Angel in the Full Moon by Don Easton Page B

once did. She was still another day away from a red circle on the calendar ... and knew Pops would wait until then to do something to her.
    Today she expected Pops to smile and mark another X on the calendar, which he did, but he also had a message.
    â€œYour dad thinks you are dead. Killed in a car accident.”
    Hang’s emotions played havoc with her brain.
Father will be crying because of me!
Then she came to a horrible conclusion—the real reason Pops was smiling.
Nobody will miss me! Nobody will come looking!
    â€œThat’s right,” said Pops. “Everyone thinks you’re dead. Nobody will ever look for you now.”
    Hang turned her face into the sponge mattress and wept.
    â€œDo not cry,” said Pops. “Soon you will have your sister to love. And I do mean
love!
” Pops snickered as he left.
    Eventually Hang stopped crying and found herself staring at the calendar. She looked past the red circles to something more horrific.
Linh’s arrival! It will be soon ... and it is up to me to do ... whatever ... to save her.
    She stared around the room. She knew it well, right down to the number of brass screws in the ceiling. Now, her attention focused on the toilet tank ... and a plan began to formulate.

chapter ten
    It was eleven o’clock at night when Jack and Laura saw the lights flick off in the penthouse suite. Jack was glad the Russians decided to have an early night. He was tired ... and depressed. He was home an hour later and was glad to see that Natasha was still awake as she lay in bed reading a book. Twenty minutes later, he got in bed beside her as she put the book down.
    â€œYou close to catching these Russians?”
    â€œNot that. Quaile did my annual assessment today. It went badly.”
    Jack sighed and told Natasha about his differences with Quaile.
    â€œIn the morning he wants me to bust my ass and find out what the Russians are all about. In the afternoon he does this to me. The guy doesn’t have a clue about management.”
    â€œYou told me before that you didn’t think he would last long. You expected him to be transferred soon.”

    â€œNow I think I’ll be transferred first, if my assessment is any indication.”
    â€œTo where?”
    Jack shrugged and said bitterly, “I suspect I’ll be going back to harness, but who knows where. I guess the good news is I’d be working regular shifts. More time to spend with you,” he added, forcing a smile.
    Natasha gently pulled Jack closer so that their naked bodies could entwine as one, with their heads sharing the same pillow. “As much as I would like to spend more time with you—twenty-four-seven, actually—I know that is not feasible. And going back to uniform? You wouldn’t be happy.”
    â€œI may not exactly get a choice in this matter,” replied Jack.
    Natasha lifted the covers and looked at Jack’s body.
    â€œWhat are you doing?” he asked.
    â€œLooking for the man I married,” she replied, dropping the sheets. “That guy wouldn’t have given up so easily. That guy always found a way to solve a problem.”
    Jack took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “Believe me, I’ve been trying. Laura and I have been putting everything we have into catching these two Russians. I thought that if we did, it might give Quaile reason to reflect. Perhaps adjust his thinking. Now, thinking about how he screwed me on my assessment, I’m not sure that would even work.”
    â€œYou’re tired, stressed, and depressed.”
    â€œTell me about it.”
    â€œIf you actually took some time off to relax, maybe enjoy life, it would clear your head. Give your brain a chance to re-energize.”
    â€œI know,” sighed Jack. “What you say is right, but it’s a Catch-22. If I take time off, then I might miss something with the Russians ... then I’d really be screwed.”

    â€œIt would still be