The naked edge

7

"Don't call a knife I made 'ridiculous'," Carl said.

He shut off the phone, worked to calm his heartbeat, then directed a melancholy look at the children playing on the swings in the park. Detonating the explosive in the knife hadn't solved anything. There would be others to take the swarthy man's place, and those others, too, would demand the return of their money. He couldn't possibly come up with millions of dollars. When the electronic transfer did not occur, they would insist on meeting with him, something to be avoided with every effort. From now on, his life would be a matter of running and hiding.

No, blowing up the plane definitely didn't solve anything, Carl thought, but it certainly gave me a world of satisfaction. Maybe Aaron's right. Maybe I do need a few more lessons about keeping control.

The children. He couldn't take his sad gaze from the children. Hey, Aaron, wouldn't it be great if we could go back to being kids? If only life could be simple again.

The game. All that mattered now was the game. He picked up the newspaper he'd set next to him. After reading about Aaron and his wife one more time, he turned to the classified ads. The area's airports, train stations, bus depots, and car-rental agencies were being watched. But there were other ways to get out of town.