Stone Barrington 06-11

it, they’ll know we’re still here and on foot.”
    The Navigator turned into the ball field.
    “Come on,” Stone said, running toward his car.
    “We can’t go toward them,” Arrington said, grabbing his arm.
    “We’ve got to get to the car. I’ve only got five rounds in this thing, but there are two guns under the car. Anyway, when they find it, they’ll start driving around, looking for us.” He heard car doors slam again. “Hit the dirt!” They all did.
    A moment later, the Navigator backed out of the ball field and drove slowly away from them. Obviously, they were searching.
    “Come on, but stay as far under the stands as you can,” Stone said. They kept low and ran toward the Mercedes.
    Stone could see the rear end of his car, now, and he saw the brake lights of the Navigator come on, then the reversing lights. “Go for it!” Stone yelled, and he sprinted, leaving Arrington behind. “Make for the car!” he yelled over his shoulder.
    He made the car, but the Navigator was reversing toward them, and he had no time to get inside. Dino arrived at the car, and Arrington was close behind.
    “You left me!” she said.
    “One of us had to get here,” Stone said.
    Dino was on the ground, looking under the car. “It’s too low,” he said. “I can’t get under it.”
    “Keep the car between us and the Navigator,” Stone said. “It’s good protection.”
    The Navigator stopped, the two front doors opened and the two men with shotguns got out, looking around.
    “Arrington,” Stone whispered, “stay close to me.” He looked around, but Arrington was gone. Dino was huddled close, on his other side. “Where’s Arrington?” Stone asked.
    “She was right here,” Dino whispered back. “Here come the shotguns.”
    “They’re behind the car,” one of the men shouted, and the two brought the shotguns to their shoulders.
    “What are you waiting for?” Dino asked. “Shoot somebody!”
    “They’re too far away,” Stone said.
    “You’re just chickenshit! You just don’t want to shoot somebody!”
    “Give it a moment,” Stone said. He heard a shotgun being racked. He looked up, and one of the men was ten feet away. Stone took his shot. The side of the man’s head exploded, and he went down. As Stone ducked, he heard a shotgun go off and the sound of pellets striking his car.
    “One down, one to go,” Dino said.
    “If I stick my head up again, he’ll blow it off.”
    “Come out from behind the car,” the man yelled.

    A millisecond after he yelled, Stone heard a gunshot, and the man cried out in pain. He stuck his head up, and the man was gone. He stood up further and saw him on the ground, holding onto a bleeding foot.
    The man saw him, too, and brought the shotgun around.
    Stone fired, striking him in the shoulder, but he was still trying to aim. Another shot exploded, and the man stopped moving.
    Stone looked under the car. “Arrington?”
    “Did I get him?” she asked.
    “You did. Stay where you are, and throw Dino a gun.” Stone began to run toward the Navigator. He could see nothing through the darkened windows, but if one rolled down, he was going to start shooting.
    The Navigator roared away, and Stone fired twice at it. The rear window shattered, but the second shot went astray. Stone turned and walked back toward his car, spent.
    Dino was pulling Arrington from under the car. She stood up, and they all looked at each other, dirty and skint, and they began laughing.
    “Okay,” Dino said, finally, “it’s time for the cops. Fuck Lance.”
    “Right,” Stone said. There was, after all, the matter of the two dead men with shotguns.

52
    STONE TRIED LANCE’S radio but got no answer. He got the car started and headed back for the Triborough Bridge, while dialing Lance’s cell phone. No answer, so Stone left a message.
    “Lance, it’s over; Dino and I are out, and we’ve got Arrington. We’re headed back to my house. There are two dead men back at Field One Twenty-one, and Dino has put out an APB for a silver Lincoln Navigator with no rear window, probably driven by Billy Bob. Call me.” He hung up.
    “Where’s Billy Bob headed?” Dino asked.
    “I don’t know. Maybe to Martin Block’s building in Queens. Lance has that covered. To tell you the truth, I don’t really give a damn. We’ve got Arrington back; that’s all that matters.”
    “Now you’re talking,” Arrington said.
    “And what was all this in aid of?”
    “Billy Bob wants to kill