Chapter 87 Section ten

Time seemed to stand still. Decker's pulse beat fast.He lowered his voice eagerly, lest McKittrick recognize his voice. "Is that woman still alive?" "You're absolutely right. And unless I get a million dollars at midnight, she's going to live. If you don't pay the money, she'll be in court tomorrow." "Where are you?" "Who are you? If I haven't heard from Nick in 10 seconds, I'm hanging up." "No! You wait. Don't do anything. He's coming." Decker handed the phone to Giordano, and Giordano raised his eyebrows with doubts in his expression. "It's McKittrick."

"What?" Giordano grabbed the microphone. "You son of a bitch. You should have called me yesterday. Where were you...? Wait. Don't answer right away. Is your phone safe? Use that scrambler I gave you. Turn it on ’” Giordano flicked a switch on a black box next to the phone—presumably a scrambler programmed with the same code as McKittrick’s. "Tell me now, you bastard." Decker walked away from the table.The fourth guard was back now, too, and Frank and they were all taken in by Giordano's ferocious expression as he yelled into the microphone. "A million dollars? Are you crazy? I've already paid you 200,000...isn't that enough? Is it enough to take your life? I told you how I dealt with the smart guys who messed with me. This is you Best deal ever. Keep your word and do your thing. Prove to me that you did. I'll forget about this conversation between us."

Decker moved a few steps to the left parallel to the guards, but didn't dare to go behind them for fear of arousing their suspicion.He scanned the room, focusing on the fireplace. Giordano listened to the phone, taken aback. "You rubbish bastard, you are serious. You want a high price of one million dollars from me... I don't need you to remind me, I know her testimony will ruin my life." Giordano's expression changed It's even more hideous. "Yeah, I know where. But midnight is too early. I need more time. I have to... I'm not procrastinating. I don't mean to lie to you. I just want to fix things. I'm telling the truth. I didn't Make sure you can get the money at midnight... There's another way to show sincerity. The guy you spoke to when you called just now—he's the guy you asked us to kill in Santa Fe as part of the deal. Yours Old friend, Steve Decker."

Giordano and everyone else in the room looked at Decker, his nerves tensing. "He came to visit us. Called me and wanted to come and have a heart-to-heart talk. He was standing right in front of me. Want to come and see? ... No? Don't you trust me? ... Well, I propose we kill him for you. You prove that the woman is dead, and I'll prove that Decker is dead. You'll get a million, but I can't get you money at midnight." Joe Dano frowned. "No, wait. Don't hang up." He slammed the microphone back on the cradle. "This bastard is killing me. Midnight. He says take the money at midnight or don't make the deal. He thinks I'll have something more solid if I have more time."

"Where are we going to meet him?" Frank said angrily. "The lookout two miles north of here." "In the Balesaids National Park?" Giordano nodded. "The bastard's somewhere around there. We left the money and Decker in the back of the grocery store." "Did McKittrick leave that woman there, too?" "No. He said he wouldn't do that until he took the money and walked away and verified that we weren't following him." "damn it." Giordano turned to face the wall of leather-bound books.He pressed part of the wall, revealing a handle.

"Are you really going to give him money?" Frank asked. "Do I have any other choice? I don't have time to guess what he's up to. Can't let Diana Scolari walk into that courtroom tomorrow. I'll deal with McKittrick later, he can't always be like this Hidden. But now—” Giordano tugged on the handle, and the huge bookshelf moved away from the wall, revealing a safe behind it.He quickly dialed a set of numbers, yanked open the cabinet door, took out stacks of banknotes tied with rubber bands, and placed them on the table. "There's a briefcase in that closet."

"What if McKittrick takes the money and still makes her testify," Frank went over to get the briefcase, "or what if he asks for more money tomorrow morning?" "Then I'll give him more money! I can't spend the rest of my life in prison!" "We could try to track him down," Frank said, "or catch him when he comes for the money. Believe me, I'll let him tell us where the woman is." "But what if he dies before he says it? I can't take that risk. I'm 70 years old and prison will kill me." The phone rang for the third time.

