Gun up, he moved into the park proper. He couldn’t do anything about the ambient light, which seemed overly bright. From any number of hiding places or alcoves, Montez could see his approach. And in this kind of battle, the man who sees his opponent first usually wins. Quickness would be the key.

But with these feet? He tested them, gauging his agility. The one saving grace? The bleeding had slowed, probably because the puncture wounds were plugged with sand and grit. Slipping on bloody feet at the moment of truth could get him killed, or worse.

The thought of being subjected to Montez’s sadism all over again wrenched his stomach. He’d eat a bullet first.

Five yards past the entrance’s threshold, he bent low at something that caught his eye. Fresh drops of blood. It appeared Montez had suffered more than just a graze and could never outrun him now, which meant an ambush became certain.

Seeing no more blood droplets in the immediate area, he followed the fence on his left until he arrived at a convex mirror. It was mounted on a building next to some kind of seated free-fall ride, presumably to allow the ride’s operator to see people on the opposite side. Nothing in the mirror now, no sign of Montez.

He took a few seconds to evaluate the light sources that would produce shadows, even if Montez were hiding out of eyeshot. Ahead and to his right, the carousel offered a good hiding spot. He noticed several video cameras mounted on the roof of the building directly in front of him, but doubted they were monitored feeds. He took a few more seconds to study the map of the park in front of the covered carousel, memorizing all the exits. Six in all, tied into the main walkway. Two to the east. Two to the south. And two toward the west. He didn’t know if any of them were gated.

Precious seconds were wasting. He needed to regain a visual of Montez. Keeping Harv’s Sig aimed toward the carousel, he advanced to the building where the convex mirror was mounted. It looked to be a ticket sales booth. Staying on the move would make him a more difficult target, so he crept forward along its wall and scanned the concrete in front of a low set of stairs leading up to the carousel.

And found more blood drops.

***