Home Alone 2 (11 page)

"Nine-one-one," an operator answered.

"Quick!" Kevin gasped. "The two guys that robbed Duncan's Toy Chest are in Central Park at Ninety-sixth Street! Hurry! They've got a gun!"

Kevin hung up and looked back down the block. Marv and Harry had just crawled out of the garden in front of Uncle Rob's house. Their clothes were tattered and dripping with varnish and their heads were battered with bumps and bruises.

"Hey! I'm down here," Kevin yelled and waved. "Come and get me before I call the cops!"

As the bad guys started running toward him, Kevin crossed the street in front of the park entrance. He reached the curb and jumped up onto the sidewalk, not noticing a slick dark patch of ice.
Whoops!
He slipped and fell. The strap of his backpack tore and the bag flew a dozen feet away.

Kevin tried to get to his feet, but the ice was slippery and he lost his balance again. He had to get the bag. Inside were the photos of the bad guys in Duncan's Toy Chest and the tape Kevin had made with the Talkboy of Marv discussing the plans for the robbery.

As Kevin scrambled over the ice, he could hear the bad guys' footsteps coming closer. Finally he reached the bag and grabbed it. He was just turning to run into the park when he felt a hand close around his collar and yank him back.

The next thing Kevin knew, he was staring at Harry's bruised and swollen face. The smell of varnish and burned kerosene filled his nostrils. An evil grin spread across the bad guy's cracked and blistered lips.

"Let's go for a stroll, kid." Harry started to drag Kevin into the park. Marv followed behind, keeping an eye out for trouble.

A few moments later, near the very same rocks where Kevin had hid earlier that night, Harry slammed him to the ground and ripped the backpack out of his hands. He opened the bag and dug out the Polaroids Kevin had taken of them robbing Duncan's Toy Chest.

"This'Il look nice in the family album," Harry said, slipping the photos into the green gym bag filled with cash. He took out the Talkboy and pressed the "play" button. Marv's voice came out:

"
Tonight we're hittin' Duncan's Toy Chest. Five floors of cash.
"

Harry glared at his partner. "Didn't I tell you to keep your mouth shut?"

"Hey?" Marv said. "How did I know he was recording me?"

"Well, it don't matter now," Harry said, taking out the cassette and putting it in his pocket.

"Yeah," Marv said, looking at Kevin, who was still on the ground. "You may have won the battle, little dude. But you lost the war."

Harry grabbed Kevin by the neck and yanked him up. "You oughtn't not mess around with us, pal. We can be dangerous."

Kevin practically choked as Harry kept a tight grip on his throat and lifted him off the ground.

"Want to burn his hair off?" Harry asked Marv.

"How about we rip it off?" Marv replied.

"Or throw him in a basement?" Harry suggested.

"No," said Marv. "Let's bomb him with a sewer pipe."

Harry's grip was tightening around Kevin's neck. Kicking his feet helplessly in the air, Kevin tried vainly to pry the bad guy's fingers off. Suddenly he saw something that made him stop struggling. Harry had taken out his gun.

"I got a better idea," Harry said with a nasty grin.

The barrel of the gun glinted in the moonlight as Harry raised it toward Kevin. Kevin's heart was pounding a mile a minute and he could hardly breathe. He was so scared he didn't notice that the trees around him were starting to fill up with pigeons.

But Marv did. "Uh, Harry?"

"Shut up," Harry snapped. Kevin stared straight down the barrel of the gun.

"Maybe we better get outa here," Marv said nervously as he stared up at the trees. "Something's strange."

"I said shut up," Harry snapped. He looked down the gun's sight at Kevin. "I never got past the sixth grade, kid. Looks like you won't either."

Harry cocked the gun. Kevin closed his eyes and held his breath.

Suddenly someone said, "Let him go." Kevin felt Harry's grip on his neck loosen. He opened his eyes. The pigeon lady was standing behind the bad guys with a bucket in her hands. Before Harry or Marv could react, she swung the bucket, showering them with birdseed. Most of it stuck to the varnish, making the bad guys look like two giant bird treats.

