Wired (3 page)

His parents had warned him and Jeff about going outside alone. No longer could he wander the neighborhood like he had done
for all of his eight years. Everyone was tense, frightened, weird, and George didn't like it, but he was too young to do anything
about the problem except gripe. He simply had to accept what he was told to do or find himself in deeper trouble.

Things were like that at school, too. The teachers kept huddling together outside their classrooms, whispering all the time,
and watching with raised eyebrows as if any moment someone was about to do something spooky. Even the principal Mrs. Hammond
acted defensive. She stood around the halls with her arms crossed over her chest as if she were running a state prison. Guards
were posted on the playground during recess, and they sniffed around like police dogs, making the children run from them.
Everyone felt tense, and nervous; although they wouldn't say so out loud, they were scared.

Even last night had been difficult. A red cast overshadowed the moon, leaving it shimmering in a strange crimson glow that
sent a disconcerting facade over the entire city. Earlier in the day fierce winds blew a pounding hailstorm across Chicago,
hiding the sun and battering roofs and cars. Weather forecasters warned the children to stay inside in case the pounding started
again. George had never seen anything like the sight of huge hailstones pounding on the roof, and it only added to his apprehension.

“George?” a small voice said from across the room. “Are you awake?”

“Yeah.”

“You getting up?” Jeff asked.

“In a minute.”

“Okay.” Jeff rolled over and closed his eyes again. “I'll sleep a while longer.” He turned back over. “Is it still hailing?”

“No. Go back to sleep.”

Living at the end of Crown Point Street in the Chicago suburbs of Arlington Heights, George and Jeff Peck knew the local neighborhood
like the backs of their hands. They always thought there was nothing to be afraid of out there. Even with their older brother
Matt off to college, the two youngest boys in the family weren't to be restrained from their usual jaunts up the street and
around the block. But last night elongated shadows from the tall poplars lined the streets with strange interlacing shapes,
looking like long pointed spears or jagged swords, and changed the peaceful neighborhood's appearance into a web of intrigue.
Few door lights were turned on. The affluent neighborhood felt more like a city jungle.

The strange sights deeply bothered George. Everything had changed when all of those people disappeared. No one had ever fully
explained to him what had occurred and the entire event left him unnerved. The night before, Mary had tried to explain it
to them, but the conversation hadn't gone very well. Of course, part of the reason was that Mary always treated him and Jeff
like they were nuisances. She had caught them in the street a half-block away.

“You think you're big time,” George had challenged his sister. “’Cause you're fourteen doesn't make you better than us.”

“Better than
you
?” Mary had sneered. “Always and forever.” She always managed the best put-downs any young teenager could muster.

“We're scared!” Jeff had blurted out, interrupting the argument.

“No, We're not,” George had said. “Don't listen to short stuff. He doesn't know anything.”

“It scares me that all those people are gone,” Jeff had said and shivered. “Boom! Up in smoke. Disappeared!”

“I understand.” The condescending tone in Mary's voice disappeared and she shook her head. “You boys be careful,” she said
more thoughtfully. “Nobody knows what's going on anymore and it's not a good time to be out here in the street running around
alone even if it is Halloween eve.”

“What do you think
did
happen to all those people?” George had asked his sister in a more respectful manner.

“I don't know,” Mary said. “A girl at school said they all migrated to some South American country to live on a big farm.
Other people think it has something to do with religion. I don't know.”

“South America?” George protested. “Listen. Millions of people disappeared in an instant. South America wouldn't hold 'em
all. You know that church down at the end of the housing area? Near Monroe School?”

Mary shook her head.

“That old building with a steeple is still locked tighter than a bank. Maybe there's something religious behind all of this?”

“Nope,” Mary said soberly. “I don't know what to say. I don't know anyone who does. The whole thing is too gosh awful scary.”

“Yeah,” Jeff said in that little boy voice of his that could sound so vulnerable.

“Look. Mom sent me out here to tell you boys to come home. She doesn't want you roaming the streets by yourself. You can't
tell what will happen next.”

