Aaron smiled as he turned to Mackenzie. She had her iPad on her lap. He saw behind her that they were passing Roma Street station. “Just pondering things that the Rev has been telling me.”

“Can I help?”

“Just thinking about sin, death, and living forever.”

She smiled. “Take a look at this.”

He leaned over. She tapped an area of her Bible. It said:

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

“Ponder that, Aaron. Ask God to give you understanding.”

<°)))><

Aaron was still pondering when they pulled into Central Station.

He had an appointment on the other side of the city this morning. He didn’t tell Mackenzie. She would have insisted that he not walk her to work. But there was time. He could do both.

Mackenzie was in good spirits, and keen to cross over where the incident occurred. She said it was time they put it all behind them. She was busy at work and had just completed a number of technology proposals for some clients. Aaron knew her busyness was helping the healing process but it was also making her a bit careless. He knew danger still lurked. 

They crossed over the road without incident and headed towards Mackenzie’s work. Aaron was a bit more vigilant today as there were rumours circulating about another vanishing, a biker fellow. Aaron knew that the police would find it hard to get any information. But Aaron was concerned. If Lucas was behind the latest disappearance, his appetite for using the technology had been activated again. He remembered how stoned Lucas was that night he visited Aaron, and he knew drug users could be unpredictable.

What was Lucas up to? Aaron wanted Lucas to make an appearance as they had unfinished business. He had moved from his Morningside flat, and Aaron had been unable to track him down.

Aaron still had a battlefield sixth sense. He could become overly sensitive to the environment he was in. There was short-term parking available on the road across from Mackenzie’s work. A number of parking spaces were available. One space was taken up by a white Ford Taurus. There was a large man sitting in the car. Aaron looked toward the car. The man looked the other way.

“Mackenzie. You know I’m paranoid, but there’s a white car over there that concerns me.” Aaron looked around and noticed a coffee place just behind them. “How about you drop in there and grab a coffee and I’ll go and check out the car.”

Mackenzie looked at the coffee shop. “Okay, but I’m sure it’s nothing. There are lots of white cars in the city . . . okay . . . be careful.”

Aaron walked away from the car, crossed the road and came up behind the vehicle. As he got closer to the vehicle it drove off. He recorded its number plate—if he saw it again in the vicinity he would follow it up with the police. But then again the person may work around here. For some reason Aaron doubted that.

Aaron dropped Mackenzie safely off at work and headed towards his appointment. He jumped on a free City Loop bus to get over the other side of the city. There were a few work messages on his phone. He looked up to ponder a message and watched cars going by. A white Ford Taurus passed and he glanced at its number plate. It was the same car, and it was heading back in the direction of Mackenzie’s work.

Aaron fought with himself. Was he being paranoid? But there was a knowing spirit at work in him. He got off at the next stop.

He kept telling himself that all was okay but he still rushed along the footpath, back towards Mackenzie’s work. He could see the car in the distance working its way through the traffic.

At an intersection, he had to wait for cars to pass and watched the Taurus go over a crest. When the cars had passed, he crossed the road, ignoring the red man, the Don’t Walk symbol. He had to do the same at the next crossing. The roads were busy.

<°)))><

Mackenzie looked at her phone. The battery was dead. She left it on her desk, recharging, while she hand-delivered a proposal to a client just down the street.

She stepped out into the street. It was quiet. The client’s office was in an old renovated building a few blocks away. She crossed the road, heading towards the building, and noticed a white car. Was it the same white car again? Aaron must be getting to her. Now she was feeling paranoid as well.

She knew it was happening. How stupid. It wasn’t paranoia: it was the Spirit prompting. She entered the realm again.

Chapter 33

“HELLO, MACKENZIE.”

Mackenzie's reaction to this transfer was different. She knew what had happened and she was alert to her surroundings. The man had the same build as the one from the shed. “No mask today?” she asked.

She was ignored. “Are you feeling okay, all intact?

“I am. Thank you for your concern.” This was different. She felt God’s strength like never before. “Why are you doing this?”

“Well, I wanted to have a date with you, and I don’t think you would have accepted if I just called you up out of the blue.”

This man was in another world. Mackenzie looked around the room, a bedroom. It wasn’t as secure as the shed that she was in before. She could probably smash the window and run for it. That didn’t seem right. Too easy. No masks. This time was different.

“What sort of date?”

“I was thinking of a dinner date. I know we don’t know each other very well but I sense that we are meant to be together, you know, like soul mates.”

The man was not in his right mind, and was possibly dangerous and unstable. She started weighing up her options.

“Do you like that idea?”

“The dinner sounds nice, but there’s going to be a lot of people worried about me at the moment.”

“You can call them tomorrow. Do you have your phone?”

Her handbag sat on the floor. She bent down to pick it up. On the way up she caught the way he was looking at her. She shivered. She rummaged through her bag, but remembered her phone was still at work.

“Are you cold?”

“No . . . and no I don’t have a phone. I left it at work, recharging.” She sat on the bed.

“Your bag, please.” He walked over, grabbed it and emptied the contents on the bed. There was a photo of Mackenzie with some people her age. He picked it up and studied it. “These are the men in your life?”

“Close friends of mine . . . sadly, your technology killed one of them.” Mackenzie regretted that comment as soon as she said it. Her mum’s words jumped into her head. Consider what great forests are set on fire by a small spark.

“I didn’t kill anybody. It was the mad professor: he invented the technology.”

Mackenzie sensed heaviness in the room. She asked the Lord to be with her, to be her strength and refuge. The man’s face had hardened. He walked over to her, grabbed her and dragged her to her feet. He closed in on her face.

“I didn’t kill anybody,” he repeated.

This man was a different person now, and she felt fear. “Are you here by yourself?” Her head was scrabbling for ideas. What to do?

“At the moment. My mate who did the transfer will be back soon. Let me show you around the house.”

Mackenzie followed him into the passageway. He showed her the bathroom, which had a nautical theme, with a fishing net hanging from the ceiling. Back in the passageway, he stopped at a window and pointed to the view outside.

“Lovely rural setting but we’re in the middle of nowhere.” The loud distinctive call of a peewee could be heard. Mackenzie spotted the bird and watched as a dog came charging at it. The dog stopped and watched as the peewee flew off.