Page 2 of Box of Frogs
I gaped at the destruction, my dull brain taking a moment to catch up. There was no doubt, however: some bastard was shooting at me.
Without pausing to think further, I slammed out of the phone box and ran for cover, heading for the side of the clubhouse. The glass on the left side of the phone box had broken so my assailant – or assailants – was shooting from that direction. Another shot was fired, just catching my shoulder. Pain flared through me but I didn’t stop until I reached the relative safety of the building’s far side. It had to be pure adrenaline driving me forward. Nothing else made any sense.
Panting hard, I flattened myself against the pebble-dashed wall. What to do next? I certainly couldn’t stay here and hope that the shooter would go away with an ambivalent shrug at my continued existence. I had to find a way to escape while still breathing, otherwise I might as well give up now. I decided I wasn’t the giving-up type.
The most sensible course of action was to circle behind my attacker and vamoose in the opposite direction. Unfortunately there was gravel underneath my booted feet; any swivel of my heel or inappropriate step would immediately reveal my location.
Slow and steady, I told myself. And very, very silent.
Rising onto the balls of my feet, I started to tiptoe down the side of the clubhouse so I could skirt round the back and emerge on the other side. I impressed myself with my quiet movements. It was remarkably easy to stay light on my feet; an almost preternatural calm had overtaken me. I had one goal in mind: to survive.
By clinging to the shadows and keeping my movements slow and deliberate, I made it all the way to the opposite side of the clubhouse without having any more pot shots aimed at my head. As I crept closer, I saw two figures silhouetted in the car park, edging along, searching for me. Both were male – and both were massive. They signalled to each other as they sidled along. They were using a single torch to scan the darker corners.
‘She’s in the wind,’ the nearest one said in an oddly accented voice. ‘I told you we should have coated the bullets.’
‘There wasn’t time.’
‘You don’t bring down the Madhatter unless you prepare. We’re not prepared. I got her, I know I got her. If we’d coated the bullets—’
‘Shut up. A direct bullet to the heart or head will end her life whether it’s coated or not.’
His partner took no notice. ‘We’re dead men. If we don’t kill her and shut her up, then Rubus will kill us himself.’
There was a skittering sound somewhere up ahead and both men turned immediately. I strained my eyes through the darkness to catch a glimpse of their features but their faces were angled away from me as they investigated the sound. This was my chance.
I stepped out from the safety of the shadows and pelted for the gloomy copse of trees to my right, taking care to maintain my silent footfall. The tiny wood grew closer and closer and exultation coursed through my veins. Then a third man stepped out right in front of me, barricading my path.
While I stared up at his cauliflower ears and wrinkled visage, his mouth twisted in a semblance of an evil grin. ‘Gotcha.’
My left arm whipped up, slamming into the underside of his chin and knocking his head backwards. As he went reeling, I threw myself to the ground and kicked his legs out from underneath him.
The curses from the two other bastards told me they’d registered what was going on. When another bullet zipped over my head and slammed into the ground next to me, I knew instinctively that I wasn’t going to get lucky a fourth time. Taking control of the situation, I heaved myself up and bounded over to the groaning third man, ducking for cover behind him.
‘We’re gonna get you now, bitch,’ the talkative one yelled.
I paused. There was an odd tremor to his voice; on the surface, he was all confidence but I could swear he was masking some deeper emotion. I mentally shrugged then grabbed the man in front of me and hauled him upright with surprising ease so that his massive body was in front of mine. He had to be at least seven feet tall and his girth was as impressive as his height. It was just as well; his wide frame provided excellent cover. The other two wouldn’t shoot me if there was a chance they’d hit their buddy – especially given that they’d already proven they weren’t crack shots.
I was wrong on both counts. Before I could open my mouth to yell at the pair to put down their guns, there was a loud bang and a bullet slammed into the chest of the man I was holding, throwing him – and me – backwards. He collapsed on top of me and I had to writhe and wriggle to get out from under him.
I rolled, reaching the relative safety of the trees. They wouldn’t fell an oak as easily as they’d felled their partner. I scrambled up, using the nearest tree as cover before I peeked back round.
The two men were advancing, their guns raised. As they got closer, I saw that their features were not dissimilar to those of their dead colleague. Maybe they were related. Shooting your own kin just because he was in the way brought a whole new meaning to the concept of sibling rivalry.
I flicked my glance from one to the other, noting the heavyset eyebrows, deep wrinkles and bald heads. ‘Hey,’ I called. ‘Why don’t we talk? I’m sure we could come to some amicable arrangement that ends in all of us walking away from this.’
There was a muted, nasal snort. ‘Lady’s been injecting her own dust.’
Huh? ‘What was that?’
My answer this time was another shot smashing into the tree. Splinters of bark flew off in all directions. I risked another look. The pair had split up, electing to come at me from both sides. Smart move. I was going to die without even knowing my name. That sounded like the title to a bad country-and-western song.
Hands up in the air, I stepped out and both men stopped moving towards me. Starting to measure my life in seconds, I cleared my throat. ‘Look,’ I said. ‘There has to be a way out of this. There has to be something you want. Money? I can get you money.’ Maybe. How the hell did I know what was in my bank account? ‘Or would you like something else? Everyone wants something.’ I pointed at myself. ‘I’m no one. Why would you possibly want to see me dead?’
The two men exchanged long looks. Even though neither of them breathed a word, I knew the instant they’d made up their minds and my heart sank. They glanced back at me while I instinctively moved my hands in front of my chest. They raised their guns a fraction more. Then they fired.
No.
Time seemed to slow. I thrust my hands out even further as if to ward off the bullets. I could see their approach, two gleaming nubs of steel coming right towards me – it was like I was watching a film at quarter speed. Their trajectory was obvious.
