The October List

blood on her cheek.
    ‘Doctor?’
    ‘No. The police might’ve contacted the emergency rooms. Let’s just keep going.’
    ‘If you broke a rib and pierced a lung,’ he said, troubled, ‘that could be a real problem.’
    ‘I’ll have to live with it,’ she shot back. Then softer: ‘Until we have Sarah. I’ll live with it.’
    They started again, making as much speed as they could away from the site of the incident just moments before. Daniel asked, ‘What could he want? That man?’
    ‘In the yellow shirt?’
    ‘Yeah.’
    Gabriela shrugged, as if it was obvious. ‘If it isn’t a coincidence, he wants the October List. What else? Joseph can’t be the only one after it, I’m sure.’
    Daniel was silent, head tilted. After another scan of the sidewalks behind them, he said, ‘There’s another possibility, about Yellow Shirt.’
    ‘What’s that, Daniel?’
    ‘He’s working for Charles Prescott.’
    She frowned. ‘Working for my boss? What do you mean?’
    Daniel continued, ‘Your boss sent this guy to track you down – to find out what you could have against him, information, evidence. To talk you out of testifying and going to the police.’
    Gabriela shook her head. ‘Charles would just call me up and talk to me.’
    Daniel replied, ‘The Charles Prescott you worked for, the Prescott you thought you knew might do that. But that’s not the real Prescott. After what you’ve learned about him, don’t you think he’s capable of calling somebody up to do his dirty work for him?’
    ‘Dirty work?’ She clutched his arm. ‘You don’t think he’d hurt me?’ Emphasis on the verb, as if it was too difficult to say ‘kill.’
    Daniel’s voice was soft as he said, ‘It’s a possibility, Mac. We’ve got to consider it. You’re the perfect witness. You can place Prescott at locations he doesn’t want to be associated with. You know his girlfriend. You can testify about all kinds of things. And now – you found the October List.’
    And when she said, ‘No,’ this time, though, her tone suggested even she didn’t believe Charles Prescott was incapable of hurting her. Gabriela looked behind them, down the wide sidewalk. ‘Yellow Shirt … where is he? I don’t know where he is !’ Her voice crackled with panic.
    ‘It’s all right. We lost him in the crowds. I’m—’
    ‘No! There he is!’
    Daniel’s head swiveled too. ‘Right.’ Yellow Shirt was a block away, dodging around pedestrians, moving steadily forward.
    ‘What are we going to do? If he stops us Sarah’s gone. I can’t let that happen.’ Her wide eyes, rimmed red, stared toward Daniel.
    ‘Just keep going. Faster.’
    But, only two blocks later, she pulled up abruptly and arched her back, wincing and moaning. Her knees sagged and only Daniel’s strong arm kept her from rolling onto the sidewalk. ‘It hurts, Daniel. My chest hurts … I have to rest. Just for a minute.’ She looked around. ‘There. He won’t see us there.’
    Daniel helped her out of the crowds into the shadowy space she’d indicated, between two parked trucks. Noisy traffic zipped past. Daniel looked out, back in the direction where they’d last spotted the man. ‘I don’t see him.’
    Gabriela leaned against the hood of the Mercedes truck, a Sprinter, and cradled her chest.
    Another glance behind them. ‘Nothing,’ he assured. ‘No cops either. We’ll give it a minute then keep going. We’ll get to the apartment. You can rest. Find out how badly you’re hurt.’
    ‘He’s probably turned down a side street, don’t you think? We tricked him.’
    Daniel said, ‘Could be.’
    ‘Okay,’ Gabriela whispered. ‘Then let’s go. I need to rest. I need to think.’
    ‘There’s a Lexington line station a block away. Can you make it?’
    ‘Sure. I’m better now.’
    They turned to the sidewalk.
    ‘Wait!’ a man’s voice called. ‘I want to talk to you!’
    They swiveled around. Yellow Shirt had appeared from the traffic side of the gap between the trucks. The skin on his fat face was sweaty. He walked up fast, starting to speak and lifting his hands in an ambiguous way – could be a greeting, could be a threat.
    Then he was reaching into his breast pocket.
    Gabriela reacted fast. She stepped away from Daniel, placed both hands on the man’s chest and shoved. As he stumbled back – into traffic – she said to Daniel, ‘Let’s go, run!’
    But before they could start down the sidewalk, there came a squeal of brakes and a