Free Dreams Unleashed by Linda Hawley Page A

Street. Looking back, I didn't see any agents. I figured that I had about a mile or so to run before I reached the cutoff toward the waterfront, which would take me to Portside Park. I knew that I could run in an all-out sprint for that distance.
    I reached Carall Street and ran smack into one of the agents. He grabbed me by the wrist that my Taser hung from, pulling the Taser loose.
    "You're quite the runner, Ann," he snarled, painfully twisting my wrist.
    He knows my name .
    I did the only thing I could. I put him down like the CIA trained me to. With my right wrist that he held with his right hand facing me, I turned so that my left side was toward his front, picked up my left leg and stomped down on his right knee as hard as I could.
    He screamed in agony and bent forward, spontaneously letting go of my wrist, freeing me. I immediately stepped away, turned a full 180 degrees so that I was facing the other direction, leaned at an angle, lifted my right leg, and delivered a lean away sidekick to his face as he was bent over. He face-planted into the ground with a grunt.
    "Betcha didn't think I could do that," I exclaimed.
    I looked around for witnesses and to see if his buddy had arrived. It was all clear.
    The man was unconscious. With my adrenaline in overdrive, I quickly picked up my purse and Taser. I ran full-on toward Portside Park. When I reached the cutoff road leading to the waterfront, a black SUV slammed on its brakes to cut me off, nearly running me over in the process. Out of reflex, I braced myself against the hood to absorb the shock, jamming my wrist in the process, but I still stood. As fast as I could, I flipped the Taser on.
    "Get in," a man demanded from the driver's seat.
    I turned to run away.
    "Ann, it is Chow. Get in."
    I looked at him in shock.
    "Ann, they are going to be here very soon. Get in the car so I can get you to safety," he urged.
    "How do I know you're not with them?" I spat out. And how is it that you're here, in front of me, when the only other time I've seen you was in a dream ?
    "In our dream, you stayed in the Bund Hotel, room 'Love 9,'" Chow offered.
    My mind was reeling. Was it him that I saw at the Pan Pacific, getting out of the elevator? "Tell me what I did the first morning I was there," I demanded, trying to confirm it was really Chow Lai.
    "The tai chi class," he answered impatiently, his voice sharp.
    I got in the SUV.
    "How are you here now?" I asked.
    "We cannot talk here."
    I sat quietly as Chow sped away, my mind turning over the possibilities. After turning off the Taser, I put it back in my purse, thinking all the while. How is he here now ? I looked over at him as he drove; it was definitely Chow. We drove for a few minutes, heading back toward my hotel, then he spoke.
    "I will park in the hotel's garage, then get your things from the room and bring them down. While I am gone, use a safe phone from the glove compartment to call the valet and tell him to bring your car to the entrance of the garage. Tell him you are meeting a friend there. Wait a couple of minutes, then call the front desk and check out of your room. That will give me enough time to get in your room while the key works. We need to get you out of here tonight."
    "My room number is..."
    "I know what room it is," Chow interrupted.
    You do ?
    "When I return, I will see you to your car. Head for the Peace Arch crossing back into the States. Go the speed limit, but get there as quickly as you can. You need to get over the border now . And leave the Taser in my car---I don't want you going through border patrol with weapons."
    I nodded. "I have questions Chow."
    "I know. But not now---another time," he said gently, promise in his voice as he looked over at me.
    I needed my questions answered and didn't want to wait, but I could see the situation was precarious.
    A minute later, Chow pulled into the hotel's parking garage. I immediately pulled a phone out of the glove compartment and started to assemble it.