Fire Will Fall by Carol Plum-Ucci Read Free Book Online Page B

not in jail discovering us. And he was also concerned that our presence at the Kellerton House might jeopardize the safety of the Trinity Four.
    "I'm not sure of the 'where' yet," he said. "But I'll get on it this afternoon. If ShadowStrike had any idea who you are, they might come after you. I do need to go out of town for three days, and it won't be the last time."
    He shifted nervously in his seat, avoiding Shahzad's eyes. Hodji had gone away several times, and Shahzad got separation anxiety each time.
    "Where are you going?" he asked.
    "Can't say."
    Shahzad took off in Punjabi, which is his tendency when he gets upset. I only understood the words "Cancún" and "Mexico" and sensed his total frustration that Hodji was probably going to help look for Omar. And despite that we had fed him the intelligence about where Omar was, he would not confirm his plans.
    "Stop picking," Hodji interrupted, knocking one of Shahzad's hands away from his cheek. Hamdani likes to pick his scabs when he's thinking. "And stop focusing on what you don't get instead of what you do. I've got a meeting with the squad in New York today. I've got a great plan of protection in mind, just in case those idiots eventually try to do more harm to my two most trusted, uh, v-spies-oops-I-mean-friends. That is, if your senses of humor are still working."
    My sense of humor only malfunctioned for about half of each day. Hamdani never had any, so the remark was directed at me.
    "I'm not sure USIC will go for it. But I would like to propose faking your deaths. If you had new identities, I could go back to work and quit worrying about you all the time. So. How would you feel about, uh, dying in some staged accident? Becoming two other guys?"
    Hamdani watched patiently for more information, as if this were a perfectly normal conversation.
    I finally decided, well, screw him if he can't see the humor. "Do we get to be carried out of here in body bags? You won't let anyone accidentally embalm us, right?"
    Hodji said, "We would drive you to the morgue, get death certificates, the whole schmear. We can even drug you with chloroform—maybe. We've done worse in Intelligence to set a realistic stage. We can have a 'funeral.' Of course, we'll tell your uncle Ahmer in Pakistan, Shahzad, and have him come back for a 'funeral' so it would look good in the newspaper. I trust him with my life."
    "Will USIC go for this?" Hamdani made a face like Hodji had warts on his cheeks.
    Hodji shrugged uneasily, repeating his doubts. "The Witness Protection Program doesn't do minors without parents. You're setting yet another precedent. And wherever it is, it would have to be somewhere you can stay out of sight for weeks—months, if necessary. Our country is in a state of national panic right now over acts of terror. Considering the two of you look like a radioactive rain shower dropped on you, you'll have the media chasing you five minutes after you're seen in public. It would have to be someplace where you can heal in private. A farm or something. Maybe in Kansas or Oklahoma, say. I'll check our contacts—if USIC agrees to this. Tyler, we would have to tell your mother in jail that you actually died. That's ... horrendous, as far as I'm concerned. USIC might say the same."
    "I'm only a minor for another eight months. If I were eighteen, would it be so iffy?" I asked.
    "Intelligence has been known to lie about causes of death for the sake of national security, even to family members," he said. "But yes, it's iffy. A minor is a minor, whether he's got eight months to go or ten years to go. God forbid the truth should come out—"
    "She's earned it," I said, though I felt the bottom fall out of me. Turning in my own mother for spying for the North Koreans made me feel like a hero when I was looking at Shahzad and Hodji but like fungus-infested roadkill in the middle of every night. "She stole my high school years from me. She was so embarrassing, I couldn't even make friends," I went on,