The Moses Legacy

Chapter 41

‘My name is Daniel Klein!’ Daniel shouted. ‘I’m a British professor and a friend of Akil Mansoor! This is Gabrielle Gusack! She’s also a friend of Professor Mansoor! We’re unarmed!’

‘I don’t think that’s going to help,’ said Gabrielle.

‘Why not?’

‘I don’t think they’re in a mood to listen.’

‘But they surely can’t think we did anything to harm Mansoor. We were the ones who summoned help, for God’s sake!’

‘Listen, Daniel, there’s no time to explain now, but on the count of three, get up and run to the left. There’s some cover there by those trees, and then some buildings. We can make it to a side street and get clear of them; they’ll have to drive the long way round.’

‘But if we run, it’ll just make it look as if we’ve got something to hide.’

‘And if we don’t run, we’ll be the subject of endless discussions and debates on the news and talk radio long after our funerals.’

And with that she started her quiet countdown. ‘One, two, three! ’

She raised herself only as high as she needed to in order to run and sprinted to the left, just like she had said. Danny barely had time to admire her speed, for – against his better judgement – he found himself running too.

Keeping his head down, he couldn’t see the flashes of the guns or the streaks of the bullets. Neither could he see where the shots were landing. It was only when the gunfire subsided and he felt safe enough to slow down, that he saw Gabrielle turning back towards him, almost smiling with exhilaration.

For a moment, Daniel’s mind returned to the thought that maybe the police did think that they had deliberately harmed Mansoor. But even if so, shooting at them still made no sense. Why not simply tell them to put their hands up and surrender?

‘I don’t understand why they’re firing at us,’ he said in desperation.

He was about to say more, when he noticed that Gabrielle was bleeding from the shoulder.

‘They’re afraid of coming into contact with us,’ she said, grimacing from the pain.