The Second Girl(69)

He looks at me like he’s running everything through his head. The situation f*cked all around, and the last thing I want is for him to realize he messed up and called me out as a cop. In fact, maybe he already realized that and he’s trying to figure out how to get out of this one—I’m hoping he wants to get out of it clean.

“Officer, I know you’re all about doing the job right. This isn’t your normal run. This girl’s gonna bolt if I let her go.”

“I told you, I’m not going to run. Just do what he says and let me go.”

“So raise your watch commander over the air and you’ll be the hero for getting her home.”

“Daywork’s about to come on. Midnight’s already rolled in, so walk her over to me and I’ll sit her in the back of the cruiser for the shift change. We’ll call my supervisor after.”

Somehow I doubt that, but what choice do I have? This is seriously f*cked up.

“Just come f*cking get me, Tommy,” she yells.

“Shut the hell up, girl. Shit.”

I grip her wrist tighter.

“Ow,” she says.

“Officer, I don’t care what you got working here. I just want to get her home. You got a lot of lights coming on in a lot of these homes, and I’m sure a lot of residents watching all this through their windows. Units are probably already on their way. Just let me get her in the car and we’ll roll outta here.”

“No. Don’t let him do that,” Miriam cries.

“I said shut up,” he orders her again. “Now, you’re going to let her go and she’ll walk to me, and then you can get in your car and roll out of here.”

I let her go, I’ll probably find myself kissing the pavement, maybe even kissing my own blood. We got ourselves a standoff here, because he’s not going to do anything stupid while I got her close. At least I hope he’s not. I sure as hell ain’t gonna let her go. I know that much.

A f*cked-up-looking hooptie with a loud engine, Virginia dealer tags, and tinted windows eases to the stop sign at 17th.

The officer turns to watch it, his gun still pointing my way, but the hooptie doesn’t seem to bother him. He turns back to us.

“This is the last time I ask; then I’ll come for her myself. You don’t want me to do that, so let her go.”

The hooptie turns slowly onto Euclid and moves our way.

I can see Playboy driving. The passenger is leaning back, so I can’t make him out.

I start moving back to the front of my car for cover.

“Don’t move,” he commands.

I notice a barrel of a weapon, like a TEC-9, barely out the passenger’s side window of the hooptie.

“They got a gun!” I yell out.

He turns, but it’s too late. Bullets spray, cartridges ejecting out of the window.

I push Miriam on the ground in front of my car and yell to her, “Stay down!”

The officer doesn’t have time to get a shot off. I see his feet falling out from under him as he takes a hit.

I don’t have time to draw my weapon. I hear the bullets whizzing by, too f*cking close, hitting my car door, shattering windows. I dive over the hood of my car, sliding belly-first across it. I slam my left shoulder against the front door of a car I’m double-parked beside, and then land on the pavement hard, wedged between the two vehicles.

Breath escapes me for a second.

I turn to grab Miriam and pull her in to me, but she’s already crawled around to the other side of another car parked in front of the one I landed against. She’s in a fetal position on the curb near the front tire, cradling her head with her hands.

That’s a safe place, I think to myself.

Bullets still popping out car windows above me now, and then the windshield. I manage to get my gun out, but can’t position myself safely to fire or to get to Miriam.

“Stay down, Miriam! Stay down!”

I tuck down and scoot myself back toward the rear of my vehicle. The hooptie’s made its way past my car, so I side crawl around the rear end of it, but by that time the shooting’s stopped. Suddenly. All in a matter of seconds.

I poke my head out and see the car making a left turn on Mozart. It’s gotta be fifty yards, but I still take aim.

Too many buildings beyond the target.

I don’t like the possibility of what a stray bullet can do so I tuck my weapon to a ready position.

I look around the area for any other threats, and then back toward the officer. He’s now splayed beside the front end of his cruiser.

Miriam is still hunched down at the curb.

I run back to her.

She turns, and looks up at me. A shocked expression, like she thinks I’m gonna hurt her.

“You okay?”

She nods several times, obviously terrified.

“They might come back around. You stay here where it’s safe!” I order her.

I make my way to the officer.

His weapon is on the pavement just under the front bumper of his cruiser, arm’s length from his body. The clothing around his chest area is soaked with blood. No head wound. I carefully place my left hand under his head and roll him onto his back.

His eyes are open and he’s breathing, heavy labored wheezing breaths, but he’s still conscious.

“I’m gonna unbutton your shirt,” I tell him.