their direction, then stood up and joined them. They huddled up several steps away.
"They don't look happy," offered Cat.
"I don't blame them," replied Carl.
Crow sighed. "Okay. Let's have it."
"The Mayor & Co. are back and pissed."
"How pissed?"
"We're trapped."
Father Adam leaned forward. "Define 'trapped.'"
"Boxed in. Barricaded. Six square blocks of downtown. No in. No out. Just the team and those six cop buddies of the deputy's. And they're about to leave."
"They are?"
"Got to. The chief fired them by radio just about the time y'all went in the second time."
"But they stuck by us?" asked Father Adam.
Carl shrugged. "They wouldn't leave without Kirk."
Cat, remembering the deputy's javelin-toss of the pike, said, "I don't blame them."
They looked up as Kirk came back.
"How does it look, deputy?" Crow asked him.
Kirk and the other policemen exchanged looks before he spoke.
"I think they're going to try to arrest us in the next few minutes."
Carl groaned. "Aw, shit!"
The deputy went on. "They've got riot gear and tear gas and assault weapons and the rest of it. They're plenty serious."
Jack eyed him a moment. "So are we."
The policeman standing alongside Kirk didn't like the sound of this.
"Mr. Crow," said their spokesman, "you see, they got the idea somehow that you're planning to burn down the jail or something."
Jack blew a smoke ring. "That's the plan."
The policeman snorted. "That tears it! Kirk, you've gotta get away from these loonies. They're gonna get you busted or killed or - "
"I've seen a vampire, Wyatt," snapped the deputy. "And I think he's right."
Wyatt snorted again. "Right to blow up the jail?"
"Remember, Wyatt. I've seen a vampire. I think they oughta use an atomic bomb on the sonuvabitch."
And for a few moments no one spoke.
Finally, Wyatt exchanged another look with his fellow officers and spoke. "Okay, Kirk. This is your deal. Do what you gotta do. But they're not, gonna let you take out the jail - and we ain't gonna go along with you on the off chance that you're right."
Jack Crow nodded. "Understood, officer."
The cop glanced at Crow. "Mighty nice. But I was talking to the deputy." He turned back to Kirk. "Kirk, you gotta get away from here. Now. Take these guys with you if you feel you gotta. But get out.
"No," said Jack but the cop ignored him.
"Get away and regroup. Come back tomorrow, or maybe - "
"No!" barked Crow and stood up. "Look, officer, we can't leave and come back later. It'll be dark soon. They'll be out then. They'll be free. And these people here will be issuing warrants for our arrest...
"They already have."
"And outside of this zoo those warrants are going to look real and we'll go to jail and those beasts will find out where we're being held and if that place is a tin box like you have here or the Dallas County fucking Jail, they'll kick their way through the walls like you kick through a picket fence and they'll carve their way through anybody who tries to stop them and they will kill us!"
Crow stopped abruptly and stared at the other man and breathed hard and mad and for just an instant Cat was afraid the punches would start.
But they didn't.
Wyatt, the cop, just sighed and shook his head. Then he waved to Kirk, said, "Good luck, buddy," and then he and the rest of them were into their squad cars and gone.
"Alone at last," offered Cat.
"Not funny, Cherry," retorted Jack. "You and Felix and the deputy get off your asses and go see about this barricade business. See how tight the seal is. Maybe we can figure a way of buying some time." He paused, looked at the sun low in the sky. "What little there is of it."
"Don't bother," replied Kirk. "I know the emergency plans for this city. That seal is real tight." He eyed Crow defensively. "This really is a fine local department here."
Crow returned the look. "I believe you," he replied sincerely.
"So," said Father Adam, "we're stymied."
"Unless you're willing to start shooting peace officers," said the deputy.
Felix and Crow traded a glance.
"I don't shoot people anymore," said the gunman in a low, firm voice.
"It wasn't a serious statement," the deputy assured him quickly.
"Good," said Felix.
"Why," Kirk asked quickly, "don't you just set off the charges now? Before they can stop you?"
Jack shook his head. "It's more than one boom, deputy. We have to level the whole damn structure before they'll be driven out. We have to plant charges deep into the rubble usually, before they pop.