Страница 43 из 80
"Holy fuck," Jagger whispered. "Will you look at that? We did it, man! We're out!"
Jeff recognized where they were. The southernmost end of Riverside Park was just above them. From what he could remember from the long walks he and Heather had taken through the park a lifetime ago, a high fence separated the tracks from the park itself. It was designed to keep people away from the tracks, and out of the tu
Yet even as he told himself escape was possible, an instinct told him that something was wrong, that it couldn't be as easy as it looked. From the moment he had tried to help Cynthia Allen on that subway platform, nothing in his life had been easy.
They moved forward again, but Jagger seemed to have been infected by the same unease, and instead of rushing toward daylight, he also moved ahead more cautiously.
The view of the Hudson broadened, and they could smell fresh air from the river. Jeff drew it deep into his lungs, reveling in its sweetness. As the crisp air flushed some of the staleness of the tu
Perhaps, after all, they were about to escape.
But escape to what? Even if they got out of the tu
Unless…
What if both the driver and the guard riding shotgun had died when the van exploded?
But even if that happened, the police would have found the van's open back door. And they wouldn't have found his body. They'd know he escaped, and they'd be looking for him.
On the surface, away from the terrible darkness and claustrophobia of the maze that lay beneath the city, at least he'd have a chance. "Maybe we can do it," he whispered, not really meaning to speak out loud.
"Sure we can," Jagger replied. He threw his arm around Jeff's shoulders. "Over that fence, and we're outta here. Come on."
Moving forward, they edged closer and closer to the point where the west wall of the tu
Quickening their pace, they emerged from the shadows into the late afternoon sunshine. The fence was right where Jeff remembered it. And on the other side, he saw the softball field, where he'd played a couple of times in pickup games.
Maybe thirty-five yards to the fence-fifty at most.
And then he heard a voice, low and menacing.
Mocking.
"Too bad, boys. Wrong exit."
Jeff spun around to see five derelicts indolently watching them. Their hair was shaggy and unkempt. They wore grease-stained shirts and pants and had moth-eaten knit caps on their heads.
One was sitting on the ground, leaning against a rock. Two more were lounging against the wall of the tu
The man who had spoken was holding a gun-an ugly snub-nosed revolver-and pointing it at Jeff. The other four had their hands concealed in jacket pockets, and Jeff was certain that another gun was concealed in every one.
Instinctively, he looked the other way, only to see three more men, dressed as shabbily as the rest, and looking just as menacing.
The Softball field was empty, and he and Jagger were shielded from the view of any chance passerby. There was no one in sight except the eight homeless men.
Silently, Jeff and Jagger turned away from the fence and retraced their steps.
A few seconds later the darkness of the tu
CHAPTER 24
Something wasn't right with Jinx. Tillie could feel it, the way she could feel it whenever one of her clan was chewing on a problem. But she wasn't about to say anything-not yet, anyway. That was why most of the kids in the tu
"Go
Jinx rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. The day after I graduate from Columbia."
"You could do that," Tillie said, dropping into the chair opposite her.
"Sure. All I'd have to do is walk in, right?"
"So maybe you'd have to do that test-the one where you get a high school diploma."
"And then take a bunch of other tests, like the SATs, and then figure out how to pay for it. You know how much it costs?"
Tillie shrugged. "Never gave it much thought."
"It's, like, thirty thousand dollars. And that's for, like, one year. Where'm I going to get that kind of money?"
"Work?"
Jinx shrugged. "Where'm I go
Tillie pursed her lips. "So is that what's buggin‘ you?"
Jinx shook her head, but didn't get up and walk away. That told Tillie she just wanted a little push. "So what is it? A guy?" Jinx started to shake her head, but her blush gave her away. "Aha!" Tillie gri
"So who is it?" But even as she asked the question, Tillie remembered the way Jinx had been looking at Jeff Converse that morning, and her grin faded. "Not that guy they're huntin‘."