"Probably McKittrick again." Giordano grabbed the phone. "Tell me." He frowned at Frank. "I couldn't understand a word he said. He must have turned off the scrambler." Giordano angrily turned off his scrambler, and then said into the microphone angrily: "I tell you... ...Who, Decker? For God's sake, he's not here anymore. Don't call him again. He's gone, one of my men sent him into town... Shut up and listen .He's gone." Giordano dropped the phone and told Decker, "Your insurance ends here. You think you can threaten me, huh?" He turned to the guards. "Take this target to the cliff and kill him."

Decker felt a chill in his stomach. "Just before midnight, drop him behind the grocery store at the Observation Deck. Frank will be there with the money," Giordano said. "Where am I?" Frank said in surprise. "Who else can I safely hand over my money to?" "I thought we'd take the money with us." "Are you a fool? It's not you who might be found guilty tomorrow if I'm found to be involved in this... Hey," Giordano ordered the guards, "what are you still doing here? I said bring He went out and killed him." Decker felt the pressure build in his chest, and he saw one of the guards reach under his suit to draw his gun.His body was like a spring that had been compressed, and now the spring was suddenly let go.While Giordano and McKittrick were arguing on the phone, Decker had planned what was going to happen now.He noticed a set of tools by the fireplace.In the blink of an eye, he grabbed the long, slender wooden pick and swung it around.The wooden pick hit the guard's throat.His larynx cracked audibly, and his windpipe was swollen and blocked.Unable to breathe, he struggled to drop the pistol and held his throat.He fell backwards, on top of another guard, who had been knocked over the head with a metal pick by Decker, and was already dead.When a third guard tried to draw his gun from under his clothes, Decker threw the wooden pick so hard that it sank into the guard's chest.Then Decker falls to the ground, grabs the pistol dropped by the first guard, hits the fourth guard, hits Giordano...

The only remaining target is Frank, who is no longer in the room.Using the cover of a hanging curtain, he rushed to a French window, smashed through the pane, and disappeared into the storm behind the curtain.Decker fired, but missed him.He only had time to notice that the briefcase was gone from the table when the shot guard ducked behind a chair and aimed his gun. Decker shot and killed the guard, the front door guard who rushed into the room, and then the pockmarked man who rushed in after him.He felt angry like never before.He paused for a moment, quickly and gently turned off the light, and ran towards the French windows.The wind poured in through the broken glass, blowing the curtains into the room.He thought of the arc lights outside, and the lack of shelter around the house.He imagined Frank aiming at him from behind a large tree that Giordano's security guards had kept in the clearing.Even if he could shoot the arc lights, the white bathrobe on him would be an obvious target in the dark.He tore off his bathrobe and threw it on the floor.But despite his tan, he looked pale in the dark.His body would also be a conspicuous target in the dark.

