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Back Strategic Moves Save as PDF
Chapters (66)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Page
  3. Dedication
  4. ONE
  5. TWO
  6. THREE
  7. FOUR
  8. FIVE
  9. SIX
  10. SEVEN
  11. EIGHT
  12. NINE
  13. TEN
  14. ELEVEN
  15. TWELVE
  16. THIRTEEN
  17. FOURTEEN
  18. FIFTEEN
  19. SIXTEEN
  20. SEVENTEEN
  21. EIGHTEEN
  22. NINETEEN
  23. TWENTY
  24. TWENTY-ONE
  25. TWENTY-TWO
  26. TWENTY-THREE
  27. TWENTY-FOUR
  28. TWENTY-FIVE
  29. TWENTY-SIX
  30. TWENTY-SEVEN
  31. TWENTY-EIGHT
  32. TWENTY-NINE
  33. THIRTY
  34. THIRTY-ONE
  35. THIRTY-TWO
  36. THIRTY-THREE
  37. THIRTY-FOUR
  38. THIRTY-FIVE
  39. THIRTY-SIX
  40. THIRTY-SEVEN
  41. THIRTY-EIGHT
  42. THIRTY-NINE
  43. FORTY
  44. FORTY-ONE
  45. FORTY-TWO
  46. FORTY-THREE
  47. FORTY-FOUR
  48. FORTY-FIVE
  49. FORTY-SIX
  50. FORTY-SEVEN
  51. FORTY-EIGHT
  52. FORTY-NINE
  53. FIFTY
  54. FIFTY-ONE
  55. FIFTY-TWO
  56. FIFTY-THREE
  57. FIFTY-FOUR
  58. FIFTY-FIVE
  59. FIFTY-SIX
  60. FIFTY-SEVEN
  61. FIFTY-EIGHT
  62. FIFTY-NINE
  63. SIXTY
  64. SIXTY-ONE
  65. Acknowledgements
  66. AUTHOR’S NOTE

Everything happened very fast after that; the car was turning end over end, and Stone was straining against his seat belt, his face full of airbags. Then the lights went out.

SIXTY-ONE

SIXTY-ONE

People were shouting at one another as Stone slowly came to, upside down, suspended from his seat belt, his arms below his head, deflated airbags everywhere.

The voices seemed to come from a great distance. “He’s coming to!” a man shouted. “We can’t move the car, and I can’t break the window. Get that thing going!”

Stone saw the man kneeling outside his window, the thick glass muffling his voice. Some sort of engine started, something like a chain saw. Stone found the window switches and pressed one. To his surprise his window slid down—or, rather, up. The machine noise became deafening.

The man was shouting something at him, but he couldn’t understand over the noise. Stone thought it better that he take a nap.

When he opened his eyes again they were filled with blue sky, then a man in a uniform leaned over him.

“Is your name Barrington?”

“Yes,” Stone managed to say.

“We’re getting you to a hospital right away,” the cop said. “Is there anybody you want us to call?”

Stone thought. Not Lance. “Mike Freeman, Strategic Services, New York.” He felt himself being lifted, then he went to sleep again.

015

Stone woke in a darkened room.

“Ah, there you are,” Mike’s voice said from somewhere.

Stone took a deep breath, and it didn’t hurt much. “Turn on the lights,” he said softly.

The blinds opened and sunlight flooded the room. Mike was silhouetted against the window. “There’s nothing wrong with you, you know. You’re woozy because some EMT gave you morphine; I’m not sure why.”

“Well,” Stone said, “it’s pretty rosy in here where I am.”

The electric bed moved Stone into a sitting position. “I could use a drink,” Stone said.

“Later, my friend.”

“Did I break anything?”

“Not even a rib. No head injury, either. I saw a picture of your car; it’s a mess. You’re a very lucky guy. They had to cut you out with that Jaws of Life thing.”

“Can I have some water?” Stone asked.

Mike poured some from a bedside flask and handed it to him. There was ice in it; it tasted wonderful.

A man in a white coat came into the room. “I see the morphine is wearing off,” he said. “The EMT said he gave you the morphine because he figured you must hurt all over.”

Stone tried moving things. “Everything seems to work,” he said.

The doctor gave him a neurological examination, then patted him on the shoulder. “I want you to stay here overnight for observation. If you don’t die before morning, you can go home.” He walked out.