Then the stage manager announced that they were one minute from air, and everyone took positions, and the lights changed again. The theme came up over the speakers, then the announcer's voice, basically repeating what we'd already heard from the host and hostess. A sign by my shoulder lit up announcing we were on the air.
The crowd went wild.
Chester and I watched from the edge of the set. Across from us, I could see Moore in position, scanning the audience. The radio traffic was almost nonexistent, with Natalie or Corry or Moore occasionally noting some movement or action, but nothing major.
Lady Ainsley-Hunter went out on stage after the show returned from its first commercial break, and she got another thunderous round of applause, and she stopped when it began and faced the audience, giving them a good look and a modest bow. The host and hostess started with the obvious platitudes and questions, and she handled them gracefully and with self-effacing humor. After a couple of minutes they gave her the opening to talk about her work, and she explained why she was in New York, and she talked about Together Now, and the desperate plight of the world's children, and they put a tape up on the monitor, showing sweatshop conditions in Central America. The audience responded with the appropriate noises of sympathy, and when the clip was finished, the phone number, Web, and mail addresses of Together Now went on-screen. Then the show broke for another commercial, and when it resumed, the comedian came out and did a short routine, then joined the party around the table. He made a couple jokes about the English in general and got some laughs, and Lady Ainsley-Hunter was a good sport about it. After the next commercial break, the author came out and talked about his book – it was a cookbook – and everyone gathered in the faux kitchen to bake some low-calorie cookies and have a generally fine time.
Then it was ending, and the host and hostess were thanking everyone for coming and promising that tomorrow's show would be just as fabulous as today's, and the theme music came up again. The crowd was jubilant, perhaps because they loved what they'd seen. Maybe they were just glad the show was over.
Moore came around and got into position with me, and Lady Ainsley-Hunter came off the set. She was perspiring from the heat of the lights, and I took the lead as we made our way back down the hall to the green room, Chester following.
"I could do with some water," Ainsley-Hunter said as we reached the door. "They stick you into a sauna and the only thing they offer you to drink is coffee."
"We'll get you some water before we go," I said, and I opened the dressing room door to find Joseph Keith, the trousers of his new navy blue suit around his ankles, his penis erect and in his hand, masturbating furiously. The lights around the makeup mirror were on, and they lit him completely, and they spared no detail, and it was apparent he'd already climaxed once. His blue tie was flipped over his left shoulder, and around his neck hung a laminated card, and I realized it was a backstage pass at the same time that I realized he'd also brought with him a bouquet of flowers, a box of candy, and what looked like a short sword, all laid out on the table before him.
"Shit," I said, pressing the button in my left palm and grabbing Lady Ainsley-Hunter with my free hand. I had already started into the room, and I pulled her with me and then pushed her back against the wall, covering her with my body.
Chester swallowed a shriek, more of astonishment than of horror, and then Moore was past us. Keith had let go of himself and was now reaching with both hands for either the candy or the sword, but he never made it. Moore took him with a shoulder-check, knocking Keith back from the mirror and into the wall, and then grabbing his hair with one hand and his right wrist with the other. Keith howled in pain, then went quiet as Moore spun him about, and drove him headfirst into the wall.
That was the last I saw of it, because by then I'd turned back to Lady Ainsley-Hunter and started hustling her back down the hall, calling into my radio that we were evacuating, that Timmy should get the car going, that Tinkerbell and Wendy were coming out. Confirmations came back, tumbling over one another, and we were at the exit when Natalie came sprinting around the corner, making for the Benz. Dale had the engine going and Natalie yanked the rear passenger door open, scanning the sides. A cluster of autograph-seekers started to surge forward at the sight of us, then balked when they sensed they weren't watching a traditional, post-show departure. I climbed in first, guiding Her Ladyship after me, and then Natalie tumbled in, and we were moving into traffic when Moore came over the line.
"Hostile is down. Hostile is down and secure. Where's Wendy?"
"Tink and Smee have Wendy," I radioed. "Timmy's leading us back to the treehouse. Suggest you and Peter meet with Lost Boys to help with hostile."
"Confirmed. Advise John meet you at treehouse and unlock the door."
"Confirmed, out," I said, and then to Dale, added, "Take the long way."
"Way ahead of you," he replied.
Lady Ainsley-Hunter had both hands over her mouth and was bent in her seat, her head down, and Natalie had a hand on her back, her expression pure concern. My first thought was that, once again, Her Ladyship was vomiting, but then I saw Natalie start to smile, and she looked at me over our principal, and I realized that I wasn't hearing sobs but laughter.
"What the hell happened in there?" Natalie asked me.
Lady Ainsley-Hunter tried to explain, but couldn't stop laughing long enough to do it, so I did. "Keith was beating off in the dressing room."
Natalie's mouth opened in amazement. From the front, Dale coughed sharply.
"He was in a suit and tie and he'd brought flowers!" Lady Ainsley-Hunter managed to say. "I know it's not funny, I know, but… I barely had a chance to see him, the next thing I know Atticus has me against the wall and then Robert is flying through the doorway and there's this tremendous crash, and this poor man is against the wall, trousers at his ankles."
She covered her mouth again, unable to stop laughing.
"There was a weapon," I told Natalie.
That stopped Her Ladyship's giggles. "Was there?"
"A sword."
"Oh, dear. I suppose that makes a certain sense."
"How do you figure?"
"They had swords in ancient Sumer, didn't they?"
"Point," I said.
Her Ladyship sank back against the seat, and I took the opportunity to reach around her and get her seat belt fastened. She watched me, amused, and when I was finished she asked, "And what are we doing now?"
"Taking you back to the hotel."
"But it's over and done with, Atticus. Surely, Mr. Keith is not getting away from Robert, and I'm perfectly fine. I certainly don't need to go back to the hotel."
"It's SOP," Natalie explained. "We need to get you back to a secure location, to make certain that nothing else is brewing. We're giving Corry time to get back to the hotel first, to check that there aren't any surprises waiting for us in the suite. Keith could have been a decoy."
"A decoy?"
Natalie looked across Her Ladyship at me. "He may not be the only one interested in you."
Lady Ainsley-Hunter turned her attention to me. "What haven't you told me?"
"Keith isn't the only potential threat. We've no reason to believe there's anything else brewing, but it pays to be careful."
She started to ask again, then stopped and merely nodded. Then she started laughing again.
"All that work," Lady Ainsley-Hunter said. "Just to show me his little sword…"
Dale circled midtown until Corry radioed that he'd reached the suite and that all was secure. Natalie radioed back that we'd be there in five minutes, perhaps a little longer. When we reached the Edmonton, we debussed from the front, Natalie and I escorting Her Ladyship briskly through the lobby to the service elevator. When the car arrived, I keyed my transmitter.