Sample Portions of the Book "If I Wake From Dreams"
By Richard G. Henry,   Copyright 1999-2000

[Chris has just told Kaitlin they have to go into hiding:]

"Are you insane?" Kaitlin asked, plainly.
"What choice do I have?" Susan asked.
"Where are you going to go?"
"You mean, where are we going to go." Susan said.
"Uh," Kaitlin wanted to bang her hand on the table to make sure she wasn't dreaming.
"You're the one who can cure me.  I believe in you.  Won't you believe in me?" Susan said on the verge of tears.
Kaitlin stood in the middle of the room and it seemed to start spinning. She wanted adventure and here it was.  But hiding from a mad husband seemed a little more danger than she was looking for.
"We're all packed," Chris said.  "I rented a car to throw him off the scent."
"What am I going to tell my parents?"
"Tell them you got an offer from a college to do research.  From one of your old professors."
Kaitlin pondered Chris' suggestion.  It was probably the only palpable one they would find.
"Alright, I'll do it.  Let's do it.  We're going to have to take all this apart."
Chris and Susan looked at each other, "Do you need all of it?" Susan asked. "I thought you said you could make it portable?"
Kaitlin took a deep breath and blew it out slowly.  "But what will I use?"
"Just take the laptop and the CD-ROMs you burned?" Chris suggested.  "We really don't have that much time."
"He'll be able to track us down in minutes.  Credit cards and ATM's."
"We thought about that!"  I cashed out my bank account and I have all my jewelry, just in case."
"I can't even believe this is happening."
"Believe it!" Chris said as he began unplugging the miles of cables that ran all over the room.
"Be careful!"  Let me unplug it.  You can start unplugging that stuff," Kaitlin said, pointing to the time machine.
Kaitlin finished unplugging the equipment but still could not decide what to take with her.  It seemed like it was all or nothing.  Finally she figured all she needed was the laptop and a few sets of speakers; and her notes.  Then she went upstairs to pack.  She hid the suitcase under her bed and went down to explain to her mother that she had gotten some space at the college for her to experiment.  She also explained that she would probably stay a few days to look for an apartment.  Her mother sprang to life when she heard 'move out' and went into the kitchen to pack up supplies for her.  Kaitlin figured that was good and went back upstairs to get her suitcase.
"Are your friends in grad school?" her Mother asked.
"Uh," Kaitlin paused, "Yes.  They are helping me pack"
"I get my garage back too?" her mother asked, beaming.
"Not exactly," Kaitlin smiled.  "I'll have to come back and get it.  He has a small car.  Plus it will be easier to get settled without all that gear."
Her Mother was not pleased but saw  that indeed Chris' car was very small.  "Well, call us when you get settled, and we can rent a truck to bring it out to you.  I've packed some stuff for your new place."
Kaitlin looked behind her mother and saw shopping bags brimming with supplies.  She knew her mother wanted her out but she did not know just how badly.
Kaitlin came back out and saw the garage was much cleaner.  Chris was dripping with sweat but seemed very motivated.  Susan was resting in the chair.
"Oh, by the way, my mother thinks you two are grad students.  And she packed us a ton of food."
"Sounds good to me," Chris agreed.  "Are you all packed?"
"All ready!"
"Let's go," Chris said, heading back to get Susan.
"We have to get the food," Kaitlin said.  "And don't be so melodramatic!  My mother can sense deceit miles away."
"All right.  I'll try to calm down.  Let's get it."
Kaitlin and Chris went into the kitchen.  Her mother introduced herself and said how nice it was for Chris to come out and help Kaitlin move.  Kaitlin found it odd because surely she had seen Chris coming and going and now she acted like it was the first time he had ever been there.  Chris kept a straight face and hauled bag after bag of groceries out to the car.  He could not believe that the car was entirely full.  He shook his head and looked at his watch.  Kaitlin said goodbye to her mother and got into the truck.  Susan was almost green and her hair seemed very thin.
He started up the road.  He seemed to stare down every driver that he encountered.  He knew Mark would be at his apartment sooner or later.  He sped past his apartment complex but did not see Mark's car.  Now he was worried he would pass him on the way out of the cape.  He stayed in the right lane to be as far away from oncoming traffic as possible.  
