"I'm just stopping for gas," he said.
"Get me a soda while we're stopped," Amy said.
"Me too," Wendy chipped in.
"Coffee for me," his wife said.
"Does anyone want anything to eat?" Jake asked. "I'm not planning on stopping until we get across the border."
"Maybe some chips then," Wendy said, "Or a sandwich."
"Just whatever," Amy said.
The ride had been long. Ever since speeding away from Shadow Peak none of them had looked back. Amy and Wendy had wondered what had become of their friends, and they felt guilt at abandoning them, but they had to face their future. And in this case, their future was living in the Canadian wilderness far away from such matters as Hunters and Owls and what-have-you.
"Maybe," Amy said, "When we get there... we could call and-"
"We can't risk it," her mom said. "They'd find us. They'd trace us. We can't risk it."
"But maybe they won," Wendy said, "We could go back. We could go home."
"Too dangerous," mom said. "At least, right now. Maybe someday."
The girls sighed and held on to each other. It was going to be a long ride.
Back at the Citadel...
"So who funds all of this?" Beth asked. "Where did all of this (she gestures to the room) come from?"
"Many places," Bowman said, "Private interests, commercial ventures, government committees so secret nobody knows they even exist anymore. I have a slideshow that we show to potential investors if you want to see it."
"Maybe later," Morgan said, not up to anymore propaganda at the moment.
"Take them to a room," Cloud Feather said. "Provide some robes and some other clothes. Make them comfortable and be ready to answer a lot of questions when they wake up."
"I'll take care of it," Wild Hawk said. He and Redwing lifted the sleeping weretigresses onto gurneys and wheeled them away.
Sun Jun 2 15:48:00 2002