The sound of hundreds of flapping wings filled the air as the huge flock of hungry pigeons attacked. Harry and Marv screamed and dove to the ground. In an instant they were covered by an army of pecking pigeons. Now the wailing of sirens joined the screams and flapping wings as police cars with lights flashing poured into the park and screeched to a halt.

A dozen policemen jumped out and surrounded the two bad guys, who were almost invisible beneath the swirling mound of pigeons feeding on them. One of the cops raised his gun and fired.

POW!
In an instant the startled pigeons were aloft, leaving the two terrified bad guys trembling on the ground. Kevin and the others stared in amazement as Harry and Marv staggered to their feet and put their hands over their heads. They were covered from head to foot with pigeon feathers.

"Look at this." A cop had found the green gym bag. Inside was the stolen money, the photos Kevin had taken, and the cassette of Marv planning the crime. Kevin watched as Marv and Harry were handcuffed and read their rights.

"You guys should have started a little earlier today," one of the cops said as he pushed them toward the squad car. "The prisoners have already exchanged gifts."

"We would've started earlier," Marv started to explain. "But we had to hide out until the store closed."

"Why don't you just shut up?" Harry shouted, and kicked Marv in the leg. "Didn't the cop just say we got the right to remain silent?"

The cop shoved Harry into the back of the squad car. As Marv bent down to follow him into the car, he turned to the cop.

"My partner's still a little cranky," Marv explained. "We just broke out of jail a few days ago."

The cop pushed Marv in beside Harry. Suddenly there was a loud thumping sound and Marv yelped in pain. Then the door slammed.

From his perch on a nearby rock, Kevin smiled.
Operation Ho! Ho! Ho!
was a complete success. He was just about to thank the police when he remembered that he was still wanted for credit card fraud. Maybe it was better if he just slipped away into the dark.

In the extra large suite at the Plaza, Kate sat by the window, staring out into the dark New York night, wondering where her little boy was and if he was all right. Her other children were sprawled asleep on the bed and floor around her. Peter was slumped in a chair, snoring lightly. Unable to sleep, Kate sighed and looked down at the complimentary hotel magazine on her lap. It was almost midnight and she felt helpless and very, very sad.

Not far away, Kevin wandered along the dark cold empty streets feeling the same way. For a while he'd felt really good about helping to capture the bad guys and returning the money meant for the Children's Hospital. But as the hour grew late he once again felt like a lost kid in New York with no place to go and no one to be with. He was glad he'd done his good deed, but it seemed as if it still wasn't enough to erase all the bad ones that had preceded it.

Outside St. Patrick's Cathedral, he stopped and looked up at the tall spires as the bells rang in Christmas. From inside he could hear the choir singing "Joy to the World." But there was no joy in Kevin's world tonight. He bent his head down and kept walking.

In the hotel room, Kate turned another page of the magazine and stared down at a full-page photo of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, adorned with lights, tinsel, and decorations. She'd always wanted Kevin to see it.

Then, suddenly, she had the oddest feeling . . .

Kevin also had an odd feeling . . . as if he were being drawn somewhere. He crossed Fifth Avenue, went around a corner, and found himself staring up at the biggest, most beautiful Christmas tree he'd ever seen. Kevin looked at it in awe. Somehow he sensed that it was no accident that he'd found his way to this place. And yet, when he looked around, he saw that he was still alone.

"Maybe I don't deserve a Christmas even if I did do a good deed," he said, gazing sadly at the huge five-pointed gold star at the top of the tree. "But if I can get anything, I don't want any presents. All I want is to take back every mean thing I ever said to my family. Even if they don't take back the things they said to me. I don't care. I love all of them. Even Buzz."

Kevin took a deep breath and watched the vapor leave his lips. As the church bells rang in the distance, he knew there was more he wanted to say: "Listen, if it isn't possible to see all of them, could I just see my mother? I swear I'll never want another thing as long as I live. I just want my mother. I know I won't see her tonight, but just promise me I can see her again sometime . . . anytime. Even if it's just once for only a couple of minutes. Because I need to tell her I'm sorry."

