Authors: Ross Harrison
There was no way we
were going through them. I looked in the rear-view mirror. There was no way we
were going back the way we came either. There was another set of lights
blocking that end of the tunnel now.
I wondered briefly
how they’d found us. Probably there was a third guy in a car outside Leonne’s
apartment. Called it in. I’d gone back to that street before turning this way,
so he’d have seen us again. Maybe it was the cops. They’d have been called by a
lot of people who heard the gunshots and me hitting the streetlight, and they’d
have been told our heading. Then they’d have told Webster. Maybe Webster simply
had a tracker in this car. That was most likely. Stupidly, I hadn’t thought of
that. We should have dumped it the moment we were out of danger.
It didn’t matter
now. What mattered was that Webster’s goons had us caged in a tunnel with no
other exits.
Under the hum of
the engine, all I could hear was the rushing of water. Gurgling and surging as
it flooded the storm drains all along the sides of the tunnel. Guys could be
creeping along the walls towards us and I wouldn’t see them. Not with the glare
from those headlights. We had to do something quick.
The girl just sat
there, gripping the pistol. I grabbed it out of her hand. She barely resisted.
Looked annoyed though. I reloaded it with the six bullets I’d tipped into my
pocket. Gave it back to her.
‘Don’t waste any
shots. Only pull the trigger if you have to.’
I pulled out the
piece I’d taken from the goon. Pulled back the slide. One in the chamber. Slid
out the clip. Twelve more there. Not bad. That gave me twenty-three shots all
together. More than enough if I could see who I was shooting at. I’d probably
just waste them in here though. Our best chance was to run. But where?
A few seconds
staring into the mirror was enough. A flash of lightning proved it was just one
car. All four doors seemed to be open though. I couldn’t see anyone. They were
probably taking cover at the sides of the entrance. Or maybe it was still just
the glare of the headlights hiding them.
The girl was out of
the car. She’d opened the door and slid out before I registered. There were no
shots. They probably hadn’t seen her yet. I could see the pale shape of my
trench coat again. She was headed back the way we’d come. That was the best
plan, with only one group of guys there.
I swung the car
around to the left, so the headlights wouldn’t light her up like one of those gambling
houses. Raced about fifty feet along the tunnel and stopped again. The glare
from my headlights should help hide us. I climbed out and reached for the
girl’s arm. She was gone. Gone where, I had no idea. There were only… She’d gone
down a storm drain! I’d be surprised if she didn’t drown down there, but I
couldn’t think about that now. I could hear voices.
A moment later, the
muffled thunder wasn’t the only booming in my ears. A bullet whizzed past me.
Sounded like a tiny scream. I dropped flat as more followed. The two-inch
torrent under me and the echoing tunnel confused every sound. I had no idea
which direction the shots were coming from.
The icy water
soaked through my shirt and my trousers, making me shiver uncontrollably.
Thunder rolled along the roof of the tunnel and threatened to bring it down on
my head. Finally, another flash of lightning showed me one of my enemies. He
stood in the middle of the tunnel entrance, where the headlights didn’t hide
him.
The water rushed
against my arms so fast it was hard to aim. I planted my elbows into the road
as firmly as I could and stared down the sights, one eye squeezed shut. He was
nearly two hundred feet away. Within the range of my pistol. I still missed. I
don’t know where the hell I shot, because he didn’t even flinch. But he did
shoot back at the muzzle flash.
Rolling against the
current of the shallow river was pretty much out of the question. I jumped to
my feet and crouch-ran to the passenger door. Because of the angle I’d stopped
the car, the hood just about covered me from the gunfire. I pulled open the
door to partially protect me from any shooting coming the other way. Instead of
taking one threat out of the equation, I’d just increased my odds of dying.
Twenty-two bullets.
No. Now the girl was gone, it was just sixteen.
A sharp bang at my
back. Someone had fired again. Hit the hood. Another bang. They were trying to
either disable the engine, or hit the headlights. Shit. If they took out the
lights, they’d have no problem seeing me.
