The Tower

Travers continued, "There are very few prisoners who have received parole from the kinds of jails Atlasia has been in for the last six years. The few who have been paroled didn't overlap with him very much at all."

Jade paused and ran his thumb across his bottom lip. "This kid's a reject. He had no visitors at Maingate or at the two jails before that. No friends, no family, nothing. He spent half his time in solitary. Clearly, he doesn't like people much."

"Funny, ex-Agent Marlow," Travers said, "that's just what some people would say about you."

Chapter 21

T H E first briefing had gone well, Jade thought. The agents seemed willing to give him access to the materials he needed. In the past, whenever they'd hired him, the FBI had tried to exert control, but evidently he had earned their trust.

For much of the ride to Maingate, Jade thought about Agent Travers. He found her severity amusing, and once he got out on the highway, he actually laughed out loud. His laugh came in three descendent atonal notes. He didn't laugh much, but when he did, it was always the same. Travers had a quick mouth and a caustic wit that rivaled his own. And clearly, she could get extremely pissed off in a hurry. A few times, Jade had seen her clamp down her teeth to hold her temper inside.

Maingate was in disarray when he arrived. Men with equipment ran back and forth through the front gates, barking instructions. Trucks drove down to the shore where there were several large cranes. Two guards armed with Win Mag. 300s paced the top of a small guard tower. Extra prison-security officers oversaw the operations, their bright-blue jackets standing out against the colorless prison.

Jade glanced at the Tower and saw men scurrying over it like ants. A black security guard ran by him, yelling into his walkie-talkie. Jade reached out and touched him softly on the arm.

"What?" he asked.

"I'm looking for Walker Banks."

"That's good to know."

"I'm Jade Marlow."

"Oh shit. Damn. Sorry. Warden's tied up right now on the Tower. We'll have to run you out on a boat."

Four more security guards walked by briskly, their sleeves whistling against their sides. "What's all the panic?" Jade asked.

"Looks like we're evacuating the prisoners. Too much activity. Trucks and equipment all coming and going."

Two white buses with thick bars across the windows pulled in. "Looks like a big operation," Jade said. "You moving 'em in small groups?"

The guard smiled. "Just ten at a time. We got over two hundred men to clear out of here. Not exactly juvenile delinquents, either. It's a big job." He looked over at Jade. "Even for you, I'd imagine."

"I'd imagine," Jade said dryly.

A sudden blast sent Jade into an instinctive crouch, his pistol drawn and at the ready.

"Hey, relax, man," the guard said. "They're just blasting out some of the rock to get the cranes through."

The ride out to the Tower was bumpier than Jade had thought it would be. The speedboat flicked over the water's surface like a skipped rock, and by the time they reached the ladder leading up the Tower, his clothes were soaked.

The guard pulled in close, and Jade had to make the transition from the boat straight to the steel ladder. There was no true dock, only a thick rubber strip for the boat to bump against. Jade clung to the ladder as the boat sped away. He felt very alone hanging above the ocean on two steel rails. For the first time, he realized how desolate the Tower really was. He surveyed the water stretching around him, then began the long climb to the top.

The frenzy at Maingate was nothing compared to the activity on top of the Tower. Divers were geared up in wet suits and tanks, dangling their flippers in the water that filled the Hole. An FBI team had been there since shortly after Allander's break was discovered.

Won't do much good, Jade thought. Already know who, what, and when. There was nothing new they'd discover about the scene of the crime-they'd created it. Won't tell them anything about what Allander's doing now.

A short, burly man charged around barking orders. A cigar was wedged in the side of his mouth almost parallel with the line of his molars. Sweat and moisture from the sea air dotted his bald head.

Jade walked over to him, noticing that his soggy cigar had long since gone out. Still, between barking out commands, the man chewed it with vigor.

"Walker Banks," Jade said.

"Marlow. Jesus fuck, what took you?"

"I just got the job seven hours ago."

"What took them?"

"The FBI, Warden. Moving at the speed of bureaucracy."

"No shit. I got a stack of papers on my desk could sink the Titanic."

"The Titanic is sunk."

"My point, Marlow. My point."

One of the divers surfaced, his arms looped underneath those of a corpse.

Walker pulled the cigar out of his mouth and stabbed it at the body. "Mills Benedick. Smells like a Tijuana whore."

Jade grimaced.

"On one of his good days, I mean," Walker said.