The tower 1999, p.10
The Tower (1999), page 10
"Sure," she said, her tone serious.
Although she wore a plain suit and no makeup, Jade thought she looked as if she'd just escaped from the pages of Elle magazine, career women's issue. Jade caught himself admiring her neck and turned his eyes back to the table.
"We found the boat early this morning. It was seven and three-quarter miles offshore, about twenty-three miles up the coast from Maingate. The wheel had been jammed to ensure that the boat would continue to travel out to sea after its occupant departed. We don't know how far it drifted after it ran out of gas, but we're estimating Atlasia got off somewhere along a twelve-mile stretch."
"How can you make that estimate?" Fredericks asked.
"Well, it started with a full tank--we got that from the Maingate maintenance crew--so that gives us some idea of the outer limits of the distance he could have traveled. We looked up and down the coast from the Tower to find the more reasonable areas where he could have gone to shore. We believe he took the boat in close to shore, then set it to travel out. In the engine, we found traces of seaweed from inland and grains of sand that were picked up after the boat departed from the Tower."
"It just seems like it's too large a range to be very helpful," Fredericks said.
"It's a lot more helpful than you're being right now. Any objections to my finishing the briefing?"
Fredericks turned scarlet and looked down into his bottled water. Jade laughed.
"Is something funny, Mr. Marlow?" Travers asked.
"Yes, something is funny, but you can go ahead, Ms. Travers."
"Agent Travers."
"I was not aware of the fact that agents can't also be ladies, but I apologize. Agent Travers."
She was seething, but she shifted her jaw and continued. "Atlasia's prints were all over the boat and the metal bar used to set the wheel."
"Where did you get his prints for comparison?" an agent in the back asked. Everyone in the room turned and looked at him. "I'm just kidding. A joke."
Travers continued, ignoring him. "I think we're all clear on what happened at the Tower. He killed both guards and opened the vents on the prisoners. He also disabled the pumps. Hackett was a very experienced guard, so this guy's dangerous as hell. He collapsed Hackett's windpipe, probably by stepping on it after knocking him down.
"We'll have the complete forensics back from pathology tomorrow. He cut the location sensor out of his finger using surgical equipment from the guard station. He also stole some supplies from the Tower, but we accounted for everything on the speedboat."
The agent beside Jade leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "Great," he said. "So where are you set up?"
"We have roadblocks on every road leaving the coast, and we're keeping local law-enforcement officials on lookout in every town within thirty miles of the Tower. If that net's not large enough to catch him, then he's already slipped through anything we can throw up."
"Are we definitely ruling out the possibility that he had outside help?" Fredericks asked, finally recovered from being reprimanded.
"Well--" Travers began, but Jade interrupted her.
"Yes," he said shortly. The clock was ticking. He wanted to cut through the shit.
Travers looked over at him angrily before continuing in a calm voice. "There's no outside contact from within the Tower, so it would've been nearly impossible to coordinate, and if Atlasia had any outside help they would've probably met him where he cut the gate."
McGuire rose from his chair at the head of the table. "As all of you probably already know, Mr. Marlow here has been brought in to profile and track Atlasia. Obviously, I expect you to cooperate fully with him."
He looked over at Jade. "I assume you have a few things you'd like to say."
"Just a few." Jade leaned back in his chair. "What you're doing is chasing, which is fine. What I've gotta do is turn the tables. He's too smart. Forget the roadblocks. If he's had this much time, it's too late. It's been over forty hours since the break. To snare him, we have to make him come to us."
A few of the agents looked at each other.
"Well, then I'll just cancel the whole operation, Marlow," Travers said. "Maybe we could send him a polite telegram asking him to turn himself in."
Jade laughed. "He broke through seven levels of security with no tools except his own mind," he said. His voice lowered to a snarl. "Seven. Count them." As he listed them, he ticked them off on his fingers. "One, his cell door. Two, Greener. Three, getting up the Hole. Four, Hackett. Five, getting off the Tower. Six, the fence. Seven, the ocean.