"Where are we going?" Kaitlin asked.
"Boston."
"What's there?"
"You'll see," Chris said mysteriously.
Kaitlin noticed the wind was blowing quite a bit of hair back her way.  She looked over the seat to see Susan's hair was actually falling out.  Kaitlin felt ill and angry.  There was no need for such harsh treatment in the early stage.  She nudged Chris.
He looked over and closed his eyes, as if to block it out of his mind.
"I've never heard of cancer spreading so fast they had to give massive doses of radiation?"
"It's all Mark's doing.  He figured if she was sick he could control her."
"But what doctor would allow this?"
Chris looked at Kaitlin as if she was born yesterday.
"I'm going to kill that son of a..." Chris said bitterly.  "That's why we need you.  To help her get healthy.  I don't see how they can stop a disease by killing a person?"
"I don't think it's that black and white," Kaitlin said softly, not wanting to spark a disagreement.  "But to give such a massive dose is just sick."
They drove the remainder of the trip in silence.  Kaitlin was stuffed in the back with all the groceries and clothes.  Susan kept the window open and it was hitting Susan straight in the face.  The whole seemed surreal to her.  Chris drove to a strange warehouse district, far away from the city center.  He drove up and down empty streets searching for something.  Then they came upon a fat man in an ill-fitting dark suit sitting on the hood of the only car on the street.
"Friend of yours?" Kaitlin teased him.
Chris slowed the car down and pulled over.  Hopping out he said to her: "yeah."
Kaitlin watched as Chris gave the fat man a healthy wad of cash.  The man handed him a key.  Chris did not thank him but just turned and walked away.  The man, who was wearing dark glasses counted to money quickly, shoved it in his pocket, looked up and down the street and then got into his car and rove off.
Chris waited until he was gone and then made a U-turn.
"How the?  Who was that?  What did he give you?"
"We've got a warehouse all to ourselves," Chris smiled tossing Kaitlin the key.
She caught it and looked at him severely.  "How do you know you can trust him?"
"He's a pornographer.  He ain't going to cops."
"How'd you meet him?"
"The internet."
"I can't even begin to start to believe this."
"I've got friends in low places."
Chris pulled up to a brick warehouse.  The whole street was lined with similar warehouses.  He turned the car off and looked around suspiciously.
"Must you be so mysterious?"  Kaitlin said handing the key.  He nervously got out and went up to the door and try to fit the key in the lock.  The lock was stiff but Chris fumbled with the handle and eventually the door opened.  He wiped his brow and went inside.
Kaitlin looked carefully up and down the empty streets waiting for her killer to arrive.  She was holding her breath.
She practically jumped out of her skin when Chris pushed the squeaky roll up door open.  She stared at him in amazement as he calmly got back in the car and drove inside.  He jumped out and pulled the door down.
"did your mom pack any sodas?"
"Uh, I think so," Kaitlin said looking through the bags and trying to extricate herself from the back of the car.  They left Susan to sleep. 
The warehouse was empty except for a few boxes and packing materials.  Kaitlin was relieved that it wasn't a movie studio or something.  She walked around and took down some lurid posters in the office.  She then looked in the boxes and saw they were filled with pornographic tapes.  She closed her eyes and told Chris they were going to have to do some cleaning.
"We really can't.  There is no garbage pickup so any movement has to be at night."
"What the hell are we doing?" she confronted him.
"We are going to save my sister from cancer.  No, from two cancers."
"Chris, you're frantic.  Sit down."
They sat down in the office.  Kaitlin was afraid to touch anything.
"All they did was ship stuff here.  No filming.  And it's got power and a bathroom."
"Just like home from home," Kaitlin said.  "I guess we should unpack the groceries."
"Damn!" Chris exclaimed.
"Now what's the matter?"
"I have to get rid of the car.  But if I drop it in Boston he'll know we are here."
"Why don't you drive to New Jersey.  Then they will think you're in New York," Kaitlin said felicitously.
