FOLLOW THE LEADER - Chapter 81

 Chapter 81

Something changed. The coyote was growling, not barking. She had not succeeded in scaring away the intruder. Now she was in attack mode.

Like me, she was waiting for her prey to emerge.

Finally in place and out of Power’s sight, I crept up and hid behind one of the tall slabs of rock.  I had made it up a pile of smaller rocks so I was perched to jump if it came to that.

Below me I saw that the coyote had followed me. She had heard the noises and sniffed my scent, probably wondering what the hell I was going to do. As was I. She looked up and saw me. Neither of us flinched. Somehow she knew I was not a threat. Just another big dumb guy from the city.

By following me she had moved away from the cave’s mouth. Which would give Powers an opportunity to sneak away.

Powers was coming out. He had to.

It was one of those once-in-a lifetime moments for all three of us. I saw her two pups skitter up behind her. She quickly turned to check on them, then turned back to stare at the cave.

Her ears twitched.

He was coming out. 

Powers slowly emerged, holding the .22 with a silencer.  I saw that he was all in black and wearing a balaclava. He spotted the coyote, some ten feet away. Still not an easy shot in the night fog.

She was crouching, making it more difficult.

I picked up a stone and threw it into the brush.

Powers swung around, his back to me, ready to shoot. 

I dropped down on him. He pitched forward and slammed to the ground, with me on top of him—without dropping his gun. I scrambled up and over him and held down his shooting arm. 

“Get the fuck off me,” he snarled. “Whoever you are.”

“No chance,” I said.
I was squatting on his upper back, holding his gun arm against the ground.

“So it’s you, Kelly. If it’s money you want…”

“You behind bars. That’s what I want.”

“Don’t be a fool. I can set you up for life,” he grunted.

“You’ll get life.”

“Funny man.”

My phone buzzed.

Probably fucking Colin!

“Better get that,” said Powers.

I was about to make a snappy reply when she hit me from behind. I smelled her rank breath on my neck. In seconds she would bite through my collar and go for my jugular.

“Let go, bitch! I’m not your enemy.”

She didn’t.

Powers laughed. He had scrambled clear of us, still holding his gun. He waited to get a clear shot at me. I rolled away so he couldn’t.  I felt blood coming down the back of my neck.  

Suddenly the coyote let go of me and dashed off into the brush with her pups. Apparently, two humans were two too many.

“Well, well, well.” Powers gloated.

“Well well what?” I growled.

“Soon as you got down on her level, she saw you as weak and attacked. Law of the jungle, Kelly. Pick off the weak ones.” 

He pointed the .22 straight at my head.

“So that’s how you justify killing innocent people? You’re nothing but an ugly hyena.” 

“No, I’m a laughing hyena. Know why I’m laughing? I’ve got the gun!” 

Blam!

Jason fell back, firing a shot to nowhere before he hit the ground and let loose of his gun.

I was still standing, but bleeding like hell. 

Colin strode into the clearing, his .38 Chief’s Special still smoking.

“Are you all right?” he called.

“Yeah,” I managed, my voice quavering.

I rushed over to take Jason’s pistol from his hand.

“Don’t touch it, Frank!”

Of course. Prints.

Colin rushed over and snatched up the pistol, holding it by its trigger guard.

Colin aimed his own gun at Jason’s head, ready to put one in his skull if need be.

Which would have been a bad idea.

Jason Powers was still alive, but he was finished for the night. And maybe for good, at long last.

Colin wrapped his handkerchief around Jason’s gun and handed it to me.

“Hold it while I call this in. Don’t shoot yourself in the nuts. You look pretty shaky.”

I took the gun. Even with the silencer attached, it felt light. Nothing like Colin’s hefty.38. With my other hand I tried to staunch the bleeding from my neck wound. She had missed my jugular.

Never get between a coyote and her prey. 

“Thanks man,” I said. It was all I could think to say.

“We better get you a rabies shot,” he said.

“You think?”