The Dharma Revelation

Chapter 39

Daniel, Petra, and Vincent followed the path laid out for them by the tracking screen. Daniel figured they were at least an hour behind Dharma, maybe more. Despite the distance, he asked Vincent to drive conservatively, citing the fact they knew where she was, so getting into an accident or getting pulled over would do no good.

He used this opportunity to call Nasir back at Osiris to brief him on the situation. Nasir was already working with Carl Peterson to reschedule the CCE. Osiris had sufficient funding--it just lacked leadership, including key personnel to oversee the experiment. Carl agreed to pick up Caleb and Aaron at the hospital, and Nasir insisted the three of them not stop until they tracked down Dharma and brought her home.

Petra watched the screen as Daniel concluded his discussion with Nasir. And as he turned his attention back to her, he noticed that she looked worried.

"What is it?"

"I think I know where they're going."

"Where?" Vincent asked.

Daniel looked at the map, but he wasn't sure. "Are they going to D.C.? Maybe seeking out Darcie's cronies in the government?"

"No," she said. "I think they're going to the airport. Look at the route they are taking."

Vincent groaned.

"How much money did your brother give you?" Petra asked.

"A lot," he answered. "There's over a thousand dollars in this money roll."

"Good, I didn't bring my purse to the restaurant, so I have no money, no credit cards."

"Neither do I," Daniel said. "I didn't want to bring anything of value to that meeting."

"I have my wallet," Vincent said. "I can charge airline tickets if we have to. But there's another problem."

"What?"

"Security rules won't allow you into the terminal unless you have a ticket. We can't buy a ticket until we know where they are going. And we won't know where they are going until they are in the air and we see it on the tracking screen. We really can't be sure until they land."

"We can always buy bogus tickets, just to get into the airport," Daniel suggested.

Vincent shook his head. "That won't do us any good, unless we get there before their flight takes off."

Petra said, "We could call the police. We can tell them there about the kidnapping, and direct them to the appropriate flight--once we know which one it is."

"That's risky," Daniel said. "Cavanaugh would feel cornered if that were to happen. He may decide to kill Dharma if he is feeling desperate."

"Well, we have the signal. It seems to be working perfectly. Why don't we just wait it out? We'll get to the airport and just wait to see where they go. Once we know what city they're headed to, I can buy us some tickets and book us on the next flight," Vincent said.

"That sounds like a good idea," Petra agreed.

Daniel looked at his watch, "It's getting late. We might not know where they're headed until midnight or so, which puts us at tomorrow before we can get a flight out."

Vincent sighed,"You're right. I'll find a hotelnear the airport. Maybe we can get to astore and use some of your brother's money to get some clothes and otheressentials. This might not be as quickof a mission as we thought."