The Project 01 - White Jade

phone. Her voice was thick with sleep.
    " It better be good, Nick. " She coughed.
    " You might say that. We have the book. "
    He filled her in on what had happened. There was a long pause.
    " I ' ll get a cleanup team out there to process the place. No sign of the shooters? "
    " It ' s dark out, so I can ' t look for bodies, but no, no sign. My guess is who ever threw the grenade took the others with him. He was in the house and got into Selena ' s purse, so he knows who she is and where she lives. But after that cave in, they have to think we ' re both dead. "
    " This local man, you think he suspects any of this? "
    " No . He just thinks we ' re dumb , exploring old mines . I told him we ' d reimburse him for damages, he ' s fine with it. I don ' t see any problems . M aybe another contribution to local bar lore. "
    " Grenades and Uzis mean serious backing. Did you get a good look at any of them? "
    " I ' m pretty sure they were Chinese. The big one is ugly as hell. I ' d recognize him if I saw him again. "
    " Maybe the Bureau can help. "
    " If Ugly has anything to do with Wu, they might have a shot of him. "
    " I ' ll see what they 've got . There have to be more photos than the one s they gave us. What ' s your plan now? "
    " I haven ' t thought about it. G et some sleep , I guess . "
    " How ' s Selena? "
    " She ' s fine. "
    " Tell her she is now under Federal protection and direction regarding her activities. "
    " Yes, Director. "
    " And Nick…I ' m glad you both made it out safe. "
    She hung up.
    Carter turned to where Selena was sitting on the couch, exhausted, beat up, filthy with mine dirt. She looked a little rough around the edges . He wanted to hold her. He wanted to do more than that. It had been a long time since he'd wanted to hold any woman.
    " The Director sa id you're now under Federal protection. It means the government will be controlling your life for a while, what you can and can't do. It's the trade off. "
    Selena nodded, a gesture of resignation.
    " Harker's sending a team to check this place out , " he said. " What do you want to do ? "
    " I want to get cleaned up and sleep. But I don ' t want to stay here. "
    " I ' ve got a place not far away. Why don ' t we go there? I can sleep on the couch. "
    She considered a moment , gave him a thoughtful look .
    " Sounds better than a motel. You have a shower or a bathtub? "
    " I do. "
    " Let ' s go. "
    She got up, took the book and her purse, turned everything off and locked up. Carter opened the passenger door for her. The glove box was open and he hadn ' t left it that way. The insurance slip was gone. He closed the glove compartment without mentioning his thoughts to Selena. The address on the slip was a P.O. Box, so they didn ' t have a physical location yet. They were safe for the moment.
    In less than an hour they pulled up at the cabin.
    While Selena cleaned up he got the book and placed it in a gun safe at the back of the bedroom closet . He sat down and leaned back on the couch, waiting for her to finish, and closed his eyes. Wha t a day , he thought . Why were these people so anxious to get the book? He fell asleep.
    He dreamed.

    He was running in a twilight land, with something close behind . He ran t hrough a bleak landscape with high mountains and large black animals in a rocky field. The sky was sickly yellow and there was a bad smell in the air.
    He heard a helicopter. He was looking for Selena, but couldn ' t find her. He saw a cave in the side of a mountain and then he was inside . A dark figure dressed in a long robe stood in the shadows and watched him . The figure held something white in his right hand . There was a flash of light and rocks began falling. He was going to be buried alive.
    Then he was standing in a crowd of people with Megan. H e was naked, exposed . He was looking for his clothes.
    " I don ' t know where my socks are. "
    " It ' s all right, Nick. But you need your parachute. "
    Then he was dressed and they were standing on a beach, looking out at the Golden Gate Bridge
    " I love you, " he said .
    " I love you, too, but I have to go. Aren ' t the mountains beautiful? "
    T owering, snow-capped mountains were right up against the b ay behind the bridge. Somehow it ma de sense in the dream.
    Then the sky turn ed dark and a cold wind beg an whipping up whitecaps on the b ay. Megan was gone.

    He woke stretched out on the couch under a blanket. Everything ached. The dream stuck in his mind. At least it wasn ' t the