“I must be nuts,” Murray said. He yanked the wheel around and headed back to the LuminOptics front door, where the boxed laser was still sitting. As they screeched to a halt, Kevin glanced back at the Taurus. Shit! He could hear the engine beginning to crank. The passenger door opened. The man he knew only as Barnett climbed out. Blood streamed down his face.
“Dad! Put the truck between that package and the car.”
Murray pulled the truck’s front up to the awning, its left side to the Taurus, and Kevin jumped out of the truck.
“Everybody use this door.”
Erica and Murray followed him. Just as they did, he heard the pop of a pistol. Kevin chambered a round.
“Get down!” He rose above the truck’s bed and fired three quick shots in the direction of the Taurus to give them some cover.
“Erica, help dad put the laser in the back of the cab. I’ll try and slow them down.”
He scooted to the back of the Chevy and peered around to see Barnett getting back in the Taurus. Even with the trunk shortened by half, it was moving. The rear suspension had obviously come through the impact unscathed. He couldn’t let them get any closer, and he sure as hell didn’t want a second car chase in as many days, especially not with this lumbering Chevy truck.
Kevin propped his right wrist in his left hand and sighted carefully through the notch on the Glock’s barrel, letting the old habits come back. Even through the rain, the Taurus’ right rear tire was sharply in focus as it came in his direction and then blurred as he focused on the Glock’s front sight. Gently, he squeezed the trigger.
The right rear tire blew out with a satisfying pop, sending the Taurus spinning to the right. Kevin quickly repeated the motions, but the car was now moving much more wildly. This time it took two shots to take out the left rear tire.
Kevin turned to see his dad and Erica maneuvering the box into the cab’s rear storage area. They’d be finished any second.
He’d kept the Glock pointed at the Taurus and now saw its passengers scrambling out the other side. He realized that he’d unconsciously kept count of his bullets, just as he used to. He’d fired six. If his dad had a full clip in there, there should be 5 rounds left.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw first his dad and then Erica crawl into the truck cab. Kevin fired two more rounds and bolted for the open door. He dove, pulling the door shut behind him.
“Go!”
He stayed on the floor as his dad backed up ten feet and then slammed the truck into Drive. Bullets plinked into the driver’s side of the truck and then the rear as they raced toward the parking lot exit farthest from the gunmen.
The truck veered crazily to the left as it sped onto the road, its rear end sliding to the right on the slick pavement. Kevin sat up in the seat. He could see his dad fighting to bring the Chevy under control, steering into the skid.
The truck’s nose shifted back to the right, pointing them straight at a shallow drainage ditch running along the opposite side of the road. But Murray was no longer attempting to turn the wheel. His hands rested almost lazily on the bottom arc.
Trying to avoid plunging into the ditch head on, Kevin reached across and knocked the wheel counterclockwise. The truck again veered to the left, all six tires skidding. The Chevy tilted sideways, sending mud spraying to their right, and came to a rest with its right tires at the bottom of the ditch.
Kevin was about to yell at his father when he saw Erica’s bloodstained left hand.
“He’s been shot,” Erica said. “Left side, no visible exit wound.”
“Shit!” Kevin said, crawling over the back of the seat so he could get to his father. Then he remembered the gunmen. Barnett and Kaplan were still out there.
He leaned back to look toward the LuminOptics parking lot through the rear window. They were running towards the truck, pistols held in front of them.
The gunmen dove behind the low retaining wall separating the drainage ditch on the other side from the parking lot.
“Kevin!” Erica yelled. “He’s hemorrhaging. We need to get him to a hospital now!”
He looked at the driver’s door and saw blood dripping from the armrest.
“You take care of him,” he said. “I’ll drive.”
He kept aim on the retaining wall as Erica dragged Murray to the right. She was straining mightily, but gravity was on her side.
“Okay!” she said when she was in position.
He fired the last of the bullets and jumped into the driver’s seat. The truck had stalled, so he had to waste precious seconds shifting it into Park, turning the engine over, and shifting it back into Drive. In the rearview mirror, he saw a head poking around the end of the retaining wall only a hundred feet behind them.
He slammed the accelerator down, but the rear wheel spun in the muddy ditch. Shit! The rear was a live axle; if one wheel was spinning the other wouldn’t turn. He looked down, praying he would find what he was looking for. At first, he panicked, not seeing it.
“Thank God!” he said and engaged the four-wheel drive system.
He pushed on the gas again. This time all six tires bit into the ground. The truck wanted to stay pointed straight ahead so he had to force the wheel to the left. The truck bounced as it came out of the ditch and level on the pavement. Looking in the side mirror, Kevin floored it.
Barnett and Kaplan were racing toward them, lifting their pistols to fire.
“Down!” he yelled and heard the hail of bullets hitting the truck bed’s rear door.
They continued accelerating and Kevin raised his head. The gunmen were now 100 yards behind them. Their pistols were now at their sides, knowing that they were too far away to take an accurate shot. Kevin came to the T intersection and turned right without stopping.
“I think we’re okay now. You can sit up.” His father was slumped against Erica. He wasn’t unconscious as Kevin had earlier thought, but he was on the verge. Erica unbuttoned Murray’s shirt, which was soaked in blood.
“How is he?” Kevin said.
“It’s hard to tell. He’s lost a lot of blood.”
“Should we stop and try to do something for him?” He began to slow down.
“No, I’ve got some pressure on it now. I couldn’t apply it as well when I was crouched down. The most important thing is to get to a hospital as soon as we can. Do you know where one is?”
“I think so. I saw one on the way here. It can’t be more than five minutes from here.”
Kevin wasn’t paying as much attention to the road as he should have been, and the truck hit a foot-deep pothole. The impact jarred Murray awake.
“What? Where are we?”
“It’s all right, dad. You just rest. You’ve been shot. We’re taking you to the hospital.”
“I surprise you?” Murray slurred the words.
“Yeah, you did. Thanks. Now just be quiet. Erica’s taking care of you.”
“After I dropped you off, I saw a car that was near my house this afternoon. Looked like the guy was watching you. I decided to hide and see what he wanted. Trouble.”
“You did real well, Murray,” Erica said. “Don’t try to talk.”
“Saw their guns. Saw them chase you. Had to do something. I…” Suddenly, he began to wheeze, trying to take in huge breaths with great difficulty.
“Damn!” Erica said.
“What? What is it?”
“It sounds like a hemothorax.”
“English!”
“I can’t tell for sure, but I think he’s got a collapsed lung. It’s okay, Murray. Just try to breathe normally. We’ll
