Chapter 20

I DUCKED AT the first sound of the gunfire, then rolled to my right when I felt pieces of brick start to fly from the ricochets. I had Alton’s little popgun in my hand and brought it up to fire a couple of times.

Alton was on the ground, so I grabbed him by the back of the shirt to pull him out of the line of fire and to cover. As soon as I grabbed his belt, his whole body went limp. As I brought him closer to me, I saw the bullet wound that went in through his cheek and exited the back of his head. His open eyes were already glassy.

Something shiny on the ground caught my attention. The key! I reached forward, trying to stay behind cover. A bullet pinged off the dumpster next to my extended hand. I lurched back. I stuck Alton’s pistol around the dumpster and fired once to get the shooter’s head down. Then I snatched the key and jammed it in my pocket as I tumbled back behind cover.

I caught a glimpse of someone in a dark coat running between cars in the parking lot. I left Alton where he was and started to give chase. I could tell it was a male who was pretty big and, most important, still had the pistol in his hand. As he came out on the street, he turned to see if anyone was following him, and I dove onto the asphalt parking lot.

I was up again and running after a few seconds. I needed this guy. He could answer a lot of questions.

Now I was moving across the sidewalk in an all-out sprint. There was a little ice, but at this point I didn’t care. There was no one who could outrun me when I was determined.

I took a corner hard, sliding out onto the road and narrowly missing a woman holding two kids by the hand. The woman gave a short shriek of surprise.

The little boy, in a dark-blue tattered parka, pointed down the street.

I gave him a nod of thanks and kept running. As soon as I came to the next block, I glimpsed the man at the edge of an industrial park. He turned and fired two more shots at me.

At this distance they both went wide, so I stayed in pursuit. When I was a little closer, I raised Alton’s tiny pistol and popped off a round to keep the guy off balance.