When she opened her eyes again, her mother was standing over her. "Dad?" she said blearily.
"No, honey," Sydney said in response. "Sit up, okay? We're on our way to a safe house where we're going to leave you while we go after the Scrolls."
Julia sat up, shaking off a last wave of dizziness. "You're okay."
Sydney smiled. "Yes. And so are you."
"We're here," Dixon said.
Julia peered through the windshield of the van. Night had been replaced by day, and the signs were in Polish. "Where are we?"
"Krakow, Poland," Nadia replied.
"Grab your stuff," Sydney said to Julia, who scooped up her backpack.
The safe house was an apartment building, pale red brick with trim white columns and dark red shutters. "We'll be back tonight."
"Okay," Julia said worriedly.
"Don't worry. Agents Hanover and Watson are some of the best around. You'll be fine."
Julia gave her mother one final glance and grabbed the doorknob. When she looked back, the van was gone.
Sighing, she pushed open the door and came face-to-face with a tall, African-American woman with right, curly hair. "Nightingale?" the woman said.
"Agent…?"
"Hanover. Ellie Hanover."
"Julia Bristow."
The agent took Julia by the wrist and pulled her into the apartment. She didn't notice the man in black at the curb, watching her every move.
Inside the apartment, a good-looking man was seated at a video monitor. He looked up at Julia with deep brown eyes. "Hello," he said. "I'm Agent Watson."
Agent Hanover sat down in an overstuffed floral-print chair. "Make yourself comfortable," she said to Julia.
Julia stood awkwardly in the center of the room, taking in the homey décor of the safe house. She didn't know what to do or say. Everything was unfamiliar.
"Honey, sit down," Agent Hanover said.
Julia reluctantly sat down on the floral couch, not bothering to remove her coat or shoes or backpack.
"Perimeter check," Agent Watson said over his com link.
"All clear red team."
"All clear blue team."
"All –…" There was silence, then hissing.
"Green team! Green team, report!" Agent Watson said quickly and urgently. He glanced at Agent Hanover.
The door burst opened. Three heavily armed men ran into the room.
"Run, Julia!" Agent Hanover shouted.
Julia darted up the stairs and turned into a small apartment. She looked around but found nowhere to hide. There was a balcony to her left. Maybe she could stay out there until the danger had passed.
The balcony was obviously not her best choice, she realized seconds later. The wind was blowing fiercely, and the balcony, as her pacing feet found, was only four feet long.
Julia heard gunshots from the hallway. Maybe she should look for somewhere to hide. She grasped the railing tightly, then swung herself off the balcony.
She hung there, hearing gunshots ring out from inside the building. Her fingers were clenched tightly. "Mom!" Julia yelled, her fingers aching from the death grip she had on the balcony's iron railing. Her feet dangled precariously over the edge, a forty-foot drop to a road below. "Mom!"
Someone was coming through the room, fast-paced. Shots were exchanged. Julia held her breath and tried not to look down. "Come on, Mom," she whispered.
More shots, and a chunk of plaster was ripped off the column closest to Julia. It fell, gashing open her leg from knee to ankle. She fidgeted restlessly, her fingers anchored around the railing.
A figure burst out onto the balcony. Julia looked up, surprised at the dark-clothed figure who appeared.
"Dad?"
Michael Vaughn, breathing heavily, said, "Come here, Julia."
"I can't let go," Julia said.
He leaned over the balcony, grabbing her canvas backpack. Carefully, he pulled her over the railing. She fell forward, sprawling on the balcony.
"You all right?" Vaughn asked in a tone of voice that made it clear he didn't really want to hear the answer.
"Yeah," Julia breathed. "How's everyone else?"
"Dead. Hanover and Watson are dead," he said sharply.
"So much for being with 'some of the best around,'" Julia muttered sarcastically.
"We've got to go," Vaughn said. He shouted into the apartment. "Douglass! McCoy! I have the package!"
Two other men appeared, one short and stocky with a thatch of blond hair, the other lean looking with piercing eyes. "We've got to get to the Kaplon Archives before they do." He turned to Julia. "Where's the map?"
"What map?" Julia asked automatically. She wasn't sure if she could trust her father. He had just burst into a CIA safe house and killed two agents. Who was he working for? What did he want with the Scrolls?
"You have to have it," Vaughn said in exasperation.
One of the agents, Julia wasn't sure if it was Douglass or McCoy, said, "We've got a lock on the target. It's in the Victorian District."
Vaughn glanced at Julia, who said nothing. Then he said, "Okay. Let's go."
"What about her?" one of the agents asked, jutting his chin at Julia.
"She comes with us," Vaughn said, grabbing Julia and pulling her from the room.
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