Faye Kellerman - Stone Kiss

His eyes snapped open when he heard the voice.

“Freeze, motherfucker!”

Freeze , Decker thought.

Hit men don’t give warning.

But cops say “freeze.”

And good cops usually don’t say “freeze, motherfucker” without provocation. So this was probably a cop and not a nice one.

All this clicked inside Decker’s brain within a split second of decision-making. He dropped and rolled, while shooting in the direction of the voice, the semiautomatic spitting out muzzled fire because of the silencer- pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft . He scrambled to his feet, but remained stooped behind a crate, his lungs stinging as he panted, his gasping so loud it almost drowned out the moans. Slowly, he rose, but his shakiness forced him to lean against a wooden beam. Unsteady with pinpricks of starlight dancing in his brain, he tried to equalize his balance.

The moaning had stopped.

Decker peeked out.

Of sizable girth, the man had fallen with his head back, one thick arm across a padded chest, the other arm extended open and lying over the concrete. The torso had twisted so it was resting on the hip, the stomach spilling onto the floor. The legs were crossed over one another. The face was hard to make out, but the build certainly could have been Merrin’s.

Decker inched out from his hiding space.

Donatti was standing over the contorted body, eyes cast downward, arms crossed with a pistol in the left hand. His voice was a whisper. “See what happens when you give warning. He should have just taken you out.”

“Did you…” Decker’s heart was beating so fast it threatened to break his sternum. He was still trying to suck up air. “Did you do it or did I?”

Donatti looked up. “Take a bow.”

“ Jesus !” Decker felt his head go light. “Fuck!”

“Buck up,” Donatti told him. “Surely, you’re not a virgin.”

“Unfortunately no…” He swallowed hard, staring at the face. Not Merrin, but definitely a cop. “Who’s left?”

“Just the two pups guarding Chaim’s office. I don’t know who’s actually in the office, because even I can’t see through walls.”

“Any more of these?”

“These? You mean cops?”

Decker nodded.

“Not that I know.” Donatti smiled. “I knew you’d come back.”

“Gotta keep an eye on you, Chris.”

“That’s bullshit. Your ego refused to allow me to be the one to save your brother-in-law.”

“Can we go?”

With expert precision, Donatti led Decker through the maze of crates, cases, parcels, and boxes. In minutes, they were within fifty feet of the office, light leaking out from under the door. No one was in view.

Where were the guards?

Donatti stepped back and pulled Decker into the shadows, his eyes in constant motion. They were out of sight, in back of a stack of wooden crates. “I don’t like this.”

“Where are the kids?”

“Don’t know.”

“What do you mean-”

“I don’t know. They were here a second ago.”

“They’re not here now. Where did they go? In the office?”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe?”

“I’m not a fucking mind reader. Shut up!”

“Fuck you!” Decker snapped back. His eyes darted from side to side. He looked through the scope of his gun, sweeping the lens across the area.

First there was nothing; then an eye blink of motion flitted out from the corner of his visual field. Reacting before the thought fully registered, he yanked Donatti down and jerked him hard to the left as bullets ripped through a stack of cardboard boxes containing television sets. It set off an explosion of glass and metal, a cloudburst of thousands of slivers and shards that flew through the air and rained down onto their heads.

Deadly silence followed the eruption.

The moments tapped by, punctuated by the rapping of the rain on the roof and the windowsills. Decker lay facedown on the floor, but Donatti was on his haunches, ready to spring. Both of them remained fixed in position, their eyes locked on one another in tacit communication. Decker saw Chris hold up a finger.

The minutes went by… two… three… four…

With everyone hidden from view, other senses became heightened. Decker saw Chris close his eyes. Both of them were professional enough to know not to make the first move.

When in doubt, wait it out .

Five… six… seven.

It didn’t even take that long. That was the way it was with amateurs: overeager because the pups just had to inspect their handiwork. They had to see the damage, to gloat about it. And with glass crunching beneath their shoes, they might as well have announced their arrival over a PA system. Though Donatti’s eyes remained closed, his lips broke into a smile, widening as the noise increased in volume.

The lids snapped open and he patted air, indicating for Decker to stay down. Then he ticked off the seconds with five splayed fingers.

Five, then four… three… two… one.

A quick peek from around the boxes, then two shots fired.

And that was that.

Decker couldn’t see them, but he heard them drop, the horrible crack of bone slamming against the cement.

Donatti whispered, “You can get up.”

Taking great care, Decker managed to balance on his legs, still squatting, still waiting. His hands were crisscrossed with small cuts, his sneakers and rain jacket sparkled like glitter. The darkness abruptly faded as a wedge of yellowed light cast its shape on the floor. Crunching accompanied the thuds of footsteps along with the sound of something being dragged. Heavy breathing could be heard.

“Caldwell?” A pause. “Caldwell, are you there?”

Donatti and Decker mouthed the word simultaneously: “Merrin.”

“Caldwel-”

The smashing underfoot stopped. Donatti shifted his position until the police chief came into view. “He’s looking at the bodies.” He turned to Decker. “He’s got your brother-in-law.”

“What do you mean?”

Donatti took his gun and put it at his temple. “I’ll take him down if you want.” A smile. “Or do you want to warn him?”

Decker’s brain was moving too fast to digest his thoughts. “I’m going to try to talk him down.” He got to his feet. “Stay back, all right?”

Chris shrugged indifference.

“Just be there to back me.”

Another apathetic shrug.

“What does that mean?”

“Time’s ticking, Decker. Either do it or let me handle it.”

Decker stepped out and aimed his weapon. “Hey, Virgil.”

Merrin jumped around, one hand holding a Smith & Wesson.32 caliber pistol with its bore buried in Chaim’s temple, the other hand clamped over Lieber’s mouth, muting his sobs and wails. Decker’s eye went from Chaim’s face, over the teenage corpses, then came back to the chief. “Sorry about your boys.”

“S’right. I got others to take their places.” A piggish grin was plastered across his ugly face. “It’s mighty nice for you to show up. Makes things easier all around.”

“I’m very tired,” Decker said. “Drop the gun-”

“You can’t be serious. Matter of fact, I was going to ask you to do that very thing.”

“Merrin, my nine millimeter is pointed at your chest. Your piece is pointed at Lieber’s head. That means I have the advantage.”

“You shoot me; I shoot him.”

“Then shoot him,” Decker retorted.

Merrin’s smile sagged, his face registering pure shock.

“So,” Decker told him, “either drop the gun or I’ll shoot you.”

“You’re bluffing-”

“Try me, Chief.”

Without warning, Merrin’s lips turned upward into a venal grin. “I suggest you drop the gun, Lieutenant, because I do reckon that the odds just shone in my favor.” His eyes went past Decker’s head, focusing on something behind him.