The Innocent

She took a step back. “You? Where?”

“Somewhere safer than here.”

She eyed him coolly. “Why don’t you stay and talk to the cops?”

He stared at her and listened to the sirens drawing uncomfortably close.

She said, “Did it have something to do with that gun and your being on that bus at this hour?” She eyed him more closely. “You don’t look the type, you know?”

“Meaning?”

“You don’t look like you have to ride in a crappy bus in the middle of the night to get to New York. And neither did the guy who was sitting behind me. That was his other mistake. You have to dress for the part.”

“You want to go it alone, go. I’m sure you’ll be able to hold them off for a few more hours. But then it’ll all be over for you.”

She looked once more over his shoulder at the burning mass.

“I didn’t want anybody else to die,” she said.

“Anybody else? Who else has died?”

Robie had the feeling that she wanted to dissolve into tears, but she said, “Who are you?”

“Someone who stumbled onto something and doesn’t want to leave it.”

“I don’t trust you or anyone else.”

“I don’t blame you. I wouldn’t either.”

“Where do you want to go?”

“Someplace safe, like I said.”

“I’m not sure there is such a place,” she said in a voice that, for the first time, sounded like a kid’s. Scared.

“Me either,” said Robie.

CHAPTER 17

Robie didn’t just have an escape plan in case something went wrong on one of his missions. He had a safe house too. Now, with someone else in tow, he had opted for Plan C.

Unfortunately, Plan C was already getting complicated.

Robie’s gaze swept the end of the alley. He’d put his goggles on. It was only a glimpse, but he clung to it, because he knew it was important: reflected light off a gun scope.

He removed the goggles, slipped back into shadows, looked down at the girl.

“What’s your name?”

“Why?”

“Just something to call you. It doesn’t have to be your real one,” he added.

She hesitated. “Julie.”

“Okay, Julie. You can call me Will.”

“Is that your real name?”

“Is Julie your real name?”

She fell silent, looked past him, out into the darkness. They had covered about ten blocks, so far in fact that the sound of the sirens had receded. She had not committed to go with him. They had silently agreed to leave the scene of the explosion by simply turning and walking away together.

Robie could visualize the activity surrounding the bus. The first responders would be trying to determine what had caused the explosion. Faulty gas tank? Or terrorist attack? But then he concentrated on that glimpse.

“There’s someone out there,” he told Julie in a low voice.

“Where?” she asked.

Robie pointed over his shoulder even as his gaze was running over her. “Any chance you have a tracking device on you? Because I’m good at getting away, and that was pretty fast to catch up to us.”

“Maybe they’re better than you.”

“Let’s hope not. Tracking device? How about your cell? I didn’t notice one in your pocket. But do you have one? And is your GPS chip enabled?”

“I don’t have a cell phone,” she replied.

“Don’t all kids have cell phones?”

“I guess not,” she said stiffly. “And I’m not a kid.”

“How old are you?”

“How old are you?”

“Forty.”

“That’s really old.”

“Trust me, I’m feeling it. How old?”

She hesitated again. “Can I lie?” she asked. “Like with my name?”

“Sure. But if you say you’re over twenty I probably won’t believe you.”

“Fourteen.”

“Okay.”

He looked the way they had come. Something in his gut very clearly told him not to go back that way.

“What did you see that made you think there’s someone there?” she asked.

“Reflection, just like yours in the bus window.”

“It could be anybody.”

“Reflection of light off a rifle scope. It’s a pretty unique signature.”

“Oh.”

Robie studied the walls on either side of them. Then he looked up.

“You afraid of heights?”

“No,” she said quickly, perhaps a little too quickly. He hustled to a construction Dumpster parked in the alley and searched through it. He finally pulled out several lengths of rope and quickly knotted them together. There was a lenth of plywood in the Dumpster too. He positioned it so that it rested on top of the Dumpster’s rim, giving them a platform on which to stand.

“Strap your backpack down tight around you.”

“Why?”

“Just do it.”

She yanked the straps tight and looked at him expectantly.

“What are we doing?”

“Climbing.”

Robie lifted her up and placed her on top of the plywood and hoisted himself on top of it.

“What now?”

“Like I said, we climb.”

She stared up the brick face of the building.

“Can you really do this?”

“We’ll find out.” He motioned to her. “Come on. You need to stand on my shoulders.” He pointed up. “We’re aiming for that.”

It was a fire escape ladder that in its up and locked position ended well above street level.

“I don’t think I can reach it.”

“We can try. Keep your legs rigid.”

He lifted her up and onto his shoulders and then, grabbing her ankles, military-pressed her higher. Even with her arms stretched out fully she was still about a foot short of the goal. He set her back down.