The Tower

PART TWO
THE TRACKER
Chapter 12

" Stay back, you fuck! Don't even think about it," Jade Marlow yelled above the scream of bullets that ricocheted off the pavement and the open car door that shielded him.

"But I think I got it! I think I got an angle to the door," Dave Patrick said excitedly, his eyes fixed on the second-floor window of the Lilliputian Day Care building, behind which a team of gunmen held three children hostage.

Jade peered cautiously around the car door. The late-morning heat made the yellow window frame waver and distort, its peeling paint seeming to vibrate in the heavy air. A wooden sign was staked in the middle of the browning lawn. "For Growing Sirs and Madams," it announced in impressive lettering.

"You don't! You don't have it, and you're my cover. Don't fuck me on this! I'm the lead here, so stay put."

Dave glanced at Jade nervously, his blue eyes filled with more bravado than intelligence. "I got it. I got it, Jade!" With that he leaped to his feet and ran out from behind the car, sprinting for the building.

"No, you stupid fuck!" Jade hit the door angrily with his elbow, then quickly turned and fired several shots at the second-story window. The gunman upstairs stayed put.

As Dave neared the door, it swung open and he found himself facing a fat man with a goatee, a shotgun braced beneath his jiggling chins. Panic crossed Dave's face. He tried desperately to skid to a halt while raising his gun, instead losing his footing and landing on his ass. Before he could blink, Goatee had unloaded two quick shots into his chest, splattering his policeman-blue shirt with blood.

Jade pivoted around the car door and put one bullet neatly through Goatee's neck, dropping him before he could retreat. As he toppled over backward, another man scurried around the body and slammed the door shut again.

Rising slightly from his crouch, Jade peered at Dave's body. His longish blond hair, brushed by the wind, was the only thing that moved. Poor dumb guy, Jade thought, an ex-high school running back who'd never learned to separate the playing field from the world that fenced it in. He was definitely dead. At least you got us one kidnapper, he thought.

The door opened slightly and the downstairs gunman showered bullets all over the front of the car door. Jade flattened himself against the ground; as he got ready to return fire, the door slammed shut again.

Peering through the shattered remains of his driver's-side window, Jade noticed a mail slot toward the bottom of the thick oak door. He raised his gun, holding it firmly while he aimed. He fired once. The mail slot pinged open and shut like a throwing game at an amusement park.

Hearing a scream, he rolled from the safety of his car and sprang to his feet. He ran toward the door, firing over his head to keep the gunman upstairs at bay.

As Jade got to the base of the steps leading to the door, he planted his foot on Dave's chest and leaped over the four steps in a single motion.

The gunman lay across Goatee's body, his shoulders propped up by the wall. He was crying silently and holding his knee, his gun on the floor a few feet from him. Dark streams of blood spurted from between his fingers. When Jade kicked open the door, the man scrambled for his gun, but Jade stepped on his hand and fired once into the top of his head. The bullet blew out part of his jaw as it exited.

The foyer was a large room with smooth beige carpeting. A curved staircase swept up to the second floor, which was set off by wood railings. An elaborate chandelier dangled from the high ceiling. Elegant, though slightly rundown, the Lilliputian Day Care building was a converted mansion. It provided day care for the more affluent families in Pacific Heights.

Jade assessed his position: lower location, limited sight-extremely vulnerable. Either turn back or bulldoze ahead. He stepped over the bodies and headed for the staircase.

He made his way up the stairs, holding his gun next to his cheek. His muscles were tensed beneath his clothes. "Shut up, you little shit," he heard as he reached the top step. A child whimpered softly. The noise came from the first room off the wide hallway.

Jade moved slowly toward the room, stepping quietly on the plush Chinese patterned rug. He paused beside the door frame and listened, carefully controlling the sound of his breathing.

"I know you're out there, asshole. Come in," he heard.

Jade dropped to his stomach and peered around the bottom of the door frame. He could see Michael Trapp. He was backed into a corner, one arm locked around a six-year-old girl's neck in a half nelson, a gun pressed to her temple. She dangled in his arms like a rag doll, her button eyes wide with fear. To Trapp's right, two boys knelt side by side, facing the wall.