what should I do?It will soon be midnight, and I must hurry to the observation deck.Decker took another pistol from another fallen guard and turned and dashed down the hallway.Just then, to his right, a guard burst into the hallway through a door in the back.Decker shot him dead. Rainwater trickled in through the open door.Decker came to the door, leaned against it, and looked across the arc-lit clearing at the back of the house.He didn't see Frank, but a bullet came from there and knocked out a chunk of the door frame.Fortunately, he retracted back inside the door in time.He noticed a bank of light switches and turned them all off, so that part of the house and lot was plunged into darkness. He then rushed out the open door, sprinting across the rain-soaked grass and toward a row of bushes.He had seen the bushes before he turned off the arc lights.Biting cold rain beat against his bare skin, and a bullet flew across the grass behind him, and he fell behind the first bushes and crawled forward.He climbed to another clump of bushes, only to realize that his chest and belly were no longer soft grass.In fact, he was on the flower beds, crawling on the stems and the dirt.The stalk scratched his skin.soil.He put mud on his face.He rolled in the mud and wrapped himself in the mud to cover his skin.He knew the rain would wash away the camouflage quickly.He must act quickly. It's now!He stood up suddenly, stumbled and rushed under a big tree, almost slipped and fell on the grass.The tree seemed to have grown thicker, with two trunks.A figure turned around quickly in surprise, and jumped out from the side of the tree trunk.As Decker fell to the pliable grass, the figure fired at where Decker had been standing.Judging by the muzzle flash, he was aiming in the wrong place.The bullet flew past Decker's head.Decker fired three times and watched the figure fall.He hurried forward and dodged and hid behind a tree. Did he kill Frank?He looked over at the fallen man and saw that he was wearing a suit.Frank didn't wear a suit. Where is Frank?The gunfire would wake up the neighbors, and the police would be here soon.If I hadn't caught Frank by then, I'd never had another chance.I have to get out of here before the police come.If I go to jail, I can't save Beth. He heard a rumble on the other side of the house as the garage door opened.It dawned on Decker that Frank wasn't hiding here waiting to kill me!He ran to the garage! Decker knew there might be other guards, maybe they were pointing guns at him in the dark, but he couldn't let that stop him, he didn't have time to act cautiously.Now that his father was dead, it was unlikely that Frank would go ahead with his original plan to give McKittrick the money.What's the point of doing that?Beth's testimony was not against Frank.He'd probably keep that money and tell McKittrick to do whatever he wanted with Beth, she wasn't important anymore.McKittrick has no choice but to kill Beth before she denounces him to the authorities. Decker heard the sound of the car engine and ran for the open back door of the house.Someone fired from the shadows, and a bullet flew past him as he charged into the house, but he didn't turn around and shoot.His only thought was to run ahead and kill Frank with a single shot as he drove past the door.He flung the door open, crouched naked, and took aim. The headlights flashed on.A large dark sedan, a Cadillac, roars by.On torrential rainy nights, it's like a stain.Decker fired and heard glass shatter.The car rushed to the gate.Decker fired again, hearing the sound of the bullet piercing metal.Suddenly, he heard another sound: the hum of opening doors.There was another sound: sirens in the distance. The Oldsmobile was still parked in front of the house where the gunmen had parked after picking Decker up from Manhattan.As the Cadillac's taillights moved toward the gate, Decker jumped down the steps and rushed to Oldsmobile.He jerked open the driver's side door, looked in with agitation and hope, and found the key was left in the ignition. The lights inside the car made him an easy target.He ducked in and slammed the door shut so the lights went out.He hadn't settled down yet when he heard footsteps behind him, and he turned hastily, aiming for the open front door of the house.Suddenly, two huge figures of guards with guns raised appeared at the front door.Just then he was horrified to realize that there were also hurried steps on the other side of Oldsmobile.Another guard!He is surrounded.The guard on the other side fired at him, one shot, two shots, and the bullet flew close to Decker's head.Before Decker had a chance to pull the trigger of his own pistol, the two guards standing outside the open