I hurried along, Adelio had told me to check on Joshua. I wasn’t back, and way more than five minutes had passed. Joshua seemed to notice my sudden change in pace.

“What’s the hurry?” he inquired worriedly.

“Oh, nothing, just that THAT , as you so charmingly put it, is gonna come after me like a wild dog if I don’t get to the safe house fast,” I whispered in reply.

“That makes sense,” he whispered back, standing up, and allowing me to run. He ran after me, catching up and keeping pace easily.

“Adelio doesn’t know about here, but he can find out at any given time. Go faster!” I sped up, and he came after me, not keeping pace so easily now. He was panting too hard to say anything smart. So he used his breath to ask a question.

“How—far—does—this—thing—go?” he asked between breaths.

“Really really far. Whassamatta Joshie? Can’t take a bit of running?”

“No—not—really,—I’m—a—scribe,—not—a—runner.” I nodded and kept running, slowing down a bit to help him stay caught up. But not much.