” Sarah leapt out of the Range and raced back into the newsagent.
The girl was gone. A door in the back hung open. “ I ’ m going to kick your skinny little ass, ” Sarah
shouted. She bounded through the open door and found herself in a bricked yard,
but there was no sign of the girl.
The sound of an engine.
Sarah saw the sky-blue Citroen
speeding towards her and shouted “ Stop, ” but without a gun, the demand was impotent. Yet, surprisingly, the
driver stepped on the brake.
Sarah rushed to the driver ’ s side door, snarling and shouting, but it was only an old lady at
the wheel. Sarah immediately felt ashamed. “ Oh!
S-sorry, ma ’ am, I thought you were a friend of mine. ”
The old lady spluttered, “ That ’ s how you treat your friends? ” She
sped off, no doubt wanting to get as far away from Sarah as she could. Sarah
didn ’ t blame her.
That ten-second delay could be
all it took for the shop girl to get away, so Sarah got moving again. She
heard racing footsteps ahead of her and went after them. She picked up speed,
wishing she ’ d kept herself in better shape. The old wound in her thigh
throbbed.
She rounded a corner and
caught sight of her target. They were heading back around to the front of the
newsagent. Ahead was the doctor ’ s clinic, and Mandy,
sitting in the other Range Rover. She ’ s
making a play for the doctor , thought Sarah. I
knew she was involved in something.
Sarah tried to shout a warning
to Mandy, but was too late. Her teammate was forced to duck down in his seat
as the shop girl opened fire at him. Despite being unarmed, Sarah kept up her
pursuit.
Mandy managed to slip out of
the driver ’ s side door and popped up over the hood to return fire from his own
pistol, but the girl had him pinned down and his shots were all blind.
Bradley appeared, coming up
the left and adding another gun into the fray. Mandy held his cover on the
right, while Sarah rushed up the back.
The clinic ’ s main entrance opened and Howard appeared from within it. The girl
had no place to go now, surrounded on all sides.
But when Howard exited the building, he was not
alone. A man fitting Dr Cartwright ’ s
description was there also, and he had a syringe full of something pressed up
against Howard ’ s
jugular. “L-let me out of h-here,”he demanded, all three chins wobbling. “Let me out of here or I’ll fill
him full of enough diazepam to kill a herd of buffalo.”
“ Take the shot, Mandy! ” Howard snarled. “ He ’ s got no place to go. ”
The shop girl fired at Mandy
again and kept him pinned down behind the Range. Sarah tried to come up behind
the girl, but only narrowly avoided getting a bullet in the temple. She skidded
on her heels and put her hands up, really wishing that she ’ d asked for a gun before leaving the Earthworm.
Bradley stood in a firing
position to the left, but was struggling to keep his aim straight. His face
was pale and sweating.
“ Everybody chill the fuck out, ” said
the shop girl. “ Dr Cartwright, are you okay? ”
The fat doctor nodded. “ I-I managed to take him by surprise. If you hadn ’ t warned me, Ashley … ”
The girl winced at the sound
of her name being given away so cheaply. “ You can thank me later . We have to get you
out of here. Your skills are needed. ”
“ Nobody ’ s going anywhere, ” Howard said, defiant of the arm around his throat and
the needle against his jugular.
“ Excuse me, handsome, ” Ashley said, “ but you ’ re not in a position to negotiate. I ’ m
the one with the testicles here. ”
Mandy tried to creep up and
let off another shot, but Ashley aimed at him and shook her head to warn him.
Sarah eyed Bradley and tried to signal at him to shoot. He had a bead on the
girl ’ s flank and could end this right now, but he was frozen on the spot.
“ What do you want? ” Sarah decided to ask the girl,
The girl was gone. A door in the back hung open. “ I ’ m going to kick your skinny little ass, ” Sarah
shouted. She bounded through the open door and found herself in a bricked yard,
but there was no sign of the girl.
The sound of an engine.
Sarah saw the sky-blue Citroen
speeding towards her and shouted “ Stop, ” but without a gun, the demand was impotent. Yet, surprisingly, the
driver stepped on the brake.
Sarah rushed to the driver ’ s side door, snarling and shouting, but it was only an old lady at
the wheel. Sarah immediately felt ashamed. “ Oh!
S-sorry, ma ’ am, I thought you were a friend of mine. ”
The old lady spluttered, “ That ’ s how you treat your friends? ” She
sped off, no doubt wanting to get as far away from Sarah as she could. Sarah
didn ’ t blame her.
That ten-second delay could be
all it took for the shop girl to get away, so Sarah got moving again. She
heard racing footsteps ahead of her and went after them. She picked up speed,
wishing she ’ d kept herself in better shape. The old wound in her thigh
throbbed.
She rounded a corner and
caught sight of her target. They were heading back around to the front of the
newsagent. Ahead was the doctor ’ s clinic, and Mandy,
sitting in the other Range Rover. She ’ s
making a play for the doctor , thought Sarah. I
knew she was involved in something.
Sarah tried to shout a warning
to Mandy, but was too late. Her teammate was forced to duck down in his seat
as the shop girl opened fire at him. Despite being unarmed, Sarah kept up her
pursuit.
Mandy managed to slip out of
the driver ’ s side door and popped up over the hood to return fire from his own
pistol, but the girl had him pinned down and his shots were all blind.
Bradley appeared, coming up
the left and adding another gun into the fray. Mandy held his cover on the
right, while Sarah rushed up the back.
The clinic ’ s main entrance opened and Howard appeared from within it. The girl
had no place to go now, surrounded on all sides.
But when Howard exited the building, he was not
alone. A man fitting Dr Cartwright ’ s
description was there also, and he had a syringe full of something pressed up
against Howard ’ s
jugular. “L-let me out of h-here,”he demanded, all three chins wobbling. “Let me out of here or I’ll fill
him full of enough diazepam to kill a herd of buffalo.”
“ Take the shot, Mandy! ” Howard snarled. “ He ’ s got no place to go. ”
The shop girl fired at Mandy
again and kept him pinned down behind the Range. Sarah tried to come up behind
the girl, but only narrowly avoided getting a bullet in the temple. She skidded
on her heels and put her hands up, really wishing that she ’ d asked for a gun before leaving the Earthworm.
Bradley stood in a firing
position to the left, but was struggling to keep his aim straight. His face
was pale and sweating.
“ Everybody chill the fuck out, ” said
the shop girl. “ Dr Cartwright, are you okay? ”
The fat doctor nodded. “ I-I managed to take him by surprise. If you hadn ’ t warned me, Ashley … ”
The girl winced at the sound
of her name being given away so cheaply. “ You can thank me later . We have to get you
out of here. Your skills are needed. ”
“ Nobody ’ s going anywhere, ” Howard said, defiant of the arm around his throat and
the needle against his jugular.
“ Excuse me, handsome, ” Ashley said, “ but you ’ re not in a position to negotiate. I ’ m
the one with the testicles here. ”
Mandy tried to creep up and
let off another shot, but Ashley aimed at him and shook her head to warn him.
Sarah eyed Bradley and tried to signal at him to shoot. He had a bead on the
girl ’ s flank and could end this right now, but he was frozen on the spot.
“ What do you want? ” Sarah decided to ask the girl,
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