"Excellent idea!"  I'll drive there tonight and come back on the train in the morning."
"I was kidding."
"I'm not.  Let's unload the car. Then we'll go to the store and get some more supplies; then I'll drop you off and head to New Jersey."
Kaitlin shook her head and helped Chris unload the truck.  Susan went into one of the smaller offices and went to sleep.
"That Chemo is unbelievable."
"It's poisonous to the body.  I mean it would be alright to use it if she needed it, but to use it to control her is just sick.  I swear if he comes here I'll shoot him."
"All right Mannix.  Take a deep breath.  You've been running full speed all day."
"We can't call anybody."
"No," Chris said.
"What about the internet?"
"Actually I've been thinking about that.  I think we should.  I'm going to have my hacker buddies login as me from all over the country.  To sort of blur the trail."
"But won't a live connection from an empty warehouse seem rather obvious?"
"A friend of mine gave me a wireless modem and a number we can use that will mask our connection and phone number."
"You know hackers too?"
Chris smiled. "If it's dubious then I know about it."
Chris finally relaxed and ate one of the sandwiches Kaitlin's mother had packed.  Kaitlin began setting up shop.  She noticed there were no windows in the entire building and the one in the back door had been painted over at least twenty times.  She hoped there would be enough power. 
They left Susan and went in search of a grocery store.  They found a pretty large one and went inside.  They purchased quite a lot of stuff and paid in cash.  They did not seem to arouse any suspicion but they certainly acted like it.  Chris dropped Kaitlin and the groceries off back at the warehouse.  
Kaitlin went out with him and gave him a good luck kiss.  Chris smiled.
"Don't go outside," Chris reminded her.
"Where would I go?" she asked.
"Yeah, I guess you're right.  Well don't unlock the door for anyone."
"How stupid do you think I am?"
Chris smiled and drove off into the night.  Kaitlin went back inside and rubbed her arms.  The warehouse was cool inside.  She put on a sweater and went to put the groceries away.
Kaitlin put the perishables in the fridge and then sprayed everything she could find with disinfectant.  She then woke Susan up and they ate some dinner.  Susan was more coherent and ate quite a bit.  Kaitlin tried to explain where they were but was lost for words.
Susan's hair was almost all gone and Kaitlin was unsure if she knew and didn't want to be the one to tell her.
Susan said, "I know about my hair.  I got over the fact it was going to fall out a long time ago."
"Well, at least you have a nice skull," Kaitlin said oddly.
Susan laughed so hard she stared coughing.  
"Exciting, isn't it?" Susan asked, regaining her composure.
"I'll say," Kaitlin hesitated.
"Ever done anything like this before?"
"Hide out in pornographic studio in the middle of nowhere?  No, I've never done this before."
"Don't be so nervous," Susan reassured her. "Chris certainly knows some characters!"
"You can say that again."
"Where is he?"
"Oh, he's returning the car."  Kaitlin said non-chalantly.
Susan shrugged and drank some water.
"In New Jersey!" Kaitlin exclaimed.
"What for?"
"So no one can trace us to Boston."
"Brilliant!"
"You don't seem to find this a little bizarre?"
"I just hope he gets back before Mark calls the police," Susan sighed.
"Don't you think he'll go to Chris apartment first?"
"Yes, but after that he'll go to the police.  I hope Chris gets back before his picture goes on the TV.  But that shouldn't be until the evening news tomorrow."
"You seemed pretty knowledgeable about all this?" Kaitlin wondered.
"I read and watch every mystery that comes out.  So does Chris.  I really think we've been pretty careful," Susan tried to recall the events of the day.
"I'm going to set up the computer."
"can I help?"
"I guess," Kaitlin agreed.  Susan watched as Kaitlin assembled the makeshift system.  
After setting it all up they checked all the locks and got out the sleeping bags.
"It's going to be cold in here tonight!" Susan mentioned.  "What was the guy like who gave Chris the keys?"
"About as plain as you could get.  Apparently he is a pornographer," Kaitlin said, realizing she couldn't describe the man at all.
"He knows all these maniacs from the internet."
"That would be the understatement of the day," Kaitlin said turning off the office light.
