Marshall stumbled out the door crashing to the rocky ground. The gunshots and yelling somewhere behind him propelled him forward scrambling away from the building.
x x x x x
Mary felt panic bubble up inside her as she raced towards the minimart. A gut feeling was the only thing driving her on. But it was so powerful, as if a cosmic force dragged her towards fate. A shadow of a smile flickered on her face as she realized that grief turned her into a slob, wearing way-comfortable sneakers and jeans. She was able to cover more ground than if she wore her office attire of heals and slacks.
She slid to a halt about a hundred yards from the building, her arm instinctively swinging out to stop Stan, who'd kept pace with her.
He whispered, "What's wrong?"
She just held up her finger as she took in the subtle messages from the scene. She looked from side to side, then back at the mart. "It's unsettled."
Stan wrinkled his brow, "What is?"
"There's a slight…veil." She shook her head. "Of dust. You can't really see it, but the building and tumbleweeds don't look as sharp as they should. Like the difference between a regular TV and a high-def."
They studied the terrain.
Mary dropped to the ground and pointed her weapon when Horst and his cohorts rounded the front of the building.. "Freeze! U.S. Marshals!"
Stan dove behind the junked Jeep a few feet to the right of him as bullets whizzed through the air. He took a deep breath and brought his weapon up, prepared to fire. As he peered around the back of the vehicle he saw Horst and his gang disappearing around the far side and Mary bolting for the front door. "MARY!"
He chased after her, then detoured around the opposite side Horst disappeared. He hoped to get the assassin caught between him and Mary behind the building.
Mary crashed through the front door thinking Stan was still behind her. Upon seeing a man fleeing out the back door, she dove for the safety of the overturned table. Recognition exploded in her mind. She screamed "IT'S HIM!" to…no one.
Feeling empty, she looked behind her for her boss and realized she was alone inside the building. "DAMMIT!" Hand grabbing for the knob, she lurched for the backdoor.
x x x x x
Marshall skidded to a stop. Face to face with the man who seriously wounded him once before. Was he responsible for his kidnapping and subsequent beatings? He didn't hang around to find out. Twisting around with moves any pro-bowl wide receiver would envy, he headed back towards the door. Before he could focus on the blur in the doorway he smashed into it. Red light filled his vision before it started to fade to an oily black. He heard familiar voices in the distance.
x x x x x
Throwing all caution to the wind Mary barreled through the doorway only to hit a brick wall. An immovable object; her, the unstoppable force. She fell back into the room, her hand on her forehead. "$%&*!" Such finer words never before emanated from her mouth.
She needed to wait for the room to stop spinning and the double vision to singlize before she would even attempt to get up. She could hear Stan giving commands outside. "What the hell was outside that I ran into? I don't remember there being anything there the last time I was here."
She sat on the floor, knees up and apart. Her head resting on her hands, elbows on her knees. She blinked back some of the reverberations still ringing in her head.
x x x x x
Stan turned the corner, gun raised. "Freeze! U.S. Marshals!"
Horst froze. Realizing that there was no place to run, he relaxed, dropping the gun and his medicine bag. He'd gotten out of prison once before, he'll do it again.
The pencil-necked woman saw Horst give up and grabbed her chance, slipping back around the building and into the car. She waited for no one and peeled out of there.
The third man, who Stan didn't recognize, automatically got face down on the ground.
Motioning with his gun, Stan indicated he wanted Horst on the ground too. That's when he heard, "OUT OF THE CAR! NOW!" Recognizing a police command, he just stood and waited for the backup to arrive.
He didn't wait long. He turned his head as a police officer came up behind him. "Hey Frank. 'bout time you got here. What took you so long? I thought I was going to have to cuff both these guys and drag them into the precinct alone."
"In your dreams, Stan. You know you need our help. After all you were outnumbered."
"I wasn't outnumbered…" Stan hesitated, then looked towards the door. "Where's Mary?" He looked down and for the first time during this whole ordeal noticed the body on the ground. His face went ashen. "Marshall?"
The door swung open and Mary staggered into view. The jamb supporting her. The glaze over her eyes slowly fading as she focused. She dropped to her knees next to the body and gently rolled him over onto his back. "Marshall?"
"OOOOOWWWWWW! What the heck did I run into?" He slowly opened his eyes. Smiled. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes. Where've you been?"
x x x x x
Mary sat next to Marshall's hospital bed, a knot the size of a golfball on her forehead. "…it was simply revenge. All that shit that you went through was just Horst getting even with me. He knew how upset I'd be with those pictures."
With a smile creeping across her face she asked, "So where'd they get you?"
"You know where they got me."
"Aw c'mon, I like to hear it once more."
"Okay, okay. They got me in my gluteus maximus."
Mary smirked. "Oh why can't you just say it. They shot you in the ass!"
