44.

J A D E chose The Cutting Floor because there was only one theater, and the entrances were in the front by the screen. There was no back door to worry about. He positioned himself in the front row several hours before the film started. It meant he had a long wait, but it was worth it to avoid being seen entering the theater.

From his seat, Jade could see everyone who entered. Sitting in the front also ensured that he could rapidly get down the aisle in either direction. If he chose a spot farther back in the theater, he was sure to get boxed in. Here he was the gatekeeper; Allander would have to walk past him to get to the Atlasias.

Thomas and Darby were going to have what appeared to be their first unprotected outing since Allander's break. Darby had already expressed her annoyance several times at having agents around the house. If Jade hadn't been open with her from the start, he was fairly certain that she would have refused to allow twenty-four-hour surveillance. She wouldn't have wanted Allander's escape to alter her whole life. Jade had Alissa allude to this during her news story by saying that the Atlasias were "holding their heads high, and letting their lives go on."

Jade bet that Allander wouldn't be surprised to see his parents on an outing without any coverage. If anyone knew about Darby's resiliency, it was he.

And his parents would be awfully tempting tonight. No cars would follow them from their house. Jade had drawn up routes for five different FBI cars so they would cross paths with the Atlasias' car on the way to the theater and follow them briefly. Each car would turn off after a few blocks, and another car would take its place at the next street. In a move that caused more than a little grumbling, Jade had also asked the agents to drive their spouses' cars. The last thing he wanted was for Allander to see dark sedans pulling out behind the Atlasias every few blocks.

He was a little concerned about the Atlasias' trip from the parking lot to the theater, since there was no logical place to position undercover agents. He had decided to disguise two younger agents as television reporters. It would appear that they had staked out the theater on a gamble after seeing Alissa's story. They would run to the car and throw questions at Darby and Thomas, who would ignore them angrily until they made it to the safety of the theater itself. It was a perfect way to ensure in-your-face FBI coverage from the moment the Atlasias stepped out of their car, while at the same time keeping them highly visible.

One of these agents would lug a television camera with its inside mechanisms cleaned out, replaced with an eight-and-three-eighths-barrel .44 Magnum pointing straight out the lens. Just in case there wasn't time to draw.

Two agents would cover the lobby of the theater. Jade had decided to disguise one as an overweight mall security guard. Allander would certainly be aware of his presence, but he would probably dismiss him as one step above harmless. He'd never suspect the mall security guard to be an FBI field veteran. Jade had learned that visible disguises were often the most invisible.

He had put the other agent in the front ticket booth. She was dressed in the theater uniform: a worn-out, ill-fitting tuxedo shirt and black polyester pants.

Jade had made it clear to all the agents that they were forbidden to shoot to kill, unless in clear self-defense, or if Allander went after bystanders. He had obtained these provisions from Darby with little prompting. That was because she knew they weren't relevant. Allander had a short list of people he wanted to kill; he wasn't interested in offing random civilians. That would be too easy for him.

Once the Atlasias made it through the lobby, they were all Jade's. He was confident that any attempt by Allander to attack his parents would occur in the theater during the movie. It seemed appropriate to his style. Highly dramatic.

Each time Jade thought about his promise to Darby, he cursed under his breath. She had certainly made his planning more difficult. Allander would have to be ensnared in an elaborate trap-Jade had known that all along, but it worried him that he couldn't proceed in his usual manner once he spotted Allander. He was most comfortable with sheer physical collision. When it all came down to it, that, even more than his tactical expertise, was what had made Jade famous; it was what he did best.

He wasn't entirely sure that he'd know how to manage to capture Allander when the time came. In some ways, the promise to Darby meant he couldn't use his greatest strength: fearlessness. It served him best, Jade had learned, in a fight to the death.

The theater started filling for the eight o'clock show, mostly with older couples, forty to sixty, plus a few professor types with sweaters and uncombed white hair.

