Forty-Four Jimmy

FORTY-FOUR

Jimmy

HIS FACE IS BURNING, bleeding he's sure from the shattered windshield. But there's no time to check.

He's just happy nothing has hit him in the eyes, and that he can still see.

He's below the dashboard when a second bullet comes thudding into the leather behind the steering wheel.

No point in calling 911. Pinned down and taking fire, Jimmy knows he's outnumbered and maybe outgunned and tries to figure out how not to remain a sitting goddamn duck.

The third shot doesn't come, at least not right away.

Maybe she's waiting to see if he's been hit.

Or for him to show himself again.

For all Jimmy knows, she's in the dunes, circling around and closing in on the Jetta right now.

Jimmy doesn't know if Wolk has a gun of his own or is just hunched down below his own dashboard, waiting for the woman to finish the job.

Not knowing where the shooter is, Jimmy unlatches the passenger door, using it for cover now. Then he's the one rising up from behind it, firing one shot, then another, and then two more after that, not aiming at anything in particular. He can't see the woman. He's just providing cover for himself, even as he's blinded by the Corolla's high beams.

Now the woman fires again and hits the door.

Jimmy leans out to the side, trying to refocus her gaze if only for an instant, then puts a bullet of his own into the Corolla's windshield, and hears it shatter.

And hears Wolk scream.

"Son of a bitch !"

"Get down, you fool," the woman shouts.

Two more bullets hit Jimmy's passenger door.

Jimmy doesn't know what kind of gun she has. Or how many rounds it has in it. But Jimmy is shit sure he's got seventeen rounds in the Glock if he needs them.

He waits.

If you're a cop for even a day of your life, you're good at waiting, even in a firefight like this.

Jimmy is about to put his gun back over the top of his door again when he hears the other guy make the next move.

The Corolla's engine ignites. High beams still on.

Jimmy fires again, then again, as he sees the car in motion, the crazy bastard gunning it, the roar of the engine filling the distance between them as Wolk drives straight for the Jetta.

Jimmy's surprised at the pickup.

From zero to me.