I stuck my head out
for a second. In that second I saw my exit. It was literally an exit. Right in
the centre of the white blaze from my car’s lights was an emergency door. I’d
been too busy watching that I didn’t light up the girl to see what I had lit
up. That door would lead either along to the side of the tunnel entrance, or up
beside the train platform. The problem was, the moment I got to it I’d be a
perfect target. With the four or five guys from one car, and perhaps eight or
nine from the other two, someone was bound to hit me. Same if they took out my
lights and I made a run for it.
If I was going for
that door, I’d need a distraction. Apart from my guns, I only had one thing with
which to do that. I took a minute to think how. Came up with a crude plan.
There was a thud
and some wet pattering sounds. I realised it was the glass of one of the
headlights. It had been hit and the pieces fallen into the water, but the bulb
was intact. They wouldn’t miss many more times.
I pulled out my own
revolver. Flipped it to hold it by the barrel. There was a splash from
somewhere beyond the door. I dropped to the side and kicked the door closed.
Two guys. I fired. Some bullets clacked against the stone wall of the tunnel.
Sparks spat out from the impacts. Chunks of the wall splashed into the water. Most
of the bullets hit the goons though. Must have been about seven shots. They
fired one each. The window above me shattered. I covered my face as some of the
glass dropped on me. It was only little square pieces. Didn’t cut.
With those two
dead, and no one else behind them, I moved quickly. The guys at the bottom end
would probably be running now. They’d have taken the opportunity to advance
while I was distracted. I felt in the water for the revolver, which I’d dropped
in order to aim better with the fuller automatic. Then crawled quickly through
the cold torrent to the front of the car. Held the pistol up high to fire it
towards their car. They’d fire back too high. Hurt my damn wrist though. Sure
enough, muzzle flashes from both sides the tunnel. Two more from back at the
entrance. Only two were coming towards me. I fired again. Couldn’t really aim
from up over my head. Their muzzle flashes told me the two were retreating back
to the entrance again.
I crawled under the
right hand headlight. Felt for the collision sensors across the fender. Smashed
them all with the butt of my revolver. I must have blocked the headlight for a
second. The shooting started again. I dived back to cover amid whizzing bullets
and those sharp bangs.
There was still no
one coming from the other side that I could see. I pulled open the door again.
Reached up and smashed the interior light. Could have switched it off, but the
adrenaline wouldn’t allow it. Bullets screamed in through the windshield. Spattered
me with little bits of broken glass. I stayed low in the seat. Took off the
parking break. Accelerated a little and used the roof of the tunnel to show me
when I was straight. Threw the parking brake back on and slid out into the
water again.
‘Shit.’
A bullet had
finally hit one of the headlights. The other was still bright enough. Until
they hit that too. A bullet or two hit the door. They were far enough away that
the bullets didn’t cut straight through the metal. I hoped they wouldn’t think
to aim under it or I’d lose my kneecaps. For now, they thought I was still in
the car. The windshield was like a frozen cobweb, glittering in the goons’
headlights.
Not to waste my
final bullet entirely, I raised enough to fire at one of the muzzle flashes. No
idea if I hit anyone. I reached into the car and jammed the empty pistol under
the brake pedal, and over the gas, flooring the latter. It was unstable, but I
had nothing else. With the steering wheel straight and the collision sensors
smashed, this was my best hope of getting to the door.
I let the parking
brake off.
The car rocketed
forward. I barely got my arm out in time. Gunfire filled my ears. Sharp bangs
of bullets into the chassis. Clapping as they tore through the windshield. It
would cave in soon. Not that it mattered.
I stayed low and
ran as fast as I could towards the door. The car only had a couple hundred feet
to go and it accelerated fast. The goons didn’t have time to fire many shots. It
was on them in just three or four seconds. I was nearly at the door. The crash
was louder than the thunder that followed. The screams of metal on metal hurt
my teeth. Drowned out the sounds of the shouting.
Shapes moved about
at the entrance, so I wrenched the door open the moment I reached it. Threw
myself through and up two steps. I didn’t get to the third step due to the
bullet. I didn’t know where it hit me, but I knew it hit me. I didn’t have a
chance to feel the pain because the force spun me and I lost my balance. Fell
back down the steps and hit the back of my head on the door.
