Free Dreams Unleashed by Linda Hawley Page B

Chow got out of the car as soon as he had stopped; he left the engine running. I made the calls and destroyed the phone. I then put both of my Tasers on the driver's seat. I carefully looked at my wrist to see if I had broken any bones when I jammed it on the car hood.
    As I felt the bones intact, my watch alarm went off, reminding me to call GOG. I turned it off and as I looked up, I saw that a black SUV had blocked me in from behind.
    Oh no .
    I tried to open my door to escape, but instead, my second pursuer yanked the door open for me.
    You're new .
    With my left hand, I quickly reached over and grabbed a Taser while arming it. I shoved it into the curve of the suit's neck. He crumpled to the ground beside my open door.
    One down .
    By then my previous assailant was opening the driver's side door, and he grabbed my other Taser before I could. He lunged at me with the Taser over the driver's seat, but I was able to jump out my open door and over the new agent's limp body before he could try to zap me. I sprinted away from the SUV, my pursuer just behind me.
    Chow suddenly appeared, charging from the other direction, and landed a three-hundred-sixty-degree jumping spinning back kick into my pursuer's face. The agent was down for the count before he hit the pavement.
    The suit had two face-plants in one day. I didn't feel a bit sorry for him.
    "What was that?" I hollered at Chow in awe.
    "Soo Bahk Do," he confidently replied.
    "Incredible," I responded with an adrenaline-charged smile.
    I had only seen that move a few times before, from my CIA hand-to-hand combat instructor, but I hadn't seen it since. It was a remarkable maneuver.
    "We must get you on your way, Ann," he said matter of fact.
    From the driver's side, Chow reached over into the glove compartment and handed me a plastic bag with another safe phone enclosed.
    "Just in case," he cautioned.
    "Thank you."
    "You'd better get going," he said, walking to where he had dumped my overnight bag, then handing it to me.
    "I see my car."
    "Then it is time for us to part ways."
    I stopped and faced him, so many unasked questions on my lips.
    "We will meet again, Ann, and next time I will answer your questions," he said, looking intensely into my eyes.
    "I look forward to it," I answered directly.
    Chow turned back to deal with the agents.
    I tipped the valet and got in the car. I didn't have any difficulty crossing back over the border into America. Apparently the Canadian and U.S. borders weren't sharing computer notes.
    In my drive through the dark Bellingham night, I thought about Chow. He was real. And not only was he real, but he was GOG. I wondered what else from my dream was real.
    I walked to the front door of my house and sighed a huge breath of relief to be in my safe home. I took a late bath, so I could calm myself for sleep.

Chapter 8
    SHANGHAI, CHINA
    The Year 2015
     
     
    I showered at the Bund hotel and was meeting Chow in the lobby, to be driven to the Yuyuan Garden, three kilometers from the hotel. On my first full day in China, I was excited to see the four-hundred-year-old classical Chinese gardens in Old Town Shanghai.
    We arrived at the garden just as it opened. Chow led me to the gate and paid for our entry. We approached the glorious Eden, restored to its original splendor only two years before, after having been neglected for many years. The name of the garden meant garden of peace and comfort , a fitting sentiment from what I observed from the exterior.
    Mr. Pan Yunduan started designing the garden in 1559 and continued constructing it for twenty years. He built it to impress his father, who was a high-ranking officer at the end of the Ming Dynasty. The outer and inner garden covered five acres; within these were six distinct rooms. The fact that the garden was far older than many structures in America excited me. We started out walking slowly in a clockwise direction and came upon the Sansui Tang, which meant three ears of corn hall .
    "Ann, you can