The conversations around him were intellectual. A woman wearing thick gla.s.ses with red frames and an oversize flowered shirt sat with friends in the row behind Jade. She looked like an owl. Jade grimaced as she rattled on in a high, shrill voice. "The use of light and dark is what you have to watch for," she said. "The sense of enclosure will take your breath away."

At one point, an elderly couple sat in the front row, probably because they were nearsighted. Jade walked over to them calmly.

"I'm sorry," he said. "The front row is reserved tonight."

"For who?" the old woman asked.

"For me."

The woman started to answer, but the man took her by the arm and they moved back a few rows.

Darby and Thomas arrived a few minutes later. They didn't look over at him at all. Darby touched her forehead with her left hand. That was their signal that everything was okay so far. She never missed a beat, Jade thought.

He kept his eyes on the two entrances, swinging his head back and forth as if he were watching a tennis match. Each entrance had a short set of stairs leading up to the theater from the door at the bottom. He figured that from the time he heard the doors open or saw the light from the lobby, it took the average person about five seconds to walk up the stairs and through the entrance.

A group of high school students filed in. Oh, Christ, Jade thought, a field trip. They sat near the middle of the theater, laughing and rustling their candy wrappers.

Jade felt a sudden rush of heat move through his body, and he realized he was sweating heavily. What the f.u.c.k am I doing? he thought. Maybe Travers was right.

He checked the entrances, calming himself by inhaling deeply and counting each breath. Catching Allander justified everything. It had to. He was too dangerous. And the only cards Jade held right now were the Atlasias. If he'd learned one thing from his father, it was to take risks while they were still available.

He pushed thoughts of Darby and Thomas out of his head and thought of Allander. That made things easier. He would sacrifice anything to get his hands on Allander. Keep the anger, he thought. Lose the other s.h.i.t.

The lights went down and the film started. Once the entrance doors closed, Jade didn't have to be so alert. If they opened, a stream of light would flood into the theater.

He barely watched the movie, but he felt it flickering overhead in grays and blacks. He glanced back at the Atlasias from time to time as Orson Welles's booming voice filled the speakers. They were fifteen rows back, the first two seats in from the left aisle. With a slight movement of her eyes, Darby glanced over at him. She winked and Jade couldn't help smiling.

He leaned back and glanced up at the screen, but he couldn't focus on it, even for a moment. Just images and noises flashing overhead. He wondered if the Atlasias could concentrate at all, sitting back there like living targets.

The door opened and Jade leaned forward. His breathing intensified as he waited to see a silhouette. He counted six seconds until the person appeared. The figure had on a dress and a woman's hat, but Jade didn't relax until he saw her face. He wasn't expecting Allander to walk in without a disguise.

He heard occasional gasps and chuckles from the audience behind him, and the kids on the field trip giggled from time to time. He kept his eyes trained on the entrances instead of the screen.

The movie seemed to drag on for an eternity. It was hot and stuffy in the theater, and Jade was sweating profusely. Finally he was convinced that Allander wasn't going to come. When he thought back to his meeting with Alissa Anvers, he felt foolish for being so confident about his plan. He sighed, leaned back in his chair, and waited for the film to end. A fat man thumped down the stairs on his right to go to the bathroom.

Jade heard some rustling behind him and turned around. Two of the girls from the field trip were headed out into the aisle. Probably just going to get a snack, Jade thought, turning back to face the screen. Whispering loudly to each other, they came down the aisle and sat in the front row, to Jade's left.

Jade wasn't concerned. They were just splitting off the group, wanting their own s.p.a.ce. He stood up and started walking over to them to tell them to move.

The doors on both sides of the theater opened at once. The artificial yellow light of the lobby fell in triangles on the fronts of the aisles. Jade whipped his head back and forth, feeling concern take hold inside him. Allander might have waited until someone else entered the theater on the other side, knowing it would create a diversion.

Jade froze, not sure which way to move. The film projection ran over his face and torso, and he had to turn from the glare.

