The Devils Punchbowl

Mom nods with resignation.

I'?ll get Annie?s things ready,

she

types,

but if we can?t discuss this, I don'?t want to wake her until the last minute. I'?ll tell her it?s a surprise vacation just for us.

I nod agreement and start to type a reply, but as my fingers touch the keyboard, I hear the sound of the downstairs television rise. Dad and I left it on to distract any listeners, but I'm positive the audio track has suddenly doubled in volume. My father lost most of his high-frequency hearing long ago, but even he notices the amplitude change. He?s already holding the .357 snubnose in his hand.

I lean down to Mom?s ear and whisper, ?Get back to Annie?s room. If you hear a shot, call 911.?

She looks longingly at the pistol on the sofa, but I motion for her to move to the bedroom. Dad is already moving toward the head of the stairs, but I catch up to him and pull him back.

?I'm going down first,? I whisper. ?You back me up. If there?s more than one target, I'?ll hit the deck and fire low, you shoot high.?

?Could it be Kelly?s friends??

I glance at my watch. ?Not unless they drove eighty-five all the way.?

Dad nods and moves aside so that I can reach the stairs. I slip off my shoes, then step on the top tread and move quickly downward, staying close to the wall to minimize the creaks.

Halfway down, I see a well-dressed man standing in my front hall holding a sign in his hands like a limo driver in an airport. My finger tightens on the trigger, but the word BLACKHAWK printed in red at the top of the sign stops me.

I hold up my hand to stop Dad, then read the words below the company name: YOU?RE SAFE NOW. WALK FORWARD. With relief surging through me, I look back upstairs and give Dad the OK sign. After he lowers his gun, I move up and whisper, ?The cavalry?s here. Get Mom and Annie ready.?

He turns without a word and moves up the stairs with what for him is dispatch.

When I reach the ground floor, the Blackhawk operator sets the poster aside and gives my hand a businesslike shake. He?s wearing a black sport coat with a gray polo shirt beneath it, and he obviously chose his position because it?s not visible from the street. Like Daniel Kelly, he looks about thirty-five, but his hair is cut military-style,

where Kelly has the blond locks of a tennis pro. Before I can speak, the operator passes me a handwritten note and a typed sheet of paper. The note reads,

I'm Jim Samuels. There were two men watching your house. They?re alive but neutralized. We took their guns and cell phones. We need to get the packages moving in under ten minutes. Are they ready?

I nod, then hold up my hand and splay my fingers to indicate five minutes. Leaning up to his ear, I whisper, ?How did you guys get here so fast??

Samuels smiles briefly, then whispers, ?Dan Kelly called me and told me to gun it all the way.?

While I say a silent thank-you to Kelly, Samuels points to the typed sheet in my hand. It reads,

Daniel Kelly should arrive Natchez in approximately 40 hours. We?'ve rented room 235 at the Days Inn. Kelly?s gear bag is waiting for him there. There?s a satellite phone in your kitchen pantry, detailed instructions with it. There?s a number programmed into the phone that you can call for updates on your mother and daughter. We?ll be encrypted on our end, but be careful where you use the phone. Kelly told us to make absolutely sure that you don'?t want to come with us and wait until he gets here before you proceed with anything.

I look up and shake my head, and the Blackhawk man acknowledges with a sober nod. Leaning forward again, I whisper, ?Do you feel confident about getting out of town safely??

Samuels gives me a thumbs-up with such assurance that I suddenly wish I were going with them. Then he leans in close and says, ?We were gentle with your watchers, to minimize reprisals against you. You?ll have to decide how best to handle the situation. We left them behind the house.?

It takes a moment to absorb that. ?May I have their cell phones??

Samuels digs in his pocket and brings out two identical BlackBerrys. I lay them on the side table. ?Thanks.?

?We can get you the phone records on those numbers, if you like.?

?I?d appreciate it. What about their guns??

He shrugs. ?It?s your call. They?re going to be pretty angry at whoever they see next.?

?I'm better off giving the guns back, I think.?

Samuels goes to my kitchen and returns with two Glock automatics. For a puzzled moment, I watch him crouch quickly and slip the guns into the side table?s bottom drawer. Then I realize my mother is escorting Annie down the stairs.

Annie?s wearing the clothes she had laid out to wear to the balloon race, and she?s carrying the ?grandma?s house? suitcase that she packs for weekends with my parents. My mother has put on slacks and a light sweater, and her gray hair is pinned up in a bun.

I'm not quite sure how to handle this situation, but Samuels walks right up to my mom and introduces himself calmly and quietly. It?s easy to believe these guys spend their days guarding traveling CEOs and foreign heads of state. After a few seconds, Samuels breaks away from Mom and speaks quietly beside my ear.

?In sixty seconds, our escape vehicle will pull onto the sidewalk in front of your door. My partner?s in your kitchen now, covering our flank. We?ll take your mother and daughter out in a quick rush, then my partner will return for the bags. If we have any problems, we?ll leave the bags and buy whatever they need at the destination. Understood??

?Yes.?

Dad steps up beside me, but before he can speak, Samuels gives us both a look of surprising empathy. ?You?ve only got twenty seconds to say good-bye,? he says. ?Don?t show any fear. They?re going to be as safe as the crown jewels. Give them a smile to remember until they see you again.?

Dad moves quickly to Mom and Annie, but my mother steps past him and looks at me with utter clarity. ?I know whatever you?re doing must seem important, but please remember this. You are the only parent that little girl has left. She?s the most important thing in this family. Tom and I are old now. She needs you. Nothing matters more than Annie, Penn.

Nothing.

Not honor or justice or anything you learned in school. Your flesh and blood.? Mom reaches up and touches my cheek. ?I'm only saying what Sarah would if she were alive. Sometimes men forget what?s important. Don?t.?

?I won'?t,? I promise, knowing that despite my best intentions, I have done so before. But that?s why I'm acting decisively now.

?Time,? says Samuels.

?Daddy??

I step past Mom and sweep Annie up into my arms. At eleven, she?s no longer a little girl, but I could still carry her five miles if I had to. Her eyes are crusted with sleep, but even now they project the perception I know so well.

?Where are we going?? she asks.

?It?s a surprise. I'm coming to see you soon, though. Will you take care of Gram??

Annie smiles. ?You know I will. I sure hate to miss the races. I wanted to fly in a balloon.?

?When you get back, I'?ll get Mr. Steve to take us up. As many times as you want. Okay??

She nods, but balloon races aren'?t what?s on her mind. She pushes her mouth close to my ear and says, ?Will you tell Caitlin I?'ve been missing her??

I close my eyes and force down the emotion welling up from within.

?Mr. Cage, our ride?s coming up the block. We?'ve got to move.?

I hug Annie tight and murmur, ?I'?ll tell her,? in her ear. Then I hand her to Jim Samuels, who carries her to the