Ian

IN Denver, Brother Lawrence pointed to an exit. "Take this one."

I jerked the car to the right, barely making the exit. "Can you give me a little more warning next time?"

"I gave you as much warning as I had." The monk seemed content with the answer. Was the Light going to drive us off a cliff next?

The monk pointed me into a small gift shop a few blocks away and we parked. "The Light says there are very nice souvenirs inside." He opened his door.

"So we're on vacation now?"

"Oh, vacation!" He headed for the gift shop with excitement in his eyes. "That sounds delightful!"

"Alright." I stepped out of the car. "Let's go see some souvenirs."

Inside the gift shop, the monk seemed like a kid in a candy store. He fingered through countless postcards, admiring the photography, then moved on to colored stones, refrigerator magnets, and t-shirts. Periodically, after reading one of them, he'd let out a laugh and say, "Oh, that's quite clever."

Before long, he had collected everything he needed. "I believe this is sufficient."

"Oh, really?"

The monk nodded cheerfully.

I gave him an inquisitive stare. "And how do you expect to pay for these?"

"The Light says you're the one with the money." He stared at me innocently.

Rolling my eyes, I pulled out my wallet and covered the total. The monk had purchased only refrigerator magnets. Several of them. "Are you done shopping now?"

"Yes. Thank you, brother." He headed to the door. "We can go now."

I shook my head and followed him out of the shop. "What was that all about?"

"The Light asked me to buy some things we'll need."

"You mean he asked me."

"Yes, that's what I said. He asked me."

I sighed. "Why refrigerator magnets? You don't even own a refrigerator."

He didn't answer.

I got an odd feeling suddenly and looked both ways down the street. No cops. Joseph's statement about worrying when the cops weren't around had made me paranoid. Then two men in business suits step out of a car not far away. Behind us, two more men dressed in business suits came around a corner. There'd been times when I'd seen no cops all day and it didn't mean anything. But this was not one of those times.

I gave Brother Lawrence a friendly nudge toward the car. "Get in. Quick."

"Oh, certainly, brother." He stepped up his pace and climbed in.

I circled the car and jumped in, too.

The men in suits converged on us just as I inserted the key fob into the dash and hit the start button. The car roared to life and I peeled out onto the street, nearly clipping two of the agents.

The monk seemed excited, as usual. "So those are the men you're running from?"

"Yeah. Hunters. How did you know I—" Stupid question. "Never mind."

"Oh, this should be good fun."

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