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I fell back into the corridor, the machine gun's roar and wood shrapnel
shocking me off balance. The second burst of gunfire caught Cagney full-on and
small explosions ripped open his back, lifted him, his agonized shriek
piercing the air over the sound of the bullets.
This time I screamed his name, knowing when the last bullet tore open his head
he was already dead.
His quivering body slumped across the threshold and I had no choice, no matter
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how much I loved that dog, self-preservation taking over and instinctively
making me kick him out again. With nothing to jam the door now, I kicked it
shut.
Bullets pierced the thick wood, showering me with splinters, thin rays of
sunlight penetrating the tiny holes to shine through the dim, dust-filled air
like a dozen narrow flashlight beams. I heard footsteps on the cobbles outside
and something slammed against the door, shaking it so hard I feared it might
fall inwards. Taking a chance, I reached up for the key, twisting it in the
lock, then I scrambled away from those beams of light, rising to a crouch as
someone began to prise open the door's vertical letterbox.
From the room beyond the partition wall came the sound of breaking glass.
I fled up the stairs, taking them three at a time, cursing myself for stupidly
leaving the pistol beside the bed, reaching the first landing as furniture
crashed over in the room below and more bullets bit into the tough front door,
probably around the lock itself. Something smashed and I knew they were
inside.
On the first landing I ran into Cissie, who was barefoot and - beautiful,
gutsy lady - was clutching the gun
I'd left behind.
'Back up
!' I yelled at her, no time for explanations. Besides, I think she'd figured
it out for herself.
Running footsteps and shouts along the corridor below.
Snatching the gun from her, I pushed Cissie up, barely giving her the chance
to turn. She tripped, but regained her balance instantly, using her hands on
the stairs above to help herself climb.
'We'll be trapped up here!'
she shouted back at me, but I shoved her onwards, speeding her on her way.
I paused only long enough to lean round the stout centre post and shoot at the
leading shadow below.
The shadow's owner hesitated, reluctant to risk the next bullet, and it gave
us time to gain the top landing.
'How did they find us?' Cissie cried, clutching at me. 'I thought they didn't
know this place.'
'They followed Cagney,' was all I could tell her as heavy boots pounded the
stairs. I realized the
Blackshirts must have caught Cagney back there at the hotel, trapped him in a
room, as likely as not, just in case he might come in useful. They'd beaten
the poor mutt, half-crippled him so's he couldn't move too fast, and then
they'd let him go in the hope he'd head straight for one of my sanctuaries.
And Cagney knew my routine, even if I wasn't properly aware of it myself.
Ysee, I always came here after the Savoy, it was a rut I'd subconsciously
fallen into over the years. The palace, the hotel, downgrading to Tyne
Street, from there to an apartment near Holland Park, back to the palace to
repeat the process. It could've been natural instinct that had brought Cagney
after me, but I figured it was more likely to be the set agenda, one he'd
gotten used to. And of course, he'd used the alleyway to get to the house as
we always did, a route I believed would be invisible to the enemy, bringing
his trackers with him. Hubble had gone with his hunch, and it'd paid off. What
I couldn't understand was why he'd gone to so much trouble now that he had a
healthy blood supply.
Machine-gun fire sprayed the wall next to the landing window opposite us and
Cissie screamed as she backed into the tiny bedroom with its single cot behind
us. I caught her arm and hauled her back out onto the landing, firing four
shots over the stout balustrade to give the Blackshirts something more to chew
on.
Their reply was another burst of machine-gun fire that smacked into the
ceiling over our heads, dislodging plaster and fragments of timber.
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It suddenly dawned on me. These lunatics weren't out to capture me - hell no,
they didn't need my blood any more. This time they were out to kill me. Call
it revenge, anger over the killing of some of their own
by me and the dance I'd led them over the years, or maybe just plain envy
because I had something they hadn't - good, wholesome, disease-free blood.
These boys were out to nail me once and for all -and I
guess that included anyone who was with me.
'Cissie,' I said, more calmly than I felt, 'We're gonna jump.'
She looked at me as if I were crazy. Then her gaze went to the open window and
panic took over. She tried to yank her arm away.
There's a roof just below,' I said quickly, holding her tight 'Well be okay.
Just trust me.'
Bullets thudded into the plaster ceiling again and chipped wood off the edge
of the landing. Gunsmoke rose from the stairwell, its cloud mingling with the
floating white dust. There were more excited shouts down there and one or two
banshee screeches. Heavy boots clumping on wood, single, wild shots. They were
coming up.
'Now, Cissie, now
!'
She came with me, no hesitation at all, hopping across the gap onto the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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