"Goodnight." 
"Goodnight," Kaitlin said crawling back into the sleeping bag.
They listened to the stillness.  It was so quiet you could swear there were swat teams crawling all over the building.  They were breathing as quietly as possible as not to disturb the silence.
"Thanks for coming with us," Susan said in the dark.
Kaitlin did not know if she was staring to the side or straight up because it was so dark.  It was like having a sack over your head.  Eventually the activities of the day caught up with her and she fell asleep.
Kaitlin woke up with a start and quickly sat up.  She did not recognize the surroundings at first.  There was sunlight peeking through the roll up door and high windows.  But after looking over at Susan she realized it was not a dream.  She laid back down and tried to fathom the events of the previous day.  She was unable to grasp what they had actually done.  It felt like Chris would come back with the car and announce they were heading back.  But as Susan woke up, got sick and then ate some breakfast, Kaitlin had the funny feeling that it was all too real.
"Are we going to do a session this morning?" Susan asked.
"Are you up to it?"
"I think so.  And I feel so relaxed when I wake up."
"I guess we could," Kaitlin said looking over at the equipment.  "I still need to test everything.  I only set it up last night."
"Hmm," Susan said, wanting to find something to do. "I guess I could try and make this place a bit more livable."
"Good luck," Kaitlin laughed. "I hope we aren't here too long.  I don't think I can drink instant coffee for very long."
"You certainly stocked up," Susan noted the large supply of instant coffee they had bought.
"No coffee, no Kaitlin." 
Susan laughed lightly.  The more outward effects of the Chemotherapy appeared to have worn off, although occasionally Susan would stare distantly off into space.
"Damn," Kaitlin exclaimed, from behind her workbench.
"What's the matter?"
"We have no way of testing your blood.  We have no way of knowing if we are having any success or not.  We'll be working in the dark."
"Chris already took care of that."
"Don't tell me he found another person on the internet," Kaitlin said, frustrated at this new roadblock.
"Yes and no," Susan said walking out to the large part of the warehouse, "he got a machine that you connect to the internet and it reads the results."
"What about getting the blood?" Kaitlin asked as little repulsed.
"We haven't quiet figured that out yet, but we do have some syringes and stuff like that."
"I'd appreciate it if you two would leave me out of the blood drawing part," Kaitlin then cautioned, "And be very careful we don't want to have to go to the emergency room because your bleeding to death."
"You're way too uptight," Susan said emptying a load of rubbish.  "Don't anticipate trouble.  Take it as it comes."
Kaitlin shook her head.  Finally after two hours she was able to get everything connected and turned on the computer.  She ran a test tone through the entire system and checked the speaker.  Susan watched in awe of Kaitlin's concentration as she climbed up to the second level of the warehouse and told Kaitlin there was a ton of videocassettes up there.
"More porn," Kaitlin said amazed.
"No, I think they are blank," Susan said looking at them. "I wish they had left us a VCR and a TV."
"I'm not.  Anyway, I think we are ready.  When do you think Chris will be here?"
"It's only eight thirty," Susan called out from upstairs.  "I doubt he'll be here anytime before ten."
"What part of Boston are we in?  I didn't recognize anything when we got here."
"I have no idea.  I would guess the west part, I remember that there were a lot of warehouses out there.  We aren't very close to the train station."
"That's what I thought," Kaitlin agreed. "I hope he can find his way back here."
"He will.  He has a weird sense of direction," Susan commented.
"We're going to go crazy cooped up in here," Kaitlin shrugged as she went to get another cup of instant coffee."
"Man, that chick is wound up like a top," Susan said in a mock hippie voice.  She finished searching for anything interesting upstairs and came back downstairs empty handed.  She walked over to Kaitlin's workbench and studied the various pieces of equipment.  She had no knowledge of electronics and couldn't figure out what it was for.
Kaitlin reemerged from the kitchen/office with a scour on her face.
"How's that instant coffee treating you?" Susan teased.
"At least I'll be ready for prison coffee," Susan said scrunching up her face.
"You fit all the equipment into the computer?" Susan remarked at Kaitlin's minimal setup.