front door staggered back.Two more shots, and the two guards fell.Decker realized to his amazement that it wasn't the guards on the other side of Oldsmobile, but— "Are you okay?" Esperanza yelled. "It's okay! Come up! You drive!" "What's with your clothes?" "No time to explain! Come up and drive!" Decker heard the rapidly approaching siren again and hurried to a clump of bushes to the right of the front steps. "Where are you going?" Esperanza yelled, throwing Decker's travel bag into the Oldsmobile and getting himself behind the wheel. Decker groped under the bushes.He scratched and pawed, trying to find what he was looking for, and finally got hold of the small transmitter that he had hidden under the bushes when he feigned a fall when he got here.He opened the back door of the Oldsmobile and jumped in, yelling, "Frank Giordano is in the car that just went away! We have to catch him!" Before Decker could close the door behind him, Esperanza started the car.He shifted into gear, stepped on the accelerator, and the car darted around the corner in the circular drive toward the gate.The gate is slowly closing.Outside the door, the Cadillac's taillights faded to the right.On the left, the siren sounded louder.The gap between the two doors on the left and right of the front door is getting narrower and narrower. "Hold on!" Esperanza yelled.Oldsmobile roared into the gap.The door on the left brushed the bodywork, and the door on the right touched the other side of the car.For a brief moment, Decker worried that the car would be jammed by the gate.However, when Esperanza hit the accelerator harder, Oldsmobile slammed through the gap, knocking both doors off the post.Decker heard the doors behind the car slam on the wet sidewalk.Esperanza jerked the steering wheel, and the tires spun in the puddles, sending water flying high.Oldsmobile slid sideways on the dark road, turned in the right direction, and chased the Cadillac roaring. "Great!" Decker said.He shivered when he remembered that Giordano had asked a guard to throw his clothes into the car.He groped in the backseat and found the clothes. "It's something I learned driving in the mountains," Esperanza said, as he pulled behind the Cadillac. "I was 13." Decker puts on underwear and pants.The clothes were very damp, and he couldn't help shivering.At the same time, he looked out the rear window, looking for the flashing lights of the police car.Although the sirens sounded very close, it was still dark all around.Esperanza turned off the lights on the Oldsmobile, and the night suddenly grew darker. "There's no need for our taillights to tell the police where we're going," Esperanza said. The Cadillac drove half a block forward, the brake lights came on, and Frank made a sharp left turn around the corner.The instant he disappeared, Decker saw a police car speeding behind him.Police lights flashed, sirens blared, and several police cars stopped in front of Giordano's house. "They haven't spotted us yet, but they will," Decker said, pulling on his shirt hastily. "They'll see the brake lights when you slow down on that corner." "Who said we're going to slow down?" Esperanza drove to the intersection, slammed the steering wheel, and the car almost tipped over on the side of the road, then turned around and disappeared from the police's sight. "I used to do weight loss drag races. I was 14." "What were you doing when you were 15? Competing in crash races?" Decker reached for his shoes and socks. "God, I can't see anything but a Cadillac. You'd better turn your headlights on now." Esperanza let out a long, terrified breath after nearly crashing his car into a parked car. "Okay." The headlights came on. "Not much use, how do you use the windshield wipers on this car? Is it the switch? No. This one?" The wipers wobbled. Ahead, the Cadillac makes a sharp left turn and rounds another corner. Esperanza picked up speed and braked at the last moment to turn around the intersection.While turning, the car drove through a pool of water, and the tires gave up on the greasy road.The car bumped onto the side of the road, brushed past a lamp post, and knocked off the right side view mirror.Then the car wobbled back onto the road. "No, I was stealing cars when I was 15, not racing cars," Esperanza said. "How did you end up at that house?" "I knew there was trouble when the guy on the phone told me you were gone. I'll check the receiver you gave me. The pilot signal was solid, so I figured the guy was lying, you're still in Giordano There. But whatever happened, there was no use for me in a phone booth, so I had a taxi take me outside the house just in time to hear the gunshots inside." "I didn't see any taxis outside when we