Kevin waited for a moment, as if hoping that by some miracle his wish would come true. But even he was old enough to know it wouldn't. Then he lowered his head. The cold wind picked up some loose newspapers and swirled them around him in a circle. He was just about to walk away when he thought he noticed something. The church bells sounded different. Closer, but smaller.

Kevin slowly turned around. Standing fifty feet from him was a woman who looked an awful lot like his mother. And she was ringing a bell. It looked like she was smiling at him. Kevin rubbed his eyes and looked again. It couldn't be, could it?

"Mom?" he gasped in a hoarse whisper.

Kate put the silver bell back in her pocket and stepped toward her son. She felt tears start to roll down her cheeks. "Merry Christmas, sweetheart."

As Kevin ran toward his mother, he thought of the wish he'd just made and looked back at the tree in amazement. Wow! he thought. That worked fast!

A moment later Kate kneeled down and hugged him tightly.

"How'd you know I was here?" Kevin asked.

"I know you and Christmas trees," Kate said as she rubbed a tear out of her eye.

"I guess this is the biggest one around, huh?" Kevin said.

Kate smiled. "Let's go tell Dad you're all right."

"Where's everyone else?" Kevin asked.

"At the hotel," Kate said, sliding her arm around his shoulders.

"They're in New York?" Kevin gasped, wide-eyed.

Kate smiled. "They didn't like the palm trees either."

E. F. Duncan stood on the sidewalk wearing a suit and a gray cashmere topcoat. His wife stood beside him, clutching his arm, dressed in an emerald green gown covered by a brown mink coat. They'd been called away from a Christmas party by the police, and now watched quietly as two glaziers replaced the broken window of the store.

Inside, a team of evidence specialists combed through the broken glass and mangled cash registers looking for clues to the crime. The Duncans knew that a great deal of cash had been stolen, money that was supposed to go to the Children's Hospital.

Suddenly a police car pulled up in front of the store and a cop jumped out.

"It's all over, Mr. Duncan," he said.

Duncan frowned. "What do you mean?"

"We apprehended the thieves and recovered your money."

Mr. Duncan's jaw dropped and his wife squeezed his arm with delight.

"Thank you," he said, happily shaking the officer's hand. "Thank you very much!"

The cop went back to his car. Mr. Duncan and his wife were about to go home when one of the evidence specialists approached him carrying a brick and an envelope. "Excuse me, are you Mr. Duncan?"

"Yes?" Duncan turned, surprised.

The specialist pulled the envelope from the brick and handed it to him. "We found this inside. Looks like a kid broke your window."

Duncan looked down at the envelope and frowned. It was addressed to him in a child's handwriting. He tore it open and found a letter written on a sheet of Plaza Hotel stationery:

Mrs. Duncan tugged on her husband's coat sleeve. "What is it, dear?"

E. F. Duncan smiled and said, "Turtledoves."

The sky was gray at dawn. Up in the McCallister's suite, Kevin slept in a double bed with Fuller and Brooke. The other McCallisters were spread out on the floor and in the living room. Suddenly Fuller opened his eyes and sat up.

"Holy smokes!" he gasped excitedly. "It's Christmas morning!"

Next to him, Kevin rubbed his eyes and yawned. "Don't get your hopes up."

Fuller looked puzzled. "Why not?"

"I'm not sure Santa Claus goes to hotels," Kevin said, a little sadly.

"Are you nuts?" Fuller replied. "He's omnipresent. He goes everywhere."

Fuller jumped out of bed and started yelling, "Wake up, everyone! It's Christmas!"

All around the suite Kevin could hear people grumbling as Fuller woke them up. Maybe a hotel wasn't the greatest place in the world to have Christmas, but at least Kevin was back with his family and that's what mattered most.

Suddenly he heard gasps and startled exclamations coming from the foyer of the suite. Curious, he got out of bed and went to look. At first he couldn't see anything because the whole McCallister clan had crowded into the small foyer. But as he squeezed past them he found himself staring at a beautiful Christmas tree surrounded by more gifts than he'd ever seen.

"Wow!" Kevin gasped.