In last week's chapter, Evan is called to check out a car on the side of the road, but has he found more than just an abandoned vehicle? See what's going on in this week's chapter of Super Trooper. Don't forget to visit the other Briefers and see what's up with them. Their links follow my tale! Enjoy!
Evan took a few steps then stopped. Had he heard
something? He slowly swiveled his head and carefully examined his
surroundings. A large copse of oak
trees—both live oak and bur oak—lay close to the shoulder of the road. But
nothing was stirring there, and the noise wasn’t coming from that direction.
Rather it seemed to emanate from the trunk of the parked car.
There it was again. Like someone beating on the
trunk from the inside. He could hear muffled cries now, as well. That couldn’t
be good. People didn’t accidentally lock themselves in their trunks, at least
not in his experience.
He banged on the trunk lid. The noise inside stilled
then resumed again with greater energy. “Let me out!” The words were more
distinct, the voice that of a woman.
As Evan reached for the latch, a shot rang out from
the trees. Instantly, he dropped down and threw himself to the far side of the
car, at the same time, hitting his radio. “Shots fired, officer requesting
back-up.”
“Leave her right where she is!” came a voice from
somewhere in the trees.
A second shot whined off the edge of the car, just
missing the taillight. The woman inside the trunk screamed.
Evan peered cautiously around the end of the car,
toward the trees where the shots had come from, but saw nothing. “Whoever you are, come out with your hands
up,” he warned the unseen shooter. “Back-up’s on its way.”
A third shot forced Evan to draw back again.
“I’ve got that bitch, I’ll get you too if you keep
fucking with me. Think I’m afraid of you? Think again!” The next shot kicked up
gravel near Evan’s foot. At the same time, the unseen woman screamed again.
“Ma’am, please calm down, the situation is under
control,” he assured her, willing confidence into his voice as he assessed the situation.
Taking all the shots into consideration, he had a good idea where the man was
shooting from. The trouble was he had no
cover he could use to sneak up on the man and get the drop on him. He’d be a
sitting duck if he just made a beeline for him, and then so would the helpless
victim in the trunk.
He calculated the approximate distance between him
and the man and popped up just long enough to take aim and fire, hitting a tree
in the man’s proximity before quickly ducking down once more. That should send
the message that he knew what he was doing.
“Was that your best shot? Missed me,” the shooter
taunted. “What do they teach you assholes at the Academy? How to crochet pretty
pink doilies?”
“Come out here and I’ll show you,” Evan
returned. Squatting, he duckwalked
around his vehicle, trying to decide if he had any chance of skirting the
perimeter in order to approach from the shooter’s blind side.
“You think I’m that stupid?” the other man snarled.
“Pretty much,” Evan said.
“I’ll show you who’s stupid.” Two shots rang out in rapid
succession.
Now. While the man was angry and not taking careful
aim. Evan sprinted to the edge of the copse away from where the man was holed
up, taking refuge behind a large bur oak. Two more shots rang out. One broke
off a small branch of the tree beside him.
Evan could hear the distant swell of a siren. Help
was on the way. He just had to hold out long enough for it to reach him and the
woman in the trunk.
“Think you’re so smart, don’t you? When I get to
you, I’m going to stick you in the trunk next to that lying cheating bitch.
Then you can watch what I do to her. Until it’s your turn.”
Man was obviously not in his right mind. No telling
what he might do.
Another bullet pinged off the car. Evan found the
sound alarming. What if he hit the poor woman lying helpless inside with his
inept shooting? Accidentally dead was still dead. He needed to distract his
attention, away from the car. Give back-up time to get there. He could hear the
sirens, but he also knew sound could be deceptive, not necessarily a true
indicator of how close assistance was.
“Hey big man,” he called out, at the same time
moving to the cover of another tree, closer to where he knew the man had to be.
“If you give up now, it’ll go easier on you. You don’t stand a chance, you
know. You can hear them, right? The
cavalry’s on its way.”
He didn’t get a response. Evan listened carefully,
but heard nothing. Even the birds had
stopped their song, having taken flight with the first hail of bullets.
“Tell me what she did,” Evan said. Maybe if he could
get him to talk, that would distract him until back-up arrived. “Maybe there
are mitigating circumstances. She cheated on you, right? I hate women who
cheat, don’t you?”
Again, nothing.
No, not quite. A twig snapped, too close for
comfort. Evan threw himself to the ground.
“You’re a big’un, aren’t you?”
Too late, Evan realized the man had tricked him and
had come up on him from behind. He
rolled onto his back, gun aimed at the suspect. He was just a second too late, as
a heavy boot stomped down heavily on his gun hand. Pain blossomed in his wrist,
and he thought he felt a pop. His gun slipped from his grasp.
Evan put his weight on his other hand and lashed out
at the man with his legs, knocking him off his feet. The man’s weapon dropped,
just out of reach, as he hit the ground with a loud oomph. Ignoring the pain in
his wrist, Evan grabbed for his gun.
to be continued
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