left." "The driver became suspicious of me. He saw the receiver and kept asking me if I was following someone. As soon as he heard the gunshots, he made me pay, ordered me to get out of the car, and drove off like a dog. Run away. The only thing I could think of to do was jump over the fence and see what happened." "And a pistol from my travel bag." "For you, it's a good thing I got a gun." "I owe you something." "Don't worry - I'll try to get you to pay me back. Tell me what happened in that house." Decker didn't answer. "Why did you shoot?" Esperanza pressed. "I have to keep reminding myself that you're a cop," Decker said. "I'm not sure if it's a good idea to tell you the details." Another sharp turn, and the Cadillac led them onto the town's deserted main road, where they sped through the rain in the shadows of a few stores in the downtown area. "He's going to be on the interstate soon," Decker said. "I can't catch him until then." Esperanza tried to accelerate, but almost lost control of the Oldsmobile. "Is Nick Giordano dead?" "Yes." Decker's mouth was dry. "Self-defense?" "There's no question that's how I feel." "So what's the problem? You're afraid the police will think you're there to kill him? Think you left Santa Fe with a plan to get rid of him?" "If you think that way, they'll think so," Decker said. "This solution directly solves the problem of Diana Scolari." "Beth Dwyer. Her name is Beth Dwyer. I'm trying to save Beth Dwyer. Up ahead." Decker pointed eagerly at a string of fast-moving headlights. Light. "That's the entrance to the interstate." The Cadillac's brake lights came on, and Frank Giordano slowed to turn around the roundabout and onto the ramp to the interstate.He braked too hard and lost control of the car.The Cadillac spun violently. "My God," Esperanza exclaimed.The Oldsmobile drove toward the spinning Cadillac, which was growing larger and larger at a frightening pace. "We're going to run into him!" Esperanza hit the brakes.The brakes bite, but not enough.He stomped on it again, then held on.Their car continued to drive toward the Cadillac.Suddenly, a gust of wind hit the Oldsmobile, and the car lost control on the rain-slicked road and began to skid, the rear of the car slipping forward.The car spins. Decker was disoriented.He looked out the windshield of the spinning Oldsmobile and saw the spinning Cadillac, growing bigger and bigger like the light of a strobe light.Suddenly, the Cadillac was gone.The car must have slid under the road, Decker thought nervously.Meanwhile, Oldsmobile fell to one side.The ground under the car softened.It's grass!Oldsmobile's right rear fender hit something.Decker's upper and lower teeth clashed together.There was the sound of metal cracking outside.One tail light was broken.Oldsmobile stopped abruptly. "Are you okay?" Esperanza's voice trembled. "It's all right! Where's Giordano?" "I see his headlights!" Esperanza stepped on the gas, driving the Oldsmobile away from the tree it had hit.The car wobbled across a muddy field and up the ramp onto the interstate.Up ahead, the Cadillac roared out of a ditch and sped toward traffic on the interstate. "You killed his father." Esperanza's breathing was harsh. "If you kill another son, Beth Dwyer's problem will be solved. No one will take advantage of her. And Giordano's people will not seek her again." "It sounds like you don't approve of my ways." "I'm just giving an opinion." Ahead, Giordano charged onto the interstate, forcing other vehicles to swerve to avoid him.The horns sounded one after another. "Giordano had a million dollars in that car," Decker said. "what?" "It's going to be paid to Brian McKittrick for killing Beth. Ninety minutes from now, he'll be waiting for the money to be delivered to him." Esperanza sped onto the interstate behind the Cadillac. "But what if the money doesn't come? He'll let her go." "No. McKittrick is crazy enough to kill her out of rage," Decker said. "The money has to go to him. Maybe I can use the money to get him to take me to Beth's. In fact Well, Frank obviously doesn't want to send the money, he's driving south. The place to pay is a few miles north of here." Despite the downpour, Esperanza took the risk of speeding to 70 mph.He pulled into the passing lane and sprinted forward, approaching a Cadillac five cars away in the right lane.Rain washes against the windshield.The wipers barely had time to wipe off the rain.Giordano had a car in front of him and couldn't go any faster, so he also drove into the passing lane and accelerated.The Cadillac splashed water on the Oldsmobile's windshield, and Esperanza couldn't see ahead.He cursed something, turned sharply and drove into the traffic gap in the right lane.Now