Robert Crais - Indigo Slam

I wanted to stall him. I wanted the security people and cops to get here and cut him off and clear the crowds. 'Let him go, Andrei. The park's tied up. You can't get out.'

Markov said, 'You be surprised.' That's when the leathery guy stepped out from behind a juice bar cart, put his gun into my back, and said, 'Kiss your ass good-bye.'

When he said it, Clark Hewitt lurched past the line waiting to board Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, and shouted, ' You let him go!'

No one was expecting Clark.

Markov jerked sideways and so did Dobcek, and when they moved I spun into the leathery guy's gun side, forcing his gun away and bringing the little Sig up into his ribs. I pulled the trigger one time and its pop sounded hollow and faraway. A deep, larger bam sounded in almost the same instant, and Andrei Markov was slammed down onto the ground, the crowd of people in the small place suddenly surging in a panic, unsure where to go, moving in every direction like flake in a human blizzard.

Joe Pike was standing above us on the castle's parapet with a foot-long stockless shotgun. Dobcek fired five fast shots – powpowpowpowpow - to drive Pike down, then ran to Markov. I rode Charles and Clark to the ground, yelling for them to stay down. I thought Pike would shoot again, but he didn't.

I listened to my heart beat, and I took careful breaths, and felt the sobbing father and son beneath me as the herd of people ran around and over us with all the thought and caring of Cape buffalo. All the while I was on them, Clark said, 'We got you, Charlie. We got you.'

Over and over. I had never thought of Charles as a Charlie before.

I looked around until I spotted Pike, still high overhead on the parapet like some kind of avenging angel. I mouthed, 'Markov?'

Pike shook his head.

Markov and Dobcek were gone.

Hendricks and Jasper came running up, and the Orange County cops set about securing the area. Hendricks said, 'Is everyone okay?'

Clark nodded. Charles made little breathy sounds, and squirmed around in his father's lap to see the leathery man. 'Is that guy dead?'

'They're okay, Hendricks. Markov's hit.'

Hendricks pumped his fist once and made a wide grin. 'Then we got the bastard.'

Jasper took out a cell phone. 'How bad?'

Pike said, 'Took a load of number four high in the right shoulder. Here.' Pike touched his shoulder to show them.

Jasper punched a number into his cell phone. 'Okay. Which way they go?'

Pike told him, and Jasper waved over Bates. While Bates was on his way, Jasper said, 'I gotta to be in on this, Cole, but I wanted to thank you.' He put out his hand, and helped me up. 'You did okay.'

'Thanks.'

'Where you gonna be? I wanna give you a call later, talk a little more.'

I gave him the number at the safe house, then he and Bates trotted away, Jasper talking into the phone as Bates deployed his security people. The clock was ticking, and it wouldn't be long before Markov was had.

Hendricks was frowning at me and Pike. 'I thought we took your guns.'

Neither of us answered.

Hendricks shrugged. 'Yeah, well, I guess it worked out.'

I took Hendricks aside. 'You understand the situation from Marsha Fields?'

Hendricks nodded. 'We're going to need to talk to the father to make the kidnap case. We'll need the boy, too.'

'I know that.'

He looked past me at Clark and Charles. They were still on the ground, Charles sitting in Clark's lap, Clark holding on tight. Clark looked shaken and scared, but Charles didn't. He was flipping off the dead man, and making faces at the body. 'Hang around a little while longer till we get this wrapped up. It shouldn't take long.'

'Sure.'

'You can wait at the hotel, you want. Get the kid something to eat.'

'Sure.'

'I'll get back there soon as we find this clown.'

Two more FBI agents, another half dozen Orange County deputies, and the representative from the Secret Service arrived. Everyone was smiling and patting each other on the back because they figured Markov was in the bag. Only so many ways out, they kept saying, and all points of regress were covered.

One of the cops took us back to the hotel, but Charles didn't like it much. He said, 'I wanna go on Space Mountain. I wanna ride the submarines. I wanna climb the Matterhorn.'

Some things don't change.

I called Teri from the hotel lobby and told her that we had Charles and that everything was fine. Teri passed word to Winona, and they both shrieked and clapped their hands. It made me smile.

We had hamburgers at the hotel cafe, then hung around the lobby and the monorail station for another two hours, but when Hendricks finally showed up they still hadn't found Markov or Dobcek. Pike said, 'You want me to come back in and find them?'

Hendricks scowled. 'I think we can manage, but thanks.'

Pike shrugged.

I said, 'I want to get these people home, Hendricks. You can talk to them later and arrange the statements.'

Hendricks said, 'Okay,' but you could tell he didn't like it.

Charles coughed. 'A-hole.'

Hendricks glared at him, then stalked away shaking his head.

Pike took us back to the warehouse for my car. The FBI and Long Beach cops were still standing around the place, but Dak and his people were gone, and so were the bodies. The big truck door was open, revealing the litho press and the computer and plate maker, but no one seemed to be paying attention. Marsha Fields was there, as was a representative of the U.S. Attorney's Office, both of them talking to a couple of Long Beach PD detective-supervisors. When Marsha Fields saw me, she came over, introduced herself to Clark and Charles, then smiled at Joe. 'Hi, Joe.'

Pike's mouth twitched. I guess they knew each other, all right.

She smiled at him a little longer, then put the smile on Charles. 'You're a good-looking little devil.'

Charles turned a nice plum red.

She said, 'Mr. Hewitt, we're very anxious to speak with you.'

Clark was still in the Jeep. Too tired to get out. 'Of course. Anytime you want.'

I took Marsha Fields aside and said, 'So where do we stand with this?'

She watched three Long Beach cops laugh about something at the far end of the parking lot. Nothing had gone as we had planned. Markov hadn't been arrested as a counterfeiter, and instead we'd managed to shoot up both Long Beach and Disneyland. A small army of cops had seen the printing equipment, and each and every one of them knew what it was. The bodies had to be explained, and I still wanted Clark to get his money, and that meant he still had to print for Dak. I told her what I was thinking.

Marsha watched the cops laughing, and nodded. 'We made the deal in good faith, and so did you. We'll still want Clark 's testimony on the kidnapping count.' She looked back at me. 'A deal's a deal. Just have Clark get this finished, and tell whoever is behind this operation that if they break the law again, I'll make them my hobby. Are we clear on that?'

'Clear.' I offered my hand, and she took it. I gave her the safe house number, and she said that she would call as soon as she heard anything. I thanked her.

Marsha Fields took three steps away, then stopped, looked back, and raised an eyebrow. 'Dong?'

I spread my hands. I wondered how she knew.

When I rejoined Pike and Clark, and told them that we were free to go, Charles said he wanted to ride home with me. He liked riding in the Corvette with the top down, he said. He thought it was cool. It took an hour and thirty-five minutes to drive up to Studio City, and Charles talked constantly about Marsha Fields, and never once mentioned Markov. I didn't mind. He seemed fine, and I guess he had fallen in love.