The Dharma Revelation

Chapter 37

"You're what?" Eric asked.

"We're going after her," Daniel repeated. He had explained the whole story to his brother. The scene at the restaurant, the trip to the hospital—even Aaron's miraculous recovery.

As he explained the story, Vincent rejoined them at the car.

"They took the little girl?"

"Yes, Eric, the little girl. Do you have the device or not?"

"Yes, yes," he reached into his duffle bag and fished around. He took out a small handheld device that had metallic backing and a 6-inch display screen. After studying it for a few seconds, he powered it on and handed it to Daniel. He fished around in his bag again for the charging cable, and handed that to Daniel too.

"It's working," Daniel said excitedly. "How do I—what buttons do I—"

"Don't do anything," Eric instructed. "See the map? It's downloading maps relative to your location, as well as the GPS signal locator. You can see where she is right here."

"It's moving," Daniel noted.

Eric nodded analytically, "It looks like they are moving her."

Daniel was very pleased. He looked at Vincent and Petra and smiled at them.

"I think this is going to work," he noted.

Eric shook his head in disagreement, "Yes, the equipment is working, but this is a bad idea. Chasing down Cavanaugh and his men from the Chaos Wave is suicide. If you find them, they are going to kill all of you."

"Thanks, Eric," Daniel said. "Usually people feel helpless in these situations."

Eric exhaled apologetically, "Look, I want to help, but you know Darcie's men in the vassals are watching me, tracking me."

"I know."

"I just don't want them to kill you, that's all."

"Well what do you suggest? You're much better at this sort of thing than I am."

Eric licked his lips thoughtfully. He looked at Petra and Vincent, then back at Daniel. "You're not trained in combat, so you can't take her by force. Based on the scene at Donatelli's, I don't think you can talk them into turning her over. Your best ally is the element of surprise. They know you came here, but they don't realize you can track their movement. They'll be watching me, but with government cronies, not with Cavanaugh's direct reports."

"What if they are watching our movements, too?" Vincent asked.

"I don't think they are. You've had a bad day, you came here. They will assume you've gone to the police and then gone home. They will avoid being anywhere near you, because if the authorities spotted them trailing you, then it would verify your story. Even Darcie's influence couldn't cover up that sort of exposure."

"So we track them? Slowly and cautiously?"

"Yes," Eric said. "Use surprise, it's the great equalizer when the odds are not in your favor. Wait until they are in a place outside somewhere, on foot. Then make your move."

Daniel nodded, "That makes sense."

Eric looked around cautiously, "I'm going to have to get going. I've lingered here too long." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a roll of money. "Take this."

"Eric."

"Pay me back later," he said. "By the way, you picked the wrong hospital. You should have taken your friends to St. Agnes. Jessie is awake, you could have visited her."

"What?!" Daniel exclaimed.

Eric smiled, "I know, it's great news. She's still out of it. Not quite herself. But she is conscious."

"That's fantastic," Daniel said, as Vincent slapped him on the shoulder. "I wish I could see her."

"I'll tell her you'll be there as soon as you can."

"Thanks Eric," he said. He stepped forward and gave his brother a hug.

Eric glanced at Petra and Vincent, "Take care of my brother."

"You bet," Vincent responded.

Eric nodded and then got back into his car and drove off.

Petra and Vincent gathered around Daniel and his tracking monitor. They could see the blip that represented Dharma's location. The screen had a map, complete with street names, satellite topography and even a highlighted path between their location and hers.

Vincent slapped Daniel on the shoulder and said, "Hah."

Daniel exchanged asmile with Petra. For the first timesince he actually said the words, he really believed they were going to getDharma back.