“Yeah,” Jeff had said again in a complaint tone that always irritated George.

“Don't be telling us what to do!” George protested.

“Listen. You little squeak, don't throw lip at me.” Mary marched toward him like she would slap him.

George took off running for the house to get out of her way. At the least, she wouldn't get a crack at him, but that also
ended the conversation.

Now George regretted that he had been so aggressive. He should have listened betted. Mary might have told him more about the
disappearance of all of those people, but she always tried to push him around and that created fights. Still he should have
simply listened and not been so belligerent. That's what Mother always told him. Be quiet and listen. Well, he should have
listened better.

Jeff sat up in bed and threw the covers back. “I'm going to get up now,” he said. “I've got to go to school today.”

George started to correct him and say “preschool,” but he didn't. Jeff was a very bright boy and Mon Dad had placed him in
a special school that allowed Jeff to work at his own level. He was already reading books far ahead of regular first graders.
George didn't feel any competition with Jeff. He simply recognized that his little brother was gifted.

George's problem was he couldn't stop thinking about all of those people who had vanished. Two boys in his class at school
had disappeared just as if they simply had walked out for a vacation. Their entire families were gone, leaving behind their
houses and everything in them. Although he'd never been in any of those homes, people said even the dishes had been left on
the table like they were eating supper and simply got up and left. one of the neighbors reported it looked like they would
come back any minute and finish eating… but they never did. Some people said there was an explanation in the Bible but he
had never seen it.

“You boys get down here right now,” Grandmother Maria called up from the kitchen. “You need to eat your breakfast. Hurry up.
Get a wiggle on.”

“Okay, okay.” George got out of bed and reached for the bathrobe lying across the end of his bed. “I'm coming.” The truth
was he needed to hurry, but he still felt apprehensive about all those people who disappeared.

T
EN MINUTES LATER
Jackie peck stood in the doorway opening into the kitchen and watched her boys eating. For a moment she observed the breakfast
scene without saying anything. George's ruffled, toast-colored hair nearly hung down into his brown eyes. George's face looked
a great deal like hers, oblong and angular. Little Jeff's face was much rounder with puffy fat in his cheeks. His hair was
lighter than George's and he had blue eyes. George and Jeff looked like two innocent little children without a care in the
world. But their mother knew that was anything but true.

Jackie caught a glimpse of herself in the hall mirror. For a thirty-nine-year-old mother of four children, she had kept her
figure well, but she did look tired. Well, who wouldn't? Worrying about her son off at college and these two hellions would
exhaust anyone, not to mention trying to keep her fourteen-year-old daughter walking a straight line. Jackie looked again.
Her brunette hair still had a luster people admired and there weren't many wrinkles under her brown eyes. Maybe she was looking
better that she felt.

George and Jeff were bright children, but Jeff was exceptionally intelligent. Sometimes he sounded almost like an adult and
he had a phenomenal memory. They were capable of making up their own minds about almost everything and that worried Jackie.
you had to keep a sharp eye on such talented boys.

“Hey, Mom! You had breakfast yet?”

Jackie walked in. “No, I haven't. Maria—thank you for getting everything going this morning. I was so tired that I overslept.
I guess I'm trying to catch up on lost sleep.”

“Oh, I'm always glad to help,” Maria said. “Graham and Mary have already left. I'm sure he's at his office by now.”

“Sure.” Jackie sat down at the table. “What ate you boys talking about this morning?”

“All those people who disappeared,” Jeff said.

Jackie stiffened. “I see.” She looked away and changed the subject. “I guess you're going to have a busy day today, Maria.”

“I think so,” Maria answered. “I plan to work on that junk in the garage. Needs more than a touch out there, don't you know.”

“Good,” Jackie said. “Well, I've got to go downtown to a library meeting, and…”

“Why don't you ever want to talk about those people disappearing?” Jeff said.

Jackie gritted her teeth. “It's not my favorite subject.”

