There was nothing to say to Merker. No need to give him a warning. No need to tell him to freeze or drop his weapon.

I could just stun the bastard.

And so, while he sat with his back to me, focused on the bank doors, I steadied the stun gun in my lap and pointed it at him.

And pulled the trigger.

The gun went bzzzt.

Merker did not suddenly go into spasms. He did not crumple into his seat or fall against the steering wheel. He did not scream in pain.

All he did was turn around and ask, “What was that?”

And then he saw the stun gun in my hand. Fear flashed across his face briefly, but then he smiled. “You dumb fuck. Once you’ve fired that thing three times, it has to be all reset.”

He reached across the seat, grabbed the stun gun out of my hand, and hit me across the nose with it. Blood sprayed out onto my shirt.

“You’re really starting to fucking annoy me,” Merker said. “I’ve already got enough on my mind without having to worry about you trying to be some sort of fucking hero.” He shook his head in disgust and shoved the stun gun back under his seat.

I cupped my hand under my nose to catch the blood. There was a steady trickle. I didn’t think he’d broken anything, but it hurt like a son of a bitch.

“Hold on,” Merker said. He was looking at the bank again. “It’s our cop.”

I wiped my bloody hand on my pants, dug a tissue out of my jeans pocket, and held it gently around my nose. I looked across the street to see the police officer come out, alone, walk out between two parked cars, and look down the street to flag down his partner when he reappeared.

“Yes!” Merker said. “You were right! Probably just getting some cash. So they can go buy some doughnuts.”

The cruiser appeared, slowed, and the cop got back in. It drove away, taking away not only the two officers, but my immediate hopes of being able to get us out of this mess.

“Yes,” said Merker gleefully.

My tissue was soaked with blood. I tossed it onto the floor, found one more in my other pocket and held it to my nose. “Hey, don’t make a mess,” Merker said, glancing over.

The moment he looked at me, Sarah came out of the bank, clutching the gym bag. “There,” I said.

Merker whirled around. “Oh my God, I don’t believe it. This is fucking fantastic.”

Sarah checked the traffic and then crossed, coming around the back of the pickup and then up to the passenger door. I opened it and stepped out so she could get back in between us.

She saw the blood on my pants and shirt immediately. “Jesus, Zack, what happened?”