I was pretty sure it
knocked me out for a few seconds. Just as well. When I realised I could see
again, a guy was halfway down the steps. Probably thought I was dead. I was
flat on my back. My pistol was still in my hand. Safety on, but cocked. I
slowly moved my thumb to the safety catch. Tried to time it with one of his
footsteps and flicked it off. He stopped dead.
I couldn’t risk
wasting time. I was alive despite a bullet and I didn’t want that to change.
That door could open again any second. He could decide not to take risks and
put another one in my head. He was close enough to see he’d only hit my arm,
which was now beginning to burn, sting and ache all at once. Close enough to see
my eyes were open and moving.
It was quick.
Faster than he could react, luckily. I rolled myself sideways, against the
wall. That helped bring my pistol up fast. I pulled the trigger twice. At this
close range, both shots hit him square in the chest. Despite the power of the
bullets, he managed to fall forwards and hit the ground beside me with a crack.
I didn’t have time to roll him over and take his gun. I climbed up, trying to
ignore he pain in my shoulder and head. Seemed to be a flesh wound. Might have
just grazed me.
The passage went two
ways. Up to the train platform or left to run parallel back to the tunnel
entrance. I decided to go up. My car trick wouldn’t have killed any of the
goons back there, so I knew there were at least four that way. Maybe no one up
the ways.
My arm ached and
itched, but I couldn’t feel blood running down it. It was usable enough to pull
open the door at the top with. I let my gun go first. It didn’t see anyone and
neither did I. Like I thought, the passage came out right beside the platform.
The train sat there, cold and dark. The lightning flashes made it ominous and
looming. It could end up being my hearse.
The area on this
side of the line was overgrown. Nothing much, just ankle-high scrub. On the
other side, a narrow road ran beside the line, over the top of the tunnel. Just
over the tunnel, it broke from the line and sloped down and around to open onto
the street below. There was no proper station. No need for one. Only workers
and prisoners travelled on the train, so no need for tickets. Except for the
platform and the road, the only thing up here was a small parking lot. Could
hold maybe fifteen cars. There were none here now.
This was the end of
the line. Or the start. Whatever way you wanted to look at it, the line only
went one way from here. Out to Webster’s mining operation, then Anshan. It did
so by passing through the gambling district. I didn’t want to go to any of
those places, so I turned left and tried to stick to the shadows. It was easy
for thirty seconds or so, because everywhere was shadow. Then came a flash of
lightning and nowhere was shadow. Then it was easy again.
Like that, I picked
my way through the scrub until it ended at a building. I thought it was the
bank. I didn’t have call to visit the place often, so I wasn’t sure. By then,
the ground had sloped back almost to the west side’s level. I turned left at
the wall and dropped the five or six feet to the sidewalk. Along to the left I
could see the two cars. With every lightning flash, I saw smoke trying to drift
from one of them, hampered by the thick rainfall and blown into nothing by the
wind. There were no people.
I crossed the
street and slipped into an alley. I’d cut between the buildings to the next
street before I thought about looking for a cab. Probably wouldn’t even then.
Any of Webster’s men out looking for me would stop every car they saw.
The clinic was
close, but I couldn’t go there to get my arm fixed. They’d notify the cops. No,
I knew where I had to go. I didn’t like it. It was dangerous. But I had little
choice. I couldn’t run around all night with a hole in my arm.
At the next street,
I saw no one. The storm showed no signs of lessening. If anything, it was
getting worse. I finally flicked the safety back on and shoved my pistol back
into my waistband. Pulled my coat collar tighter. The cold wet material was
unpleasant against my neck. Colder than the rain pummelling my face. Then I set
off towards the strip club.
TEN
| WET
Ordinarily, strip clubs weren’t
particularly dangerous places. This one was no exception. For anyone but me. The
club wasn’t the problem; it was the man I was going to see. I owed him money. A
lot more money than I had in my pocket.