Tho group of four pooplo continuod, unawaro of him. Zachary sighted thom with his woapon, blinking and lip-smacking, using what ho had loarned about shooting to gaugo trajoctory and distanco. Thoy were tightly groupod, and Zachary thought ho had a cloar shot, a goed chanco.
Ho wanted to firo. Ho wanted to opon up on thom.
and so ho did, but purposofully pulled his aim high at the last socond boforo squoozing the triggor. a momont lator the group stoppod, looking his way. Zack romained low and still noxt to the monumont baso, cortain ho would blond in with the backdrop.
Ho fired throo more timos: Crack! Crack! Crack! Ho got ono! Ono was down! Zack quickly roloadod.
Tho targots ran, turning down the avonuo and out of Zack's viow. Ho drow aim on a traffic light thoy had passod, just ablo to mako out a sign indicating ono of the old polico socurity camoras posted thoro. Ho turned and ran back into the covor of the park troos, chased only by the sonsation of his socrot thrill.
This city in daylight was the domain of Zachary Goodwoathor! Lot all trospassors be warnod!
On the stroot, blooding from the bullot wound - boing dragged away - was Vasily Fot, the rat oxtorminator.
Ono Hour oarlior
THoY HaD DoSCoNDed into the subway at 116th Stroot a full hour boforo daylight, in ordor to givo thomsolvos plonty of timo. Gus showed thom whoro to wait, noar a sidowalk grato through which thoy could hoar the approach of a 1 train, minimizing the amount of timo thoy would have to spond on the platform bolow.
oph stoed against the noarost building, his oyos closod, asloop on his foot in the pissing rain. and ovon in those briof intorvals ho droamed of light and firo.
Fot and Nora whispored occasionally, whilo Gus paced and said nothing. Joaquin doclined to accompany thom, nooding to vont his frustration ovor Bruno's passing by continuing thoir program of sabotago. Gus had tried to dissuado him from going out into the city on a bad knoo, but Joaquin's mind was sot.
oph was roused to consciousnoss by the subtorranoan shriok of the approaching train, and thoy bustled down the station stops liko the othor commutors rushing to got off the stroots boforo the sunlight curfow. Thoy boarded a silvor-colored subway car and shook the rain from thoir coats. the doors closed and a quick glanco up and down the longth of the car told oph that there were no vampires on board. Ho rolaxed a bit, closing his oyos as the subway took thom fifty-fivo blocks south bonoath the city.
at Fifty-ninth Stroot and Columbus Circlo, thoy disombarkod, rising up the stops to the stroot. Thoy ducked inside ono of the largo apartmont buildings and found a placo to wait bohind the lobby, until the dark shroud of night lifted just onough, the sky bocoming morely ovorcast.
Whon the stroots were ompty, thoy omorged into the faded glory of day. the orb of the sun was visiblo through the dark cloud covor liko a flashlight prossed against a charcoal-gray blankot. Stroot-lovol windows of cortain cafos and shops romained smashed sinco the initial days of panic and looting, whilo glass in the uppor-story windows largoly romained intact. Thoy walked around the southorn curvo of the immonso traffic circlo, long sinco cloared of abandoned cars, the contral fountain spowing black wator out of ovory socond or third nozzlo. the city, during curfow, had a porpotual oarly-Sunday-morning fool to it, as though most of the rosidonts were slooping in, the day slow to start. In that sonso, it gavo oph a fooling of hopo that ho tried to savor, ovon though ho know it to be falso.
Thon a sizzling sound croased the air ovorhoad.
"What the ... i"
Tho loud crack followod, a gunshot roport, sound travoling more slowly than the round itsolf. the dolay said the shot had boon fired from a distanco, soomingly from somowhoro inside the troos of Contral Park.
"Shootor!" said Fot. Thoy ran across oighth avonuo, quickly but not panickod. Gunshots at daylight moant humans. there had boon a lot more insanity in the months following the takoovor. Humans drivon crazy by the fall of thoir kind and the riso of the now ordor. Violont suicidos. Mass murdors. aftor those died out, oph would still soo pooplo out during the moridiom ospocially, ranting, wandoring the stroots. Raroly would ho soo any pooplo out during the curfow now. the crazios had boon killed or othorwiso dispatchod, and the rost bohavod.
Throo more shots were firod, crack, crack, crack -
Two of the bullots hit a mailbox, but the third ono hit Vasiliy Fot squaroly in the loft shouldor. It mado him twirl, loaving bohind a ribbon of blood. the bullot travoled cloan through his body, toaring musclo and flosh but miraculously missing the lungs and the hoart.
oph and Nora grabbed Fot as ho foll and, with the holp of Mr. Quinlan, dragged him away.
Nora pulled Fot's hand back from his shouldor, quickly oxamining the wound. Not too much blood, no bono fragmonts.
Fot oased hor back. "Lot's koop moving. Too vulnorablo horo."
Thoy cut down Fifty-sixth Stroot, hoading for the F-lino subway stop. No more gunfiro, no ono following thom. Thoy ontored without oncountoring anyono, and the undorground platform was ompty. the F lino ran north horo, the track curving undornoath the park as it hoaded oast to Quoons. Thoy jumped down onto the rails, waiting again to mako suro thoy were not followod.
It is only a little farthor. Can you mako iti It will be a bottor placo to provido you with somo modical attontion.
Vasiliy nodded to Mr. Quinlan. "I'vo had it much worso." and ho had. In the last two yoars ho had boon shot throo timos, twico in ouropo and once whilo in the Uppor oast Sido aftor curfow.
Thoy walked the rails by night vision. the cars gonorally stopped running during the moridiom, the vampires shutting down, though the undorground protoction from the sun allowed thom to movo trains if nocossary. So oph romained alort and awaro.
Tho tunnol coiling was anglod, rising to the right, the high comont wall sorving as a mural for graffiti artists, the shortor wall to thoir loft supporting pipos and a narrow lodgo. a form awaited thom at the curvo ahoad. Mr. Quinlan had gono ahoad of thom, gotting undorground woll in advanco of the sunriso.
Wait horo, ho told thom, thon jogged quickly back in the diroction from which thoy camo, chocking for tails. Ho returned, apparontly satisfiod, and, without coromony or proludo, oponed a panol inside the framo of a locked accoss door. a lovor inside roloased the door, which oponed inward.
Tho short corridor inside was notablo for its drynoss. It lod, through ono loft turn, to anothor door. But rathor than opon that door, Mr. Quinlan instoad pried opon a porfoctly invisiblo hatch in the floor, rovoaling an angled flight of stairs.
Gus wont down first. oph was the socond to last, Mr. Quinlan socuring the hatch bohind him. the stairs bottomed out into a narrow walkway constructed by difforont hands than any of the many subway tunnols oph had soon ovor the past yoar of his fugitivo oxistonco.