The Tower (1999) (33 page)

Jade was worried that Alissa had changed her mind and canceled the story. He had pushed her pretty hard.

Finally Alissa came on, standing outside a big commercial theater in downtown San Jose. "People complain that there's too much violence in the movies. But movies can also be a wonderful escape. Thomas and Deborah Atlasia have certainly found themselves to be the center of attention once again since their son, Allander, escaped from the Tower at Maingate seven days ago. But they're teaching us all a little lesson in human dignity. They're holding their heads high, and letting their lives go on."

Darby laughed loudly, then covered her mouth with her hand.

"Tonight, the FBI continues one of the biggest manhunts in history, calling in even more men from their national headquarters. Tonight, Allander Atlasia will find himself fleeing just that much faster. Many people are holing up in their homes in terror. And what are Thomas and Deborah doing?"

The story cut to footage of Thomas and Darby entering a movie theater. It looked like a Hard Copy shot of a celebrity who did not consent to be filmed. Although the theater sign was not in the shot, the camera panned past a coffee shop next door to the theater as it followed the Atlasias walking in. CUP OF CHEER, a neon sign announced in the window. The coffee shop had been there for over thirty years. Allander would recognize it, and know that it was right next door to Camera 9.

The camera cut back to Alissa. "They're at the movies," she said. "Inside sources tell us that they're finding that a healthier way to spend their evenings, at least until the storm blows over. What's on the program tomorrow night is anybody's guess. For Channel 5 Eyewitness News, this is Alissa Anvers."

Perfect, Jade thought. Just like they'd discussed. There was no way they could come right out and say that the Atlasias were going back to the movies tomorrow--that would have been too obvious. But Anvers had alluded to the possibility, and that, in combination with the reference to "inside sources," would hopefully be enough to get Allander's juices flowing.

Allander would think that they'd seen Chance Are tonight, and since he'd know Darby would never go to Peril, that ruled out Camera 9 for tomorrow night. It was logical that they'd go to The Cutting Floor if they wanted to see another movie, so he'd keep an eye on it for the next couple of nights. There was one nighttime show tomorrow--Orson Welles's Othello, 8:00 P.M.

See you there, Jade thought. See you there.

Thomas got up, turned off the TV, and headed back to the bedroom. Darby pushed one long red nail into the soft skin of her palm. It left a crescent-shaped indentation that faded quickly. She did it again.

Jade stood up, dug the car keys from his pocket, and left quietly. The front door clicked shut behind him.

There was nothing left to do except wait.

Chapter
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 glasses 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 fuck 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 shit.

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 space. 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 fucking see--"