Page 74 of Deadly Avarice
I gritted my teeth, but finally answered, “It’s a shield charm. It protects you from bullets and capture.” I added on that last bit, fueling their curiosity.
“Holy shit,” Red said, holding the charm in his hand now.
“Put down your weapons. We have the area surrounded!”
The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. The first charm I’d activated amped up, sending a sense of urgency through Boggs’s men.
Boggs took a couple of steps to the side, peering through the trees. The grip on his weapon oscillated between tight and loose. His eyes darted around the trees, and I could see his brain working. Boggs wasn’t a fool. Where there was one charm, there could be more. Doubt filled his calculating gaze. That doubt was erased when figures began dotting the landscape. If you looked close enough, you could see it wasn’t real. Some of the figures dressed as police were half concealed within tree trunks or melded with branches. The illusion wasn’t perfect, but to the stressed and terrified mind, it was more than enough.
“Cops!” Red shouted.
“Activate it,” Izzy screamed.
“Don’t—” Boggs ordered but it was too late. Red activated the shield charm, trapping himself and Izzy inside. Unfortunately, Boggs was too far away.
Red shot a triumphant fist into the air as he and Izzy laughed at their good fortune. “We can fucking shoot ’em all from here,” Izzy boasted. “Starting with you.” Izzy aimed his gun at me and fired. I jerked and Billy screamed. The bullet hung in the air, just a few inches in front of the muzzle it had fired from.
Mouth hanging open, Izzy fired again. Red joined in but every bullet did the same. Reality came crashing down on them and they beat their fists against the shield. Experience told me it was futile.
With Billy still tucked behind me, I turned on Boggs. It was now one-on-one. My odds were better, but he still had a gun and I didn’t. What I did have was the illusion of backup.
Pulling up all the bravado I could muster, I held my head high. “You gonna shoot me in front of all these officers? You know what the justice system does to cop killers.”
If possible, Boggs would have killed me with the hate streaming from his eyes. With a curse he lowered the gun, turned, and bolted. I’d hoped he’d throw his hands up and surrender but this was still better than the bullet to the chest I’d expected.
“Stay here,” I ordered Billy as I ran after Boggs. “They can’t hurt you.” That was true for a little less than twenty minutes. I had that much time to stop Boggs and get back to Billy. I checked my watch and noted the time while pumping my legs. I couldn’t believe how quick Boggs was. I wouldn’t have expected it given the length of his legs.
He dodged, weaved, and hurdled every damn obstacle. He heard me following and aimed his gun behind him, randomly firing. I darted behind a tree but not before one of those bulletscaught my arm. Fire lanced through my bicep, but I didn’t let it slow me down. Leaving my tree shelter I picked up my pursuit again. Zigzagging through the underbrush to avoid the random bullets Boggs sent my way took up valuable time and energy. I’d stopped gaining on Boggs and was falling behind.
Reaching into my pocket, I rummaged through my two remaining charms. I couldn’t remember what either one did. It was a crapshoot and probably foolish, but I was running out of options. Picking one at random, I slowed long enough to get a good aim. Activating the charm, I threw it at Boggs. It didn’t exactly hit him, but it landed close. I kept running, unsure what to expect, if anything. Maybe the charm had to hit him to be effective, or maybe it—
“Ah-choo!”
Boggs sneezed as he ran, stumbling as that sneeze was followed by another, and another, and… God, they weren’t stopping. If anything, Boggs’s sneezing worsened and became violent. Boggs’s feet stuttered to a stumbling halt as he fell to his knees. His gun dropped from his quaking hand as his arms wrapped around his middle. Doubled over, sneeze after violent sneeze erupted from his mouth. Boggs’s body seized with the need to uncontrollably sneeze.
Huffing and gasping for breath, I jogged up next to Boggs’s prone body. With a kick, I scooted the gun farther from his grip and rummaged around his body until I found my own weapon and my phone. I was fortunate Red had handed both over to Boggs, otherwise they’d be trapped within the same shield the men were in.
Snot exploded from Boggs’s nose and mouth while tears ran down his face. Eyes puffy and red, he rolled and contracted with each painful sneeze. I heard a crack and wondered if maybe the violence of the sneezing might have cracked a rib or thrown out his back. If so, it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.
Waking up my phone, I called Captain Cicely.
“Do you have the Davies boy, O’Hare?” Captain Cicely asked. “And what is that Gaia awful sound I hear in the background?”
I chuckled while Boggs groaned. “I’ve got Billy. I’ve also got Boggs and a couple of his associates.” I rattled off approximately where I thought we were. “You’ve got about ten minutes before the shield charm the other two are trapped in wears off.”
“We’ll be there in five,” the captain assured. “And what about Boggs?”
“He’s currently…indisposed.” I grinned while staring down at Boggs’s abject misery.
“And exactly how long will thisindispositionlast?”
My eyebrows rose to my hairline. “You know, I’m not really certain. I could call Holland and ask.”
Captain Cicely groaned and lamented, “Gaia help us. Sit tight. We’re on our way.”
I had no plans on leaving. The sound of sirens ended, leaving only Boggs’s sneezes as background music. Holland’s police charm had run its course, but soon enough the real thing would be here.
Finding a nearby fallen log, I sat and rested my tired legs. Boggs’s capture was messier than I’d like, but I’d still count it as a win. Depending on how long the paperwork took, I might even ask Boone if he’d like to go out to dinner tonight. I could apologize again for him having to cancel his appointment in Louisiana and celebrate getting a predator off the streets.
