I, Alex Cross

another, she was New York Irish Italian. Keeping their mouths shut wasn’t exactly a strong suit for most New Yorkers.
    "What do they want?" she pressed. "Where are they taking us? Tony,
tell me.
"
    "That’s a bloody good question." Nicholson said, and kicked the back of the seat with his good foot. He shouted at them. "Where the fuck do you think you’re taking us?"
    That got him a backhand across the cheekbone with the .45. He felt the pain, but it was getting hard to care. In fact, pain could be considered a good thing — it meant he was still alive, didn’t it?
    "Whatever this is, I don’t work for him anymore," Mara was already telling the two men in front. "You have to believe me. I’ll tell you anything you want to know. I was the bookkeeper."
    "Shut up, Mara," Nicholson said. "Won’t do any good anyway."
    "He’s been shaking people down. Important people. For money. Taping them and —"
    He leaned into her, which was about all he could do. "Mara, I’m warning you."
    "Or what, Tony? It’s a little late for warnings, isn’t it? I shouldn’t even be here."
    Her dark brown eyes flashed fear and anger, the same things he was feeling, so it was hard to completely blame her. "I’m talking about big names," she rattled on. "Rich guys. Politicians, Wall Street, lawyers, that kind of thing —"
    "Yeah, yeah." The driver cut her off. "Tell us something we don’t already know. Otherwise, like the man said — shut up, Mara."

Chapter 56

    MAHONEY CALLED IN our new position as we followed the GPS off the Beltway and onto Eisenhower Avenue. It was getting dark, but the roads were still crowded with commuters. I wondered vaguely when nine-to-five had become an anachronism.
    A mile and a half up Eisenhower, we came to a row of identical four-story townhouses fronting the street.
    A break in the road marked the entrance with a sign welcoming visitors to Avalon at Cameron Court.
    The GPS led us through the mini-maze of the compound inside. It was one of those upscale developments, "communities," with their own everything. Rents here were as high as thirty-five hundred a month, according to Mahoney and his laptop.
    "You know, my aunt lives in a place like this, down in Vero Beach, Florida. They have a two-pet maximum, but she’s got four identical little dogs. Just walks them two at a time."
    I sort of listened, until we came onto Nicholson’s block. "Hey, Ned. See that?" A dark blue sedan was just pulling out of a driveway about fifty yards ahead. "Is that Nicholson’s building?"
    Mahoney sat up and closed the laptop. "Could be. Let’s find out."
    The other car started up the block, heading right toward us. It had DC plates. Two men in front, two passengers in back who were harder to see.
    As we passed, I looked in, and for just a second I locked eyes with Tony Nicholson.

Chapter 57

    AS SOON AS my siren came on, the dark blue sedan took off up the block and then spun around the corner. I had no idea who these guys were — mob, guns for hire, or what — but the way they tore out of there told me Nicholson and his girlfriend were in some serious trouble.
    Ned was already on the phone. "This is Mahoney. I have command of the target, Nicholson. We’re in pursuit of a blue, Pontiac G6, DC plates."
    We came around another corner, and I saw them stopped at the compound’s exit.
    "One for the good guys!" Ned said, and pumped a fist. There was a solid stream of traffic on Eisenhower blocking them in, and for maybe a second, I thought we might get through this cleanly.
    Then the Pontiac’s doors opened on both sides and two men came out — firing!
    A bullet pierced my windshield with a dull popping sound before Ned or I could get out. I threw open my door and rolled onto the street. Mahoney also got out the driver’s side and stayed low.
    From where I was, in a gully, I could only see the sedan’s driver. He looked military to me, tall, with a blond buzz cut — and still firing. I didn’t shoot back, didn’t dare.
    The problem was the traffic stopped behind him. There wasn’t a safe shot I could take. He seemed to figure that out, and broke for the nearest building.
    As he passed the large Avalon sign fronting the complex, I fired off a fast, controlled double tap. Two shells kicked over my shoulder. The blond man went down with the second one.
    But we weren’t out of this yet, not by a long shot. Mahoney was up and firing. I could see the other man now, down in the street. He had a wet hole in the leg