"He killed Hackett, who was good at what he did: containment. Hackett was larger, stronger, and armed. Atlasia knew he would've ripped him apart. So he took him up here." Jade tapped his temple. "Must've got behind him.
"Basically, he escaped from a goddamn security safe and killed a master guard to do it. Forgive me if I'm not optimistic about Joe Cop scratching his crotch and sitting out on the road waiting for him to drive by."
Travers's face was white. "It's a little more complicated than that, Mr. Marlow," she said, punching her words angrily.
"What are you going to do, look around to see if he dropped a matchbook? We don't have time for this, Travers. Why don't you sit down and listen? This is what I do."
Travers started to speak but McGuire shot her a sideways look and she closed her mouth.
"We gotta go proactive," Jade continued. "Starting tomorrow, I want you to organize discussion groups for the nearby communities. To talk about their fears and concerns."
"That's all well and good," the agent in the back said, "but we don't exactly have time to console the community right now."
"I couldn't care less about the community," Jade said. "Atlasia's a megalomaniac. Nothing would be more attractive to him than a big group of people talking about him. Admittedly, it's a long shot--he's on the run and he doesn't have a base yet--but it's worth a try to see if we can lure him in.
"Second, I want my face all over the press. As fast and as much as possible."
"What was that about megalomania, Marlow?" Travers asked.
Jade ignored her and continued. "I need to be painted as a supercop. The best of the best. It shouldn't be too hard. Throw my record around, my credentials. I want to challenge him to contact me. We have to feed him all the information. I want my house on the news, my address, my phone number. No, scratch that. No phone number--I don't want any weeping mothers calling me. I'll leave it listed. But I want my location advertised."
"You have a death wish, Marlow?" the agent next to Jade asked.
" 'Want,' " Jade replied. "I prefer 'death want.' "
"How the hell are we gonna get press to comply?" McGuire asked.
"I don't know. That's your job. Why don't you run a check and see if any TV field reporters have fathers or relatives on the force? Press tend to be independent, so if we want someone to cooperate, we gotta cross their loyalties or trade an exclusive."
McGuire scribbled notes furiously. He finally stopped and looked up. "That it?" he asked.
"Badge. Where's my badge?" Jade asked.
Travers set her briefcase on the table and snapped the locks open. She pulled out a badge and looked at it. Sighing deeply, she slid it down the long table to Jade, who caught it as it flew off the end.
Jade checked it. His full name, "temporary" nowhere in sight. He slid it into his back pocket, where it bulged uncomfortably.
McGuire stood to leave.
"His parents live in San Jose. Have you set up twenty-four-hour surveillance on them?" Jade asked.
"The minute we heard about the break," Travers said. McGuire sat back down. "But we'd like you to go down and talk to them."
"Obviously. I'll go later. I'm heading to the Tower after this meeting."
"Well, we'll certainly miss your company at lunch. Mr. Marlow, you have--"
"Excuse me. It's ex-Agent Marlow."
"Oh for fuck's sake!" McGuire yelled, pivoting around in his chair. "You two stop it. We don't have time for this shit. See them tomorrow. I thought Trav--"
"Thanks, I'll go alone," Jade interrupted.
After a moment of icy silence, Travers continued. "Mr. Marlow, you have the manuscripts and tapes from the prison's psychiatric department to study. Unfortunately, we can't get access to reports from any private psychologists Atlasia may have seen before he was imprisoned."
"We'll see about that," Jade said.
"Did he have any relationships with other prisoners who may currently be free?" Fredericks asked.
"None of any significance," Travers and Jade replied at the same time. They glanced at each other.
Travers continued, "There are very few prisoners who have received parole from the kinds of jails Atlasia has been in for the last six years. The few who have been paroled didn't overlap with him very much at all."
Jade paused and ran his thumb across his bottom lip. "This kid's a reject. He had no visitors at Maingate or at the two jails before that. No friends, no family, nothing. He spent half his time in solitary. Clearly, he doesn't like people much."
"Funny, ex-Agent Marlow," Travers said, "that's just what some people would say about you."