"Sort of," Kaitlin said, "I'm using the same tones we had luck with before.  And I am using software instead of the physical machines."
"Why didn't you use that before?"
"Less possibility of a crash."
"Hmm," Susan said, not wanting to admit she had absolutely no idea what Kaitlin was talking about, "that's really amazing."
"I guess," Kaitlin said. "I wish Chris would get here soon.  He seems to be much more aware of how we can remain anonymous if we go on the internet."
"I wish we had a radio or anything.  I wish we could go outside or at least go open the door."
"I don't think that would be such good idea," Kaitlin remarked.
"Don't worry, I won't.  Why don't we do some therapy?"
"I think you're right.  It will take our minds off Chris and this place," Kaitlin said, looking around at the dirty empty warehouse she was holed up in.  She wondered if her parents would think she had been kidnapped.  After all, she did not know Chris or Susan and she could not contact them.  She eyed Susan and wondered if they had thought their plan though.
Susan placed the speakers over the tumor and leaned back.  Kaitlin ran the tones from a program that showed the frequencies in real time.
While the tones vibrated quietly she read the manual for the blood test kit that Chris had bought. It appeared to be for cholesterol but had a serial port for connecting to a computer where more sophisticated tests could be performed via the internet.  Kaitlin was quite amazed at the idea of testing the blood over the internet but she also wondered why a home computer was not powerful enough to test it; why it had to go to a larger computer.  She was afraid to go on the net because it would be so easy to track them from the phone number they dialed out on.  The police could be there in ten minutes.  She wondered if the wireless modem was secure but that too could be found using triangulation.  She hoped Chris had some trick up his sleeve because she saw no way out.



















	Sample portion of "If I Wake From Dreams"
	By Richard G. Henry,  Copyright 1999-2000
	[Chris has just found out via the Internet that the Police are searching for them in the Boston area:]


"We gotta go!" Chris demanded. "Where the hell were you?"
"I don't know but it sure wasn't this planet or this time.  I don't know.  I'm speechless." Susan said astonished.
"That's real nice but we have to get going!" Chris demanded.
"Why what's going on?" She replied.
"Someone saw us at the grocery store the other night. They have switched the investigation to Boston." Chris yelled.
"And Mark told everyone my sound therapy theories.  People think I'm a complete maniac." Kaitlin said smoldering with anger.
"We should post your website," Chris responded.
"What? Why?  Are you crazy?" Kaitlin said scornfully.
"Well then people can read what you have to say, without all the subtle distortion of TV," Chris explained.
"They also might think it's a manifesto."
"What's wrong with that?" Susan asked.
"You two!" Kaitlin said exasperated.
They were packing as fast as they could.  Chris' plan was to break into one of the garages next door and steal a car.  The only problem was the daylight.  Every noise sounded like a helicopter.  It was a Sunday so the body shops were closed.  Chris paused to calculate the next set of felonies he was about to commit.  He didn't like it.  Things were getting out of hand.  It seemed that now they could only react instead of being ahead of the game.
"How did you guys find out?  I thought you couldn't go online while I was using it?"
Kaitlin pointed out that Susan was the most susceptible person she had tried it on.  That she had gone under well before she or Chris had in their previous experiments.
Chris gathered them up in the office and explained his plan.  He would try to grab a car and the two of them would have to lay in the back.  He would wear a hat and sunglasses and hopefully no one would recognize them.  He explained it was their only way out.  He seemed to have a sixth sense that the police were closing in.  Susan and Kaitlin reluctantly agreed.  Chris took a metal bar he had found and headed outside to try and break into a body shop.  He found one with a windowed door that was off the street.  He smashed the glass only remembering it might be alarmed after the drove the pipe through the window.  He crouched down praying there wasn't an alarm.  He reached in an opened the door.  
The garage was dark.  A box of donuts from Friday sat on an old table.  He turned the lights on in the main part of the shop.  There were three cars.  He ran over hoping to find the keys in the ignition.
