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“I’ll decide who does what from now on,” said Luca. “If you don’t mind,” he added, stepping across the gantry. It creaked as he did. It wasn’t safe up here. I had to find some way to get him down off this dangerous place, and bring Macy with him.
“Give it up, Luca,” called another voice, and I looked towards the far end of the door.
It was Zeke!
He came onto the platform, and ran down the side of the room I was furthest away from. I’d called Zeke and told him to turn the car around on the way.
“Don’t MOVE!” screeched Luca, and I could see his tenuous grasp on the situation was weakening. The exits of the building were blocked off now. All I had to do was get onto the platform where he was.
With the gun trained on Zeke, I darted left, and made my way down the opposite side of the warehouse roof to Zeke. But Luca turned, and as he did, a shot rang out through the warehouse.
I ducked, and heard it bounce with a deafening clang on a steel beam. We had him backed into a corner now, Zeke at one end of the walkway, me at the other. But there was still time for him to turn the gun on Macy.
“Give it up, Luca,” I said. “Come on. There’s still time for you to escape. Leave the girl and take me out instead.”
“I want that money first,” said Luca, and I unhooked the bag from my shoulder.
“Let’s do a trade,” I said. “I’ll slide the bag to you if you let her come to me.”
“She’s not leaving here without me,” said Lola threateningly. There was a hard edge to her voice now, and with the wind rustling through the gallery from the fans, her hair was tossing over her shoulders.
“No,” I said, looking at her. “No she’s not.”
Luca stepped forward to the bag. He shoved Macy, who sprinted. But not to my side. To Zeke’s.
Luca hooked one leg around the bag.
And then, in the distance, we could hear sirens. Sirens blaring softly.
“You called the cops?” he said threateningly, as he reached down, gun in one hand, the other around the bag. He unzipped it, and looked inside.
And then, Luca Desilva howled.
I knew why. Zeke didn’t. Nor did Lola. The only other person in the world who knew what was in the bag was behind me, in the shadows. And Max Lowe stepped from behind me, where he’d been hiding. He had my cellphone in his hand. I’d told him to call the police while I played for time on the gantry with Luca.
“I think that worked,” he muttered, and I nodded. Despite how much I hated Max, my father, I couldn’t help but feel a grudging respect towards him, and gratitude, for staying true to his word.
Luca rifled through the bunches of paper, the documents I’d stuffed into the bag. I hadn’t even thought about the irony of it. But as Luca kicked the bag and sent it flying, the papers tumbled from the sack, all covered with the gaudy blue heading, THE BLUE ORCHID CASINO:MANHATTAN’S FIRST LUXURY GAMBLING HOTEL.
“Bastard,” he growled, and turned and fired. But now I could hear voices, shouting, and there was a shadow at the bottom of the warehouse floor as the police entered.
“NYPD!” yelled a voice. “Everybody get on the ground!”
Another shot rang out, and Luca tumbled to the ground. Zeke had Macy in his arms, and was sprinting, while Max jogged around, ungainly and out of breath, to meet them. And then I saw Lola, on the far side of the room, clasping her daughter in her arms. But now, Luca was rising to his feet.
He was in a rage, and I could see he’d gone red as he turned, and brought the gun up, pointing it at Zeke, at Max, at Lola, at Macy, as they ran for the far side. A voice rang out on a megaphone.
“THIS IS INSPECTOR O’ROURKE,” said the voice, even and rasping. “PUT DOWN THE WEAPON.”
But there was no time. Luca was about to fire.
And then I was running.
I knocked into him with all the force in my body, and the gun went off. But the bullet went wide, sparking on the floor of the platform.
And then, I felt something snap beneath our feet.
The platform slid, and Luca and I grappled as we dropped, the floor opening under us, and I could see the black bag tumbling away beneath us.
