Part 77 (2/2)
”That another one of your grandfather's sage sayings?”
Joey shook his head. ”Nope. Mine. I'm trying some out to see how they sound.”
Annja smiled. ”I'll keep that in mind. You'd better get inside now before you catch a cold to go along with that concussion.”
”Will you come back?”
Annja shrugged. ”I don't know. What I'm about to do might just be the last thing I ever attempt.”
”In that case, I hope the spirits of all my ancestors travel with you and help you on your quest. Even if the final battle is yours alone.”
”Thank you.”
Joey shut the door and stood in the rain while Annja backed out of the driveway. A light came on over the porch and she saw Dancing Deer with his right hand upraised. She held up her hand and felt a sensation of warmth come over her.
Joey stood there for a second and then turned and ran into the house. In another moment, the light was off and the night reclaimed its dominance.
Annja took a deep breath and then slid the Tahoe into Drive.
As she drove down the road, she took the map and directions out of her pocket. She pulled over and studied them briefly. She hadn't driven in this part of the country before, but the directions seemed easy enough to follow.
She made it back to the interstate after twenty minutes of hard driving. Every once in a while, she flipped the blue lights on to pa.s.s a car on the stretch of road leading to the highway, but otherwise the dense rain seemed to keep everyone at home.
Annja hoped it stayed that way.
She drove south through small towns and hamlets of scattered homes and ranch houses. People worked hard for very little in these parts, it seemed. To Annja's mind, it just enraged her all the more that someone was polluting their area with the drugs she was transporting.
It ends tonight, she thought.
Annja reached for the glove compartment and found a cell phone in the box. She flipped it open and dialed the number on the paper that had been in Tom's pocket. It rang three times on the other end before picking up.
”Yeah?” a voice said.
”I'm coming to you now. I've got the merchandise.” Annja frowned. She felt like she was on an episode of Miami Vice. Miami Vice.
The voice on the other end sounded gruff. ”Good. You know the place?”
”I've got the address.”
”How long?”
”Maybe forty minutes until I get there.”
”Tom with you?”
”Nope, just me.”
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