That’s better odds.The ones who came in, the ones who are coming for me now, they’ll be trained.They’ll all have weapons, and there’ll be a lot more of them than one.
"Freeze, Mills!"
That’s exactly what he did, or more precisely, his heart.His heart stopped beating for a moment before it thundered like a war drum in his chest, and the faster his heart beat, the slower time seemed to pass.And then there was a thumping in his ears as everything else was drowned out.
He spun around on instinct to see who was there, not intending to fire his gun, but he did so anyway.One shot toward the figure in the doorway, hitting him square in the chest, and that instinct carried over to the escape route he had only just thought about, albeit briefly.
Howard heard shots, but couldn’t place where they came from.He only knew he was falling as he exited the building from the section floor.He saw the window as he fell from it, and he fired up toward the black rectangle.
The ground rushed up to meet him with a thud, knocking the wind from him.He’d held his breath so much recently that it didn't faze him.He fired up into the air again, then managed to get to his feet, shooting wildly.The ground burst to his right as someone fired at him.
Howard saw a man lying on the ground, the same man he’d seen from the window.
Howard ran.He ran and ran and ran, and a bullet whisked past his ear.He pointed his gun over his shoulder and shot until the bullets ran out, and he entered the tree line.
His chest stung, and he still couldn’t breathe properly.His arm had shooting pain that ran up and down it, and there was a warmth in his shoulder.Still, he pressed the trigger with no result.
An image flashed in his mind of the man lying on the ground outside the warehouse.Then a second image of the man he’d shot square in the chest.
He regretted those ones as he ran from the bullets and shots and dogs, grasping for a few more minutes of life.He regretted killing two men, but not because they were dead.The only regret was that they didn't bring the same relief that killing the women had brought him.
If I get out of this, I need to find more bullets.It doesn’t matter now how many I kill.Nothing matters anymore.
CHAPTER NINE
Special Agent Hartley ran to the phone on the desk as soon as it rang.She was the only person in the room, as far as Alison knew, who was pregnant, but she still moved faster than everyone else.
"Hartley," the special agent answered.
She didn't put the phone on speaker, and that was the first hint to Alison that something was wrong.Then, when Hartley turned to look at Alison as she spoke on the phone for a long time without the slightest hint of positive emotion, Alison knew her worst fears were confirmed.
They didn't have Mills.He’d escaped them once again.And if he could escape them once when they thought they had him cornered, how many times could he escape them?
Alison looked away.She couldn’t look at Hartley as she continued to speak on the phone, and she couldn’t look at Derek either as she stood by her.She looked at the floor, unable to think of anything other than that Mills had escaped and he wasn’t coming back.The feeling niggled at the back of her mind that this was their one chance, and they had failed.She, Derek, and her father had failed to stop him back at his home, and now, a team of marshals had failed to stop him in Fresco.
"All right, team," Hartley said when the call was done."Some of you already know what’s happened by the looks on your faces, so let’s go through it."
Alison still didn't look up.She couldn’t look anyone in the eyes, or she might burst into tears.
"I just got off the phone with Special Agent Rodriguez, who’s been leading the manhunt out in the field, and it’s not good news.They did track Howard Mills to a motel, and then to an abandoned warehouse when he made a run for it.They surrounded the warehouse, and the tactical team entered from multiple entry points, led by Special Agent Rodriguez.Unfortunately, they didn't expect Howard Mills to be armed."
Alison did look up at that piece of information, and she tried to read the look on Hartley’s face.Was she somber because someone had died, or somber because Mills had escaped?
"That’s not been his M.O.up until now.We know he’s killed in the past, but it’s always been random targets he’s watched for a while, and in secluded places, usually with his bare hands.He managed to get hold of a gun, and he opened fire at the team when they caught up with him on the section level."
Derek let out a grunted sigh that Alison could read immediately.Derek had chased him up the concrete steps when Mills had run from his building, but he’d been pushed back down by Mills, cracking and bruising his ribs.Derek blamed himself.If he had caught Mills there and then, he wouldn’t have escaped to shoot a marshal.
"Thankfully, Marshal Copper was wearing a protective vest that took the brunt of the damage," Hartley continued."He has severe bruising on his chest and is being treated for that in the hospital, but he’s expected to make a full recovery."
Derek and Alison both let out a sigh of relief.Mills was still out there, armed and dangerous, but no one else had to die to apprehend him.Not yet.
"An officer at the scene suffered some minor cuts and bruises when he ducked for cover after Mills fell from the upper window at the warehouse, shooting at anything that moved.He wasn’t able to tell for sure, but it looked like Mills was hit in the shoulder, and he would have sustained some injuries from the fall.Still, he got up after falling and managed to make it to the trees."
Alison still didn't say anything.Neither did anyone in the room.No one had anything to say that could make the situation any better.
"We can add attempted murder of a US marshal to the list of crimes," Hartley continued."Not that it helps us at the moment.I’ve been informed by Marshal Rodriguez that they are pursuing Mills and expect to pick him up soon.They know now that he is armed and dangerous, and that they have been authorized to use lethal force if needed.They also know he is now injured, and they won't make the same mistake twice and let him slip out of their hands.Dr.Payne, they will catch him."
IT took Alison a few moments to realize she had been addressed.She looked up at Hartley and nodded.She didn't know what to believe, and she had spent so many years not letting hope invade her life, but she had to give in to some now, but under one condition.