Mary was awakened from her deep slumber by the sound of voices. She heard the door to the motel room close, and she opened her eyes to see Sam standing beside her.

"Mary, we've got to go. I'll explain later."

The clock on the nightstand said 4:12 am.

"Time for a shower?"

"Nope. Let's go."

With the sense of urgency in Sam's voice, Mary knew better than to argue.

Silently, the two picked up their things and left the motel in the sedan.

Sam approached the highway did not get on the entrance ramp, opting instead to go under the overpass and to stay on back roads wherever they were going.

"So the motel proprietor knocked on the door and told me that he saw on the news that there were two houses that burned down on the lake."

"Two houses?"

"Yours and mine."

"Oh Sam ..."

"There were only two people who knew where I was staying ... Rich and Jim. No bodies were found. And the police have issued warrants for the arrest of two fugitives suspected to be involved in the fires. The photos shown on the news were yours and mine."

"What?"

"Somebody on the inside is working this."

"Rich, right?"

"I think so. Most of my contacts are also his contacts. The guy who called me at my house to tell me about Jim was one of my contacts, and apparently it was one of Rich's contacts too. I had wanted him to report to the authorities that two bodies were found so that people would get off our tail. Instead, Rich -- or somebody -- confirmed I was there, and they blew down the house. I do have my own small private network though. All of us ... um ..."

"Spies?"

"Okay, spies ... all of us spies need a safe house or two of our own."

"So ... the guy at the motel ... was he one of your contacts?"

"No, but he said he received a call from somebody named Micah, who told him to get us out of there quickly. Fortunately, the motel guy didn't argue. Micah is one of my guys."

"How do we know that Micah isn't one of Rich's guys and that we're being led into a trap?"

"He said that Micah didn't ask if we were there, just that if we were there then he had to get us out."

"So Micah is calling all the local hotels and motels?"

"Apparently."

"So where are we going now? To see Micah?"

"Nope. We're going to see the next guy down the food chain."

"Who's that?"

"Nathan."

Sam and Mary talked for another ten minutes before Sam surprised Mary by suddenly turning off the county road and onto a dirt road. Sam pulled into an old farm yard and stopped the car.

"Come on,"

"Nathan's?"

"No. Time to switch cars."

Sam walked inside a large barn and pulled a tarp off another car, this time a non-descript pickup truck showing a fair amount of age and rust.

"You like taking your dates places in style, don't you mister," remarked Mary with a smile.

"You've got a great attitude about all this," sighed Sam, returning her smile.

They pulled out of the farm yard in the pickup and headed back onto the county road. They drove for another two hours and, just as Mary was about to mention to Sam that she needed to stop, Sam pulled off the road and into the driveway of a mobile home park.

"Nathan's?"

"Nathan's."

At the end of the drive sat an older but well kept mobile home. Sitting out front on a lawn swing was an elderly couple. The man was sitting there with his eyes closed; the woman was reading a newspaper.

Sam pulled the pickup to a stop. It was 7:30 am.

"Look what the cat drug in, Nathan," said the woman.

Nathan opened one eye, smiled, and then opened the other. He yawned, stretched, and then stood up to greet the visitors.

"Well how do. Haven't seen ya for a stretch, but somehow I was expecting you today. Come on in. Coffee's hot."

Sam and Mary went into the mobile home, followed by the couple. In the dining area, the table was set for four.

"Coffee?"

"Please," said Mary.

"Me too," echoed Sam.

"You two are a hot item right now, practically famous," said the man. "By the way, I'm Nathan," he said, extending his hand to Mary. "And this is my wife Ellen."

"Pleased to meet you both," said Mary.

Ellen went to work fixing breakfast while the others talked. Within minutes, a plate of steaming hot scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast was placed on the table.

Mary hadn't realized how hungry she was until she started eating, but she wolfed down the food with a ravenous appetite that belied her normally mannerful ways.

"What do you need, Sam?" asked Nathan. I've already gathered a pair of high powered underwater lights, a box of food that should last a couple days, and two pairs of clothing for each of you. Passports for both of you, just in case -- oh, bathing suits too."

"You're a gem," said Sam. "Cars?"

"Yes sir. 1975 Dodge Dart."

"Good."

"They've set up a blockade on the interstate, both north and south. They're also controlling most of the access roads to the lake. It won't be easy getting to the lake."

"Any ideas on how to get there?"

"One."