The Tower Part 33

Allander looked fiercely at Jade, warning him with his eyes.

Jade stopped in his tracks right beside Darby, feeling the backs of his knuckles brush her arm. They were about twenty feet from Allander, so close Jade could see him breathing. He fought every instinct in his body to hold his ground, lowering his Sig Sauer to his side. Allander made a jerking motion and Jade dropped the pistol to the floor. It bounced to his right. A full panic rattled through his body, but he forced himself to stay still.

He saw the smudges of dirt on Allander's chest and thighs. The crawl s.p.a.ce, Jade thought. Allander had come up through the f.u.c.king floor. From the amount of blood on the floor by the closet, Jade was sure he'd killed the agent.

Travers was on the street, probably with an eye on the parking lot and the side alleys. Jade prayed that she'd notice the sudden stillness of the people in the restaurant.

Still on his knees, Thomas closed his eyes and listened to the silence of the room. Then the voice came, slicing the air like a sickle- the voice that he had carried in his head over the years, day and night. And now it was with him, inches from his ear. He could feel breath on his cheek, the exhaled air making the words sail tangibly across his face.

"You betrayed me. You betrayed me as father to the son who is father to the man. It was your responsibility as my father and keeper to protect me from trespa.s.ses, from things that go b.u.mp in the night, from the urges and yearnings of other grown men. You didn't fulfill your duty and I was sold at the ripe age of seven to a carnal circus.

"Perhaps you were just protecting your investment in Mother; I understand. But I've waited for years to stand before you not as equal but as superior, and I Pa.s.s MY JUDGMENT ON YOU!" Allander's voice rose to a yell, and he raked Thomas's head to the left, drawing the blade deftly to the right.

"WAIT!" Darby screamed.

Allander froze, the point of the knife sticking an inch and a half into Thomas's throat. A trickle of blood ran down the blade and dripped from his cuff as Allander held Thomas's lolling head in his arms.

Slowly, he faced his mother.

The restaurant was completely silent. Everyone was frozen, watching Allander with terror.

Darby looked at the blood and almost fainted. For a moment, she thought she had lost Thomas, but then she heard him emit a dry, rasping noise and she knew he was still drawing air.

Allander was planning to end her also, to drive the point of his blade through her rib cage, to stop at last the pulsing of her heart. What he couldn't possess, no one would. But the moment he saw her, he knew he would not be able to carry out his plan. He would surrender his due reward. Closing his eyes tightly for a moment, he thought of his impotence. His performance would not end as he had wished. His elaborate game, his mockery of the violence and psychology he had been forced to endure, seemed suddenly empty before his mother's eyes.

He raised his head to look at his mother, and it was just as it had always been. Allander stood abashedly before her, a naughty child. He could almost feel the years fleeing his body, the small lines departing from around his eyes, the potency draining from his organs. He was helpless again, a frightened boy lost in the forest of his own s.e.xuality.

It was her cursed inconsistency. She was so uneven, so rounded. As he gazed on the drifts of hair around her neck, the movement of her flushed chest, the fullness of her hips, he was reduced to a weakkneed helplessness. It was all he could do not to flee.

Darby opened her mouth as though to scream, but nothing came out. A tear rolled from the corner of her eye. She stared at her son and felt no anger, only fear. No matter what they do, she thought. I felt him grow inside me for eight months, three weeks, and a day, and he stands before me still as my child. She understood that he loved her in some way, that this was all because of her, and she would have to carry it, alone, until the end of her days. She stood erect, almost proudly, with the force of her natural dignity about her like a s.h.i.+eld.

Allander blinked back threatening tears and felt the softness of his emotions was.h.i.+ng around inside him as he lowered his eyes from his mother. He was disgusted by his weakness. Glancing at Jade standing right beside her, he felt his rage reemerge, as pure and fresh as a torrent of water.

When he looked back at Darby, she caught his eyes and held them. He saw in them a coldness that he didn't recognize, as if she were looking right through him. She kept her eyes glued to his with a force he could almost feel in the air. And then, with excruciating slowness, she moved her hand two inches to her right, into Jade's.

Jade barely had time to be surprised when he felt Darby's skin against his-he was too focused on Allander's reaction. Allander's face seemed to tear itself apart in a scream as he kicked his father aside and lunged forward. He bellowed something but it was unintelligible; his throat was closed like a sobbing child's.

