The Phantom (20 page)

“Where is it?” Zephro asked. “I hope it ain’t under the water, because I can’t swim.”

Drax ignored him. “The Devil’s Vortex. We’re going to the Devil’s Vortex. Let’s get ready. No time to waste.”

“Are you sure?” Sala asked. “Check again. Maybe you made a mistake.”

“No mistake.”

“Isn’t that the place where all those ships keep disappearing?” Zephro asked.

“Yes. Incredible, isn’t it?” Drax stepped back from the map, placing his hands on his hips. But his gaze never left the fabled vortex. “There must be an island there, an uncharted island.”

“I certainly hope so,” Zephro said, then thinking it over, he added: “Maybe my brother was right about all this stuff.”

“Nonsense. Where’s your spirit of adventure?” Drax walked over to Zephro and put his arm over his shoulder. “Get Commissioner Farley on the phone. We need to get out of town as quickly as possible.”

Zephro nodded, but didn’t look very enthused. “Yeah. Okay.”

Diana listened to it all. But her thoughts were on Kit’s fate and ultimately her own. The chances that Drax was going to let them live weren’t very good. Even though she was Dave Palmer’s niece, that wasn’t going to stop him. After all, he hadn’t hesitated making Dr. Fleming disappear, even though the library director’s last appointment was known to be with Drax.

While Zephro made the call, Drax and Sala carried on about their upcoming adventure in the Caribbean, and she was cozying up to him. Diana knew it was time to take a chance. She slowly positioned herself, mustered her nerve, and leaped for the door.

She pulled it open and rushed past Drax’s startled secretary, then through another doorway and out into the hall. She glanced right, left, decided to go right. She dashed down the corridor as she heard raised voices and chaos coming from Drax’s office.

Diana reached the stairs, hesitated, then dashed up the flight of steps. She had to help Kit, and hopefully the two of them would escape.

Her decision fooled Zephro and Drax, who raced down the stairs, expecting her to attempt to escape the building by the quickest route. But then she heard footsteps behind her and knew that Sala hadn’t been fooled.

Diana ran past the open utility room door and continued up to the observation deck. As she burst out onto the deck, it only took a moment to realize that Drax had been referring to the roof. By now Quill and the other thugs might have tossed Kit over the side.

She looked around, but didn’t see anyone. She moved around the enclosure that covered the elevator shaft, but there was no sign of him there, either.
Where are you, Kit? Where?

Then Sala stepped out. “I know you’re up here, Diana. C’mon out, c’mon out, wherever you are!” she called in a soft, singsong voice.

Diana crept along the side of the enclosure. She saw Sala, pistol in hand, six or seven feet away—two steps and a lunge. She was about to make her move when Sala spun around.

“There you are, Diana!” She smiled. “You didn’t really think you were going to save your buddy and get away, did you?”

“Listen, Sala. You don’t have to go along with Drax. He’s only going to get you in a lot of trouble. He’s already gotten you into trouble.”

Sala smiled sweetly. “How nice of you to be concerned about my welfare, Diana. But don’t forget, I’m already in big trouble. Remember those laws I broke for bringing down the Pan Am Clipper? And for kidnapping you.”

“You haven’t exactly been a good girl, but—”

“But there’s always time to reform, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Well, sorry, but I don’t think this is the right time,” Sala said. “Now let’s go back downstairs, and everything will be forgiven. Sort of.”

Diana held her ground.

Sala took a step closer. “Hey, I ain’t kidding here. You got no choice in the matter.”

Play it her way for now,
Diana thought. “Okay.” She walked toward Sala and the doorway to the stairs.

“That’s better. I’ll tell Drax you came up for a little fresh air.”

Suddenly Diana’s hand shot out and she grabbed Sala’s wrist and twisted. The gun went off, slipped from Sala’s grasp, and hit the floor. This time Diana scooped it up, but Sala grabbed her arm. They struggled, and the gun fired again, this time skyward.

Diana stepped out with her foot, tripped Sala, and they both tottered and fell to the roof. They rolled over and over, struggling for the gun, rolling closer to the edge of the roof until they were one revolution short of spinning into space.

Sala ended up on top, but now Diana had the gun, and she jammed the barrel right between Sala’s eyes. “Just take it easy, Sala. I don’t want to blow your head off, but I will if I have to.”