"Damn," he said, not finding the keys.  He searched the room for a billboard with the keys but did not find one.  He ran back into the office and began ripping drawers open.  He dumped the contents on the desk and finally found four sets of keys.  He grabbed them all and ran back into the garage.  He chose a gray sedan but then changed his mind to the minivan.  It had tinted windows.  He put the keys in and tried to start it.  None of the keys worked.  He was about to start screaming when he thought that he might have to close the door to enable the ignition.  
He was successful on the third set of keys.  He left the motor running and went to the roll up door.  It had a lock on it and he looked at it wondering if he could drive through it.  He saw that wasn't going to happen and grabbed a crowbar and began swinging at the lock.  Nothing.
"Dammit!" he yelled and then tried another approach of ripping the lock off the wall itself.  It gave way much easier than he thought.  He pushed the door upwards and closed his eyes as it passed his head.  He imagined he would open his eyes to a hundred police, but the streets were barren.  He pulled out and drove down the street,  In the rear view mirror he saw he had left the door up.  He considered going back to close it but found himself driving off anyway, the adrenaline pushing him ahead full speed.
He turned the corner still convinced the police were a heartbeat away.  He saw Kaitlin out in the street.
"What the hell is she doing?"
He pulled up and hopped out, leaving the motor running. "What do you think you're doing?" he demanded.
"They know we are here.  I read one of your emails.  One of your friends hacked the FBI and sent us a copy of an email that said they had profiled us and figured we would come to Boston.
"Ugh.  Let's roll.  Where's Susan?"
"I'm right here," Susan said lugging two duffel bags over her shoulders. "Nice car."
"Okay, okay. Let's get the hell outta here," Chris said running inside.  
Kaitlin put her stuff in the van and climbed into the back seat.  Susan clambered in and sat behind her.  Chris ran back and forth tossing items at them.
"He's going to kill us in this state!  Maybe you should drive?" Susan suggested.
"I think he knows where he's going," Kaitlin frowned as a panicking Chris jumped into the front seat.
"Ready?" he yelled pulling onto the street.
"Slow down," Susan yelled. "You'll kill me before I can get cured."
"yeah Chris. Criminals are always caught because of traffic violations.'
Chris acknowledged Kaitlin's remark.
"Your right," he said, slowing down.  "Is there a map in here?"
"Where are we going?"
Chris pulled the map his friend had sent him. "There," he said to Kaitlin, handing her the paper.
"What's there?"
"We'll find out when we get there."
"Oh swell," Kaitlin grimaced to Susan who was lying down. 
"How are we for gas?" Susan called out.
Chris looked down at the gauge, "Can't I ever get a break?"
"How bad?"
"Within the hour," he said morosely.
"Hey look," Kaitlin said as they drove up onto the freeway.
"What is it?"
"Police cars with sirens heading to the warehouse district.  Did the garage have an alarm?"
"No," Chris said slowly trying to picture the office of the body shop. "Unless it was silent."
"We're screwed," Kaitlin bemoaned.
"Maybe not!  They don't know it's us.  They are distracted.  We should get some gas now."
"Are you sure?" Kaitlin insisted. "Won't they give a description of the car?  I think we should get to this hideout."
"They won't know what car I stole.  And it  will be hours before they can contact the owner."
"OK, but maybe I should do it."
"Why?"
"You look like a maniac.  All sweaty"
"True," Chris said looking at himself in the rear view mirror.  
They pulled into a gas station.  Chris pulled to the outer most pump and Kaitlin hopped out.  There was not anyone else at the station.  She tried to pump the gas but it wouldn't work.  She finally figured she ad to pay first.  She went over to Chris and got some money.  She went inside and brushed the hair out of her eyes and gave her most innocent smile.  The guy behind the counter was watching TV and barely took notice of her.  She wasn't sure he even heard her and hoped he would turn the pump on.  She tried and it worked.  She kept going even after some of the gas was spilling out.  She replaced the nozzle slowly got into the van.
"Let's go," she said quietly, wiping her hands on her pants.
The clerk was coming out to give her the change but they pulled out too soon.
"Screw em," he commented jamming the money into his dirty jeans and heading back to his TV.
