“Hold it, Marty! That’s enough.”
The echoes of the furious volleying reverberated through the park. The four men and their wounded leader crawled wildly for the shelter of firepits, benches, brush, and trees. Once under cover, they opened fire again at the RV. Bullets whined through the open window above Peter’s head and thudded into the opposite wall. Selective this time, they were looking for targets.
Peter crouched low. “They won’t hit us dead on again because of our firepower, but at the same time they won’t go away. They’ve probably left a driver in the SUV. It’s only a matter of time before one of us is hit, we run out of ammo and they get us, or the police come and arrest us all.”
Marty shivered. “Too bad the police are out of the question. Many aspects of the idea are appealing.”
Peter nodded and grimaced. “They’d want to know what we were doing with highly illegal weapons and a command post in the RV. If we tell them about Jon, they’ll check, find he’s wanted, and toss us into the slammer to wait for the army and FBI. If we don’t tell them, we’ll have no explanation, and they’ll lock us up with our villainous friends out there.”
“Logical. You have a solution?”
“We must split up.”
Marty said firmly, “I will not be abandoned to those cutthroats and murderers.”
Peter’s eyes glinted out from the shadows. In his black commando clothes, he was difficult to see. “I know you don’t think I’m too swift, my boy, but do remember this is how I’ve made my living since before you were an irritating twinkle in your father’s eye. Here’s the plan: I shall slip out the front door where they won’t see me. You will then blast away to cover me. Once clear, I will circle to the left and make so much noise they’ll believe a brigade is escaping. When they’re convinced we’ve both quit the RV, they’ll pursue me with their entire force. At that point, you’ll be able to safely crank up this packhorse and do a fast bunk. Clear?”
Marty pursed his lips. His round cheeks expanded in thought. “If I stay with the RV, then I can keep checking for contact from Jon while I pursue Sophia’s phone calls and look for Bill Griffin. Obviously, I’ll have to find someplace to hide the RV. When I do, I’ll post my location at the Asperger’s syndrome Web site, just as we discussed.”
“You’re quick, my boy. There are certain aspects to dealing with a genius I like. Give me a minute to get into position, then fire away until your magazine’s empty. Remember, a full minute.”
Marty studied the weather-worn face with the craggy features. He had grown accustomed to seeing it. Today was Wednesday, and they had been together constantly since Saturday. During the past five days, he had been hurled into more terrifying and hair-raising experiences than in his entire life, and with far more at stake. He supposed it was natural he had grown accustomed to having Peter around. For an instant he had a strange emotion: Regret. Despite all the Englishman’s annoyances, Marty would miss him. He wanted to tell him to be careful.
But all he could manage was, “It’s been strange, Peter. Thanks.”
Their gazes connected. Quickly both turned away.
“I know, my boy. Me, too.” With a wink, Peter crab-walked to the front of the RV and fastened on his equipment belt.
Marty gave a brief smile and took position again at the rear door. Nervously he waited while giving himself a stern lecture that he could indeed pull this off.
The incoming fire had all but ceased, probably while the attackers figured out a new plan. As soon as Peter slipped out of the RV and melted into the deep shadows of the moonlit woods, Marty counted out a minute in his head. He made himself breathe slowly and evenly. When the minute was up, he gritted his teeth, leaned out, and opened fire with the bullpup. The gun reverberated in his hands and shook his entire body. Frightened but determined, he kept up a steady stream of fire across the night and into the dark trees. Peter was depending on him.
From their cover, the attackers returned a fusillade. The RV rocked from the hail of bullets.
Sweat popped out on Marty’s face. He kept squeezing the trigger as he fought back fear. When the magazine was empty, he hugged the gun to his chest and carefully peered around the corner of the doorway. He saw no movement anywhere. He wiped his palm across his forehead, getting rid of a layer of sweat, and let out a long stream of relieved air.
As another minute passed, he clumsily changed magazines. He sat back. Two minutes passed. His skin began to crawl with tension.
Then he heard what sounded like somebody trying to be quiet among the trees far off to his left. Peter! He cocked his head, listening.
A warning voice from one of the attackers carried across the picnic grounds: “They’re escaping!”
Almost at once, heavy fire from what seemed like two or three rifles raked out of the forest on the left, the direction in which Peter had said he would go.
On the picnic grounds, the men from the pickup and SUV frantically found new hiding spots as gunfire continued from this new direction.
Then the firing ceased. It sounded as if several people were running away to the left through the forest.
“After them!” a different voice shouted from the picnic area.
Energy jolted Marty. That was what he had been waiting for. He watched as men from the truck ran off to the left. At the same time, someone turned on the SUV’s engine, drove it in a wide U-turn, and headed off to the left also. Everyone was chasing Peter, just as he had predicted.
Guiltily, Marty rolled and bumped his way into the RV cab. He was safe while Peter was out there, a hare to their hounds. Still, he knew Peter was right— this was the rational way to handle this grave situation.
The keys were in the ignition. He took a long breath to calm his resisting nerves and started the engine. He was worried not only about whether he would ever be able to uncover the vital information Jon needed; more to the point was whether he could drive Peter’s RV safely away from the park. But when the oversize motor’s power surged up through his hands and into his body, he had an idea: He closed his eyes and put reality on hold. Suddenly he was inside a Galaxy-rated starship, piloting it singlehandedly into the dangerous Fourth Quadrant. It was a forced trip, because he was still under the influence of his Mideral. Still, stars, planets, and asteroids flashed past the starship’s bulkhead windows in rainbows of light. He was gloriously in control, and the unknown beckoned.
His eyes snapped open. Don’t be silly, he told himself with disgust, of course you can drive this gravity-bound RV. It’s virtually an anachronism!
With a surge of confidence, he threw the RV into reverse, hit the accelerator, sped backwards, and scraped a tree. Undeterred, he looked over both shoulders, checked the rearview and side-view mirrors, and saw nobody. He yanked the steering wheel, turned the RV around, and blasted it out of the forest like toothpaste from a tube. At the same time, he watched for trouble, just as Peter had taught him. His glittering green gaze examined shadows and obstacles, checking everywhere that could be cover for their attackers.
But this part of the park was quiet. Heaving a sigh of relief, he rocketed the RV past the picnic grounds and onto the highway heading north to Syracuse.
__________
Crouched in a concrete drainage ditch at the edge of the park, his submachine gun ready to fire, Peter Howell saw his RV rushing north on the highway. He grinned with admiration. That exasperating little bastard Marty had risen to the occasion yet again.
He rubbed a hand over his grizzled chin and refocused his attention. He breathed deeply, inhaling the earthy scents of the damp ditch but also the fragrant trees on the higher ground and the myriad creatures that inhabited it. At the same time he listened and scrutinized with every fiber of his body. His senses were alert, on fire. He could hear and sense the attackers moving toward him on foot and in the SUV on the road that crossed the drainage ditch. It was time to get himself away.
He unhooked two cylindrical black canisters from his belt, laid them side by side on the parapet of the bridge, and drew his 14-round Browning Hi-Power 9mm pistol from his open combat holster. The pistol in his right hand and the H&K MP5 in his left, he raised his eyes to look down the road.