The third man had backed to the other side of the room. He was so surprised, he hadnt even tried to run for the door. If he had gone right away, he might have made it. Now, he was in a corner, ten feet from Ed. Ed pointed the gun straight into his body mass. The man glanced at the window. Eight stories up, Ed remembered, with no fire escape. Good luck.

Nice gun, right? Ed said. I call it Alice. You want to ask it something?

The guy raised his hands. Hey. I think youre making a big mistake.

No, you made the mistake, motherfucker. You want to kill me? Dont come in here and try to pretend its a drug overdose. If you want to kill me, you better come in here and kill me dead, right away. He shook his head and lowered his voice. Otherwise, you see what happens to you.

Somewhere in the hospital, alarms were going off. Security would be here in another minute.

Who are you? Ed said.

The man smiled beneath his mask. You know Ill never tell you that.

Ed was a crack shot. It was another of his skills that he kept sharp. At ten feet, he could hit anything he wanted. He changed his aim and shot the man in the right leg, just above the knee.

BANG.

Ed knew what the shot did. It shredded the large bone there. Blew it to pieces.

The doctors had told Ed the right tip of his own pelvis was cracked, probably from a bullet that had ricocheted and lost most of its energy before it hit him. The treatment was bed rest, painkillers, and physical therapy. He would have to use a walker for a little while, then crutches. In eight weeks or so, he might still have some soreness, but he should be almost good as new. In six months, it would be like it never happened.

In contrast, the man now shrieking on the floor would never walk normally again. And that was if Ed let him live.

Ed dropped the railing from the side of the bed. There was a hospital walker near the chair, with wheels in the back and half a tennis ball on each of the front knobs. Ed pulled it close, and worked his way to a standing position by the side of the bed. He gritted his teeth against the pain.

Jesus. If this was what old age would be like, he wanted no part of it.

He looked at the man sprawled on the floor in the corner. Ed used the walker to gimp his away around the two corpses, careful not to slip in all the blood. The polished floor was awash in it. He headed toward the injured man.

We dont have much time, he told the man. Lets see if I can get that name out of you in a minute or less.

Chapter 40

11:05 p.m.