“You know what one of the kids up the street said?” George asked. “He said the whole business is about religion.”

“I wouldn't know,” Jackie answered abruptly. “Please pass me the toast.”

“You wouldn't know about religion or you wouldn't know about the disappearance? Which one?” George pressed.

“Any of it,” Jackie said firmly, forcing a smile.

“We never went to church, did we?” Jeff asked.

“No, dear. Attending a church wasn't one of the things you father and I ever tried.” Jackie kept her smile in place, but she
knew she looked pressed. “It wasn't part of our, well… ah… our values.”

“I don't believe in any of that stuff,” little Jeff said. “I never did believe in Jesus or the Bible.”

“Now listen to me,” Maria interrupted the conversation. “You boys shouldn't say you don't believe in something you don't understand.
I wasn't much of a church person either, but I was brought up to respect those ideas that other people feel are important.
I believed in what the Bible said. Sure. I should have read it more, but I didn't about anything on those pages.” She shook
her finger in their faces. “You should do the same.”

“Maybe,” George said, “but I don't believe in that Christian stuff really. I mean… I don't understand much about it.”

“See!” Maria shook her finger in Jackie's face. “I always told Graham he should take these children to a church every now
and then. You should have read them Bible stories.”

“Please, Maria,” Jackie said resolutely. “Let's not get off on a wild goose chase this morning. Look, boys. I don't have any
idea what happened to all of those people, but I'm sure it didn't have anything to do with religion. Eventually, some scientists
or psychiatrists will come up with an answer. Let's not get the day started worrying about a problem we can't solve.”

Maria thumped on the top of the stove. “Well, you Know what I think about…”

“Please, Maria,” Jackie said again. “These are only little boys! They don't need to get worried and upset about nonsense.
Let's just drop the entire matter. Okay?”

Maria rolled her eyes and threw up her hands. she went back to cleaning the top of the stove.

“I want you boys to hurry up and get your regular clothes on,” Jackie said. “I'll take you by your schools this morning. I
have a number of errands to run so let's get on with it.”

George looked at Jeff and nodded. Jeff didn't say anything.

“Ready to move?” Jackie kept smiling. “I'm going to be in the car and gone in fifteen minutes. You're going to have to start
moving fast.”

The boys murmured their compliance, got up, and took their dishes to the sink. Jackie kept eating, and watched her silent
sons. Far from ending any more conversation, she gad merely put a plug in the dike. The truth was she didn't even want to
think about the whole complex problem. Everything about millions of people vanishing in an instant left her horrified.

S
TORM CLOUDS RUMBLED
over the Mediterranean Sea, covering the entire city of Nicosia, Cyprus, with the possibility of thunder and lightning hanging
in the air. While the seven-story building located downtown was not a hotel, the edifice maintained the posh ambiance that
only the most expensive resorts carried. Tables and chairs covered hand-tooled leather stood on elegant carpets. Crystal chandeliers
hung from the ceilings.

Sitting on a veranda looking out toward Lebanon, Powerful men had gathered with their bodyguards standing in the shadows.
A servant walked among the six international leaders, placing drinks on the small tables at each man's elbow. Once the task
had been completed, the waiter quickly disappeared.

“My friends,” Hassan Jawhar Rashid began, “I appreciate your coming to this island today. Each of us has major responsibilities
that would naturally keep us in out countries. The president of Egypt, Ali Mallawi, certainly always has such pressing matters,
and Abd al Bari carries the weight of the business affairs of Syria on his shoulders. Each of you function at the same intense
level.”

Both men nodded appreciatively; the others smiled.

“Your call is our summons,” a gray-haired man at the end of the table answered. “Anything Hassan Rashid wishes to speak with
the head of any Arab state, we are instantly available.”

“Thank you, Ali.” Rashid gestures around the room. “Such a pleasurable palace seemed a more convenient and secretive meeting
palace than one of your capitols. I trust you found your accommodations to be acceptable.”

“Hear! Hear!” the men cheered and clapped. “Definitely.”