Straits of Fortune - Anthony Gagliano [74]
Vivian slipped and nearly stumbled. She reached down, tore off her pumps, and ran barefoot ahead of me. The crowd, partial to the prey, parted for her. I was aware of staring faces blurred by speed. Nick was way in front now. I thought for sure he would run for it on his own, but he stopped and waited for Vivian. I glanced back in time to see a bouncer with a purple Mohawk grab Williams and spin him around. Williams went with the spin and hit the man under the chin with the heel of his palm, dropping him. Then the other bouncers leaped on him, bearing him down, swinging for all they were worth. I wished them luck. They would need it.
I ran forward and herded Nick and Vivian toward the fire doors to the left of the dance floor. There was no sense trying to make it out the main entrance. The police would be sure to stop anyone attempting to leave. I hit the crash bar running with both hands out in front of me and slammed it behind me when we were through.
“Where’s your car?” I yelled at Nick.
“I gave it to the valet.”
“We’ll take mine,” I said. “It’s down by the park. Come on.”
I pushed them ahead of me, urging them forward. Vivian ran with her black shoes still in her hand. I kept looking back over my shoulder, expecting to see the juggernaut coming at us. We got to the Beemer and jumped in. I looked through the rearview mirror and saw a giant shadow running toward us.
Almost in a single motion, I started the car and pulled out of the spot, not switching on the lights until I made a turn at the corner.
“Where are you taking us?” Nick asked.
“To Disney World,” I said. “It’s time to see Mickey.”
“You are crazy,” Nick said. “I didn’t think so before, but now I do.”
“Good. You’re starting to catch on.”
Collins Avenue was jammed, so I headed west. At Meridian we swung north again, and it was then I started thinking about what to do now that I had two of the last three members of the Partridge Family together again.
Vivian sat up and looked back at her brother hunkered down in the rear seat. “Nick,” she said, “we need to tell Jack the truth.”
“That’s a good idea,” I said. “Start slow. I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”
“This is turning into something hellish,” Nick said. “My life is over.”
“Stop being so selfish,” Vivian said.
“Okay, kids,” I said. “This is how it works: Nobody’s getting out of this vehicle until I find out what’s going down. Got that? I have a full tank of gas and nowhere to go, so somebody better start talking before we get to Orlando.”
“Are we really going to Disney World?” Nick said.
“Shut up,” I said. “Vivian, what the hell is going on?”
“Go ahead, tell him,” Nick said. “He’s the only chance we’ve got against Williams.”
Vivian looked straight ahead. We were on Indian Creek now, heading north, amid that long, interminable stretch of buildings called Condo Canyon, gliding under the glare of a thousand well-lit windows staring down at us from above, each filled with the promise of rest, safety, a nightcap, and a bed with clean sheets and a thin, cool pillow. I was so tired that exhaustion now seemed my natural state. I half closed my eyes just to get the feel of it, then snapped them open as Vivian started to speak.
“How much do you know about my father’s company?” she asked.
“He made drugs. Got the seed money from your stepmother, now deceased. You didn’t like her. The company was privately held, never went public. Why do you ask?”
Nick leaned forward in his seat. “Did you know that Pellucid Laboratories nearly went bankrupt about a year ago?”
“No. But then, as maybe you recall, that was about the time I checked out of the picture. Obviously the company survived.” Then I recalled the article I’d read at Susan’s.
“But you don’t know how.