Cut and Run 7 - Touch and Geaux

the open gate when something thumped into him from behind. The report of the shot reached his ears a split-second later. He was thrown forward. More bullets hit the walls around him.
    “He’s hit, he’s hit!” Owen cried, the voice coming both from nearby and inside Nick’s ear. “Doc!”
    “Who’s hit?” Ty asked, voice suddenly panicked.
    No one answered him.
    Nick pushed at the ground, but the weight on top of him was too much. He turned his head. Kelly had fallen into him when the bullet hit. Owen fell to his knees beside Nick’s face. They lifted Kelly off him and Nick pushed up, scrabbling the rest of the way out of the cemetery.
    They hit open ground and ran, rushing into traffic on Rampart Street. Nick and Zane fell back to cover them as Owen and Digger carried Kelly between them. They faltered in the large grassy median and took cover behind a horse and carriage that had been abandoned by its driver.
    Crowds of people were running to and fro, panicked and confused.
    “Who’s hit?” Ty demanded, his voice breaking.
    “We’re in the median,” Zane said, breathless. “Kelly’s down.”
    “Doc,” Digger said as he put a hand on Kelly’s face.
    Kelly coughed and took in a loud, shivering breath. Owen knelt, cradling Kelly’s head. Nick fell to his knees beside him and began trying to find the wound through all the blood.
    Zane remained standing, keeping guard and watching out of the corner of his eye.
    Mere seconds passed before Ty joined them. He dove to the ground beside Kelly, jostling Nick as he tried to cut away the bloody clothing. “Where’s he hit?”
    “I don’t know, I can’t find it,” Nick stuttered.
    “Doc, stay with me now,” Digger pleaded. He patted Kelly’s cheek. Kelly’s eyes fluttered open. They all leaned over him. Digger sounded like a frightened child. “What do we do, Doc?”
    Kelly tried to speak. Blood began to trickle out of the side of his mouth.
    Ty grabbed Owen’s shirt and shook him. “Get a car.”
    Owen nodded and pushed up, darting into traffic to commandeer a vehicle. They were mere blocks from the hospital. Zane fired into the cemetery, keeping their opponents at bay.
    Kelly struggled to take another breath, but it only produced more blood. Digger held onto his hand. Nick’s fingers trembled as he searched for an exit wound.
    Ty leaned over and ran a bloody hand through Kelly’s hair. “Steady now,” he whispered.
    Kelly nodded and closed his eyes.
    Zane shot at the cemetery again. Return fire hit the carriage, and the horse panicked, pulling away and taking their cover with it.
    Ty and Nick moved together, their backs to the cemetery so their bodies shielded Kelly’s. Ty’s voice shook as he whispered, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil—”
    Kelly picked up when Ty’s voice broke, his words a struggle. “For thou art with me. And thou carry a big-ass stick.”
    Ty hunched over him and winced as a bullet struck nearby. Tears trailed down his cheeks and he pressed his forehead to Kelly’s. Nick realized he had tears streaming down his own face.
    Screeching wheels and Owen’s urgent shout forced Nick to tear his eyes away. He glanced over his shoulder to see Owen waving from the driver’s side of a big yellow sedan.
    “On three,” Ty said. “Zane! Help us!”
    Zane hustled over to help lift Kelly, and they carried him to the vehicle, still taking sporadic fire from the cemetery. Digger ducked into the backseat and pulled Kelly in by his shoulders. Nick spotted Liam, then, laying down covering fire with Zane to keep both the cartel thugs and the police at bay. Liam ducked into the front seat, still returning fire. Ty pushed Nick’s shoulder, forcing him to get in next. Nick clambered into the back, kneeling on the floor between the front seats and holding Kelly’s hand.
    “Get in!” Ty shouted, shoving Zane by the shoulder.
    Zane crawled in behind Nick, facing backward to keep from jostling Kelly’s sprawled body. “What are you doing, Ty?”
    “He’s got to have time,” Ty grunted as he slammed the door in Zane’s face. “Go.”
    “No, wait! Ty!”
    “Grady! Goddamnit!” Nick shouted.
    Ty banged on the roof of the car and shouted at Owen. “Go!”
    Owen gunned the engine and sped off. Nick and Zane watched through the window as Ty turned and fired a few shots over the heads of the police with his pistol, then sprinted off toward the French Quarter.

Ty ran as fast