Barely Legal

60

Chico and Gus were succumbing to boredom outside Stone Barrington’s town house. Neither was used to stakeouts, and they lacked the patience required. Gus was nearly asleep, while Chico fidgeted in his seat. When the front door finally opened and Melanie emerged, Chico jabbed Gus sharply in the ribs. “There she is.”

Gus bolted upright “Alone?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. Let’s get her.”

“Hang on. Don’t start the engine, don’t open the door. Let her walk away from the house. The place is a fucking fortress. We can’t give her the chance to run back in.”

Melanie walked down the street.

“Now?” Gus said.

“Hang on. See if anyone else comes out of the house.”

No one did.

“All right, start it up. Follow me slowly.”

Chico got out of the car and tailed Melanie down the street. He tried to catch up, but she was walking briskly and he didn’t want to attract attention. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Gus pushing ahead of him in the car. That was all he needed, for the guy to spook her. He picked up the pace.

It wouldn’t do to let her reach the corner. She wouldn’t get away, he wasn’t worried about that, but there was a greater chance they’d be seen. With a hop and a skip, he grabbed her by the arm.

Melanie whirled at his touch. She’d sensed his presence and was ready to act. Years of jujitsu didn’t hurt. Medical school had cut short her martial arts training before she got her black belt, but she had her brown, and she was agile and quick.

She’d been prepared for some amorous drunk making a clumsy pass at her, so the sight of a large thug took her aback. So did his grip on her arm, which was rougher than that of your usual garden-variety creep.

She pretended to slip and drop to the ground. When he shifted his grip, she rolled sideways, sprang to her feet, and ran.

Gus, who’d followed them down the block, floored the accelerator and roared by. He threw the car into park and hopped out, blocking her escape.

Melanie, caught in the middle, darted up the alley between two brownstones. A wire fence blocked the end. Melanie leaped onto a garbage can and grabbed the top of the fence.

Chico caught her leg. He twisted and pulled down with all his weight. Gus grabbed her other leg. Chico shifted his grip to her arm and pried her fingers off the top of the fence.

Melanie bit his hand.

Chico howled in pain. He wrenched her free of the fence, slapped her across the face, and grabbed her in a bear hug even she couldn’t break.