Jade was fully extended in the air, diving for his pistol, before Allander had staggered into a second step. He gripped the weapon by the stock before his body hit the floor, and he dug his finger through the trigger guard, whipping it to aim it at Allander's shoulder.

Jade struck the ground as he fired and the impact jolted his gun hand upward. Rolling onto his back, he heard a scream and the knife clattering to the ground. He came up in a crouch.

Allander's hand was leaking blood, but he could see that the bullet had only grazed him. Allander blinked twice, as if remembering where he was, and then sprinted for cover in the crowd by the bar. As he ran, he pulled Jade's Glock from where it was tucked in his jeans.

He fired blindly in Jade's direction and the bullet ricocheted off the metal vat behind him. People were screaming now, some still frozen in place at their tables, others standing, unsure where to run.

Darby's expression did not change, but she rocked on her feet to keep her balance. She didn't even turn her head to watch her son disappear.

"GET THE f.u.c.k DOWN!" Jade yelled, firing once in the air.

The crowd broke, scattering behind stools and tables. More screams pierced the air. Everyone sank to the floor except Allander, who bent at the waist and scurried for the door, trying to s.h.i.+eld himself with other people. Jade waited for a clear shot to open up, but Allander kept fading behind tables and crouching guests.

As Allander got within ten feet of the front door, it banged open and Travers swung into the restaurant, gun leveled at his head.

Allander was still pointing his pistol blindly behind himself in Jade's direction, and he didn't have time to swing it around at Travers. With a scream, he ducked behind a woman and hurled her toward Travers. She toppled forward on her high heels and smashed into Travers, knocking Travers's arms above her head and causing her head to bang against the door frame as she sank to the floor.

Jade lined his sights on the back of Allander's hip, but before he could fire, Allander had moved behind the staggering woman, jumped over Travers, and disappeared through the door.

Jade followed, screaming over his shoulder, "Someone call an ambulance." Travers was on her feet by the time he reached the door and she followed him out.

As they ran onto the sidewalk, two gunshots echoed loudly up the street. They went down over their right shoulders in exactly the same way, and completed their roll in a crouch behind a red Nissan parked out front. They glanced at each other over their weapons for a second, surprised.

"Agent down?" Travers asked.

"And out," Jade replied, straining to see up the street.

Allander was behind a taxi that was stopped a short distance down the block, and he fired in their direction a few more times. Jade grimaced as he recognized the sound of his pistol. One of the cabdrivers yelled out in broken English as Allander pulled him from his car and smashed his face with the b.u.t.t of his gun. The driver sank to the pavement, limp.

Crouching behind the taxi, Allander fired again. The back window of the Nissan exploded, spraying Jade and Travers with fragments of gla.s.s. They were pinned down; with no immediate cover other than the car, they couldn't get off any clear shots. We'll have to wait until he breaks for it, Jade thought.

"I think I got him, Jade," Travers said.

Jade rolled his eyes and banged the back of his head against the door of the car. "Are you kidding me?" He turned his pleading gaze to the sky. "I'm not gonna let you do this, Jennifer."

"What did you call me?"

"Travers."

"I think I've got an angle on him."

He glared at Travers. "Look. You stay put. I'm calling the moves. This is not a time to f.u.c.k around. You are my backup, and I'm going to need you later. You will get killed if you break cover now." As if to accent his point, a bullet split the pa.s.senger window right above their heads.

She peered around the side of the door again, toward the street. "Jade, I feel it. I'm telling you I got it and I'm going."

"G.o.dd.a.m.nit. You are not going."

Travers smiled and raised herself slightly from her crouch. "What's the matter, Jade, don't you trust me?"

"I trust you, Travers," Jade replied. "I just don't think you're that good."

She frowned at him and turned to go. Jade slipped the handcuffs from his pocket and slid them around her ankles, fastening them with a click. He threw the key into the street.

When she turned around, he saw a burning in her eyes he hadn't thought she was capable of. Her cheeks were red, her hair fell in sweaty spikes over her forehead, and her upper lip was raised in a snarl. She was absolutely breathtaking in her fury.

Her pistol flashed forward from her side. Jade knocked it out of her hand before she could bring it down on his head. She would've done it, he thought. She really would've done it. Something about that filled him with respect.

"It was no good," he said. Staring at her scowl, he couldn't resist a smile. "Try to hold on to your gun a little tighter next time."