Chapter 21
T H E first briefing had gone well, Jade thought. The agents seemed willing to give him access to the materials he needed. In the past, whenever they'd hired him, the FBI had tried to exert control, but evidently he had earned their trust.
For much of the ride to Maingate, Jade thought about Agent Travers. He found her severity amusing, and once he got out on the highway, he actually laughed out loud. His laugh came in three descendent atonal notes. He didn't laugh much, but when he did, it was always the same. Travers had a quick mouth and a caustic wit that rivaled his own. And clearly, she could get extremely pissed off in a hurry. A few times, Jade had seen her clamp down her teeth to hold her temper inside.
Maingate was in disarray when he arrived. Men with equipment ran back and forth through the front gates, barking instructions. Trucks drove down to the shore where there were several large cranes. Two guards armed with Win Mag .300s paced the top of a small guard tower. Extra prison-security officers oversaw the operations, their bright-blue jackets standing out against the colorless prison.
Jade glanced at the Tower and saw men scurrying over it like ants. A black security guard ran by him, yelling into his walkie-talkie. Jade reached out and touched him softly on the arm.
"What?" he asked.
"I'm looking for Walker Banks."
"That's good to know."
"I'm Jade Marlow."
"Oh shit. Damn. Sorry. Warden's tied up right now on the Tower. We'll have to run you out on a boat."
Four more security guards walked by briskly, their sleeves whistling against their sides. "What's all the panic?" Jade asked.
"Looks like we're evacuating the prisoners. Too much activity. Trucks and equipment all coming and going."
Two white buses with thick bars across the windows pulled in. "Looks like a big operation," Jade said. "You moving 'em in small groups?"
The guard smiled. "Just ten at a time. We got over two hundred men to clear out of here. Not exactly juvenile delinquents, either. It's a big job." He looked over at Jade. "Even for you, I'd imagine."
"I'd imagine," Jade said dryly.
A sudden blast sent Jade into an instinctive crouch, his pistol drawn and at the ready.
"Hey, relax, man," the guard said. "They're just blasting out some of the rock to get the cranes through."
The ride out to the Tower was bumpier than Jade had thought it would be. The speedboat flicked over the water's surface like a skipped rock, and by the time they reached the ladder leading up the Tower, his clothes were soaked.
The guard pulled in close, and Jade had to make the transition from the boat straight to the steel ladder. There was no true dock, only a thick rubber strip for the boat to bump against. Jade clung to the ladder as the boat sped away. He felt very alone hanging above the ocean on two steel rails. For the first time, he realized how desolate the Tower really was. He surveyed the water stretching around him, then began the long climb to the top.
The frenzy at Maingate was nothing compared to the activity on top of the Tower. Divers were geared up in wet suits and tanks, dangling their flippers in the water that filled the Hole. An FBI team had been there since shortly after Allander's break was discovered.
Won't do much good, Jade thought. Already know who, what, and when. There was nothing new they'd discover about the scene of the crime--they'd created it. Won't tell them anything about what Allander's doing now.
A short, burly man charged around barking orders. A cigar was wedged in the side of his mouth almost parallel with the line of his molars. Sweat and moisture from the sea air dotted his bald head.
Jade walked over to him, noticing that his soggy cigar had long since gone out. Still, between barking out commands, the man chewed it with vigor.
"Walker Banks," Jade said.
"Marlow. Jesus fuck, what took you?"
"I just got the job seven hours ago."
"What took them?"
"The FBI, Warden. Moving at the speed of bureaucracy."
"No shit. I got a stack of papers on my desk could sink the Titanic."
"The Titanic is sunk."
"My point, Marlow. My point."
One of the divers surfaced, his arms looped underneath those of a corpse.
Walker pulled the cigar out of his mouth and stabbed it at the body. "Mills Benedick. Smells like a Tijuana whore."
Jade grimaced.
"On one of his good days, I mean," Walker said.
Another diver pulled Mills from the Hole by his hairy arms and flopped him on his stomach. Mills's hair stood out against his pale blue flesh. His naked back was humped like a buffalo's.