it's only four cars away from the Cadillac. Giordano inexplicably slowed down and fell behind the other cars.In a short while, Cadillac and Oldsmobile parallel.The passenger window rolled down, and Giordano held up his right hand. "He's going to shoot!" Decker yelled. Esperanza hit the brakes.When Giordano fired, Oldsmobile backed away a little, and the bullet flew just in front of the windshield. Giordano slowed down again, and stepped back again, trying to shoot again. Decker bent over to grab the pistol he'd thrown in the car as they left Giordano's house.Giordano fired.The bullet passed through the side window next to the driver's seat, flew past Esperanza's head, and shattered the side window of the rear seat.The tempered glass of the front side window shattered into jagged particles, splashing Esperanza all over his face. "I can't see!" Esperanza yelled. Oldsmobile rocked back and forth. Giordano takes aim again. Decker fired.In the closed compartment, the sound of gunfire was deafening, as if two hands were fanning his ears.No time to open the rear window.The bullet pierced the glass and entered Giordano's open front window, knocking out a piece of his windshield.Giordano flinched, stopped firing, and had to keep his hands on the steering wheel. Esperanza struggled to see clearly, and Oldsmobile swayed again.Frantically, Decker leaned over the front seat and grabbed the steering wheel.They were about to hit a car in front of him, and he swerved the steering wheel to the left, crossed the line into the passing lane, and slammed into Giordano's Cadillac hard. "Keep your foot on the accelerator!" he yelled at Esperanza. "What are you doing?" Esperanza was blind and frantic.He pulled the sheets of glass away from around the eyes. Leaning over the front seat, Decker turned the steering wheel harder toward the Cadillac, slamming into it.He thought he could hear Giordano screaming.The third time Decker rammed the Cadillac hard, it knocked it out of the road.Giordano was terrified, turned the car and drove towards the grass-covered central median, swayed down the gently sloping embankment, and then rushed up a slope, facing the headlights of cars speeding on the other side of the road The light went on. Decker followed him, driving almost side by side with the Cadillac.He felt a jerk as the Oldsmobile pulled off the interstate.The car drove onto the rain-soaked grass, and the steering wheel felt lighter in his hand, so he was relieved.His stomach dropped as Oldsmobile went uphill.Suddenly, the car rushed towards the speeding headlights diagonally. "Brake!" Decker yelled at Esperanza. "Hard pedal!" The Oldsmobile pulled through two lanes of traffic before stopping.The tires spun and screeched on the wet road, throwing gravel onto the shoulders.The horn blares non-stop, and the traffic speeds by.Ahead, Giordano slid sideways, crushing bushes, breaking saplings and disappearing down a rain-washed slope. Decker turned the steering wheel wildly to keep the car from going straight down the slope.He had no idea how steep the slope was or what lay at the bottom.All he knew was that they had to slow down again. "Keep your foot on the brake!" he yelled at Esperanza. Oldsmobile continued to slide down the slope.Decker turned the steering wheel harder, and gravel flew everywhere.He was afraid that the Oldsmobile would tip over, and that the car would hit a tree as it rushed forward.The Oldsmobile spun, and the rear of the car came to a sudden stop facing the slope where the Cadillac disappeared, and Decker's ribs slammed hard against the seat he was leaning over. "Holy shit," Decker said, "are you okay?" "I think so." Esperanza pulled more shards of glass from his bloodied face. "I'm starting to see. Thank goodness I didn't get a puncture in my eye." "I'm going after him!" Decker grabbed his pistol and jumped out of the Oldsmobile and ran forward, the icy rain whipping him.He vaguely felt several cars coming off the interstate behind him, one of which even stopped to check what seemed to be a serious accident.He paid no attention to this, carefully observing the dark, tree-covered slope. The headlights of the Cadillac were looking up from downhill, and it looked like the car had rolled down the ramp, lying on its rear end down on the bottom of the ramp.Decker didn't dare to step forward, otherwise he would be completely exposed to the headlights and become a clear target.He walked quickly to the right, into the dark, rain-washed woods, and climbed cautiously down the steep and slippery slope.After climbing 30 feet—so far, he judged—he came to the bottom of the slope, turned left, and crawled toward the uplight of the Cadillac, gun in hand, ready to Ready to shoot.