“Go ahead,” a voice said behind her. Then Drax laughed. “You shoot her, then I shoot you.” He pressed his pistol against Diana’s forehead. “Then you know what we’ve got? A bloody mess, but two less mouths to feed on our trip to the vortex.”

“Drax, don’t tell her to shoot me! I’m with you.” Sala pleaded.

“It’s survival of the fittest, sweetheart. It looks to me like you lost your chance to shoot.” Then to Diana, he said, “Either shoot her or put the gun down. Make up your mind.”

Diana dropped the gun. Drax grabbed it, and Sala jerked Diana to her feet. She pulled back her fist and was about to slam it into Diana’s mouth when Drax pointed her own gun at her. “You knock her out and you’re carrying her.”

Sala lowered her fist and scowled at Diana. “We have quite a relationship, you and me.”

“Hey, where’s Quill and the others?” Drax said, looking around as Charlie Zephro stopped at the top of the stairs. “What did he do with Walker?”

“I didn’t see any of them,” Zephro said.

“Then c’mon. Let’s go find them.”

Drax led the way downstairs, and just as they reached the bank of elevators, Quill turned a corner at the far end of the hall and loped toward them. At that same moment, one of the elevator doors opened and Commissioner Farley, accompanied by a middle-aged uniformed cop, stepped out.

“Mr. Drax, I’ve made all the arrangements. You’re getting a full police escort.”

“Excellent,” Drax responded. “Have you heard the news? We’re going to the Devil’s Vortex.”

Quill couldn’t contain himself any longer. “Drax. The Phantom’s here! He’s in the building!”

“What?”

“I saw him with my own two eyes, mask and hood and purple getup.”

The Phantom? Diana was confused, then amazed. She’d thought that nothing he did could surprise her anymore, but he’d done it again. He must have realized that Quill was bringing the silver skull to Drax and followed him here. But what happened to Kit?

Drax instantly turned to Farley. “Alert your officers. Tell them there’s a madman on the loose. He’s extremely dangerous.” He glanced at Diana. “And tell them to shoot him on sight.”

“Don’t worry about a thing,” Farley said, and turned to the cop at his side. “Sergeant, you heard him. Alert everyone on the street.”

Drax motioned to Zephro and Sala. “Let’s go. We’ve got a plane to catch.”

“What about the girl?” Zephro said.

“Bring her! She’s our ‘Phantom insurance’!”

The door to an elevator opened and they all piled inside.

Good luck, Phantom. Good luck, Kit,
Diana thought.

TWENTY-FOUR

M
oments after Drax and his entourage, with Diana in tow, disappeared into the elevator, the Phantom pushed out a vent from the ceiling and dropped down into the hallway. All of the elevators were in use, so he tried to pry open the doors of one of them with his fingers. The panels slid slowly apart, exposing the empty shaft.

He peered down into the dark hole, then leaped onto the elevator cable. It was freshly greased and he slid fast, then faster and faster. The floors flew past him, his hands literally smoking.

Then he looked up and to his surprise saw the elevator cage speeding down toward him. Where had it come from? Then he realized it must have been on the observation deck. The cage was gaining on him as he raced toward the bottom of the shaft. He arrived only seconds ahead of it, pried open the doors, and tumbled into the lobby just as the cage slowed to a stop.

In front of the building, Drax and company were climbing into the Pierce-Arrow, which was surrounded by a police motorcycle escort. The Phantom rushed from the building just in time to see the motorcade start down Fifth Avenue.

He glanced around and spotted the cabby’s taxi parked at the curb. He rushed over to the taxi and slid into the backseat. The startled cabby gaped at the Phantom. “What the hell?”

“Hi, Al. Thanks for being there.”

“Who
are you?”

“I’m a friend of Kit Walker’s, and I need your help right now.”

The Phantom looked up as a police officer approached the cab. He slid across the seat and out the opposite door. The street was clogged with traffic, so the Phantom jumped from one car to another, climbing from car roof to car roof, from hood to hood. Finally he leaped from a car roof and into the saddle of a mounted policeman’s horse.

“Hey!” shouted the cop, who was writing a ticket.

He blew his whistle and two cops on motorcycles pulled away from the curb in pursuit. The Phantom galloped down the sidewalk, and pedestrians dove for cover as the motorcycles followed close behind. At the next break in the wall that separated the famous avenue from Central Park, the Phantom jerked the reins right and galloped into the park.

