Stephen Cannell - Hollywood Tough

"Amac," Chooch said. "He was out by the milking sheds trying to get the layout when he saw them put you guys in the truck. When it left the farm, he chased it, then shot out some tires and ran it off the driveway. The other Emes chased the escort cars away and dropped me off. Amac's over there trying to take the rest of them out, but he's only got five guys left. Here, take this." Chooch handed his father Alexa's backup gun the Double Eagle.

"Stay here," Shane ordered.

"I'm not staying here."

"You packing?"

Chooch pulled his coat back and showed Shane one of Alexa's purse guns: the little Spanish Astra.

"Okay, but if you don't do exactly what I say, I'm gonna clock you."

"Okay."

"For starters, lemme look at that tooth." "Why?"

"No arguments, remember?"

Chooch frowned, but turned to show him, and as he did, Shane hit him with his best right hook… putting every-thing into the shot. As he connected, Shane felt the blow all the way up to his elbow. Chooch went down on one knee, then he toppled over and was soon breathing deeply, with his eyes closed.

Shane took his son's pulse, pulled back an eyelid, and looked at the pupil. "Alexa, get out here. I had to clock Chooch. He's out. I think I gave him a concussion."

Alexa, with Tony's blood all over her, scrambled out of the overturned tanker. Shane moved around and looked into the cab of the truck. Li'l Hunchie was behind the wheel, his red Nike running suit stained maroon with deep arterial ooze. Half a dozen bullet holes riddled the g'ster's chest. Li'l Hunchie had his eyes open, but his lights were out.

Shane jumped up onto the overturned cab, reached down inside, and pulled Hunchie's MAC-10 off the floor. Then he turned and started sprinting in the direction of the gunfire. He was running pretty well across the sand in his bare feet-until he started picking up thorns. He hopped and brushed at the bottoms of his feet as he ran. Soon he came to a low rise. Shane threw himself down on the sand and edged up to the lip, peeking over.

What he saw was pure Sam Peckinpah; no horses or wagons, but it was still right out of The Wild Bunch. Three low-riders were stalled on one side of the field next to the dairy, the gangsters now out of them, taking cover behind the fenders. Two of the abandoned Crip SUVs were tire-shot and riddled with bullet holes.

The second tanker truck, which was loaded with the bags of White Dragon, was tipped over and on fire. It had rolled just like the one Shane, Alexa, and the chief had been in, but one of its gas tanks had ruptured, and flames were now licking at the shiny aluminum. Half a dozen Crips and Bloods with auto-mags were getting heat rash hiding behind the burning truck, rising up occasionally and triggering off long bursts of 9mm ordnance, firing at the pinned-down Emes.

Shane was directly behind the tanker, in a great position to start picking the black gangsters off. He could also see that Amac and his men were in trouble. Badly outnumbered, they were hiding behind their disabled low-riders. Several Crips in blue headbands were crawling away from the burning truck, toward a wash. Blood shooters behind the truck rose up periodically, laying down a barrage of cover fire, their burping machine guns strafing the low-riders with 9mm rounds, keeping the Emes from moving and allowing the Crips to continue sneaking up the wash, unobserved. Within minutes, they would be able to set up a lethal crossfire.

Shane decided his best and most critical shot was Hard-core Hayes, who was only twenty yards away, crouched down behind the burning truck. The problem was, Shane didn't want to back-shoot him. These guys were killers, and sniper fire was part of the package in war, but just triggering Hayes off from behind seemed so cowardly and cold-blooded, Shane didn't think he could do it. Nevertheless, he slowly pulled up Li'l Hunchie's MAC-10 and put the retractable stock on his shoulder. "Meet your maker, asshole," Shane whispered as he sighted down the barrel.

But he couldn't do it-couldn't pull the trigger.

He took a deep breath, hardened his resolve, then refocused on Hardcore Hayes.

Shane squeezed off a short burst.

And missed.

Seconds later all hell broke loose. The Crips and Bloods who were hiding behind the truck with Hardcore turned and fired back at Shane, raking the top of the ridge where he was with hollow points. Sand flew in all directions. Shane dropped the MAC-10 by mistake and started zigzagging along the ridge, desperately trying to find cover. Slugs tugged at his sleeves and ripped holes in the dirt beneath his feet. He dove into a rain-wash and dug his head into the sand. After a second, the bullets stopped, so he picked his head up for a peek.

The Emes had used the diversion to abandon their bullet-riddled low-riders and charge the tanker. Shane could see five Mexicans in blue headbands running across the open terrain. American Macado was leading the charge. Suddenly, the Crips and Bloods all turned away from Shane back toward the charging Emes, who were caught out in the open. Twenty ejector slides began clattering as the Crips opened up in force. Within seconds, half the Emes were down and bleeding in the sand.

Shane couldn't believe his eyes-the mindless violence-but now he had no choice. He started to pick off the Crips and Bloods with the Double Eagle, sighting carefully before each shot. He dropped Hardcore Hayes first, then got the Blood closest to Hayes. Now he had the advantage and was dividing their attention. The remaining Crip and Blood bangers turned away from Amac and started firing at Shane. Bullets thudded in the dirt inches from him. He took off running again, sprinting along in the open looking for better cover. But the ridge was quickly disappearing and soon he was going to end up with no cover at all. So he threw himself down, proned out in the sand, and the second he hit the ground, a flock of nines went overhead, stirring his short hair.

He heard shouting. When Shane looked up, Amac had managed to get all the way to the overturned tanker. He seemed like the only Eme still on his feet. Amac stepped around the back of the truck and fired on the remaining two Bloods now cringing behind the burning tanker. As Amac crept farther around for a better shot, the flames reached their second gas tank, and suddenly it exploded. Both Blood g'sters and Amac were hurled away from the fiery truck by the explosion, airborne and screaming; they landed twenty feet away, bleeding in the sand.

From the corner of his eye, Shane caught Dennis Valentine's midnight blue Rolls-Royce speeding up the drive toward the front gate of the dairy. Shane stood and fired the Double Eagle, emptying the clip, but he was out of range. It seemed as if after all this, Champagne Dennis Valentine was going to escape.

Shane's tax dollars finally arrived. Three fully loaded gray sedans swung into view from the highway and blocked the front of the dairy, forcing Dennis to skid his Rolls to a stop to avoid hitting them.

Shane didn't wait to watch the arrest. He ran down the hill toward the burning tanker, checking the two Bloods on the way. They were both alive but unconscious. He grabbed their machine guns and heaved them as far as he could into the desert. Then he ran to Amac.

American was on his back with a huge piece of shiny aluminum tanker shrapnel lodged in his stomach. It was at least two feet long and looked like it had knifed all the way through, pinning him to the hard desert ground like a bug on a board.

As he leaned over, Shane could see the life in American's eyes leaving, like light on a fast-dimming rheostat. "Amac…"

American's lips were caked with dirt and dried saliva. "You… you take care of him?" he croaked softly.

"Of Chooch…"

Amac nodded, then coughed. "And Delfina… she has nobody now."