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that road.”
    Evan said calmly, “We’re really glad you’re okay, Phoenix. But can you tell us exactly where you are?”
    “In Washington State. Near the Cascade Mountain Range.” He gave them the exact address of the motel. “If you get

    here, I can lead you to where the others are. I know right where it is.”
    Evan said, “Just hold tight, Phoenix. Hide as best you can. And don’t talk to anybody. We’ll be there as fast as the plane will take us.”
    Ian  added  in  a  nervous  tone, “Phoenix, when you managed to escape, was everyone, was Natalie . . . ?” He again couldn’t finish.
    “They were all alive,” said Phoenix.
    “Okay, thanks,” said Ian. “Thanks a
    lot.”
    As soon as the phone went dead, Evan fired off an e-mail to Amy telling herabout the call. But it bounced back.
    “Crap,” snapped Evan. He tried
    again with the same result.
    “I’ll call her on the mobile,” said

Ian. But the call would not go through.
    “What the heck is going on?”exclaimed Evan.
    “We’ve got to reach Phoenix beforethe Vespers do,” said Ian. “We’ll try tocontact the others on the way. Now let’sjolly well get a move on.”
    In five minutes they were packed andout the door. Two hours later they were ona flight to the state of Washington.

    The Acela train was running smoothly onits way to DC. Amy, Dan, Jake, and Atticus were occupying a four-persontable in one of the train cars. Dan hadgone to the café car to get some food andhad brought back snacks and drinks for theothers. The room service meal seemed
    like a long time ago, though it really hadn’t been. They were all at an age where the calories seemed to be burned

    up as soon as they passed the lips.
    They had opted for the train because the earliest flight they could get out of New York would not have gotten them into DC faster than the train. And the train
    would carry them into Union Station, which was only a short cab ride away from the National Museum of American History.
    Amy had just put down her bottle of water when her phone buzzed. She picked it up and looked at the incoming text. Her face froze.
    Dan, who had been watching her,said, “Vesper One?”
    She nodded and handed him the
    phone so the others could see the message.
    Would you like to see the hostages one last time?

    Vesper One had helpfully provided apassword-protected link on the web.
    Amy drew a long breath and readiedher laptop. The train was full, so theydecided to go out into the vestibulebetween train cars, where they could havesome privacy. Amy carried her laptopwhile the others fell into step behind her. It was like they were marching to see anexecution. The dread was clear on each oftheir faces.
    They huddled in the vestibule while Amy hit the link on her computer screenand then put in the password.
    They drew closer when the screenfired up, and the dread on their facesdeepened.
    The remaining hostages were linedup in a row. They looked dirty, beaten,

    battered. There was duct tape over their mouths and their hands were bound behind
    them.
    Alistair wasn’t there, of course, and neither was Phoenix. Amy and the others knew Alistair was dead and that Phoenix was missing and probably dead as well.
    A robotic voice came on over the laptop’s speaker. It was Vesper One. His tone was one of unabashed triumph.
    “I just wanted to thank you for all of your help. I consider you my partners in bringing about the victory of my family over yours. Indeed, over the world. Without your valuable assistance in gathering the elements I needed, my plan would never have succeeded. I want you to keep that in mind over the short period of time you have left to live.” The voice

    paused and then continued, “Oh, and in case you haven’t figured it out for yourselves, I am officially going back on our deal to release the hostages once you provided me with all the elements. Lying is just what we Vespers do. And we do it so