The Innocent (Will Robie 1)

“Keep down or you’ll lose your damn head.”

The bullets from the MP shredded the trees, outdoor tables and chairs, and big umbrellas and pinged off the building’s brick façade.

People inside Donnelly’s and out on the street screamed, ducked, and ran for cover. Through all the chaos, Robie kept his calm and fired. His shots were dead-on. He hit tire rubber to disable the vehicle, the front and rear passenger windows to knock out the shooter and the driver, and the front-side metal of the SUV to kill the engine.

And nothing happened.

The MP-5 muzzle disappeared, the window slid up, and the SUV roared off.

Robie was up in an instant, slapping in a fresh mag and chasing the SUV down the street, firing at its backside and hitting it squarely in the ass. He nailed the rear tires.

Again, there was nothing.

But then Robie saw the windows of a Honda parked at the curb explode and the branch of a tree fall down, and he stopped firing. The SUV turned the corner and was gone.

Robie looked at the Honda’s shattered glass, the car’s alarm going off. And then he gazed over at the tree branch that had been shot off, probably by his ricochet.

He pulled out his car keys and was about to run to his Audi, which was parked two cars down from the Honda. But when he saw the shot-out tires on his car he put the keys away.

He heard running feet, turned toward them, knelt, and aimed.

“It’s me!” screamed Vance, her gun out but held in a surrender position.

Robie stood, holstered his weapon, and walked toward her.

“What the hell was that?” exclaimed Vance.

“Call it in. We need to get that SUV.”

“I already did. But do you know how many black SUVs are around here? Did you get a plate number?”

“They had it blacked out.”

Sirens had started up. They heard more running feet. Down the block Capitol Hill police officers were rushing their way, guns drawn.

Robie looked back at the restaurant. People were slowly getting to their feet. But not all of them. He saw dark liquid pooling on the street. Inside the restaurant he heard screams and people sobbing.

There were casualties. Many. Bad ones.

“How many?” asked Robie.

She looked where he was. “I’m not sure. Two outside are dead. Three wounded. Maybe more inside. There were a lot of people behind that window. I called for ambulances.”

Vance looked at the screeching Honda. “Did you do that?”

“Ricochet from my weapon,” said Robie.

“Ricochet? Off the SUV? Your rounds should have easily penetrated.”

“I hit it a total of seventeen times,” said Robie. “Tires, windows, body. Ricochets, all of them. The Honda. The tree branch. I’ve probably got slugs all over the place here.”

“But that means—” began a palefaced Vance.

Robie finished for her: “—that the SUV was armored and had run-flat tires.”

She looked at him. “Those sorts of vehicles in D.C. aren’t that plentiful outside certain circles.”

“Mostly our own government’s.”

“So were they aiming to kill you, me, or both of us?” asked Vance.

“Shooter had an MP-5 set on full auto. That tends to be an indiscriminate weapon. Designed to kill everything in the zone.”

She looked at his arm and flinched. “Robie, you’re shot.”

He looked down at the blood on his upper arm. “It didn’t go in. Just a graze.”

“You’re still bleeding. A lot. I’ll call you an ambulance too.”

His voice was hard and fast. “Forget the ambulance, Vance. We need that SUV.”

She said coldly, “I told you, I already called it in. I’ve got my guys and MPD looking for it. It must have some dings on it from your rounds. Maybe that’ll help.”

Robie and Vance jogged back to the restaurant. Ignoring the obvious dead, he went from one wounded to the next, quickly triaging and stopping the bleeding with whatever was handy while Vance assisted. The Capitol Hill police joined in his effort.

When ambulances showed up and paramedics poured out, Robie left the wounded to them and walked across the street to check out his Audi. He saw the holes in the body. MP-5 rounds. Not ricochets from his pistol. They’d had another shooter on this side. That was not good. That meant they knew his vehicle.

Had they followed him here? If so…

He turned and ran back to Vance, who was talking to two MPD officers.

Robie interrupted. “Vance, can I borrow your wheels?”

“What?” she said, looking at him.

“Your car. I need to go somewhere right now. It’s important.”

She looked flustered, while the cops eyed Robie with suspicion.

Vance must’ve noted this because she said, “He’s with me.” She pulled out her keys. “Parked around the corner. Silver BMW convertible. Obviously my personal ride.”

“Thanks.”

“So be careful with it.”

“I’m always careful.

She dubiously eyed his shot-up Audi. “Right. But how am I going to get home?”

“I’ll come back and get you. I shouldn’t be long. I’ll call you when I’m on my way.”

He started to run off.

She called after him, “And please get your arm looked at.”

She watched him for a few moments before one of the cops said, “Um, Agent Vance?”

She glanced back, embarrassed, and continued filling them in.

CHAPTER

34

ROBIE SLID INTO the Beemer, started it, and peeled off. As he drove he called the phone he had left Julie. She didn’t answer.

Shit!

He punched it. Driving this fast in town, even at this late hour, was problematic. Traffic and lots of lights. And lots of cops.

But then he had a thought. Vance seemed the highly efficient type. That meant…