Two-Dollar Bill

"Now, why don't you just phone the police commisioner and request that he start his people up, floor by floor," Stone said, as soothingly as he could.

"Stop talking to me as if I were a child," she said, whipping out her cell phone.

"You're getting excited again," Stone said. "Now, how can Lance and I help?"

"You can stay on the roof and out of the way," she said.

Lance walked over. "Are you aware of what Billy Bob is carrying?" he asked.

"I heard he had a small boy and a suitcase," Tiff replied.

"Do you know what is in the suitcase?"

"No."

"It contains thirty-six extremely powerful new grenades developed by the army, and a rifle launcher. If he is allowed to start firing them, many people will die."

Tiff looked appalled. "Nobody told me that."

"Perhaps you should mention that to your agents?" Lance said.

She grabbed an agent. "Guard that door, and see that these three people stay on the roof," she said, then she disappeared through the door.

"That," Lance said, "is a madwoman."

"Well, yes," Stone said.

"It frightens me to think that she is in charge here."

"I think she just wants to kill Billy Bob personally," Stone said.

"You don't mean to tell me she's armed!"

"I don't think she'll need a gun; she'll just claw him to death."

"How did this go wrong?" Lance asked.

"I don't know. Perhaps it was something to do with the FBI being housed in this building?"

"But why didn't Billy Bob make it to the roof?"

"I don't know, but I think we should hang on to his radio; it's in the helicopter." Stone retrieved both his and the pilot's. "What do we do now?"

Lance was on his phone. "I'm calling my director," he said. "Perhaps he can free us from this rooftop prison." He walked away and began speaking into the phone.

Stone walked over to the edge of the roof and looked over the chest-high parapet into Times Square. The only things moving down there were police cars and policemen. His cell phone vibrated. "Yes?"

"It's Dino. Were you in that chopper that landed on the roof?"

"Yes. We were greeted by the insane U.S. Attorney and her mob of jackbooted thugs. Right now, we're prisoners on the roof, but Lance is talking with Langley about changing that. Where are you?"

"I'm on the ground floor of the garage, and I've had instructions from the commissioner to start a search of the building. It has sixty-one floors, by the way"

"Yes, Lance suggested that-quite sensibly, I thought. The FBI are working their way down, floor by floor. My guess is, the search shouldn't take more than a month."

"That was my estimate, too."

Then the radio in Stone's hand came to life. "Chopper One," Billy Bob said. "This is Stanford. Do you read?"

Stone waved the pilot over. "Answer Stanford; find out where he is."

"Yes, sir," the pilot said into the radio. "I'm on the roof; where are you?"

Stone looked around for Lance, but he had disappeared, presumably behind some of the equipment on the roof.

"Here are your instructions," Billy Bob said.

56

STONE LOOKED AROUND for Lance, but he was nowhere in sight. Billy Bob's voice came back on the radio.

"I want you to start your engine and prepare to take off when I instruct you to do so."

Stone looked over at the FBI agent guarding the door from the roof. The man was lying on his side, his helmet was next to him with a hole in it, and blood was pooling around his head. "Tell him yes," Stone said.

"Yes, sir, will do," the pilot said.

"Go and start the engine," Stone said, "but don't take off until I'm aboard."

"Yes, sir," the pilot said and strode toward the helicopter.

Stone ran around the roof, looking behind equipment, but Lance was nowhere to be found. He gave up and sprinted for the helicopter. Its rotor was already turning.

Stone dove into the back of the helicopter. He was on the floor between two facing rows of seats. He looked aft, found a baggage compartment and rolled over the rear seats into that area. There was a small window in the compartment, and he looked out both sides, wondering what was going to happen. He was looking west when Billy Bob's head rose above the building's parapet, followed a moment later by Peter's head. Billy Bob was holding the boy in his arms.

As Stone watched, Billy Bob swung a large case over the parapet and dropped it onto the rooftop, then he got a leg over and dropped Peter, who landed on his feet. They were still handcuffed together, and Billy Bob had an assault rifle fitted with a suppressor/silencer slung over one shoulder. Stone was still being amazed by Billy Bob's feat of levitation when it occurred to him that there must be a window-washer's platform on that side of the building, one of those things that went up and down like an elevator to allow workers to clean the windows on each floor. The fucking FBI, he thought, had not bothered to look over the parapet when they searched the roof.

Billy Bob strode toward the chopper, dragging Peter, who was struggling to keep up. Stone unholstered his 9mm, but he knew that, because of Peter, he would not have a shot, until Billy Bob got into the helicopter. Stone ducked behind the seat to avoid being seen.

He felt a bump when Billy Bob dumped his case and climbed into the machine, but he could not see between the seats, only over them, and he did not want to risk popping up at a time when Billy Bob might be facing him. Also, he didn't know Peter's position.

"Take off now!" Billy Bob shouted over the whine of the engine, and the chopper immediately leaped off the roof.

The motion cost Stone his balance, and he toppled sideways. By the time he regained his knees they were moving forward. Stone knew they were beyond the help of anyone in the building, and that the NYPD helicopters had been told to stand off.

"Fly right up the middle of Broadway!" Billy Bob shouted, "and stay just above rooftop level!" He must have encountered some resistance from the pilot, because he began shouting again. "Do it, or I'll blow your fucking head off!"

Stone popped his head up for a split second, then ducked. Billy Bob had been standing, facing forward, while Peter sat on the floor, still handcuffed. The sliding door on the right was open.

"Now you be still!" Billy Bob shouted, apparently at Peter. "I'm going to unlock the handcuff, and you don't want to fall out, do you?"

Stone flicked off the safety on his pistol and waited a reasonable time for the cuff to be unlocked, then he sat up and pointed his pistol forward. Peter was free, and Billy Bob was still facing the pilot, the assault rifle pointed at the man's head. Stone climbed over the seat and swung the barrel of his pistol at the back of Billy Bob's head, hard. A gunshot could be heard over the noise of the engine, and Stone thought his pistol had gone off, but, as Billy Bob collapsed at his feet, he saw that the back of the pilot's head was gone. Billy Bob's weapon had fired a round when he was struck.

The helicopter began a slow, descending left turn, and Stone made a leap for the copilot's seat. "Hang on, Peter!" he yelled, grabbing the boy's hand and dragging him forward. Stone made the copilot's seat and grabbed the stick, trying to get the chopper level, but then he saw the top of a building coming at him. He yanked back on the stick and cleared the building by a foot, then continued climbing, feeling the airspeed bleed off. They were going to stall any second.

Stone pushed the pilot's body out of the way and found the throttle, pushing it forward. The chopper climbed, and he breathed a sigh of relief, until he realized that Peter was no longer next to him. He looked over his shoulder and saw the boy tugging at the inert Billy Bob, one of whose legs was dangling out the open door.