He stepped behind a tree, away from the children, and typed a short acknowledgment. FAMILY PRESENT. MANY CIVILIANS. WILL DE-ESCALATE. SEND SUPPORT IF CONTACT BECOMES THREATENING. A moment later he added a request that mattered to him more than his own safety: NO AGGRESSIVE ENTRY NEAR CHILDREN UNLESS NECESSARY.
Carter replied that agents were positioned outside the park and that a supervisor was monitoring developments. She advised him to leave if he could do so safely. James considered that possibility while looking toward the tables. It would have been easy to gather Marcus, take Maya's hand, and drive away before the officers arrived. But to do that he would have to explain the sudden departure to dozens of families, some of whom had traveled across the city, and it might place attention on people who did not deserve it. He also doubted the officers would allow such a quiet exit once they saw him.
Maya appeared beside the tree before he could make a decision. She did not ask to read the message. She could see its contents in the way his face had changed. "Is it them?" she whispered.
"Mitchell's unit," he answered. "It may be a test."
For one moment her expression went blank. Then she looked at Marcus laughing with Trey and back at her husband. "We should go."
"I know." James touched her shoulder. "I'm working out the safest way."
"We've had this conversation before," she said, struggling to keep her voice low. "The investigation isn't supposed to come through our front door. It isn't supposed to come to his birthday."
"I didn't bring them here."
"That doesn't matter to Marcus." Tears filled her eyes, but she blinked them away. "He doesn't know why people are following his dad. He thinks you build office buildings. He thinks the worst thing that could happen today is somebody eating the last cupcake."
James absorbed the truth without defending himself. "You're right. If I tell you to take him, go straight to the truck and call Carter. Don't wait for me."
Maya's jaw tightened. "I hate when you say things like that."
"So do I."
She gripped his hand briefly. "Then promise me you'll come home. Not Agent Thompson. You."
He wanted to answer with the certainty he used when Marcus asked whether the treasure hunt would be fun. Instead he told her the only honest thing he could. "I'm going to do everything I can."
The first siren sounded while he was still holding her hand. A second answered from the road, then a third, their overlapping notes cutting through the children's game. Conversations stopped beneath the pavilion. Parents turned toward the parking lot, and several instinctively reached for their children's shoulders. James watched three police vehicles come into view and understood that the choice to leave had already been taken away.