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Page 61.
30. On The Run Again
 On the run again, Rick and Hannah hurried across the square, among the outdoor cafes and umbrellas, past the official Luxembourg Tourist Office, and into a very old, ornately formed sandstone gallery that formed a passageway between the square and the next street up—Rue du Curé, where they had walked earlier.
The ornate, brightly lit shops on either side of the gallery were tempting, but their hearts were pounding as they hurried. They did not want to go too fast, for fear of attracting attention.
They emerged in the pedestrian street facing an old, ornate government building.
"Looks familiar," she said.
"We were just here. There's the Place d'Armes again."
This was a smaller square than the Guillaume, also with umbrellas and chairs for outdoor lounging, people watching over coffee or beer with a little something sweet for the palate.
The pedestrian zone continued through colorful, fun shopping blocks under the name Avenue Monterey. This narrow venue was jammed with people and stores of all types, for several blocks, emerging finally on the Boulevard Royal.
There was Romain in the white Audi, waiting for them with the engine running. He looked nervous, being illegally parked with two wheels up on the curb at the intersecting Rue Aldringen. They were at a large bus rondel opening from the pedestrian zone of the Haute-Ville (Upper City) onto the Boulevard Royal. Avenue Monterey changed from pedestrian zone to traffic across the road, but it was one-way coming toward them.
"Did they see you?" were Romain's first words as they jumped in—Hannah in front as before, Rick in the rear with his pack.
"Maybe not," Hannah said.
Romain steered into the intersection, left on the Boulevard Royal, and right along the Petrusse Valley frontage road in the direction of Belair.
"It was the woman, Savia," Rick explained.
"Where there is one, there will be others," Romain said grimly.
Minutes later, they pulled a bit too fast into his street and into the driveway.
Mélu was shocked at the news. She had a small green backpack ready for Hannah. Inside were their freshly laundered clothes, plus a few snack items in plastic bags.
Romain said, "We'll leave immediately."
Mélu had been busy. She handed over two small paper folders with the logo of Luxair on them. "Your Luxair tickets for when you are ready to fly home to the U.S.A. In the meantime—"
"—In the meantime," Romain said, "I will gladly drive you to Kaiserslautern when it's done."
"Oh my god, that's so out of your way," Rick said.
Romain said, "It's a two hour drive from Echternach into the Rhineland-Palatinate on a good German Autobahn. The Prussians invented them, right? That's what old-timers here call the Germans, not so fondly. We're all pretty much over it now—too many new problems. I'll gladly take you, as thanks for helping us. But let's get this done, yes?"
Mélu said, "I spoke with Professor Sander. He will meet you near the post office in Echternach. You sent the package by general delivery, right?"
"Yes," Hannah said. "I didn't have his address."
"This is him, my old professor at Uni Lux." Mélu showed them a picture of an aging but strong looking man with round, horn-rimmed glasses. "He looks like a distinguished author from the 1930s."
Rick examined the photo, which appeared to be a snapshot from a long-ago university picnic. Sander was bald on top, with longish white hair around the ears and down to his collar. He had a reddish, beaky face with a long nose; prominent eyebrows over deeply set, brooding eyes.
Mélu looked bitter. "The man who harmed you, Hannah, stole the fuselage secret from the Professor's son in London, Pierre Sander, and they murdered him to prevent duplication of the secrets."
Hannah looked pained, thinking of what Wan had done to her—and might yet do if he caught her.
Rick studied the photo. This man had lost his only son so terribly and senselessly. It was no surprise he did not look like a happy man. His thin lips had a pained expression, again no surprise; he probably had much to think about at night. How well Rick understood.
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Thank you for reading the first half (free, what I call the Bookstore Metaphor). If you love it, you can (easily and safely at Amazon) buy the whole e-book for the painless price of a cup of coffee—also known as Read-a-Latte (hours of reading enjoyment; the coffee is gone in minutes, but the book stays with you forever). You can also get those many hours of happy reading from the print edition for the price of a sandwich (no, I don't have a metaphor for that, like a 'sandwich metaphor?'). To help the author, please recommend this book your friends, and also post a favorable (five star!) review at Amazon, Good Reads, and similar online reader resources. Thank you (JTC).
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