As the trooper edged up to the opening, Tom heard a guttural moan. The cop leaned forward, stood motionless for a few moments, then turned back to Tom with a look that froze his blood. His face was smug, his eyes filled with triumph. When he raised his pistol, Tom reeled backward in terror.

The crack of the gunshot stunned him, but even as he fell, Tom saw the trooper jerk in a way he remembered all too well from Korea. A black circle had appeared on the man’s left cheek, just below the eye. Then came another bang, and a second hole appeared beneath the trooper’s nose. He wobbled on his feet, then collapsed behind the van and didn’t move.

The sound of Walt’s running feet startled Tom back into himself.

“You shot him,” Tom mumbled, getting unsteadily to his feet. “You shot him?”

“He meant to kill you,” Walt said, kicking the semiautomatic pistol from the fallen cop’s hand. The leather string that always held Walt’s derringer around his neck hung from his right hand. While Tom stared at the dead trooper, Walt hung the derringer back around his neck.

When Tom reached toward his friend, a searing pain shot down his left arm. Oh, no, he thought, wavering on his feet. Another heart attack. “I need a nitro, Walt. Fast.”

“Whoa, buddy,” Walt said, his eyes showing too much white. “You need more than a nitro. That bastard winged you. Left arm.”

Tom looked down and saw blood on his left shoulder. The unexpected sight made him sway on his feet. Walt lunged forward and caught him.

Once Tom had regained his balance, Walt unbuttoned his shirt and checked the wound. “Christ, I thought my combat medic days were over. Straight through. Thank the Lord he was using ball ammo.”

“It doesn’t feel like he hit an artery.”

“No, I think we’re good. But it was damned close. Bullet might have nicked the humeral circumflex. I’d feel better if a real doctor checked it out.”

Tom swallowed hard and looked at the dead man on the ground. “You just shot a cop, Walt. We need to get out of here.”

“You ain’t ever lied, brother. We’re truly fucked now. Both of us. Let’s get you into the van, and I’ll clean this scene up double quick.”

Tom allowed himself to be led into the van, where Walt retrieved his medical bag from its hiding place. After swallowing one nitro pill and a Lorcet Plus, Tom stuck another nitro tablet and a Valium under his tongue for good measure.

“You’d better come back out with me,” Walt said. “I need to be able to see you if you pass out.”