David Baldacci - True Blue

That was one move, Roy thought to himself.

Psycho scored again, using a different move.

That was two moves.

He glanced over at Mace, who was staring at him anxiously. He gave her a quick wink and then went back on defense, setting his butt low, his feet and hands spread wide.

Psycho drove again and scored using his first move. Or he would have if Roy hadn’t stuffed the ball so hard it knocked Psycho flat on his back on the asphalt.

“My ball,” said Roy as he snagged it and dribbled it back and forth between his legs without even looking down.

As Psycho started to guard him, Roy backed up and banked a twenty-footer.

“That’s one,” said Roy.

A minute later a reverse dunk and then a twenty-foot fader by Roy tied it.

“Three-three.”

Five minutes later, and despite Psycho fouling him brutally at every opportunity, Roy was up by six and his opponent was bent over clutching a stitch in his side while Roy wasn’t even sweating.

With a perfectly executed crossover dribble that had Psycho frantically backpedaling and then falling on his ass, Roy drove past him and slammed the shot home.

“That’s ten,” announced Roy. “One more to go.”

He took the ball and bounced it back and forth between his legs while he studied his staggered opponent. Psycho was humiliated, tired, and pissed. Roy could at least let the guy make it respectable.

Screw that.

He dribbled backward and stopped, set up, and nailed a twenty-five-footer. The ball didn’t even touch the metal rim as it dropped through.

The ball bounced on the asphalt and came to a stop against the post.

“That’s eleven. You lose. We walk.” He headed over to Mace.

Psycho lunged forward and grabbed a gun from one of his men. Breathing hard, he pointed it at Roy’s back.

Roy turned around. “Is there an issue?”

Wiping the sweat from his eyes Psycho said, “Where’d you learn to play ball like that?”

“On a court just like this.”

“You lied to me. You said you knew how to play just a little.”

“Everything’s relative. You might not be as good as you think you are.”

Psycho cocked the pistol’s hammer back.

Mace pulled free from the two men holding her and moved between Roy and the gun. “Everybody here heard you set the rules. He wins, we walk. Your words.”

Psycho eyed his crew and then looked back at Mace. The gun came down one inch at a time.

“Get your asses outta here. Now!”

“Just so we’re clear, this is not a cop thing. We’re with Social. We just came here to help Alisha get a better life, for her and her son . Don’t make her a part of this, because she’s not.”

Psycho said nothing. He strode off. His crew followed quickly.

When they were alone Mace turned to Roy. “That was unbelievably kickass.”

“Would it be really unmanly if I wet my pants right now?”

“I wouldn’t think any less of you.”

“So what about Alisha and Tyler? Do you think he’ll leave them alone?”

“Call me stupid, but I don’t trust anyone whose name is Psycho. I’m going to have Beth get her and the kid out of here.”

“And her brother?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“I suppose we can do some more interviews today,” he said doubtfully.

“I think they can wait. Let’s go back to Abe’s.”

“Is he home?”

Mace used her sleeve to wipe the blood off Roy’s face. “I don’t care if he is or not. I need to get my little hero cleaned up.”

She took his hand and led him back to the Honda.

No one bothered them on the way out.

MACE PUT the pack of ice over Roy’s nose as he sat in the spa in Altman’s guesthouse. “How’s it feel?”

“Broken. But then so does my leg, my ankle, and my ribs.”

“At least the swelling around your eye’s gone down. You want to go to the hospital?”

“No, I’ll be okay so long as I stop interacting with guys named Psycho.”

“I was going to order out for Chinese, but when I called the main house to see if they had a take-out menu, Herbert seemed indignant. So he’s preparing a Chinese dinner just for us.”

“Very nice of Herbert. Where’s Altman?”

“The Bentley’s gone, so maybe he ran out to do something.”

Roy sat up straighter, positioning the ice pack under his eye. “Did you get through to your sister?”

“She had Alisha and Tyler picked up and brought to Social Services.”

“And her brother?”

“He wasn’t there. That guy worries me.”

“That he’ll go after Psycho, you mean?”

“Yep. And that means he’ll be dead.”

She sat on the edge of the spa. “You know why I brought you along with me today?”

“For the comedic potential?”

“No, to keep an eye on you.”

He took off the ice pack and swiveled around to look at her. “To protect me ?”

“After those guys came after me I knew they’d run your license plate and find out who you were. I was worried. But the only thing I did was set you up in a death match with an asshole named Psycho. What a genius I am.”

He gripped her hand. “Hey, you had no idea that was going to happen. And we did okay. Right?”

“You did great, not just okay.”

“You must be rubbing off on me.”

They stared at each other. She stroked his hair and he rubbed her arm.

“You up for getting wet, Mace?” he said quietly, his gaze melding into hers.

They heard a sound from downstairs. Mace jumped to her feet. “That must be Herbert. Do you want me to bring the food up here or do you want to eat outside overlooking the stunning gardens?”

He let go of her hand. “Stunning gardens sound good.”

“Take your time, I’ll keep the food warm.”

As she fled down the stairs Roy slowly sank back into the water.

Beth had just come back to her office after attending a meeting in Four D when her phone rang. She picked it up. “Chief,” she said.

“Please hold for Interim U.S. Attorney Mona Danforth,” a woman’s voice said in an overly formal manner.

Beth tapped her fingers on her desk as she waited for Mona to pick up. This was a stunt the lady pulled all the time. She’d probably been standing there watching her secretary make the call and then sauntered back to her office, just to make Beth wait.

Thirty seconds passed and Beth was just about to slam the phone down when the woman’s voice came on the line. “Mona Danforth.”

“Yeah, that part I got since you called me . What’s up?”

“Something strange on the Meldon case.”

“You have specifics?”

“The CIA is disavowing any knowledge of the matter.”

“And you’re surprised why?”

“Hey, you asked me to make some calls and get back to you.”

Beth stared down at her desk as she tried to compartmentalize the one million things she still had to do today after already changing gears a dozen times. But mostly she was thinking of Mona’s little plan to ruin both her and Mace. “Go ahead.”

“I checked Jamie’s caseload. He was not working on anything that would’ve caused anyone to kill him and throw him in a Dumpster.”

“But he was a defense lawyer in NYC, right?”

“More specifically he was a mob lawyer. But the people he represented are either dead, in prison, or no longer in the business. The one guy who might’ve had a grudge against him is in Witness Protection. And U.S. Marshals don’t ordinarily let their protectees run off to commit murders.”

“So the CIA claims they’re not behind the investigation into Jamie’s murder. Let’s say they’re telling the truth for once. Who else could it be? I heard the order to stand down might’ve come from the White House. But then I talked to someone I trust who told me that probably wasn’t true.”