"Must be fun getting the cells unlocked underwater," Jade said. "Then pulling the bodies up."
"You shoulda seen the first ones, Marlow." Walker circled his head and shoulders with his damp cigar. "Head trauma from the force of the water." He shook his head.
"Look, Warden, I know you're tired--"
"Marlow, the past forty-three hours have been a bigger pain in the ass than hemorrhoids. I got two guards dead. I got sixteen prisoners drowned, one in lockdown, and one on the loose. Not to mention the fact that I'm gonna lose my standing at the Warden Hall of Fame. So yes, I'm fuckin' tired."
He looked over at the divers, who were resting at the side of the Hole. "Move your asses. We got eight more bodies that need to be up before we roll the pumps. I'd like to get home while my wife still recognizes me."
He walked away, speaking to Jade over his shoulder. "We had to bring in outside pumps--the internal ones can't get out from under that much water."
Jade stepped in front of him. "All right, Walker. Give me a quick tour and I'll be out of your hair."
"My hair?" Walker rammed the cigar back in his mouth and placed a thick hand on Jade's shoulder. "Come on, hotshot. Let's peek at the sunken treasures."
He took Jade around the top of the Tower, his voice gruff as he explained guard procedures, equipment use, and prisoner containment mechanisms. In about twenty minutes he had given Jade a full summary of the Tower's operating procedures.
The other workers and guards glanced over at Jade from time to time. Even though he was quietly listening to Walker, Jade had a very loud presence. His eyes were penetrating; they seemed to pick apart the disaster site, noting and filing clues invisible to everyone else.
Walker finally wound up his procedural review and his account of what had happened during Allander's break.
"The survivor. What's his story?"
"Claude Rivers. Typical Boy Scout--mass murderer, postmortem fornication with his mother's headless corpse. We pulled him out safely. He's in lockdown at Maingate, but we're gonna get him back in here as soon as possible."
"Even during evacuation?"
"Peter Briggs's direct orders," Walker said. "Called up in typical fashion, ranting and raving, saying his prison wasn't gonna be shut down by some psychopath, even if it meant keeping the Tower up and running for one prisoner. Don't matter anyways. I'd prefer to have Rivers here. Tower prisoners are a different breed. You might think this place was built for them, but it wasn't. They were built for it." He gazed at Claude's submerged cell. "Won't eat up much manpower, having Rivers back here. One guard could handle it."
"He talk? Rivers?"
"No. Literally. Not a peep since we stuck him in here in '96." Walker groaned, putting his hands on his sides and arching to stretch his back. "There's one thing that's just not sitting right with this, Marlow. How the hell did Allander get Hackett? I came up with Hackett. He could eat scrap metal and shit bullets."
"Must've got him from behind. Swept his legs or took out a knee."
"No, no," Walker replied. "Knee was fine." Using his tongue, he brought his cigar to his front teeth, straining his mouth to breathe around it. "How the hell'd he fool Hackett to get behind him?" he asked himself, looking down at the moist stone.
"Maybe we'll find out from the TV movie," Jade said.
Walker shook his head, then went to the shed to call for a speedboat. Jade followed, waiting as a man rolled another drum of diesel fuel over to the enormous water pump.
A diver came over and met them at the door. He pointed at the levers that controlled the vents. "Warden, I just wanted to let you know that these levers move automatically when the vents open. They could have . . . I mean, something could have pushed the vents open from the outside. Like they could've just given way or something. Are you sure Atlasia did it?"
Walker turned around, rolling his cigar from one side of his mouth to the other. He looked at the diver, then at Jade, then back at the diver. "Did Rose Kennedy have a black dress? The odds of a spontaneous implosion with such impeccable timing are fairly low, I would have to say. Yes, we're sure. Would you not agree, Marlow?"
Jade bit his lip to keep from smiling. "Yes, I would."
The diver blushed, retreating to the Hole.
Walker chomped on his cigar. "You see the shit I've been wading through here? I'm getting screwed six ways from Sunday, Marlow." He sighed deeply. "Problems. We've got problems."
