The Innocent 39end（文稿）

英文有声《第43条疤痕》三部曲

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Chapter 39The departure area was filled with those waiting to board the nonstop flight to New York. The crowd was a mixture of teenagers and twentysomethings, with their scruffy clothes and beat-up backpacks, interspersed among the well-heeled and the economy tourists, all of them jammed into a small space that, in spite of appearances, amounted to little more than a cattle car.Munroe and Bradford stood at the departure gate, watching the last of Logan, Charity, and Hannah as they continued down the Jetway. The perks of being a recovered abducted child were few, but priority boarding that put them first on the flight was one of them.And then they were gone. The assignment was finished.The pressure was over, and the resultant vacuum was like a stadium of shouting people gone instantly quiet.Munroe tipped her head against Bradford’s shoulder. They stood there a moment, staring after the empty space, and then Munroe turned to Heidi and Gideon, who had remained several feet away. She offered Heidi a hug and Gideon a handshake. “We’re heading out of here,” she said, and after the expected reciprocal niceties, turned to Gideon. “Last chance to come with us.”He shook his head. “I’m good,” he said.Munroe looped her arm in Bradford’s, and together they strode toward the exit.Gideon called after her. “Hey, Michael!” he said.She turned.“Thanks,” he said. “Not just for getting Hannah, but you know, for everything else.”She nodded. “A deal’s a deal,” she said. “You know where to find me if you change your mind.”Gideon tipped his index finger from his forehead toward her.There was always the chance he’d come for her, but Munroe held out for him finding peace through Hannah’s homecoming and the changes it would bring.International child abduction was no small crime, and proof was ample that Sunshine, or whatever the hell that woman’s name was, was directly tied up in Hannah’s trail. For the first time in nearly a decade Gideon had hope, and when Charity and Logan were ready to move forward, they might all experience a shared taste of justice.The reunion between Hannah and her parents had been tear-filled and charged with drama— Charity first, and then a near repeat with Logan twenty minutes later. But it came, it passed, and if there were any parents better suited to deal with the issues their daughter faced, Munroe would be hard-pressed to find them. Charity and Logan understood The Chosen, understood from personal experience both the mind-set and the process a child went through in shedding the upbringing. They would know how to work through it. It would take time, but Hannah would heal; she’d be all right.From inside the helmet, the world took on that muted tone that amplified the clarity of adrenaline. White stripes pulsed beneath the wheels, a rapid sequence that nearly blended into a solid line as Munroe kept the speedometer climbing. It was that earliest hour of the morning when the sun had yet to crest the horizon, and she was flying toward it on open, empty road. The bike was there beneath her, driving her forward, but she didn’t feel it. Felt only the exhilaration of freedom, of power, and of flying.When Munroe opened her eyes, Bradford was next to her, propped on an elbow, watching her with a curious smile.“You were dreaming,” he said.She returned the smile, that groggy, satisfied smile of deep, comforting sleep.“Yes,” she whispered, and then smiled again. “I was.