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you’re sure you want to go through with this. It’s pretty clear you’ve made up your mind.”
    Forbes nodded. “I believe her. Every informant who’s reported to me has mentioned that Chavez is after her.”
    “But you can’t be sure she’s correctly judged the way he’ll react.”
    “Then what have I lost? She’s right: This chance is better than anything I’ve had so far. I’ve got to take it.”
    Galen shrugged. “Okay, then we’ll get them out.”
    “I hope to God this wind is our biggest problem.” Forbes gazed out into the darkness. “We’ve been lucky so far.”
    “Knock on wood.”
    “Chavez and his slimeballs can’t win every game. Let me just win this one.”
    There was so much intensity in Forbes’s words that Galen turned to look at him. “You’ll never make it until your pension, Forbes. You’re starting to care too much. That can be dangerous.”
    “You can’t care too much.” Forbes’s voice was uneven. “Men like Chavez trample all over our lives and destroy our families, kill our children—” He stopped and then said, “Sorry. This means a great deal to me.”
    “You don’t have to apologize.” He paused. “Did I detect a personal note?”
    Forbes didn’t answer for a moment. “My son, Joel. He died of an overdose in his dorm room six months ago. I was so busy saving the world from drugs that I didn’t even know he was experimenting. I should have known. I should have been closeenough to him to explain what I knew, what I’d seen during these twenty-five years. Instead, I was chasing Chavez, saving other parents’ kids.” His voice roughened. “I have to take him down, Galen.”
    Don Quixote, tilting against the wicked world. Don Quixote, who’d received his own wounds.
    “Hey, no problem.” Galen turned away. “I don’t like the bastard either. I’ll get her and the kid out of here and you can tuck her away in a safe house.”
    “I’ll take that as a promise.”
    Galen smiled at him. “Like I said, no problem.”
    Elena quietly closed the door of Barry’s room and stood there looking at him. There was nothing more beautiful in the world than the sight of Barry sleeping. She would just take a moment to look at him and gain strength.
    No, she had to move. There were things to do and not much time to do them. She went to the bureau and took out the photo album from the top drawer. Don’t look at them. There were so many. Just take out some of the pictures and stuff them in the backpack. There were precious few things that she’d be able to take with her, but she couldn’t leave the photos. They were too special. Barry at two with the icing of the chocolate birthday cake all over his face. Barry at three laughing as he splashed in the little plastic pool. Barry this year with the new bow and arrow set she’d bought him. How he’d loved that bow and arrow.
    She moved over to the toy box. The toy bow was on top of the other toys. It was too big, she realized in disappointment.He would want to take his teddy bear, his favorite books, and the musical globe that Dominic had given him. There just wasn’t room for everything.
    “Mama?”
    She turned to see Barry lying on his side watching her. “I didn’t mean to wake you again. Go back to sleep, baby.”
    “What are you doing?”
    “Just looking at your toys. Do you play with this bow every day?”
    “Most days. I’m Robin Hood and Dominic is Friar Tuck.”
    “We’re going on a little trip. Would you mind not taking it?”
    “A trip? Is that the adventure?”
    She nodded. “But it’s in an airplane and we can’t take much with us. I thought maybe your bear and the globe. Anything else?”
    “I can’t take the bow?”
    “I don’t think there’ll be room for it.”
    He was silent a moment. “I guess I don’t really need the bow. I can still pretend. Like you showed me, Mama. Remember? You said if you didn’t have everything you wanted, you could pretend and sometimes pretending was