The screen above was almost completely dark. "Put out the light, and then put out the light," Orson Welles growled as his hand sneaked into the bottom of the screen and extinguished a candle.

People in the audience started yelling at Jade.

"Down in front!"

"Hey! Do you mind?"

"'Scuse me, sir, we can't exactly see through you!"

Jade could hear his heart pounding in his ears. He had about three more seconds until the figures would make it up the stairs and into the theater.

If Allander was waiting for the ideal moment, it was right now. And Jade was not in control of the situation. He decided to throw secrecy out the window, and he started whispering loudly to the two girls to his left.

"You two! Up! Get out of the way!"

They looked at him nervously and half-stood to leave. Jade pivoted back and forth, checking the two doors while waiting for the girls to move. No one yet.

People behind him kept shouting.

"Hey! Shut up pal!"

"Why don't you sit down instead of yelling at those-"

"-can't f.u.c.king see-"

Jade turned to check on the Atlasias and was almost blinded by the stream of light from the projector. He caught a quick glimpse of Darby's face and she looked terrified. Thomas had his arm around her and he was pulling her down the row away from the aisle, just as Jade had instructed. In case of emergency.

Jade couldn't move in one direction or the other until he saw the figures entering the theater. Now he was yelling at the girls. "Get out of the way!"

They stood still, frozen in fear. Behind him, the theater filled with the sounds of angry viewers.

Jade felt as if he was moving in slow motion. The only thing he could hear was the pounding of his heart. It seemed to fill the whole theater, drowning out even the people behind him.

He swung back to his right and saw the person entering the theater. It was the fat man who had left to go to the bathroom. A figure flashed into view to his left and then disappeared behind the two girls. It was a male.

Jade could taste the sourness of his panic along the sides of his tongue. He had to move. Whether he was right or wrong, he had to move now. If that person got past him, it could be too late.

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.

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 gla.s.s 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.

She had spoken, her words coming in fragments as her voice faded in and out of hoa.r.s.eness. "You know," she'd said softly to the throng of listeners, "we're more than this." She'd swung an open hand around to indicate the throng of listeners, the bright lights, the police cars. "We're more than just this."

As she had turned to go, McGuire had stepped forward and placed his hand on her shoulder, but she'd shaken it off and kept moving. McGuire had done nothing. Jade had just returned to retrieve the Atlasias, and if McGuire had decided to detain them further, he had been prepared to step in to prevent it. Thomas had followed his wife to the car, his eyes on the ground.

Once again, they had been subjected to a terrible ordeal, and Jade had been the one to do it. All for a failed plan, he thought as he looked at Darby, collapsed on the sofa, exhausted and drained. He crunched another ice cube and his eyes hardened. All Allander needs to succeed, he thought, is for me to do nothing. I'd burn any bridge to get to him.

He stood up and headed for the door without facing them.

"He knows now," Darby said, "that I've betrayed him."

Slowly, Jade turned around. "Yes," he said. "He does."

"I'm glad you're in our corner."

Jade looked at her for a long time. "So am I," he said.

He walked quietly to the door and left.

The two men crowded against each other as soon as they saw movement at the gate. A figure scaled the fence right next to the big gold letters that formed the arching Midland Hills Cemetery sign.

"Could be him. Could be Atlasia," the shorter agent whispered to his partner on lookout. He whipped out his binoculars and tried to focus them through the trees.

The other agent leaned against him, one hand resting on the walkie-talkie looped through his belt, the other on his gun. "Is it him?" he hissed.

"Think so. He's heading for the grave." He waited as another tree trunk blocked the figure from view.

The other agent strained his eyes through the dimly lit cemetery. "It's him. He's at the grave site," he whispered impatiently. He unholstered his gun and started to step from cover. "Call it in," he said.

He got three steps from the small grove of trees when the shorter agent called to him in a hoa.r.s.e whisper. "Wait! Come back. It's not him."

The other agent backtracked. "What do you mean it's not him? Who is it?"

The shorter agent grinned. "It's Marlow."