Wearing Parker like a backpack, Ron staggers forward, bent in half. His hands pull at Parker’s forearm, which is now wrapped around his throat. With his left forearm, Parker pushes the back of Ron’s head forward and down, reinforcing the move with his chest. He doesn’t know what he’ll do if he gets thrown. He feels exhausted, his perch tenuous. He doesn’t have any more energy to give, but he knows he can’t stop. He wiggles his right arm to fit it more snugly across the carotids on the sides of the throat. His arms are crossed, with Ron’s neck in the middle. With a grunt, Parker ratchets his elbows closer and closer together.

Finally Ron makes a rattling sound and falls to his knees. Parker doesn’t let up the pressure. And then Ron falls facedown on the linoleum and doesn’t even try to catch himself. Only then does Parker loosen his grip and unhook his legs.

Tugging his arm free, Parker gets to his feet. He kicks Ron in the side, but Ron doesn’t move. He finally allows his focus to expand. That’s when he sees Amina holding the fire extinguisher over one shoulder, ready to step in if Parker’s plan failed.

“Thank you,” he says. His heart is beating so hard, he can feel it in his ears and fingertips. He has to brace his hands on his knees, and suddenly he’s worried that he might go tumbling to the floor next to Ron.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

Amina’s eyes are huge. She manages a nod.

“Are you?”

On the Trigger

ON THE TRIGGER

6:23 P.M.

Chaos, Miranda thinks, her hands slick on what was once Cole’s rifle as they march past the newly opened gate and into the hall. That’s the only word for what’s happening. In her plan, she had imagined that everyone would be focused on her threat to kill Cole. Of course, her plan hadn’t included all the suicide vests blowing up. Luckily, Cole’s discarded vest had been far enough away that her group hadn’t been hurt.

Seizing a chance to escape, some hostages are now running past Miranda, through the food court and into the mall. A guy with a shaved head who darts out of the Shoe Mill even has a handgun, but since he doesn’t point it at Miranda as he runs past her, she decides she doesn’t care. At the far end of the hall, other hostages are trying to crawl through the broken-out lower pane of one of the exit doors, which are still bike-locked together.