The Tower

He jumped up onto the ledge that ran in front of the screen and sprinted toward the left side, his dark figure racing across the flickering black and white of the film. Light swirled across his body like tattoos. The two girls remained in their awkward half crouch, their mouths open. A few women in the audience screamed.

The man was moving quickly up the aisle and Jade leaped over the heads of the two girls, targeting the man's back. He hit him at the waist about five feet up the aisle, swinging one arm under his shoulder and across the back of his neck, and locking him instantly with his cheek smashed to the sticky floor. He rolled him over, his fist reared back, ready to slam down. It wasn't him. It wasn't Allander.

The audience was in an uproar, yelling and swearing and running. The lights came up and the film shut off. A manager's recorded voice boomed over the speakers. "Please exit the theater calmly and slowly. We are experiencing some technical difficulties. Do not push and shove."

The man looked back at Jade, confused terror glazing his eyes, but not a hint of anger. Jade stood quickly, shoving himself up off the man's back. People ran by them on both sides and Jade started pushing his way back to the Atlasias.

I'm not going to lose them, he thought.

A large man purposely blocked his path. Jade didn't see him at first through the crowd and his face collided with his chest. A large football stretched across the man's shirt with the number 22 underneath it.

Jade looked up at the huge, unshaven, football player. Probably a college lineman. He had a confident smirk on his face and a cowering blonde girlfriend to one side. He was out to look impressive.

Jade punched him once in the stomach, dropping his shoulder so his fist would hit just under his ribs, on the rise. The football player coughed loudly and staggered forward, bent at the waist. Jade brought his elbow down in a full swing, cracking him on the back of his head. He crumpled heavily to the floor.

Shoving the girlfriend out of the way, Jade blazed through the rush of people, up the aisle. He cut down one of the rows and jumped off a seat back. It bucked wildly under his weight, but he managed to stumble into another jump, landing off balance, next to the Atlasias. He pushed them roughly behind his back and turned, shielding them with his body.

The agent disguised as a security guard burst through the entrance, flattening a pair of teenaged boys against the door frame.

Jade waved him off. "We're covered in here. Concentrate on the front."

The agent nodded and held up his arm to stop the other agents who were heading toward him. He glanced back at Jade, then disappeared into the stream of people leaving the theater.

Jade had instructed the other agents to clear the area in case of an incident, and he was angry that they had wasted time by checking on him.

Darby's nails pried into his biceps as she held her balance. The three of them waited together, breathing heavily as the theater emptied. After a while, the sound in the lobby died down.

Jade was drenched with sweat. Wiping his arm across his forehead, he cursed himself out loud. He had panicked and ruined the plan.

Darby started to say something, but Thomas shook his head, catching her eye. They stood quietly, holding on to Jade's arms, which were spread behind him protectively like a pair of wings.

Finally, Jade led them out of the row and down the aisle. They walked from the dark theater toward the bright light of the exit.

Chapter 45

T H E Y sat in the living room, silently surveying the dark brown carpeting. Darby wore a glazed expression, her mascara smeared across the top of her cheek. Thomas was in his usual spot near the fireplace. With his wrinkled clothes and weary demeanor, he looked like a recently fired executive in the middle of a drinking binge.

Jade sat with his head lowered, his forearms on his knees. He had kept the windows down as he'd driven to the Atlasias', to cool himself off. He had put the FBI cars back out front for the time being. Thomas and Darby were safe again, at least for now.

A glass dangled loosely in his hands. He raised it to his lips and shook loose a piece of ice, which slid into his mouth. Lowering his head, he crunched the ice slowly.

Darby had lost her voice answering questions following the incident at the theater. Local police, FBI, press, even the fire department had been drilling her from all sides while Jade met with the other agents to see if he could uncover anything useful about the evening's events. After enduring more than twenty minutes of questioning, Darby had weaved her arm through Thomas's and had raised her head to the group of men and women interrogating them. Something in the majesty of her expression had caused the pens to stop scribbling on the notepads.