Chasing the Prophet Read online

  He swung to his feet until he was overcome by fatigue and collapsed to the ground.

  Max stood beside him, panting heavily. The dog looked at the escaping teenagers and tilted his head with curiosity. Finally, he gulped, sat beside David and looked at him as if asking, “What now?”

  ***

  From the murky interior of the garage, in the same spot the ATV had stood just moments before, Paul watched the boy and his dog and sighed with relief.

  He had been following David and the other teenagers over the course of the past hour. The hardest part of the mission wasn’t the physical challenge. Paul was an excellent athlete and careful to stay fit. A skillful field man such as himself could have stopped them in numerous ways. The challenge was to do it in a way that would make it appear like an accident, so that the pursuers wouldn’t know who had disrupted their pursuit.

  He followed them while seeking a solution. The moment he saw the street they’d entered—he knew what he had to do. He hurried to the abandoned garage up the street, broke the door, and found the ATV standing there.

  It was a calculated tactical action with a high chance of success. But Paul couldn’t know with certainty whether David would manage to climb faster than his pursuers up the steep incline, and the entire operation had nearly failed. Luckily, the dog had acted at the very last minute and pulled them both up. That was how Paul had managed to push the ATV at the pursuing teenagers without endangering David. He looked at David and saw him hugging Max, who helped him to his feet.

  That’s it, Paul thought, when this is over I’m adopting a dog. The girls need to experience this.

  The boy and his dog tiredly walked into the garage. As they walked past Paul, the big dog smelled him and growled threateningly.

  David pulled him away. “Cut it out, Max. Forget about the rats now,” he muttered.

  They vanished from sight.

  Paul waited a few moments and then turned to leave. A sharp and surprising pain in his leg made him fall down.

  He reached down and rubbed his ankle. When he had pushed the heavy ATV off its ramp, his ankle had been slightly crushed between its metal body and the wall. He had not paid it much attention, but the injury proved to be more severe than he had thought it to be.

  He barely managed to stand, and with great effort he limped to the garage opening.

  He took a deep breath and waited for the pain to go.

  A few minutes passed and brought no relief to the pain.

  Paul examined the street, and when he saw that the coast was clear, he limped away.

  17

  Angry Man

  Grandma Edna was sitting in her living room.

  Wearing thick reading glasses, she tried to understand how to operate the new gadget that had arrived by mail. It was a particularly small camera with a remote operating device. Suddenly, a noise sounded from the door: three rapid taps followed by a brief silence, two taps, another silence, and finally, one last tap. This was the secret code she had taught David years before—their code.

  She made sure he regularly used that code, even though her grandson claimed the childish game had long outlived its usefulness.

  She slowly rose and made her way to the door when the sequence sounded again, rapid and restless: three, two, one.

  She reached for the door and tapped the reply: four straight knocks.

  “Come on, grandma, it’s me. Open up already.” Her grandson’s bored voice was heard.

  Edna imagined his face on the other side, impatiently rolling his eyes.

  She opened the door wide. David and Max entered with a tired step, making the cats scatter in every direction.

  David crashed on the sofa and Max immediately headed to the kitchen. He went to the cats’ water bowls and began to slurp noisily. One after the other, he emptied them completely, to the sound of loud feline protests coming from Simba, Rain, Gustav, Coco, and Popeye.

  Edna’s face beamed at the sight of her grandson, and, as always, she began to chatter incessantly. “Cutie pie! You couldn’t have come at a more perfect time! There’s some fresh orange juice. Oh! Guess what? The new miniature camera is finally here!”

  As was her habit, she spoke rapidly and enthusiastically. “If I manage to connect the camera to the drone and fly it up over the house—I could take a picture of my roof and prove to my landlord that there’s a leak from up there straight into my apartment, and then he’d have to fix it.”

  She suddenly paused. Her eyes rested on David, who was sprawled on the sofa, exhausted. She went closer, looked at him over her glasses and asked with concern, “Did something happen, my boy?”

  David took a deep breath and told her about the chase and about the miracle of the ATV that had magically detached from its place at the right moment and made his pursuers retreat in panic.

  His grandmother listened attentively to his every word, an expression of concern on her face. Max had meanwhile finished licking all the water bowls clean. He went and sprawled on the floor at David’s feet.

  The boy patted his dog’s wide neck. “Max is my hero. There’s no way I could have made it if it weren’t for him.”

  Edna nodded vigorously. “Max knows his job—protecting you.” She lowered her eyes to look at the dark dog and clapped her hands. “Wonderful, I see that Max is wearing our collar!”

  David nodded tiredly. That collar was really something special.

  Last month they had celebrated Max’s birthday. David and his grandma did not know his exact birth date, so they had come up with a random one: March eighteenth. That day, Edna surprised the dog with piles of presents: snacks, chewing bones, dog toys, and—to top it all off —the ugliest collar David had ever seen. Thick and bumpy. Its unique color made it extremely prominent: various shades of green plaids. Edna told David that the store owner had custom made it for her.

