“Where’s that put us?” I gasped. He was gaining about a pound with every step I took.
“Back door.”
When we reached the door, I dropped him, grabbed a fistful of his collar, and pulled him to his feet. I shoved him toward the keypad.
“If this is a trick, you die,” I promised him.
He punched in the code, the little light flashed green, and the door swung open, revealing a white landscape shimmering like a Courier and Ives print.
Then Nueve stepped through the doorway, his gun pointed at Ashley’s head.
“No, Alfred,” Nueve said softly. “She dies.”
03:02:55:21
“A most ingenious and impressive attempt,” Nueve said. “But ultimately fruitless. Drop your weapon. You know I will not hesitate to kill her.”
I did know that. And I also knew this was my last chance to escape. If I gave up now, I would spend the rest of my life at Camp Lobotomy, a locked-up lab rat at the mercy of this slick Spanish madman. That didn’t really appeal to me, but neither did Nueve putting a bullet into Ashley’s head. I didn’t think Abby Smith knew what Nueve was up to, but that didn’t matter. By the time she found out, it would be too late. I’d be a vegetable and Ashley would be dead.
When you get to that place where desperation meets despair, the best thing to do is zig when the baddies expect you to zag.
It went very fast but felt very slow.
I raised my gun.
And then I pulled the trigger.
And then the bullet smashed into Ashley.
That bought two seconds, because it was the last thing Nueve expected. I used those two seconds to leap over Mr. Bullet-Foot and hit Nueve full force, wrapping him in a bear hug and driving him to the ground.
I straddled his chest, put one foot on his gun hand, and pinned his left arm with my knee. I pushed the barrel of my gun against his finely developed cheekbone.
“The box,” I said. “Where is it?”
“Left pocket,” he said.
I pulled the gun from his hand, stuck it in my pocket, then switched my gun to the other hand so I could get into his left pocket. Once I had the box, I stood up and backed away, putting Mr. Bullet-Foot between me and Nueve.
Nueve sat up, holding his right wrist, red from the pressure of my boot. “Now what?” he asked. “You are surrounded by hundreds of miles of wilderness. How far do you think you can go? If we don’t get you, the elements will.”
I pulled Ashley to her feet. I whispered her name, but she didn’t answer. Her eyes rolled in her head. I didn’t think I had much time.
“Call me crazy,” I said. “But I’m gonna risk the elements.” I brushed past him, holding Ashley against my side.
“Alfred,” he called softly.
I turned.
“You should shoot me.”
I turned away.
“You know what will happen if you don’t kill me,” he said. “I will not stop. You know I will not stop. You know there are no boundaries that can stop me. Dispatch me, and the director might be able to persuade the board to let you go.”
He smiled. “It is the thing-that-must-be-done.”
“I should shoot you,” I said. “For all those reasons plus a couple more.”