metal against metal down the side of the truck. In the back of the van the loose pipe lengths were bouncing around, making a terrible racket. The troops were busy fending off not only the pipes but also a minor blizzard of nuts, bolts, and PCB pipe fittings that were raining down from where they were stored in shelves along both sides of the vehicle's interior. The inevitable New York City potholes were making the situation desperate.
'Yuri, get out of the goddamned seat and let Steve sit there, ' Curt yelled while fighting with the steering wheel.
'While we're moving? ' Yuri questioned. He was holding on with white knuckles.
'Of course while we're moving, ' Curt yelled.
Yuri swallowed nervously and then tried to rotate off the seat. Steve had moved over to give him room.
But at the same time, Curt saw the suggestion of an opening in the neighboring lane and swerved to take advantage of it. The movement threw Yuri into him. Curt responded by swearing and fending Yuri off with a forearm before struggling to retain control of the racing vehicle.
While Yuri clawed his way into the back of the truck, Steve swung into the seat. Just ahead he could see Jack's back. The medical examiner was pumping furiously. Jack was inching ahead between a speeding beer delivery truck and a Federal Lxpress van.
'God damn it! ' Curt yelled, as he could see Jack was about to slip in front of the vehicles. Curt was directly behind the beer truck. He leaned on his horn in frustration.
'Get a Glock! ' Curt yelled to Steve. 'I'm going to try to come alongside the bastard so you can nail him. The trouble is, I'm going to have to find a way to get around this truck.'
'What is this guy?'
' Steve questioned as he picked up one of the automatics and snapped off the safety. 'A professional bicycle racer? He's going faster than the traffic! ' The United Nations building loomed up on the right.
Curt cut into the neighboring lane. There was another cacophony of horns and shouts from behind. Curt pressed the accelerator to the floor and the van gained on the beer truck. He had to let up on his speed as he came within a few feet of a taxi, but he'd moved ahead enough to spot Jack, who was now directly even with them.
Steve lowered his window.
'What do you think? ' Curt yelled at Steve.
'I could shoot him, but I wouldn't be confident where I'd hit him, ' Steve shouted back. 'We're bouncing around too much.'
'I'd cut in front of the truck if this goddamn taxi in front of us would move his ass, ' Curt cried. As it was, they were slowly gaining on the beer delivery vehicle.
'Hold on! ' Curt yelled when he decided he had the opportunity. He cut the wheel sharply to the right.
The van skidded slightly before rocketing ahead of the truck and then swerving in the opposite direction.
The driver of the truck slammed on his brakes, causing his tires to screech in protest. Curt fought to keep the van from fishtailing as Steve leaned the gun out the window. They'd come directly alongside of Jack.
Before Steve could draw a bead, Jack surprised them by braking suddenly himself and disappearing from view.
'What the hell? ' Curt questioned. He eased up on the accelerator.
The van slowed. 'Where the hell did he go? '
'Behind us, I think, ' Steve said. He stuck his head out the window and looked back.
Seconds later Jack appeared right next to Curt's driver's side window.
To Curt's astonishment the doctor flipped him the finger. Curt swore and struggled to get his window down while yelling for Steve to shoot the bastard.
Steve leaned across Curt's lap, but Jack had moved forward.
'Hold on, ' Curt yelled. He pressed on the accelerator and the van leaped ahead. But just as they were coming abreast of Jack for the second time, Jack swung left into a clearer lane. Curt swore and moved left himself, but the lane was occupied. There was another thump as a taxi hit the side of the van. In the mirror Curt saw the taxi skid sideways to end up perpendicular to the oncoming traffic. Instantly there was a tremendous collision and a multi-vehicle pileup.
'Christ! ' Steve exclaimed. He could see what had happened through the rear window of the van.
'Hold on, everybody, he's going left again, ' Curt yelled. No sooner had Curt changed lanes himself than Jack made a wide, arcing turn into Fifty-first Street heading west.
'God damn it! ' Curt cried as he jammed on the brakes and threw the steering wheel to the left to try to follow. The van shuddered as it skidded sideways before the tires caught. Eiven so, it grazed a parked car on the right followed by one on the left before Curt regained complete control. In the distance they could see Jack methodically pumping.
'Doesn't he get tired? ' Curt questioned. He pressed down on the gas and the van shot forward.
At Second Avenue they missed the traffic light. Undeterred, Curt inched out into the moving traffic amid horn honking and swearing.
Steve hunkered down in his seat, since he was the one exposed to the oncoming vehicles.
'Up yours! ' Curt yelled to a particularly irate driver. Despite moving against the light, Curt succeeded in making it across Second Avenue, and he accelerated again. Jack was already at Third Avenue waiting for the traffic signal there to change.
'We got him now, ' Curt snarled.
Ahead, the light changed to green. Jack started forward. Curt pressed the accelerator to the floor, jacking his speed up to over fifty miles per hour. He was determined to make the light. Curt's mouth went dry, since he knew it would be close. He prayed there would be no taxis jumping the light on their way north.
They streaked across Third Avenue without incident. Jack was only a half block away. But as they rapidly closed the distance, a car pulled out from a parking spot. Curt was forced to brake rapidly. He came up to the very back of the vehicle and leaned on his horn. The driver ignored him. Ahead Jack was again leaving them behind by crossing Lexington Avenue.
'I don't believe this! ' Curt yelled. He slammed on the brakes and simultaneously hit the steering wheel with the heel of his hand in frustration. The car in front had stopped at the corner with a yellow light. 'It's just our luck to get behind the only driver in New York who stops on yellow lights.' He ran an anxious hand through his hair.
'I suppose I could push him out of the way.'
'But look at the traffic, ' Steve said. It was bumper-to-bumper and moving slowly on Lexington Avenue. 'There's no place for us to go, so don't bother.
We'll catch him on the next block.' Curt growled but didn't say anything.
'Let me out of here! ' Yuri cried as soon as he was aware they were stopped. He dragged himself forward between the front seats.
Steve looked over at Curt, who shrugged his shoulders and then nodded.
Steve opened the door and climbed out. Yuri scrambled out of the vehicle and stood on shaky legs while Steve climbed back inside.
'We'll see you tonight, ' Curt yelled from the driver's seat.
'Sometime around eleven. You'll be ready, right? '
'I'll be ready, ' Yuri promised hoarsely.
The light turned green, and Curt honked his horn. The car in front slowly made the turn to the left.
Impatient, Curt gunned the van before the car was completely out of the way. They ricocheted off the car bumper, and the driver leaped out to protest.
'Serves him right, ' Curt said with a malicious laugh as he sped west.
In the distance Jack was crossing Park Avenue on a green light. Steve braced. As Curt accelerated, Steve had no idea what was going to happen at the intersection. He knew intuitively that they were not going to make the light. Fortunately it ambered its way to red soon enough to force Curt to stop. The traffic heading uptown was moving rapidly, and since it was now coming on Curt's side of the van, he was instinctively reluctant to try to cross against the light as he'd done on Second Avenue. While they were waiting, they could see Jack in the distance turn right on Madison Avenue.
'If we lose him, I'm going to be royally pissed, ' Curt groused.
'I bet he's heading for the park, ' Steve said. 'He probably lives on the Upper West Side.'
'You could be right, ' Curt said. 'And what are we going to do if he does go into the park? '
