He shook his phone at her like a fist. “We’ve been trying to reach you!”

“Phones are down below 42nd!” She gestured uptown. “Arson at Tower Four. What’s all this crap?”

“This is more Macys.” Julian looked almost as distraught as the children. For once, he looked his age. “Why are you down here?”

“Gathering up the odds and ends. It’s time.”

“Now? No, we can’t. What’s the rush?”

“Big storm on tap in a handful. And things are in motion uptown. There’s been . . . an incident.”

“Now what’d you do?”

“Not me this time. An inside job. But they’ll think otherwise. Best to slip out while we can.” She threw me a withholding glance. “Fill you in later.”

But I’d seen eagerness override her irritation, like she got off on this sort of thing. Something they had in common, Julian and Hannah. A yen to stir up trouble. And Daniel? Was he just quieter about it?

“Got this biz of Dan’s to clear up first,” Julian said doggedly.

“We don’t . . .”

He ignored her. “Glim, need you to talk me past security. Got to land this load and go back. We got most, but still a few to go.”

“Daniel went to Macy’s?”

“Where’d you think?”

“He didn’t say.”

Not a trace of a sneer from him. Must be bad over there, to produce this earnest, urgent Julian. Or maybe it was Hannah’s presence. “And he’s . . . ?”

“Still there.”

Hannah muttered, “Told him not to go in alone!”

“He wasn’t alone. I was there. I’m not nothing, you know!”

“Close enough.”

Julian tapped his wheel, speared me with a glance, then looked across to Unca Joe.

“I’m on it.” No room in Sea Sprite. I loosed the kayak’s tie-up, got in, and shoved off.

“You’re taking me with you,” Hannah told Julian.

“You bet I am.”

“And after, we’re out of here. I mean, out.”

Julian only jutted his chin, a trace of Dark Boy resurfacing. He powered up to a slow glide across the Lagoon, waving me up alongside. As I maneuvered around his stern, Hannah ducked inside the Melville’s cabin. When I was level with Sea Sprite’s port bow, Julian leaned over the side.

“Got to keep this quiet.” He jerked his head at his passengers.

“But the dock watch is already alerted.” I pointed at the signal lantern waving a path to the dock. “Got to rouse the medics at least. These kids need care.”

He scowled, but I saw anxiety rather than irritation.

“Why quiet? I thought the Stormies had Macy’s surrounded.”

“They left, all of a sudden. Like someone rang the dinner bell. The Adders are still partying. Dan’s in there stealing kids out from under their tanked-up noses with his bare hands.”

“What? He’s inside the building? Alone?”