged, Donna’s indifference only served to excite him more. He may have lost the battle but the war would go on. He’d never before had to work to get a girl, and Donna Blair was turning out to be quite a challenge. It seemed the more she shrugged him off, the more he wanted her. He’d be back to try again, and soon too.
16
Saturday morning shone down on Donna as she stood leaning against her front fence, talking to Billy Kennedy, the dirt bike he’d ridden over on parked at the curb. From around the back of the house came the sound of the lawn mower as her father pushed it around the upper back yard. Donna wished he’d hurry up and do the front so she’d have an excuse to finish this conversation.
Billy had just asked her to go to the movies with him that night and she was feverishly hunting for an excuse she hadn’t used yet, when down the far end of her street a black late model sedan came screeching around the corner, heading towards them. It was quickly followed by a second car exactly the same.
Donna’s eyes went wide. “Oh my God, oh my GOD!”
Billy looked down to where she was staring, misinterpreting her reaction. “Wow, shit, talk about peeling rubber.” He looked back to Donna, suddenly concerned when he saw all the blood had drained from her face. “Hey Donna are you okay?”
“Oh my God,” she repeated, “Billy, oh God, Billy I need your help, I need you to bring your bike around to the field at the back of my house.”
The cars were speeding along the street now, from the other direction a third had come flying around the corner, over correcting but coming their way.
“What, why?” Billy asked, surprised at both her change of tone and subject matter.
“Please, there’s no time, please. Billy if you never do anything for me again, just do this one thing, I beg you, I’ll do anything.” She grabbed his hands, squeezing them tightly.
Billy, starting to pick up a little of her fear, nodded. “Okay, alright,” he said quickly.
“Go now and hurry!” she said as she turned and sprinted up the path to the house.
Donna slammed through the front door and down the hall like a tornado. “Mom, they’re coming!” she screamed as she bolted into the living room, thanking the Lord that Gabe was there, playing cards with Ninah, saving her the trouble of looking for him.
“What, who?” her mother called but by the nervousness in her voice, Donna could tell she knew who was coming.
“Them, they know he’s here, they’ve found him and they’re on their way up the street!” Donna yelled, grabbing Gabe by the hand and wrenching him to his feet.
“Oh my goodness, oh my, Ed, Ed!” her mother shouted.
“Donna, no!” Ninah screamed, starting to cry.
“Ninah, not now!” Donna bellowed. She caught a glimpse of Gabe’s face, it was full of concern and Donna could have sworn he knew exactly what was happening.
Donna dragged him down the hall, Ninah crying and clinging to him also. She heard a screech of tyres from out the front. “Mom, you’ve got to stall them!”
“Donna, what? Oh my God, Donna, how can -?”
“Just do it, Mom!” Donna yelled, cutting her off as she kicked open the back door and flew down the steps. She almost collided with her father who, hearing the commotion, was sprinting for the house.
“Donna, what?” he huffed.
“Dad, they’re here, you’ve got to stop them, hold them off, hurry!” she said. She hadn’t even stopped, just kept dragging the angel and Ninah across the yard to the trees. They disappeared into them five seconds before a pair of grey suited men, pistols in hand, came bolting around the corner of the house, and seeing the yard was empty, headed for the back door.
17
Ed raced down the hall, passing his fretting wife just as the front door burst in, admitting a flood of six grey suited forms.
“What’s the meaning of this!” Ed roared, anger overcoming his fear. No one answered; the grey suited men just looked at him with benign malice then stood aside to admit another of their number. This man, thin, pale and balding, dressed exactly as the others, walked with a casually confident air that made the other suits look nervous. Obviously he was the one in charge.
Baldy glanced at the two agents that had come in through the rear and seeing them shake their heads, stepped up to plant himself squarely before the Blairs. Felicity, feeling the talons of fear on her heart, pushed up close to Ed’s side. He put an arm around her and tried to convey a confidence he didn’t feel, tried to show he understood his rights and was disgusted at this breach of them, while wondering inside whether his rights existed anymore.
“Edward Blair?” the bald man asked flatly. It was less a question than a statement.
Ed nodded once. “You know who I am,” he grated.
“Where is it?” the bald man asked, coming right to the, albeit unstated, but perfectly understood point.
“Where’s what? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ed snapped, playing for time.
“Oh, really?” Baldy said, smiling as a shark might. “We’ll see about that. Search the house,” he ordered, not taking his eyes off Ed’s own.
The suits leapt into action, charging through the Blairs' home, thumping up the stairs, out
the back, everywhere.
“Hey, you can’t do this! Where’s your warrant?” Ed shouted at the bald man, unthinkingly taking a step towards him.
Baldy stood his ground easily as the two suits standing beside him stepped forward. “We don’t need a warrant, Mr. Blair, but should you wish to press the point…” Baldy trailed off, smiling more malevolently than ever as the two agents pulled their jackets aside to reveal their sidearms.
18
Donna reached the fence at the very back of the yard panting and sweating, her heart racing at a million miles an hour. Out before her the field was empty save for the gently swaying wheat.
“Oh God, where is he?” she cried.
“Donna, what’s happening?” Ninah sobbed between gasps for breath.
“There are bad men coming to take Gabe away,” Donna said, leaning out and scanning the fence line for a sign of Billy.
Ninah looked up at her, eyes wet, not understanding. “Why, why are they taking him?”
“Look Ninah, I don’t know, alright?” Donna snapped loudly, instantly regretting it. She looked down at her sister, reached out and touched her cheek. “I’m sorry Ninah, but I just don’t know.”
She looked up at the angel. He wasn’t even breathing hard but Donna supposed that for someone that could fly, the short dash to the back fence would present no problem. His face was calm but alert, his head turning in
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