He followed a footpath, the motorcycles still behind him and gaining. He rode through a cluster of trees, back onto the path, and over a stone bridge. The cops, in close pursuit now, fired their guns. The Phantom ducked as bullets whistled overhead.

Finally he leaped from the horse and landed on a large boulder. He scrambled over the boulder and crashed through some thick shrubs, disappearing from sight. The motorcycle cops squealed to a stop. Their headlamps illuminated the boulder and foliage behind it.

“What’s back there?” one of the cops shouted to the other.

“The zoo,” his partner answered.

“Good. We’ve got him now. Let’s go.”

They revved their engines and roared off. They raced through the zoo, prowling the network of pathways and finally stopped outside the lion’s habitat. They climbed off their motorcycles and drew their guns.

“This is where he would have entered,” one of the cops said.

“Right into the lion’s den,” the other cop said. “You think he’s still in there?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. The big cats are probably asleep.”

They shone their flashlights into the habitat, and one of the lions leaped up directly in front of them and roared. Its fangs flashed in the light, and its claws ripped at the protective fencing. The cops jumped back.

“He sure as heck isn’t around here,” one of them said. “Let’s keep looking.”

“Good, boy,” the Phantom said, and petted the lion’s head as the cops hurried away. Then he scaled the fence, but he didn’t make it over quite in time.

“There he is!” one of the cops yelled, and chased him on foot.

The Phantom dashed out of the zoo and down one of the park’s paved roads. Suddenly a car appeared in the Phantom’s path, its bright lights shining in his eyes. He dodged off the road as the car screeched to a halt.

“Get in!” a familiar voice yelled.

The Phantom looked past the blinding lights. It was Al, the cabby! He was only half into the vehicle when Al squealed away, leaving behind the cops, who were now separated from their motorcycles.

Diana glanced through the back window of the car, past the motorcycle escort. She was sure that, for a moment, she had seen the Phantom on horseback trailing after them. But now there was no sign of him. And she still didn’t know what had happened to Kit Walker.

“Turn around,” ordered Drax, who was sitting next to her. “Forget about him. He’s not coming along on this little trip.”

Sala turned around from the front seat, and smiled. “He’s probably dead by now.”

“What’s wrong with you?” Diana demanded.

“I could ask you the same thing, you know.”

“You’re mean,” Diana snapped, heat rising in her voice. “You don’t care about anything or anyone.”

“Like what? Tell me what I should care about and I’ll give it some thought.”

“You figure it out,” Diana shot back.

Drax’s irritation had reached monumental proportions. He slammed his fist against the dashboard. “That’s enough. Everyone shut up and enjoy the ride.”

Sala turned her face toward the window. From the back where Diana was, she could see that the other woman was distressed. Diana wondered if she had hit a nerve.

“You’ve got to find that Pierce-Arrow, Al,” the Phantom said. “They’re probably heading to the airport.”

The cabby shook his head. “Drax is heading for the docks. I picked it up on my police band. Thought you and Kit would want to know.”

“Thanks. Step on it.”

The cabby accelerated out of the park and into traffic, dodging between cars. The Phantom sat back and realized, suddenly, that he wasn’t the only passenger.

“Dad?”

“Don’t get so comfortable. It’s the bottom of the ninth and you’re two skulls behind.”

“I know. I know. I’m doing all I can.”

The cabby glanced curiously into his rearview mirror. Then he shrugged, assuming that the Phantom was talking to himself.

“Dad, a man named Quill has a gun belt like the one I wear. Is it yours?”

“Does he smoke cigars?” his father asked.

“That’s him.”

“He told me he could take me to the stronghold of the Sengh Brotherhood,” his ghostly father confided. “I trusted him. He led me to a place deep in the jungle. It was a trick. He stabbed me in the back. Literally.”

The Phantom stared at him in disbelief. He had idolized his father, had thought that he was infallible. No one could fool him.

“So sue me,” his father said. “I was a lousy judge of character.”

“I’m going to get that gun belt back. That’s a promise. Besides, I owe Quill a few myself.”

“If you haven’t lost them by now.”

“I’ll catch them. I have to.” He looked over at his father again. “There’s a woman involved.”