chance. The gun was in the holster but I could not move from the chair or reach out to him. My mind could no longer send messages to my body. I sat motionless and could only watch as he matter-of-factly pressed the point of the needle into my unbandaged palm. He repeated the procedure with two of my fingers. I made no move to stop it.
“That’s good, Jack. I think you are ready for me now. Remember, arms like dead weights. You just can’t move them no matter how much you want to. You can’t speak, no matter how much you want to. But keep your eyes open, Jack, you don’t want to miss this.”
He stepped back and looked at me with an appraising look.
“Who’s best now, Jack?” he asked. “Who’s the better man? Who has won and who has lost?”
My mind filled with revulsion. I couldn’t move my arms or speak but still felt the energy wave of absolute fear go screaming through me. I felt tears form in my eyes but they didn’t fall. I watched as his hands went to his belt buckle and he said, “I don’t even have to use rubbers anymore, Jack.”
Just as he said that the light in the alcove behind him went out. Then I saw movement in the shadows left behind and heard her voice. Rachel.
“Don’t move an inch, Bob. Not even an inch.”
She said it calmly and confidently. Backus froze, his eyes on mine, as if he could see her reflection in them. They were dead eyes. His right hand, shielded from Rachel’s view, started moving inside his jacket. I wanted to call out a warning but I could not. At once, I strained every muscle of my body to move just an inch and my left leg kicked out from the chair impotently.
But it was enough. The hold Backus had was losing its grip.
“Rachel!” I yelled just as Backus pulled his gun from his holster and spun around on her.
There was an exchange of shots and Backus was launched backward onto the floor. I heard the shattering of one of the glass panels and the cool evening air rushed into the room as Backus scrambled to cover behind the chair I sat in.
Rachel dipped around the corner, grabbed the lamp and jerked it away from the socket. The house plunged into a darkness only interrupted by the stray light from the Valley below. Backus fired twice more at her, the report of his weapon so close to my head it was deafening. I felt him jerk the chair backward to give him better cover. I was like a man coming out of a deep dream, struggling just to move. As I began to pull myself up, his hand clamped over my shoulder and pulled me back down into the chair. It held me in place.
“Rachel,” Backus called out. “You shoot and you hit him, you want that? Put the gun down and come out. We’ll talk about this.”
“Forget it, Rachel,” I called. “He’ll kill us both. Shoot him! Shoot him!”
Rachel swung around the bullet-pocked wall once more. This time she was low to the ground. The barrel of her gun took a bead on a spot just over my right shoulder but she hesitated. Backus didn’t. He fired twice more as Rachel dove back to cover and I saw the corner of the alcove entrance explode in plaster dust and debris.
“Rachel!” I yelled.
I dug the heels of both shoes into the carpet and in one great burst of what strength I could command I shoved the chair back as hard and as quick as I could.
The move surprised Backus. I felt the chair hit him solidly, its impact knocking him away from cover. At that moment Rachel wheeled around the corner of the alcove and the room exploded in the light of another round being fired from her gun.
Behind me I heard a shriek from Backus and then silence. My eyes now adjusted to the dim light, I saw Rachel step out of the alcove and come toward me. She held her gun raised in both hands, her elbows locked. The weapon was pointed past me. I slowly turned as she stepped by. At the precipice, she pointed the gun down toward the darkness into which Backus had fallen. She stood stock still for at least a half a minute before being satisfied that he was gone.
Silence gripped the house. I felt the cool night air against my skin.