[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
asked his name, and the man growled, "Mazarin."
"Who do you work for?" Kickaha said.
"Somebody you'd better not mess around with," Mazarin said.
"You tell me who your boss is and how I can get to him, and I'll let you go scot-free," Kickaha
said. "Otherwise, I burn you until you tell. You know everybody has their limits, and you might be able to
take a lot of burning, but you'll give in eventually."
The man shrugged big shoulders and said, "Sure. What about it?"
"Are you really that loyal?" Kickaha said.
The man looked at him contemptuously, "No, but I don't figure you'll get the chance to do
anything. And I don't intend to say anything more."
He clamped his lips shut and turned his eyes away.
They had walked two blocks. Kickaha looked behind him. The Lincoln had come around and
picked up the two men and now was proceeding slowly on the lane nearest the sidewalk.
Kickaha did not doubt that the three had gotten into contact with their boss and were waiting for
reinforcements. It was an impasse.
Then he grinned again.
He spoke rapidly to Anana, and they directed Mazarin to the edge of the road. They waited until
the Lincoln drew even and then stepped out. The three were staring from the car as if they could not
believe what they were seeing. They also looked apprehensive. The car stopped when Kickaha waved at
them. The two on the right side of the car had their guns out and pointed through the window, although
their other hands concealed the barrels as best they could.
Kickaha pushed Mazarin ahead of him, and they walked around in front of the car and to the
driver's side. Anana stopped on the right side of the car about five feet away.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
Kickaha said, "Get into the car!"
Mazarin looked at him with an unreadable expression. He opened the rear door and began to
climb in. Kickaha shoved him on in and came in with him. At the same time, Anana stepped up to the
car. The driver had turned around and the other two had turned to watch Kickaha. She pressed the ring,
which was set to stun power again, against the head of the man in the front right seat. He slumped over,
and at the same time Kickaha stunned Mazarin.
The blond youth in the right rear seat pointed his gun at Kickaha and said, "You must be outta
your mind! Don't move or I'll plug you!"
The energy from the ring hit the back of his head and spread out over the bone of the skull,
probably giving the skin a first-degree burn through all the layers of cells. His head jerked forward as if a
fist had hit it; his finger jerked in reflex. The .38 automatic went off once, sounding loudly inside the car.
Mazarin jerked, fell back, his arms flying out and his hand hitting Kickaha in the chest. Then he fell over,
slowly, against Kickaha.
The driver yelled and gunned the car. Anana leaped back to keep from being run over. Kickaha
shouted at the driver, but the man kept the accelerator pressed to the floor. He screamed back an
obscenity. He intended to keep going, even through the red light ahead at the intersection, on the theory
that Kickaha would be too frightened of the results if he knocked him out.
Kickaha stunned him anyway, and the car immediately slowed down. It did not stop, however,
and so rolled into the rear end of a car waiting for the red light to change. Kickaha had squatted down on
the floor behind the driver's seat to cushion the impact. He was thrown forward with the back of the seat
and the driver's body taking up most of the energy.
Immediately thereafter, he opened the door and crawled out. The man in the car in front of him
was still sitting in his seat, looking stunned. Kickaha reached back into the car and took out Mazarin's
wallet from his jacket pocket. He then removed the driver's wallet. The registration card for the car was
not on the steering wheel column nor was it in the glove compartment. He could not afford to spend any
more time at the scene. Kickaha walked away and then began running when he heard a scream behind
him.
He met Anana at the intersection, and they took a left turn around the corner. Only one man had
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]