The cab peeled out from the curb and Jade was up and running for his car, which was partially hidden behind a Dumpster in the small alley that ran between the parking lot and Singspiel's kitchen. The driver's door was snug against the wall, so he opened his pa.s.senger door and leaped across the emergency brake to the driver's seat.

As he sped away, the door kicked shut with the force of his acceleration. He turned left out of the alley and peeled past the front of Singspiel's, leaving Travers still on the ground. She rolled over to a sitting position, feeling the handcuffs dig into her flesh, drawing blood. She was unaware of any pain, however; she felt nothing but rage.

54.

T H E oncoming cars were pa.s.sing so quickly that they looked like one long blur as Jade's car flew through the streets of San Francis...o...b..hind the yellow cab. They raced up Van Ness, then turned left on Geary, heading toward Fort Miley, the VA Hospital.

Allander accelerated through a yellow light and continued out toward the ocean. Jade blared his horn, as though daring the cars at the intersection to move. I still can't believe he fired at me, Jade thought as he kept his eyes fixed on the brake lights of the yellow cab. He's not a gunman.

They raced over the uneven road, bouncing into the oncoming lane to pa.s.s cars. Jade was certain that Travers would call for backup. There were probably a dozen cars and a helicopter on the way right now. The backup wouldn't have trouble locating him; a high-speed chase through the city was something eyewitnesses loved to talk about.

They crossed Twenty-sixth and Allander cut right suddenly, bouncing the cab over a curb and almost hitting a woman who turned screaming and disappeared into a corner deli. Jade hit the brakes and made the turn, gripping the steering wheel tightly and praying the car wouldn't skid out.

When he rounded the corner, he saw a group of children crossing the street two blocks up. On bicycles and holding b.a.l.l.s and Frisbees, they looked like they were just coming back from a park.

Allander accelerated toward them and the boys scattered, leaving one little girl on a tricycle frozen in the middle of the road. Jade heard a smash as the side of the cab clipped her tricycle and then he saw her flying through the air. She landed in the road and Jade slammed on the brakes, his front tires skidding to a halt no more than two feet from the little girl.

He leaped out and circled the front of his car, falling to his knees in front of her. His heart was pounding. Another victim, he thought, this one killed before my very eyes. As he heard the first cries from the boys behind him, his hands went to the girl's chest to administer CPR. Before he even pressed down, her body shook and her eyes opened. She immediately began crying-a loud, healthy cry.

"f.u.c.k," Jade said. He turned to the boys on the sidewalk as he ran back to his car. "Call nine-one-one. Now!"

Suddenly quiet, they stood regarding him with saucer eyes. Jade backed up his car so he could maneuver around the girl without moving her. The boys stood motionless. He leaned over and rolled down the pa.s.senger window, picking one boy from the crowd. "You. Kid with the blue jacket. Go into the deli and call nine-one-one."

The boy scampered off, leaving his friends still frozen on the sidewalk.

Jade peeled out, zooming around the crying girl. It was too late, though, and he knew it. He had lost too much time.

He patrolled the surrounding streets, making looser and looser circles around where he had last seen Allander, but there was no sign of the yellow cab. After spending twenty minutes pulling over and asking people if they'd seen a cab traveling at a high speed, he gave up.

No doubt aware of what had happened on the street behind him, Allander had probably slowed down, turned the corner, and faded into the San Francisco traffic. Few cars were less noticeable than taxis. Since they're everywhere, no one really sees them.

On his way to 280, Jade drove past the street where Allander had hit the little girl. He didn't stop, but he saw that an ambulance had picked her up. He could tell from the strength of her cries that she was going to be okay. Bruised and scared, but okay.

Jade's shoulder was starting to swell from his dive to the floor in Singspiel's, but he did his best to ignore the pain. Removing Sketches of Spain from its CD case, he slid it into the stereo. He tried to calm down as he heard the first notes of the trumpet, but it would take a while. He was too angry with himself.

Another trap had been orchestrated, had been put into play, and had failed. Allander had taken the bait this time, but he had also injured, maybe even killed, Thomas, and in the end, Jade hadn't been able to keep track of him. Allander had played right into his hands, and he had lost him. Everyone had done their jobs except for him.

Even though it was unfair, Jade felt anger at Darby for forcing him to promise to bring Allander in alive. Maybe if he could've shot to kill, it would all be over. It was a lot harder to shoot to wound someone. Jade hadn't had much practice at that.

