"It's going to be all right," he said as he caught the top of her head and started shoving her through the open door of the Navigator. "You shouldn't go out alone." At that moment the man in the tan flight jacket reached the scene. It was Stone, but he'd been moments too late. He stretched his arm into the Lincoln and tried to take the girl's hand. "Kristen, don't go with them. I just need to talk--" "You don't need to do anything, pal," the man called Ken declared. "Except get out of the way." He chopped the side of Stone's neck with an open hand, sending him sprawling backwards onto the pavement, flight jacket askew. Now something odd was going on. Another girl was running down the sidewalk. "Kristy, wait. Don't . . ." But the redheaded woman had already gotten into the backseat of the SUV, beside the girl, and the Japanese man was heading around the front. Three seconds later, he was behind the wheel and peeling out. They were gone. Ally sat watching, stunned. But now a Chevy sedan was departing a parking space three cars down from where she was and she quickly pulled in. By then Stone Aimes had picked himself up off the sidewalk and was gazing wistfully in the direction of the vanishing Lincoln. The girl who'd been behind him stopped and was talking to him. Ally quickly locked the Toyota and went over. "But why did she run?" Stone Aimes was asking. He was disheveled but then being slugged and knocked to the sidewalk takes a toll on anybody's poise. "She didn't know who you were," the girl replied She looked like she would have been more at home in the East Village than here: late twenties, tattoo on one bicep, eyebrows pierced blue jeans, hair needing a better day. She had serious acne scars on her cheeks. "I think she thought you were them, whoever they were." Ally looked Stone over and felt a surge of admiration. In spite of the fact he just got decked, there was an athletic feeling about the way he carried his body, as though he was ready to pounce on a news source. Only he just didn't pounce quite fast enough this time. She walked up and gave him a hug. For a lot of reasons. "Hey, we can't go on meeting like this." "My God, how humiliating." He winced. "What in heaven's name just happened? That was Kristen, all right. But why was she running from you?" "I saw this woman walking very fast up the street carrying a backpack and I just took a shot and called out 'Kristen.' She glanced back at me, then took off like a rabbit. All I accomplished was to drive her directly into the grasp of those goons." "You scared her," the girl with the pierced eyebrows shouted, gazing angrily at Stone. "Who are you? Why did you--?" "I'm a newspaper reporter," he said. "Who are you?"