  “It’s handmade,” she said proudly. “I chose the colors myself!”

  David, for his part, did not remain in her debt for long and took out the present he’d prepared for his grandmother, a framed picture of the three of them: David, grandma, and Max. “For you,” he said quietly. “This is our way of saying thanks for convincing mom and dad to adopt Max.”

  Grandma Edna reacted in her typical over-sentimental way. Tears rolled from her eyes as she crushed her scrawny grandchild with a hug. “My sweet boy, you really shouldn’t have. I already got the present you sent me in the mail!” She pointed at her head and David noticed a tiny greenish ball protruding from her hair. It was a small hair pin adorned with a little drawing of a bone.

  “I haven’t had the chance to thank you yet. This is the most beautiful pin I have ever seen!”

  She fished out a handkerchief and blew her nose loudly.

  David did not understand what she was talking about. “But grandma, I never sent you…” he started to say, but she blew her nose with a trumpet-like sound again.

  “Don’t be modest, David. I got such a beautiful present from you, but let’s not forget that this is Max’s birthday!” she exclaimed and the dog, as if understanding her words, showered her with dog kisses.

  “It’s charming. I’ll never take it off!”

  David thought that the pin protruding from her head looked like an alien antenna. He felt embarrassed to be getting thanks he did not deserve, but knew that he wouldn’t be able to convince his grandmother. One of her friends from the film appreciation class must have sent her the pin. He could only feel sorry for the friend who waited to no avail for Edna to call and express her gratitude.

  “Promise me, David!” Grandmother Edna took both his hands in a melodramatic motion and said in the most serious voice she could muster. “Promise me you will never take the collar off our Max’s neck!”

  David looked at the ugly collar and gulped. “I promise.”

  A few weeks had passed since then, a
nd David had already gotten used to the collar, perhaps because its brilliant greenish color had faded a bit.

  “Oh, there’s something I want to show you,” she suddenly recalled. “This is new, pay attention.”

  David smiled with anticipation, despite being so tired. He always enjoyed his grandmother’s little surprises. She regularly came up with weird inventions whose purpose was, well, not entirely clear. But he loved them anyway.

  She turned her head toward the other room and called out loud, “Are you there?”

  “Who’s there?” a deep voice immediately thundered and made both David and Max jump to their feet. Max bared his teeth and growled at the estimated direction of the stranger. It took David some time to realize what had happened, and he looked at his grandmother’s amused face.

  “This is a special invention for old ladies like me who live on their own.”

  “You know what, grandma? This isn’t such a bad idea.” His eyes sparkled with a smile.

  “I think so too!” She nodded excitedly.

  He tried it himself, and cried in the direction of the other room: “Are you there?”

  Not a sound was heard. Actually, David had guessed that would be the case.

  “You’ve set the app to react only to your voice?” he asked curiously.

  “That’s right. I named it ‘Angry Man.’” She smiled with pride. “There’s more.” She flashed a mysterious smile. “I suggest that you grab Max as hard as you can.”

  The curious David complied. He grabbed Max’s collar and nodded. “I’m ready.”

  Edna cried out loudly, “Killer!”

  A deafening outburst of frightening barks was instantly heard from the other room. Even though David knew this was only a computer connected to an amplifier and a speaker, he still expected to see a giant dog storming its way into the room.

  Max went wild, whined, bared his teeth, and turned his head in every direction in an attempt to locate the terrible dog. The cats immediately ran for their lives and were nowhere to be seen.

  Edna clapped her hands twice and silence settled at once.

  The quiet was disturbed by the barking of the neighbors’ dogs reacting to the noise.

  “They call it ‘The Burglary App.’ In addition to making so much noise, I will also connect it to the neighborhood security center. The moment the software is activated, they’ll receive a signal to come and check up on me. You never know when you might need it,” she said knowledgeably. “Until you actually do.”

  David nodded and yawned. He felt his eyes closing, but knew he mustn’t fall asleep. There were urgent matters that required the prophet’s attention. Until now, he had been busy escaping from Jackie and his gang, but now that he had reached safety, knew he had to concentrate and work. If he could only define his questions to the software more accurately, perhaps he would be able to advance the two important subjects on the table: the factory hostage situation and the Russian threat. The prophet software must already know whether the Russians intended to attack, and if so, when and where.

  Edna rose. “Come and take a nap in the living room. I’ll get you a clean blanket.”

  David knew he shouldn’t be thinking about himself now. He sighed and stood up.

  “I need to use your computer,” he said. “And an internet connection.”

  His grandmother observed him intently. “Of course, my boy,” she said quietly.

  ***

  That very same moment, on a low stone fence outside the building, a teenager was sitting and smoking.

  It was Jackie. Although David had gained quite an advantage during the chase, Jackie had still been able to follow him to this house.

  He looked at his watch and realized that David wasn’t likely to leave his grandmother’s anytime soon. He rose to his feet, took a last drag off his cigarette, and flicked it. Sparks flew in every direction as it hit the sidewalk.