"Can you check my email?" Chris asked her.
"Sure," she said.  Let me log on.  After a few minutes she was up and running.  She was afraid to check the news sites.  "What's your password?'
Chris paused and swallowed. "Uh, try Kaitlin."
"What do the asterisks stand for?" she smiled.
"Uh," was all Chris could muster.
"Not good," Kaitlin said seriously.
"What's the matter?"
"It seems they do know it was us at the warehouse."
"how could they find out so soon?"
"You're friends intercepted a cell phone transmission!  Who are these people?"
"I don't know."
"All the other ones are encrypted?  I can't read them."
"Crud.  You'll have to unlock them.  I already downloaded the key."
"Where is it?"
"Look for the program called Kremlin."
"Ok, now what?"
"Open it and paste the message into it.  Then go to 'run decrypter' and type in 7745jdGH3$%."
"What?"
Chris repeated the number.  Kaitlin  watched as the message became readable.  She read it and told Chris that his friends were setting up safe houses all over and that the key will always be in the rolled up newspaper on the porch.  And they will each send separate messages and don't reply because they are aware your girlfriend is a computer genius.'  What the?"
"What?"
"Someone must have found all the equipment in the garage.  Now my theories are going to be thought of as insane!"
"You don't know that.  Check some news sites."
Kaitlin downloaded the remaining emails for offline decoding.  And went to a news site.  She read aloud in disbelief.
"Electronic cult kidnaps cancer patient to perform rituals.  Kaitlin, a twenty something engineer from Cape Cod has kidnapped Susan, a woman dying of cancer.  Kaitlin is convinced she can cure the cancer using electronic shock.  A torture chamber was found in her parent's garage yesterday.  She is being aided by Chris, Susan's brother, of whom, Mark, Susan's husband describes as a 'computer hacking moron'.  Police have shifted their search to the Boston area.  Susan's doctor says she will die within a week if she is not treated.  The parents of Chris and Kaitlin have sent a plea to their children to release Susan.  It is thought that Chris is being aided by a network of computer hackers.  The story has grabbed the attention away from the presidential conventions.  A whole host of doctors have weighed in on Kaitlin's Electro shock, claiming she is likely insane and could kill Susan."
"Shut off the modem," Chris said.
"Uh?" Kaitlin responded limply.
"Turn off the modem.  If they know we are using the net they will be looking for anything unusual.  Eventually they will realize we are using a wireless modem."
"All right," she sighed.  "What the hell are we going to do now?"
"Post your site.  Give your side of the story."
"I guess we'll have to.  I'm not going around with people thinking I'm using electric shock to cure cancer!'
"Yeah, much better to just be a plain old kidnapper."
"Funny."
"Sorry."
"can you check the map?  I think we are supposed to turn on one of these freeways coming up."
"We're supposed to turn on to 292 and then exit at Columbus.  It should be the third exit after you turn.
	"Uh oh," Chris stammered.
"What?"
"The police!" Chris said nervously. 
"Are they following you?"
"I can't tell.  You'd better get down."
"I don't think so.  They will notice it more if we act nervous.  You be cool.  Act like your looking for an ATM or something.  Like your lost," Kaitlin said breathlessly.
"I'm cool," Chris said pulling onto the 292.
"They're still there," Chris said grimly.
"Play it cool.  Just relax," Kaitlin instructed.
"I'm going to be sick," Chris was barely breathing.  
Chris drove another mile with the police car right behind him.  He tried to think what might give him away.  He wasn't speeding or changing lanes.  It didn't make sense.
Kaitlin spoke with apprehension, "Do you think he is checking the license plates?"
"Damn!" Chris exploded as quietly as possible.  "But I don't see how they could know what kind of car it was already.  It's too soon."
"And we're so close," Kaitlin said holding back the tears. "So close."
"Wait a minute, he's pulling off!" Chris said gleefully.  "He pulled off."
"Hey!" Kaitlin yelled, "Columbus! Columbus!"
"Oh," Chris said swerving gently onto the off-ramp.  "Now where?"
"132nd street."
"Right or left?"
"Doesn't say."
"I'm going to try left."