Free Dreams Unleashed by Linda Hawley

me from having my gun by my side, where it had been year after year, as protection. If it had still been there, I am confident that my wife would be alive today. The reason I want to be a part of this organization is that I don't believe legal recourse has any chance of changing anything. I want to change things, and that's why I'm here."
    "The Canadian government is serious about pursuing our organization. Do you think you can keep your emotions in check, in order to accomplish the tasks that you're given?" I asked.
    "There was no one, besides Lila, who knew how I felt about what our government was doing to Canada."
    Then the woman interrupted, nodding to Shorty. "I've known him for more than thirty years. He's the most decent, honest, and forthright person I've known in those years. His passion is fueled by honest-to-goodness patriotism. He's an idealist, like most of us here. He is worthy to be a member of this organization, which is why we're all here now."
    "I have 206 bones in my body, and I will fight the government with all of them," Shorty passionately added.
    I like him . It was simply a feeling in my gut. He was right for GOG.
    The Tom Chambers clone and I looked at one another, silently sharing one thought.
    Time for me to go . We had pushed him as much as we needed to.
    "Thank you," I offered Shorty, along with my hand. He shook it.
    I stood then nodded at Tom Chambers and the woman, turned, and walked out the door. I passed the door guard on the other side of the room and made my way through the restaurant toward the front door.
    Outside the restaurant, I stopped to set my watch to clock the time. I was expected to call into GOG by phone exactly thirty minutes after I left the meeting. I set my watch alarm to go off in twenty-five minutes, to make sure I got back to the hotel to retrieve a safe phone.
    As I left the Gaslight Brasserie, I breathed in the night air as I walked. Listening to the passion of a new GOG candidate was exciting. Here he was, literally willing to risk his life for his country. I'd call him a patriot, and yet his own country would call him a terrorist, a coward. He was a hero in my mind.
    I gazed at the full moon, leisurely walking back toward the Pan Pacific. Full moons were always special to me; they had marked some of the most important events of my life. I people-watched as I walked, seeing couples connect, talk, and laugh. It was life.
    Two blocks from the hotel, something from the corner of my vision got my attention. Then I heard it---two car doors slam at the same time.
    Casually, I looked to the side, verifying my suspicion. Two men in intelligence-issue black suits had gotten out of a black SUV and were following me.
    Oh crap .
    As I picked up my pace, so did they.
    Who alerted the Canadian authorities? The woman? I considered my options. I didn't know anyone that I could trust in Canada. I did have GOG's local contact number, but the safe phones were still in my hotel room.
    Please don't make me fight you , I silently warned the men.
    Pulling a Taser from my purse, I looped the strap around my wrist and armed it.
    I remembered the Gastown steam clock and how the crowd suddenly gathered; I looked at my watch. Two minutes till the hour. Turning the corner, I sprinted toward the clock as fast as my runner's body would take me. As I did so, I turned to see if they were pursuing me; I saw one man run toward me, while the other ran back to the SUV.
    Reaching the steam clock, I saw the crowd gathered. I stooped down lower than the height of the crowd, hiding, then quickly made my way through the crowd, hunched over as the steam erupted.
    Once on the other side of the crowd, I took off running as fast I could on Cambie Street, heading toward the Vancouver harbor as I heard the whistles signaling the end of the clock's display. I knew that direction was my only choice if I was going to lose my pursuers. As Cambie Street ended, I turned east, sprinting behind the shops that lined Water