The drive home was miserable. Jade replayed every second of the evening in his head, thinking of what he could have done differently. He was furious with himself, and more than a little irritated at the complete failure of his backup support. If a helicopter had joined the chase in time, they probably would not have lost Allander.

One thing had become clear-Allander didn't panic on the run, which made sense given the fact he'd been running almost his whole life. Now he would be almost impossible to track down.

Jade pulled down his street and turned into his quiet driveway. The house seemed dead to him as he entered through the garage. Sinking heavily to the couch, he gazed around his dark living room. It had all begun here, with Travers's visit to his house.

Allander's liquid eyes gazed out of the photographs on the walls, taunting Jade with their silent focus. Where was he? Jade wondered. Headed back to his base, no doubt, but where was that? He would wait there for a few days, recovering and plotting his next move. Or maybe he already had it all lined up. He had had time, transportation, access to G.o.d knows how many resources.

The light from the setting sun cast horizontal lines through the venetian blinds in the living room. They fell across the books and papers on the floor, the photographs taped to the walls, and on Jade as he sat on the couch.

His eyes closed for a moment and he felt a complete surrender wash over him. It was a new sensation, something he had never felt before. He took his Sig Sauer out from the back of his jeans and laid it on the coffee table.

He held his head in his hands for what seemed like hours, and then he rose to go take a hot shower. As he headed for the hallway, something in the kitchen caught his eye-the red blinking light on the answering machine.

55.

" A L L right, kid. The bad news is, we had a slow week here in Falstaff Creek. The good news is, we put two men on your s.h.i.+t a.s.signment. Don't thank me, I'll take payment in beers next weekend. So, let's see who the grand winners are."

There was a pause as Tony breathed heavily. Jade scrambled to find the map of San Francisco on which he had drawn the circle.

"Okay. Secluded rich houses twenty years old that used to be green in the target area. One: Presidio Heights. 223 Clay, at Clay and Baker. Two: St. Francis Wood. 311 Santa Ana, two blocks from where it crosses St. Francis Boulevard. Three: Sutro Heights. 23 Taos Drive. This one's way up Geary, winding into the park. Almost by the Cliff House."

Jade scribbled the addresses onto a pad, then marked them on the map with a big red marker. They were all in rich neighborhoods, pretty well spread out through the target area.

"That's all. If you need any more help, be sure you don't call me."

There was a click and the answering machine shut off, leaving the house quiet. Tony's voice could really fill a room, and now its absence accented the silence of Jade's house.

Jade looked at the three red circles on the map. Sutro Heights- that was where Steve Francis's body had been found, on the edge of Sutro Heights. The house was on a hill by the Cliff House, so if the kid had indeed been parachuting, Allander could have stumbled across him near there.

Jade traced his finger along the route of the car chase. It definitely seemed that Allander had been heading in that direction. At least before Jade had lost him, Allander's path had pointed straight for Sutro Heights.

Charging out to the garage, Jade hopped into his car. He was backing up when he braked suddenly and got out, leaving the engine running. He went back into the house and directly to the living room, where he grabbed his pistol, spun it once around his finger, and jammed it into the back of his jeans.

His car laid tracks as he peeled out backward from his garage. His head smashed into the headrest on his seat as the back of his BMW plowed into a car pulling into his driveway. The other car spun around in a one-eighty, landing halfway on his front lawn. Yanking the pistol from his jeans, Jade stepped out of his car and found himself aiming at Darby's head. She didn't seem to notice.

He lowered the pistol and walked over to her as two dark sedans drove up the street and pulled over on the far side of the road. A sideways glance at his car revealed that it was still drivable. The b.u.mper was loose and the brake lights on the left side were smashed, but with the exception of a few wrinkles in the black metal of the trunk, the body of the car was surprisingly intact.

"They told me . . . they told me not to come," Darby said.

For a moment, Jade mistook her shock for drunkenness. Her eyes were glazed and her voice had a foreign flatness to it. But there was an awareness beneath the fog. She always knows what she's doing, Jade thought. Even now.

"Thomas?"

"Don't. They don't know. He's getting . . . help." She shook her head and looked around the dark street before her eyes settled on the gun in Jade's hand. "You're going, aren't you? To my son."

Jade nodded. The air seemed too thick for words.

Darby reached a trembling hand up to Jade's shoulder. She squeezed it tightly, almost lovingly, then reached across to his necklace. She wound one finger in the thin silver chain, made a fist, and yanked it. The chain broke and dangled from her hand.