Page 132
WE HIDE THE Unimog along a bend in the road in Griffith Park out of sight of the mansion. Then we wait. Candy stays behind the wheel with the engine running. The rest of us wait in the trees.
An hour or so later, Bill sees something moving below us. He takes out his telescope and surveys the road.
“One of them vans is coming.”
I move up next to him.
“You sure it’s just one?”
“My eyes work just fine. It’s one.”
“Then let’s get ready. Remember, we leave one of the guards alive to tell Quay what happened.”
“What if there are angels?” says Bill.
“Them we kill. Right?”
I look at Hesediel.
“I’ll dispatch the rebels,” she says.
“Then it’s a plan.”
We wait for the van to come up the hill. When it’s almost abreast of us, Candy guns the Unimog’s engine and plows into the side of the van, pushing it off the road. No one gets out for a minute. Then the passenger-side door bursts open and a Legionnaire lurches out. He swings his rifle at the Unimog.
Bill and I step out of the trees, but Candy blasts him with the Benelli before we can even take aim.
The van’s side door slides open and more Hellions stumble into the road, shooting in all directions. There are four of them, and none is in good shape. Bill shoots one and I get another. The other two freeze where they are when Hesediel comes out, her armor glowing in Hell’s dim light like it’s made of fire. When the two idiots get the idea that maybe it’s a good time to shoot, it’s too late. Their bullets bounce off Hesediel’s armor. She cuts one down with a single stroke of her Gladius. She swings again and cuts the other one’s arms off. His rifle tumbles to the ground and he falls against the van, his wounds seared closed by the Gladius’s burning blade.
I jump into the van while Hesediel and Bill watch my back.
The woman is pressed against the interior on the far side of the van, her eyes as big as weather balloons. I look her over for weapons and wounds. I don’t see any guns, but she has a cut over her left eye.
I aim the Glock at her.
“You can get out with me or let the angel drag you out.”
She puts her hands up and slides across the seat. I take her arm and help her into the road. She stumbles, a little wobbly after the crash.
I give her to Bill and kneel by the armless Legionnaire.
“Can you hear me?”
“Yes,” he says.
“Tell Norris Quay to meet us at the Hollywood Bowl in two hours. If he doesn’t come alone, we’re going to barbecue Miss America and serve her with beans. Got it?”
“Two hours at the Hollywood Bowl.”
“What else?”
He looks down at where his arms used to be.
“He’s to come alone.”
“Who said you Legionnaires were all blockheads? Wait, it was me.”
Bill taps me on the back.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 128
- Page 129
- Page 130
- Page 131
- Page 132 (Reading here)
- Page 133
- Page 134
- Page 135
- Page 136
- Page 137
- Page 138
- Page 139
- Page 140
- Page 141
- Page 142
- Page 143
- Page 144
- Page 145
- Page 146
- Page 147
- Page 148
- Page 149
- Page 150
- Page 151
- Page 152
- Page 153
- Page 154
- Page 155
- Page 156
- Page 157
- Page 158
- Page 159
- Page 160
- Page 161
- Page 162
- Page 163
- Page 164
- Page 165
- Page 166
- Page 167
- Page 168
- Page 169
- Page 170
- Page 171
- Page 172
- Page 173
- Page 174
- Page 175
- Page 176
- Page 177
- Page 178
- Page 179
- Page 180
- Page 181
- Page 182
- Page 183
- Page 184
- Page 185