The Tower

Chapter 54

The oncoming cars were passing so quickly that they looked like one long blur as Jade's car flew through the streets of San Francisco behind the yellow cab. They raced up Van Ness, then turned left on Geary, heading toward Fort Miley, the VA Hospital.

Allander accelerated through a yellow light and continued out toward the ocean. Jade blared his horn, as though daring the cars at the intersection to move. I still can't believe he fired at me, Jade thought as he kept his eyes fixed on the brake lights of the yellow cab. He's not a gunman.

They raced over the uneven road, bouncing into the oncoming lane to pass cars. Jade was certain that Travers would call for backup. There were probably a dozen cars and a helicopter on the way right now. The backup wouldn't have trouble locating him; a high-speed chase through the city was something eyewitnesses loved to talk about.

They crossed Twenty-sixth and Allander cut right suddenly, bouncing the cab over a curb and almost hitting a woman who turned screaming and disappeared into a corner deli. Jade hit the brakes and made the turn, gripping the steering wheel tightly and praying the car wouldn't skid out.

When he rounded the corner, he saw a group of children crossing the street two blocks up. On bicycles and holding balls and Frisbees, they looked like they were just coming back from a park.

Allander accelerated toward them and the boys scattered, leaving one little girl on a tricycle frozen in the middle of the road. Jade heard a smash as the side of the cab clipped her tricycle and then he saw her flying through the air. She landed in the road and Jade slammed on the brakes, his front tires skidding to a halt no more than two feet from the little girl.

He leaped out and circled the front of his car, falling to his knees in front of her. His heart was pounding. Another victim, he thought, this one killed before my very eyes. As he heard the first cries from the boys behind him, his hands went to the girl's chest to administer CPR. Before he even pressed down, her body shook and her eyes opened. She immediately began crying-a loud, healthy cry.

"Fuck," Jade said. He turned to the boys on the sidewalk as he ran back to his car. "Call nine-one-one. Now!"

Suddenly quiet, they stood regarding him with saucer eyes. Jade backed up his car so he could maneuver around the girl without moving her. The boys stood motionless. He leaned over and rolled down the passenger window, picking one boy from the crowd. "You. Kid with the blue jacket. Go into the deli and call nine-one-one."

The boy scampered off, leaving his friends still frozen on the sidewalk.

Jade peeled out, zooming around the crying girl. It was too late, though, and he knew it. He had lost too much time.

He patrolled the surrounding streets, making looser and looser circles around where he had last seen Allander, but there was no sign of the yellow cab. After spending twenty minutes pulling over and asking people if they'd seen a cab traveling at a high speed, he gave up.

No doubt aware of what had happened on the street behind him, Allander had probably slowed down, turned the corner, and faded into the San Francisco traffic. Few cars were less noticeable than taxis. Since they're everywhere, no one really sees them.

On his way to 280, Jade drove past the street where Allander had hit the little girl. He didn't stop, but he saw that an ambulance had picked her up. He could tell from the strength of her cries that she was going to be okay. Bruised and scared, but okay.

Jade's shoulder was starting to swell from his dive to the floor in Singspiel's, but he did his best to ignore the pain. Removing Sketches of Spain from its CD case, he slid it into the stereo. He tried to calm down as he heard the first notes of the trumpet, but it would take a while. He was too angry with himself.

Another trap had been orchestrated, had been put into play, and had failed. Allander had taken the bait this time, but he had also injured, maybe even killed, Thomas, and in the end, Jade hadn't been able to keep track of him. Allander had played right into his hands, and he had lost him. Everyone had done their jobs except for him.

Even though it was unfair, Jade felt anger at Darby for forcing him to promise to bring Allander in alive. Maybe if he could've shot to kill, it would all be over. It was a lot harder to shoot to wound someone. Jade hadn't had much practice at that.

The drive home was miserable. Jade replayed every second of the evening in his head, thinking of what he could have done differently. He was furious with himself, and more than a little irritated at the complete failure of his backup support. If a helicopter had joined the chase in time, they probably would not have lost Allander.

One thing had become clear-Allander didn't panic on the run, which made sense given the fact he'd been running almost his whole life. Now he would be almost impossible to track down.

Jade pulled down his street and turned into his quiet driveway. The house seemed dead to him as he entered through the garage. Sinking heavily to the couch, he gazed around his dark living room. It had all begun here, with Travers's visit to his house.

Allander's liquid eyes gazed out of the photographs on the walls, taunting Jade with their silent focus. Where was he? Jade wondered. Headed back to his base, no doubt, but where was that? He would wait there for a few days, recovering and plotting his next move. Or maybe he already had it all lined up. He had had time, transportation, access to God knows how many resources.

The light from the setting sun cast horizontal lines through the venetian blinds in the living room. They fell across the books and papers on the floor, the photographs taped to the walls, and on Jade as he sat on the couch.

His eyes closed for a moment and he felt a complete surrender wash over him. It was a new sensation, something he had never felt before. He took his Sig Sauer out from the back of his jeans and laid it on the coffee table.

He held his head in his hands for what seemed like hours, and then he rose to go take a hot shower. As he headed for the hallway, something in the kitchen caught his eye-the red blinking light on the answering machine.