  Jackie went to the mailboxes and examined them until he found what he was looking for: Edna Emerson, Apartment 5.

  After memorizing the name and address, he turned and left.

  18

  Everything is Fine

  “Everything is fine, he’s at my mothers. She says hi.”

  Emily put down the phone and sighed with relief. It was ten at night and they were just about to get into bed.

  “He will sleep at her place tonight. Max is with him, of course.” She sat on the edge of the bed and picked up a hand cream tube. “Did you hear me?” She raised her voice toward the bathroom.

  “So in the morning he will go to see Mr. Harrison from there?” Benjamin called as he turned off the faucet.

  “No. He’ll come here first, take a shower, have a proper meal and then go.” She got into bed.

  Benjamin peeked from the bathroom door and wiped his face with a towel. “I’m telling you, Emily, something is going on with him.”

  His wife nodded slowly. “I completely agree. This is exactly why he’s seeing Mr. Harrison twice a week.”

  Since David had had a breakdown six months ago, his parents had insisted that their son start seeing a psychologist. The school counselor approved of their idea. They were happy to see that the sessions had had a positive influence on their son, although they were told David mostly sat on the therapy couch without saying a word.

  “Did you try to talk to him? You know, man to man.”

  “Man to man… give me a break.” Her husband sighed impatiently while wiping the vapors off the mirror. “I tried, but you know what he’s like. He talks to his dog more than he does to me. And Harrison can’t seem to get a word out of him either.” He groaned, reached for the back of his neck, and slowly tilted his head from side to side. “Jesus, sitting in the office all day has ruined my neck.”

  Emily looked at her husband as he exited the bathroom. Only the small night stand lamps were now on, painting the bedroom with a soft light.

  “Perhaps he’s bothered by everything that’s going on,” she stated. “The class that’s been kidnapped is from the Green Pines high school. Just imagine. Those are his friends. This is shocking. I…” She stopped talking and rubbed her hand through her hair.

  Her husband sat on the bed beside her. He spoke softly.

  “I know what’s going through your head. But our son is safe. He’s not one of the—”

  She finished the sentence for him. “Children who’ve been abducted.” Her voice trembled. “What a mad world we live in. This is just inconceivable.”

  “I don’t think this is it. Something has been bothering him for a long time, but I have no idea what it is. I’ll phone Mr. Harrison tomorrow, although frankly, he doesn’t like to provide too much information about their sessions.”

  Benjamin got up and removed his slippers. “He’s not having any fun, not into sports, not going out with his friends; he spends all his time with his dog and his computer and does nothing else all day.” He frowned.

  “He’s mature for his age, that’s why it’s hard for him to make friends with those guys at school. You know all that.” She massaged the back of his neck.

  He closed his eyes. The touch of her hand slowed down his speech and softened his voice. “He had this friend from class, a redhead. We barely see him anymore.”

  “Yes, Eric. They’re probably still friends. You know how they are at this age.”

  “Perhaps they had a falling out.” He raised his eyes at her. “Maybe over a woman?”

  “Perhaps you have an overactive imagination.” She laughed and continued to massage his neck. “Woman… I think ‘girl’ was the word you were looking for.” Then she turned serious. “On the other hand, why not? Anything’s possible.”

  He drew the blanket to him. The motion was painful and he groaned again. “I think my neck is getting even older than I am.”

  Emily said nothing. Benjamin looked at
her and saw a furrow of concern plow her forehead. He had never seen it there before.

  He sighed. “I’ll try to talk to him tomorrow when I give him a ride. He has this class project. He didn’t want a ride, but I insisted. Maybe I’ll try to get into his head for a change.”

  “Great idea,” his wife agreed. “How’s the neck?”

  “Much better.” He rubbed it with relief and turned his face to her. “What did you say your name was?”

  “You’re evil!” She laughed.

  He chuckled and turned off the night stand lamps.

  Her quiet voice sounded in the dark. “What are we going to do about our son?”

  Prophet Website Registered Request No. 413010

  Hello Prophet,

  I was crying all day today, so my mother suggested that I write to you. I’m sure you’ve heard about what happened at the Green Pines factory with all those terrorists abducting children, so I’m writing to you because these are children from my own school. Two girlfriends of mine are trapped in that factory along with other kids!

  And I’m so afraid. I keep praying to God and to you too, hoping that some miracle would happen and they will be released, so please do anything you can!

  Please, these are my friends and they never did anything wrong to anyone, I’m begging you!!!

  Thanks, and I apologize if you’ve already heard about this whole thing and already doing something about it.

  Yours,

  Page Arthur

  Green Pines, California

  19

  Another Man’s Redemption

  David opened his eyes and tried to understand why he had woken.

  It was late at night. The sound of the ancient grandfather clock made him realize he was at grandma’s.

  Despite the darkness, he felt Max’s presence and knew that the dog was looking at him expectantly. It was rare for David to wake up and find Max sleeping. The dog always woke with him, as if the two were connected by an invisible thread joining their consciousnesses.