Bollar was still carrying the A56 as he ascended the stairs. Some of the patrons saw the weapon and started running down the stairs for the exits. The panicked people bounced off of Jeff and Genghis, pushing against them and impeding their advance. Jeff was able to push his way through the throngs and make his way to the stairs. He bounded up the steps two at a time. Genghis was having a harder time getting through the crowd. One person tripped completely over him and onto the floor, causing others to trip and pile up. Genghis had to jump up onto and climb over the summit of people.
Jennifer made her way into the club. The duffle bag was heavier than she thought, slowing her down. She saw the doorman, shirt now soaked with blood. Then, she was met by a mass of people exiting. She pushed her way through and into the club.
Trent made it to the second floor and saw Bollar swing around and point the A56 at him. As Bollar fired Trent dove to his right, crashing into a table that flipped. The people on the second floor couldn’t hear the report of the weapon, but they did see the muzzle flash which was met by screams and running people. They all at once ran for the stairs, knocking over chairs and tables. Taking an opportunity in the confusion, Jeff grabbed a large tumbler that had been knocked from a table and threw it at Bollar. The heavy drinking glass struck Bollar in the forehead, opening a deep cut. The hit momentarily stunned Bollar, giving Trent the chance to get to his feet and rush him. Trent rammed his shoulder into Bollar’s mid-section, they both went down in a heap. The A56 flew from Bollar’s hand.
Genghis finally made his way to the stairs, ran up three steps, looked up, and saw a herd of people heading down the stairs toward him. Genghis couldn’t fight his way through, and like the rushing torrent of a fast-moving river, he was caught up in the current of people that brought him back to the front of the dance floor.
Jeff shot his elbow into Bollar’s chin, smashing his teeth painfully together. Bollar answered that by driving his knee into Jeff’s stomach. Bollar kicked again and got to his feet. Jeff got up and gave Bollar a right jab to the kidney.
Genghis could see Jeff and Bollar fighting on the second floor. He had to get to Jeff, but both perimeters were now crowded with panicking people tripping over each other as they tried to get out. Genghis thought that the only way he could get to the stairs, and to Jeff, was through the dance floor.
Bollar got Jeff into a headlock. Jeff twisted and got his leg behind Bollar’s and kicked, knocking Bollar off balance. Jeff then grabbed at Bollar and brought him over his shoulder and down to the floor.
Due to the loud music and flashing strobe lights, no one on the dance floor was aware of the drama unfolding in the Starlite Club. They continued dancing to the techno-beat. Genghis leaped down the two steps to the dance floor. He sat, and using his hind leg, reached up and removed the Immobilizer from his collar, then set it to mild stun. He placed it into his mouth and stepped onto the laminated parquet dance floor, reached his head forward and touched the leg of the first dancer.
Trent’s back hit the wall hard. Pictures fell off, as Bollar reared his fist back and threw it hard at Trent’s throat. Jeff saw it coming and ducked. Bollar’s fist grazed Jeff's head and impacted the wall, putting a large hole into it.
The first dancer convulsed and crumpled to the floor. Genghis advanced to the next dancer and did the same, then the next. If Jeff Trent could have looked down to the dense dance floor, to all those rhythmically bobbing heads of people dancing shoulder-to-shoulder, he would not have been able to see Genghis. But he would have seen his advance as heads dropped from sight. Genghis was like an Iowa combine weaving through the middle of a tall corn field, leaving a swath of stunned dancers laying on the floor in his wake.
Trent threw two quick blows into Bollar's stomach that doubled him over for a second, but when Bollar came back up he had a beer bottle in his hand and smashed it across Trent's head shattering the bottle.
Genghis reached the other end of the dance floor and reattached the Immobilizer to his collar. As he ran for the stairs, he looked back at the dance floor. The dancers were slowly getting up, filling the void that Genghis made, and were wondering what just happened.
Bollar threw a left hook that caught Trent in the face, knocking him back. Bollar then turned to run for the fire exit that was on that floor, but let out a scream when he saw Genghis jumping into the air at him. With a menacing growl the Doberman Pinscher landed on Bollar’s chest, throwing him back and onto the floor. They landed hard.
Genghis bit down on Bollar’s upper arm, snarling and flailing his head. As his rows of teeth cut into Bollar’s arm, Genghis could taste blood. Bollar reached out with his other arm, grabbed a beer bottle off the floor and struck Genghis hard on the head, then rolled out from under him.
As he was getting up, he saw Trent coming for him again. Bollar did the only thing he could: He got to the railing overlooking the dance floor and jumped over it to the floor below.
Jennifer had just completed her second