Jade had studied Trapp's profile inside and out. He was a ransomer who'd never been in a face-off, although he'd killed kids before. Now his partners were dead and he was scared shitless. But Jade knew he wouldn't fire right off the bat. He'd want to negotiate. That's what ransomers did.

Jade stood up and whirled around the corner, his gun pointed. The girl screamed and struggled in Trapp's grip.

"Drop the gun or so help me God I'll-"

Jade fired once and put a bullet right through his mouth. Blood splattered the white wall and the floral painting behind him. Trapp's knees buckled and he collapsed to the floor, the girl still clutched in his arm. She flailed to get out from under him, screaming at the top of her lungs. Finally gaining her feet, she ran to Jade, embracing him around his waist.

He placed his hands awkwardly on her shoulders, pushing her away. He walked over to the body to make sure it was dead, laying two fingers on the neck to check for a pulse. There was none. "The real cops'll be here soon to take care of you," he said over his shoulder. He glanced at the two boys. They were shaking badly, still facing the wall. "You can get up now. He's dead."

They didn't move.

Jade released the cartridge so it tapped his palm, then clicked it back into place. He'd collect a twenty-thousand-dollar reward for four days of tracking. Not bad for an FBI dropout. He smiled and ran his hand over the rough stubble on his chin. To his right, the boys continued to quiver. Behind him, the little girl sobbed loudly.

Jade pulled Trapp's wallet out of his pocket and double-checked the driver's license, a formality since he was already positive on the ID. Several hundred-dollar bills stuck out, and Jade pushed them all the way into the billfold and stuck the wallet back in Trapp's pocket. He rose and walked downstairs as he heard the black-and-whites racing up the street, their sirens screaming.

He stepped over the two bodies downstairs, giving Goatee a kick that knocked his head against the wall. Putting his gun in the back of his jeans, Jade stepped through the doorway into daylight. Recognizing him, the cops sighed in relief and lowered their guns.

"One of these days, I'm gonna beat you to it," Lieutenant Hawkins said, fumbling over his beer belly to find his holster. Hawkins's eyes were as deeply brown as Jade's were green. He had a thick black mustache. They always have a mustache, Jade thought.

"I wouldn't count on it."

"Trapp dead?"

"Yeah. And the kid." Jade pointed with his gun at Dave's body, still sprawled out, reaching for the door. "The commissioner gave me him to work with. Almost got me killed."

"He break cover?"

"Yeah." Jade shook his head. "They never listen."

Hawkins sighed, running a hand over the top of his head. "Poor kid was just a rent-a-cop. Worked security at night to support his family."

Jade's mouth tightened. "You guys took long enough to get here. What, was there a cat stuck in a tree somewhere?"

"We didn't get the call till you'd already cornered them, then we came as fast as we could. You should've waited for us to back you."

"I didn't have the luxury."

Hawkins grimaced and glanced back at the house. Goatee's arm was visible in the doorway, lying in a pool of blood. Cops stepped over the bodies and headed inside to examine the scene. The sound of the boys weeping upstairs became softly audible.

"Jesus Christ, Marlow, you left the kids in there?" Hawkins asked in disbelief.

"Oh yeah, shit, that's right."

"'Oh yeah'? You leave three kids alone in a room with a corpse and that's the best you can do? 'Oh yeah'?" Hawkins scratched himself angrily.

"Look, Hawkins, I don't see baby-sitter anywhere in my job title."

Hawkins gestured to a newly arrived paramedics team. "You three-upstairs. Let's go." He turned back to Jade, shaking his head. "You bounty hunters are sick fucks."

The paramedics rushed out carrying the kids. The children were sobbing freely now, all three of them. Jade looked down as they passed, studying the ground. "I'm not a bounty hunter," he said. "I'm a tracker. It's an art."

"A madness, Jade." Hawkins wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "A madness."