At the police station, Dana said, “I’m entitled to one phone call, right?”
The sergeant said, “Right.”
He handed Dana a phone. She made her call.
A dozen blocks away the man holding Kemal by his shirt collar was pulling him toward a limousine waiting at the curb, its motor running.
“Please! Please let me go,” Kemal pleaded.
“Shut up, kid.”
Four uniformed marines were passing by.
“I don’t want to go in the alley with you,” Kemal yelled.
The man looked at Kemal puzzled. “What?”
“Please don’t make me go in the alley.” Kemal turned to the marines. “He wants to pay me five dollars to go in the alley with him. I don’t want to.”
The marines stopped, staring at the man. “Why, you dirty pervert…”
The man backed away. “No, no. Wait a minute. You don’t understand…”
One of the marines said grimly, “Yes, we do, buddy. Get your hands off the kid.” They surrounded the man. He put his hands up to defend himself, and Kemal quickly slipped away.
A delivery boy with a package was getting off a bicycle and starting toward a house. Kemal jumped onto the bicycle and pedaled furiously away. The man watched, frustrated, as Kemal rounded the corner and disappeared. The marines were closing in on him.
At the police station, Dana’s cell door clanged open.
“You’re free to go, Miss Evans. You’re out on bail.”
Matt! The phone call worked, Dana thought happily. He didn’t lose any time.
As Dana started toward the exit, she stopped in shock. One of the men was standing there, waiting for her.
He smiled at Dana and said, “You’re free, sis. Let’s go.” He gripped Dana’s arm tightly and started herding her out to the street. As they stepped outside, the man stopped in astonishment. A full television crew from WTN was waiting in front.
“Look this way, Dana…”
“Dana, is it true that you slapped a policeman?”
“Can you tell us what happened?”
“Did he harass you?”
“Are you going to press charges?”
The man was shying away, covering his face.
“What’s the matter?” Dana called. “Don’t you want your picture taken?”
He fled.
Matt Baker appeared at Dana’s side. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
They were in Matt Baker’s office at the WTE building. Elliot Cromwell, Matt Baker, and Abbe Lasmann had been listening to Dana for the last half hour in shocked silence.
“…and the FRA is involved, too. That’s why General Booster tried to stop me from investigating.”
Elliot Cromwell said, “I’m stunned. How could we all have been so wrong about Taylor Winthrop? I think we should inform the White House about what’s happening. Let them call in the attorney general and the FBI.”
Dana said, “Elliot, so far we only have my word against Roger Hudson’s. Who do you think they’re going to believe?”
Abbe Lasmann said, “Don’t we have any proof?”
“Sasha Shdanoff’s brother is alive. I’m sure he’ll talk. Once we pull a single thread, the whole story is going to unravel.”
Matt Baker took a deep breath and looked at Dana admiringly. “When you go after a story, you go after a story.”
Dana said, “Matt, what are we going to do about Kemal? I don’t know where to look.”
Matt said firmly, “Don’t worry. We’ll find him. Meanwhile, we have to get a place for you to hide where no one can find you.”
Abbe Lasmann spoke up. “You can use my apartment. No one will think of looking for you there.”
“Thank you.” Dana turned to Matt. “About Kemal…”
“We’ll get the FBI on it right away. I’ll have a driver take you to Abbe’s apartment. It’s in our hands now, Dana. Everything’s going to be fine. I’ll call you the minute I hear something.”
Kemal pedaled along the icy streets, anxiously looking behind him every few moments. There was no sign of the man who had grabbed him. I’ve got to get to Dana, Kemal thought, desperately. I can’t let them hurt her. The problem was that the WTN studio was at the other end of downtown Washington.
When Kemal came to a bus stop, he got off the bicycle and pushed it onto the grass. As a bus approached, Kemal felt in his pockets and realized he had no money.