Page 127 of Gunslinger Girl

“Wait!” he cried, but Halcyon disappeared through a door at the edge of the arena, slamming it shut behind him.

As Sheridan scrambled to his feet, Pity took aim again. “Don’t mo—”

He spun and fired. Pity dove into the stands, bullets slashing around her. She screamed as her injured shoulder collided with the edge of a seat, the gun flying from her left hand. Razor-sharp pain streaked down her side. She gritted her teeth and searched for the weapon, but it had disappeared among the stands.

Dammit. She tried to lift her arm, but it barely obeyed. One-handed, reloading was almost impossible.

Six shots left.

She flinched as another shot splintered the wood of a seat a few yards away.

“Did I get you, Pity?” Sheridan called.

“’Fraid not.” Sound strong. Don’t let him know you’re hurt. “You’re not that good of a shot, Patrick.” Pity wormed her way down the aisle on her stomach. She had the high ground, but right now he’d pick her off the moment she stood.

“What are you doing here, Pity?” Between the seats, she could see him backing toward the door as he searched for her, face taut with fear. “Why aren’t you with Max? That wound looked pretty bad to me. He might be dying right now.”

She slid along faster. The end of the aisle, and a better line of sight, was only a few yards away. He’s goading you. Don’t listen. But in her mind she saw the blood seeping out of Max’s stomach, his too-pale face. A red haze of anger settled on her. She gripped her gun tighter.

“There might still be time to get to him,” Sheridan said. “If you throw down your weapons now and come out, I promise not to shoot.”

But he didn’t wait for an answer. Reaching the door, he tried to open it.

It was locked.

With a cry of frustration, he turned and fired at the latch.

Pity pushed herself up. In an instant, Sheridan was in her sights.

Inhale, aim…

As her finger tightened on the trigger, the haze dissipated. For all that he’d done, for every corpse he’d left in his wake, she couldn’t bring herself to shoot him in the back. She stood instead, keeping him in her sights as she tucked her useless arm to her side. “Even if you get that open, where are you going?”

Sheridan swung his weapon back to her. But he didn’t fire.

Be careful, said a voice in the back of her head. He’s doesn’t have much left to lose. “Halcyon abandoned you. Do you know a safe way out of Casimir without him?”

Silence answered her question.

“You’re not getting out of here, Patrick.” Wondering whether she’d lost her mind, Pity holstered her gun and raised her empty hand. “Santino and Daneko are dead. Your mercenaries failed to take Casimir. You’ve got only one chance left: surrender.”

He stared at her, uncomprehending. “I don’t understand.”

“If Max dies, you’re dead, too.” The barrel of his gun followed her as she made her way down the stairs. With each step she expected to feel the sharp sting of a bullet through her flesh. But Sheridan didn’t move a muscle. “Whether Selene kills you, or you escape somehow and Drakos-Pryce finds out the part you played in his death.”

She reached the arena floor and made her way toward him. He mirrored her movements, until they stood in the center of the arena, a dozen paces separating them.

“But if he survives…” She tried to swallow the lump in her throat. “We tell Selene who he is. She can use him as a hostage, force Drakos-Pryce to keep up their endorsement of you.”

It was bad coin, but it was all Pity had left to trade. Siena wouldn’t be happy, and maybe Max wouldn’t, either, but there were worse prisons than Casimir. Assuming he wasn’t dead yet.

“Selene wants to protect Cessation,” she continued. “That hasn’t changed. And she is nothing if not brutally practical. Offer her that and maybe she’ll let you live.”

Sheridan shook his head. “No… Selene would never trust me.”

“She doesn’t have to trust you,” Pity said. “She only has to control you. Think about it: You still get the presidency. Selene gets you. Max remains in Cessation with me. We’ll all have what we want.”

“It won’t work.” But there was something new in his demeanor. Hope, she prayed. “Too many people know I tried to kill Selene.”