Whistleblower

stepped on the gas.

The van jerked forward like a bronco, barreled through the underbrush, and slammed into the fence. The chain link sagged; electrical sparks hissed in the night. Cathy threw the gears into reverse, backed up, and hit the gas again.

The fence toppled; barbed wire scraped across the windshield.

'We're through!' said Ollie. He yanked open the sliding door and yelled: 'Come on, Gersh! Come on!'

The running figure zigzagged across the grass. All around him, gunfire exploded. He made a last flying leap across the coil of barbed wire and stumbled.

'Come on, Gersh!'

Gunfire spattered the van.

Victor struggled back to his feet. They heard the rip of clothing, then he was reaching up to them, being dragged inside, to safety.

The door slammed shut. Cathy backed up, wheeled the van around and slammed on the gas pedal.

They leaped forward, bouncing through the bushes and across ruts. Another round of bullets pinged the van. Cathy was oblivious to it. She focused only on getting them back to the main road. The sound of gunfire receded. At last the trees gave way to a familiar band of blacktop. She turned left and gunned the engine, anxious to put as many miles as possible between them and Viratek.

Off in the distance, a siren wailed.

'We got company!' said Polowski.

'Which way now?' Cathy cried. Viratek lay behind them; the sirens were approaching from ahead.

'I don't know! Just get the hell out of here!'

As yet her view of the police cars was blocked by trees, but she could hear the sirens moving rapidly closer. Will they let us pass? Or will they pull us over?

Almost too late she spotted a clearing, off to the side. On sudden impulse she veered off the pavement, and the van bounced onto a stubbly field.

'Don't tell me,' groaned Polowski. 'Another fire road?'

'Shut up!' she snapped and steered straight for a clump of bushes. With a quick turn of the wheel, she circled behind the shrubbery and cut her lights.

It was just in time. Seconds later, two patrol cars, lights flashing, sped right past the concealing bushes. She sat frozen, listening as the sirens faded in the distance. Then, in the darkness, she heard Milo say softly, 'Her name is Bond. Jane Bond.'

Half laughing, half crying, Cathy turned as Victor scrambled beside her, onto the front seat. At once she was in his arms, her tears wetting his shirt, her sobs muffled in the depths of his embrace. He kissed her damp cheeks, her mouth. The touch of his lips stilled her tremors.

From the back came the sound of a throat being cleared. 'Uh, Gersh?' inquired Ollie politely. 'Don't you think we ought to get moving?'

Victor's mouth was still pressed against Cathy's. Reluctantly he broke contact but his gaze never left her face. 'Sure,' he murmured, just before he pulled her back for another kiss. 'But would somebody else mind driving...?'

'Here's where things get dangerous,' said Polowski. He was at the wheel now, as they headed south toward San Francisco. Cathy and Victor sat in front with Polowski; in the back of the van, Milo and Ollie lay curled up asleep like two exhausted puppies. From the radio came the soft strains of a country western song. The dials glowed a vivid green in the darkness.

'We've finally got the evidence,' said Polowski. 'AH we need to hang 'em. They'll be desperate. Ready to try anything. From here on out, folks, it's going to be a game of cat and mouse.'

As if it wasn't already, thought Cathy as she huddled closer to Victor. She longed for a chance to be alone with him. There had been no time for tearful reunions, no time for any confessions of love. They'd spent the last two hours on a harrowing journey down backroads, always avoiding the police. By now the breakin at Viratek would have been reported to the authorities. The state police would be on the lookout for a van with frontal damage.

Polowski was right. Things were only getting more dangerous.

'Soon as we hit the city,' said Polowski, 'we'll get those vials off to separate labs. Independent confirmation.

That should wipe any doubts away. You know names we can trust, Holland?'

'Fellow alum back in New Haven. Runs the hospital lab. I can trust him.'

'Yale? Great. That'll have clout.'

'Ollie has a pal at UCSF. They'll take care of the second vial.'

'And when those reports get back, I know a certain journalist who loves to have a little birdie chirp in his ear.' Polowski gave the steering wheel a satisfied slap. 'Viratek, you are dead meat.'

'You enjoy this, don't you?' said Cathy.

'Workin' the right side of the law? I say it's good for the soul. It keeps your mind sharp and your feet on their toes. It helps you stay young.'

'Or die young,' said Cathy.

Polowski laughed. 'Women. They just never understand the game.'

'I don't understand it, at all.'

'I bet Holland here does. He just had the adrenaline high of his life. Didn't you?'

Victor didn't answer. He was gazing ahead at the blacktop stretching before their headlights.

'Well, wasn't it a high?' asked Polowski. 'To claw your way to hell and back again? To know you made it through on nothing much more than your wits?'

'No,' said Victor quietly. 'Because it's not over yet.'

Polowski's grin faded. He turned his attention back to the road. 'Almost,' he said. 'It's almost over.'

They passed a sign: San Francisco: 12 Miles.

Four in the morning. The stars were mere pinpricks in a sky washed out by streetlights. In a North Beach doughnut shop, five weary souls had gathered around steaming coffee and cheese Danish. Only one other table was occupied, by a man with bloodshot eyes and shaking hands. The girl behind the counter sat with her nose buried in a paperback. Behind her, the coffee machine hissed out a fresh brew.

'To the Old Coots,' said Milo, raising his cup. 'Still the best ensemble around.'

They all raised their cups. 'To the Old Coots!'

'And to our newest and fairest member,' said Milo. 'The beautiful—the intrepid—'

'Oh, please.' said Cathy.

Victor wrapped his arm around her shoulder. 'Relax and be honored. Not everyone gets into this highly selective group.'

'The only requirement,' said Ollie, 'is that you have to play a musical instrument badly.'

'But I don't play anything.'

'No problem.' Ollie fished out a piece of waxed paper from the pile of Danishes and wrapped it around his pocket comb. 'Kazoo.'

'Fitting,' said Milo. 'Since that was Lily's instrument.'

'Oh.' She took the comb. Lily's instrument. It always came back to her, the ghost who would forever be there. Suddenly the air of celebration was gone, as though swept away by the cold wind of dawn. She glanced at Victor. He was looking out the window, at the garishly lit streets. What are you thinking? Are you wishing she was here? That it wasn't me being presented this silly kazoo, but her?

She put the comb to her lips and hummed an appropriately out-of-tune version of 'Yankee Doodle.' Everyone laughed and clapped, even Victor. But when the applause was over, she saw the sad and weary look in his eyes.