She pushed against Quinn, rolling them both away from the table. As they did, her arm got caught momentarily by the support bar under the seat. Her fingers, already bloody from hitting the chair, could no longer hold on to the pistol. It clattered to the ground as they both rolled several feet away.
They let go of each other and both dove for the gun. Quinn got his fingers on it first, but Tasha got there a second later and shoved at it, sending the weapon sliding across the floor under another table ten feet away.
She sent an elbow into Quinn’s chest, rolling him onto his back, then jumped to her feet and began running for her weapon.
Quinn quickly got to his feet, reaching for his own gun as he did.
“Stop!” he yelled at her.
Tasha looked over her shoulder and saw the gun in his hand.
Instead of going for her weapon, she changed directions and jumped over the counter into one of the tiny restaurants.
Quinn knew he should pursue, but first he turned back to the congressman.
Murray was still on him, but Nate was there now, too. The bodyguard that had been his responsibility lay unconscious on the ground next to him.
“Get them out of here,” Quinn said to Nate. “Take them back to the apartment.”
“Got it,” Nate said.
“What’s going on?” It was the congressman. He sounded both pissed and scared.
“Go,” Quinn said to Nate.
Quinn ran over to the restaurant Tasha had disappeared into. Even from beyond the counter, he could see the entire space. She wasn’t there.
“Orlando,” he said, “where are you?”
“I was following the wife,” she said. “Her bodyguard took her and the tour guide back to the car. Once he got them inside, he waited around for a few seconds, like he was hoping some of his friends would show up. But then they took off.”
“Rendezvous back at the car,” Quinn said. “Nate’s taking the congressman and Murray to the apartment. Don’t wait for me. Get to the apartment. I’ll meet you there.”
“Got it,” she said.
Quinn figured Tasha must have climbed over the wall at the back of the stall into the restaurant on the next row over.
There was another corridor between the stalls off to his left. He ran over, then through it to the next aisle.
The intense crowds that had been filling the hawker center were gone. It was like a movie set, all the props in place, but the extras had yet to arrive. Only, he realized after a second, it wasn’t completely empty.
Quinn saw about a half dozen pairs of eyes peeking over counters at several of the restaurants—shop owners afraid of being ripped off. There was no sign of Tasha, though.
As Quinn ran over to one of the booths, the man who had been peeking from it slipped below the counter, trying to hide. Quinn leaned into the restaurant so the man would know he’d been found out.
“No money, lah. Go now,” the man said.
“The woman, did you see her?” Quinn asked.
“Take food, but I have no money. All gone.”
“I don’t want your money. There was a woman, Caucasian. She must have run through here a minute ago. Did you see her?”
“No. I no see.”
Quinn reached over and grabbed the man’s shirt.
“That way. That way,” the man said, pointing down the aisle to Quinn’s right.
Quinn let go and began running down the aisle.
There was another seating area at the end of the row, and beyond it was the street. For a second, he wondered if she might have hidden in one of the restaurants he’d run past, but then he spotted her. She was sprinting across the street.
He slipped his gun back into his bag but kept his hand on it as he ran out from under the food center roof. There were more people on the street, refugees from the food center, half heartedly hiding behind cars and each other. They eyed Quinn suspiciously as he emerged from the deserted center.
“What the hell?” It was Nate’s voice over Quinn’s radio. “What are you doing? Hey!”
Though the digital receiver didn’t pick up the full effect, Quinn heard the sound of a suppressor.
“Nate?” he asked.
There was no response.
“Nate?”
Ahead, Tasha dodged between two cars parked at the curb, then started running along the sidewalk. Quinn increased his speed.
“Orlando, where are you?’
