Teresa hurried out of the room.

"How long will it take her?" Travis asked.

"I don't know. Last time I looked, there weren't any hypodermics in that chest. She'll look around and then go to the one on the third floor."

Cassie screamed.

"Do something. Talk to her."

Travis dropped Cassie's hands and stood up.

"What are you doing? Talk to her."

"We're leaving, Jessica."

She froze. "Not before you take care of her."

He opened his jacket, took out his laptop computer, and dropped it into Jessica's medical bag.

Cassie screamed.

"Talk to her. Can't you see she's hurting? She's screaming, dammit."

He turned to her and said quietly, "She has to scream, Jessica."

"What?"

"I can't help her. She has to scream."

"Is this some kind of power play? I told you that you'd won."

He closed the medical bag. "It's no power play."

"She's hurting. Mellie's hurting."

"Run out in the hall and tell Fike that you're having an emergency. Cassie's having a seizure and you need an ambulance to get her to the hospital. Give him this." He handed her a piece of paper." It's the number of the emergency room at Shenandoah General, the closest hospital."

"Don't do this to Cassie."

"And tell Fike to notify the President."

"Talk to her."

"Not yet. The sooner you put her in the ambulance, the sooner I can help her." He gave her a push. "Go to Fike."

"Damn you." She was sobbing as she ran into the hall.

Cassie screamed. The cry held all the agony and fear a child could feel.

He could stop it. God, how he wanted to stop it.

He walked to the window and stared blindly at the iron gate through which the ambulance would come.

He was wrapping Cassie in a blanket when Jessica came back into the room. "Fike?" he asked.

"He called the hospital. He's on the line with Andreas now. The ambulance should be here within ten minutes."

"Go get your sister and bring her down to the ambulance."

"How am I supposed to get her on her feet? She's probably in as much shock as Cassie."

"That's your problem." He picked up Cassie. "I've got enough on my plate."

"It's not going to work. You may get out of the gates, but there'll be a truckload of Secret Service at the hospital."

"It will work," he said as he passed Jessica. "Get Melissa downstairs."

Fike was outside in the hall. "Can I help?" He flinched as Cassie screamed again. "Christ, that poor kid."

Travis nodded. "You can make sure there's security at the hospital." He started down the hall. "And a earful of your guys to follow the ambulance."

"We've already taken care of the hospital." Fike ran down the stairs ahead of Travis. "And you can bet I'll be in that car following the kid."

"Good."

"What are you trying to do?" Jessica whispered, stunned.

"This way they think of us as a team." He heard the distant wail of a siren. "There's the ambulance. Get Melissa."

Cassie was already being placed in the ambulance when Jessica half led, half carried Melissa down the front steps.

"Jesus," Fike murmured when he saw Melissa's dazed, tearstained face. "What's wrong with-"

"You know how close she and Cassie have grown." Jessica pushed Melissa into the ambulance. "She wants to go to the hospital with her." She turned to Teresa as she climbed in after Melissa. "I'll call you from the emergency room."

The EMT slammed the door shut and ran around to the passenger seat. The siren wailed as the ambulance tore down the driveway with the Secret Service car following.

Jessica whirled on Travis. "Now help her" she said fiercely.

"I've every intention of doing that." Travis knelt beside Cassie, gathered her hands in his, and began to talk to her.

Within five minutes she started quieting and Jessica felt the tension ebbing out of her. No matter what happened to the rest of them, Cassie and Melissa were easing.

Travis checked his watch. He broke off in mid-sentence, got up, and looked out the back window at the Secret Service car behind them. "Too close," he muttered.

Even as he spoke, the ambulance took on more speed. Jessica fell sideways as the vehicle screeched around the curve in the road.

Bluff on one side. Steep slope on the other.

Travis glanced out the back window. At least two hundred yards separated them from the car now. The ambulance tore up the hill. A gentler slope ahead led to a stand of trees.

"Come on. Come on," he murmured. "Now."

The highway behind them exploded. Fifty yards of concrete jettisoned into the sky. The escort car swerved to avoid the yawning hole torn in the tarmac, then whipped off the road and down the steep incline.

The ambulance careened down the gentler slope and into the trees.

"Hold on to your sister." Travis had Cassie in a secure grip as the ambulance bumped over the rough ground.

Jessica grabbed Melissa.

The ambulance screeched to a halt and the back door flew open.

"I was getting worried" Travis said as he straightened away from Cassie. "You ran it too close, Galen."

"I'm hurt. It wasn't easy setting up those charges and diverting the traffic. I'm not used to having to worry about innocent bystanders." A man in jeans and T-shirt began to roll the gurney out of the ambulance. " Is this the little girl who may cause me to lose my head?"

"You can bet on it if you don't lift off in two minutes." He jumped out of the vehicle and helped Melissa to the ground. "Those Secret Service agents are no slouches. I figure we have a four-minute lead."

Galen's eyes were on Melissa. "What's wrong with her?"

"It's a long story. Bring Cassie." He picked Melissa up and carried her to the helicopter. "Come on, Jessica."

Jessica jumped out of the ambulance and ran toward the helicopter. The ambulance driver and EMT were already climbing into the aircraft. The man Travis had called Galen placed Cassie gently in the helicopter and then boosted Jessica inside. He waved his arm at the pilot. "Go."

The helicopter lifted off and soared over the trees just as the Secret Service car tore into the clearing. Jessica tensed as she saw Fike jump out and pull his gun.

"Don't worry "Travis said. "No one's going to get trigger-happy when they know the President's daughter is on board."

He was right. No shots were fired, and in seconds they were out of range.

Cassie screamed.

Galen jumped. "Holy shit."

"She's back in the nightmare. I didn't have time to get her entirely out of it." Travis crawled over to Cassie. "How much time do we have?"

"Ten minutes until we land at the airport and transfer planes." Galen grimaced as Cassie screamed again. "Do something, will you? The kid sounds terrible."

"I'm doing it. I hope ten minutes are enough." He began to talk to Cassie.

Jessica cradled Mellie in her arms and watched him. Gentleness. Strength. Determination. How could he change from moment to moment? She had wanted to kill him in Cassie's bedroom tonight. She still wanted to kill him. He was doing only what he had to do, and he'd done it at his convenience.

"Wonders never cease, do they?" Galen was also watching Travis. "He's actually reaching her. What's his secret?"

"He got a head start at Vasaro."

Galen nodded. "Yeah, that's right. I remember when he came out of that study with her. I told him we should go, but he wouldn't leave the kid. I had the devil of a time getting him out later."

"You were at Vasaro that night?"

"Sure." He grinned. "You may have heard Travis was the hero, but it was really me. I was just too modest to stay around and take the bows." His smile faded. "Don't worry, we'll get you away safely. I've got it all set up."

"Why shouldn't I worry? I don't even know what happened tonight. How did you know we'd sent for an ambulance?"