Indigo Slam

Clark Hewitt pulled away from me. 'I'm fine. Just let me get my bag.' His drugs were in the bag.

They made me draw a map detailing how we would get to the safe house, and then we left, Dak and the two Walters following in Dak's Mercedes, Mon riding with us. The other guys stayed to guard the warehouse. I wasn't sure from whom, but you never know. Mon seemed sullen and resentful, and made sure we all knew he had a pistol tucked in his pants. He must've been something when he was younger.

We drove in silence for the first twenty minutes or so. I glanced in the rearview mirror at Clark every few minutes, but all he did was stare at the passing scenery without really seeing it. ' Clark, why didn't you tell someone about the cancer?'

He still didn't look at me. 'How do you know about that?'

'We found the letter from your doctor.'

He nodded.

'Does Teri know?'

'How could I tell them something like that?'

Pike said, 'You shoot dope for the pain.'

Clark glanced at Pike. It was the first time he had turned from the window. 'I don't have health insurance, and I can't afford prescription painkillers. Dealers buy and sell their drugs with cash, and they rarely put anything in the bank, so I just use the funny money.'

I looked at him some more. Even in the mirror I could see the faint sheen of sweat that covered his face. He was pale and he looked nauseated. 'Does it help?'

'Not as much as it used to.'

Pike said, 'How long?'

Clark turned back to the window, almost as if he was embarrassed. 'A few months.' He shrugged. Like that was the way he'd found to deal with it. Shrug and keep going.

'That's why you're printing for these guys,'

'I don't have any savings. I don't have insurance. I had to do something to take care of my children, and this is it. Printing is all I know how to do.'

'Sure.'

'I print the dong, and Dak will pay me real money that I can put into a bank. Enough to get them grown and through school. Maybe even enough for college.' He nodded to himself as he said it, almost as if he was saying it because he needed to hear it to keep himself going, telling himself that it would all work out, that his kids would be fine. It made me want to cry,

'You don't have family who can take them?'

'My wife and I were both only children. Our parents are dead.' Another shrug. 'They don't have anyone but me.' He finally looked at me through the mirror. 'I want you to know how much I appreciate everything that you've done. You're a very nice man.'

I stared at the road.

'When I get paid I'll pay you for all this.'

I stared harder and nodded.

We made good time in the late afternoon traffic, and would've made even better time except that the Mercedes kept falling behind. After about the eighth time, I said, 'What's wrong with that guy?'

Mon said, 'Dak won't go over the speed limit.'

'He's willing to kill us to protect his revolution, but he won't break the speed limit.'

'Dak wants to be a good American.'

I could see Pike out the corner of my eye. Shaking his head.

Clark said, 'These people aren't criminals. They're revolutionaries.'

'Sure. Counterfeiting dong.'

'They have this idea that if they put a lot of counterfeit money into the Vietnamese economy, it will destabilize the Communist government and force Vietnam toward a democracy.'

Pike said, 'Patriots.'

Clark shrugged. 'It was their country. They want it back.' Same thing Eddie Ditko had said.

I asked Clark if he wanted to stop at their house first, but he said no. I asked if there was anything we could get for him at the drugstore, but he said no again. He just wanted to pick up his children and go back to Orange County and print the dong. He sounded tired when he said it.

'I've got a doctor friend, Clark.'

'It wouldn't do any good.' Like he wanted to bed down and go to sleep for a long time.

I drove harder, and kept waving Dak faster. Dak didn't like it much, but as long as I didn't go too fast he kept up.

The late afternoon rush caught us in Hollywood and traffic began to back up, but twenty minutes later we were through the Cahuenga Pass and dropping off the freeway into Studio City. When I exited the freeway at Coldwater Canyon in Studio City, Clark sat up and seemed more alert. I wondered at the dull ache he must live with, and what it must be like for him to keep it muted by shooting drugs. Jasper was right. There was a lot more to Clark than it seemed.

Clark said, 'Are we close?'

'Yes.'

Two minutes later I parked at the curb in a spot that left room for Dak's Mercedes, and then the four of us climbed out of Pike's Jeep. Dak jerked his thumb at the building, and Mon said, 'Let's go.'

Clark was walking fine, though every once in a while he made a little wince. The cancer.

We reached the condo, knocked twice, and waited for Teri to unlatch her door. It should have been a surprise homecoming, and it should've been nice, but it wasn't.

Teri opened the door the third time I knocked, and I knew something was wrong. 'Teri.'

Her eyes made little round O's when she saw Clark. 'Daddy!'

Clark said, 'Hi, sweetie.'

Teri, what's wrong?'

Teri's eyes filled and she threw her arms around Clark and wailed. 'Charles ran away.'

CHAPTER 27

Mon ran back to the Mercedes, and the rest of us went inside, Clark with an arm around Teri. Winona jumped off the couch when she saw Clark and ran to him, shrieking and grabbing him around the waist. Guess she wasn't all that worried about Charles, or maybe she was just that much happier to see her father. I said, 'How long has Charles been gone?'

Teri wiped her nose. 'Since before lunch.' It was after three now.

'Do you know where he went?'

'Uh-uh.' She wiped her eyes again. 'He said he wanted to look around the building. He said he'd be back soon, but he never came back.'

I gave her a hug and tried to look confident. 'It's okay, kiddo. We'll find him.' Charles might be anywhere.

Mon came back with Dak and the two Walters, and nobody looked happy. They stood in a little clump in the front door, Dak angry and firm. 'Now what?'

' Clark 's son is missing.'

Dak glared at me as if I had to be kidding.

'We can't just drive away. We have to find him.'

Dak looked angrier still. 'You said this wouldn't take long. You said we would pick them up and leave.'

Teri had stopped sniffling and was looking at Dak and his pals. She said, 'Who are these people?'

Clark said, 'These are the men I'm working for, honey.' Like they were Sears, and had a great retirement plan.

I said, 'What can we do, just leave him?'

Dak stalked past me, slumped onto the living room couch, and shook his head. Walter Senior and Walter Junior sat next to him. Mon stood by the coffee table and gave Dak a smug smile, the look saying 'I told you so.' They talked among themselves, then Dak sighed and looked defeated. 'Describe the boy and we will help you look for him.'

Teri told us that Charles was wearing big shorts and the black Wolverine T-shirt, and after a bit the four Viets left, Dak telling them to meet back at the condo in thirty minutes. Revolutionary operation.

I said, 'Did Charles take anything with him?'

Teri said, 'No.'

' Winona?'

Winona shook her head without looking at me.

'Did he say anything about the park or a 7-Eleven or anything like that?' The Russians didn't know where we were and had no reason to be in Studio City, so I wasn't worried about them. The Studio City Park was a block away, and two convenience stores were within a couple of blocks. The convenience stores would have video games and magazines and comic books, any of which would be an ideal way to kill a few hours if Charles was bored.