The Tower

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.