Green Light (Sam Archer 7) Read Online Free PDF Page A

second. She’d already dropped the
pizza box and booze and reached instinctively to her hip but there
was nothing there except an empty holster. Her weapon was with the
Department, left for analysis after the shooting at Union
Square.
    A beat
later there was another gunshot and Vargas took the round in the
neck, blood spraying into the air, and she hit the concrete hard in
a heap.
    Lying
there on his side, Archer stared at her in horror. He saw his Sig a
few feet away but it was out of reach. Fighting to breathe, he
looked across the lot and saw the masked man jump quickly out of
the van and put two bullets into the blond woman’s head, the harsh
gunshots booming in the night, someone screaming from somewhere
nearby as dogs barked in the distance.
    Turning,
the anonymous gunman then stalked towards Archer and
Vargas.
    Seeing
the man coming, Archer tried to reach for his pistol but the guy
made it before he could touch it and kicked the Sig away, the metal
gun skidding across the concrete out of reach.
    Standing
over him, the gunman then aimed his pistol at Archer’s head, smoke
coming from the barrel and the air stinking of cordite, greasy
straggly hair visible either side of the hockey mask.
    Waiting
for the final shot, staring at the last thing he’d ever see, Archer
suddenly saw the brown eyes behind the pistol barrel and hockey
mask widen.
    ‘ Oh shit,’ the guy said, his voice
muffled under the mask.
    Behind him, the driver of the van leant out and shouted to his
partner. ‘What are you doing? Kill
them!’
    ‘ They’re cops!’
    ‘ What?’
    ‘ They’re cops!’
    The
driver pushed open his door and stepped out, running around the van
with the engine still running.
    Both
Archer’s and Vargas’ NYPD vests were now clearly visible through
the parted fabric of their shirts, as were the badges on thin ball
chains around their necks.
    ‘ Shit! ’ the driver said, looking down
at the pair. ‘What the hell do we
do?’
    ‘ Screw it. We kill them.’
    ‘ Whoa, are you crazy? We’ll have the entire NYPD on our
asses!’
    ‘ They’ve seen us.’
    ‘ They haven’t seen shit!’
    The
gunman didn’t reply, his gun still aimed at Archer, indecision in
his eyes behind the mask as the driver’s words had an
effect.
    Suddenly
he turned his head a fraction. The sound of sirens could be heard
in the distance, the first responders reacting fast, someone having
already called 911 or patrols reacting to the sound of the
gunshots.
    ‘ Let’s go!’ the driver shouted,
running back to the van.
    Staying
where he was, his pistol still trained on Archer, the gunman
hesitated a moment longer, trying to decide what to do as he looked
at the downed cops.
    Helpless, Archer watched him as he fought for breath, Vargas
lying still as she bled out over the concrete a few feet from
him.
    The
approaching sirens in the distance spurred the gunman into a
decision.
    He swore
and ran over to the van, jumping into the back and pulling the
sliding door across as the driver floored it, the tyres squealing
as the vehicle sped out of the lot and away into the
night.

    With the
van and the two men gone, the car park was suddenly silent, the
noise of the receding vehicle fading as the sound of the sirens
grew louder.
    Still
half-winded, Archer hauled himself up and crawled over to Vargas,
his forearms imprinted with her blood from the concrete.
    She was
lying on her back, her head tilted to the right, and was looking up
at him. Blood was leaking out in a pool around her, already matting
her dark hair, her eyes wide with silent shock and fear as she
stared at him.
    He
clamped his right hand over the wound, holding his left to the side
of her head, looking down at her as she bled out.
    She
tried to say something, her lips moving slowly, but nothing came
out, her blood warm against his fingers as it continued to pulse
from the wound.
    ‘ Hold on, Alice,’ he whispered
fearfully, looking at her so they were face to face. ‘Just hold