Niceville Read Online Free PDF

the pebbled surface of the highway.
    “What have you got?”
    Coker listened to a short hard-edged exchange between Danziger and Merle Zane, the driver, both voices a little adrenalized, which was only natural.
    “So far only four,” said Danziger, coming back, “They’re right on us but staying back. We’ve got one news chopper with us, but far as we can see no cops in the air yet. Anything up ahead?”
    Coker looked down at the little portable TV on the ground beside him. On the tiny plasma screen he could see a dull black bullet-shaped car with a front like a clenched fist, Merle Zane’s Chrysler Magnum, flying down a curving ribbon of county road, patchwork farmlands all around, with four cars in close pursuit, two charcoal-gray and blackCrown Vics, what looked like a black and tan deputy sheriff car, also a Crown Vic, and one dark blue unmarked car, a flying brick with big fat tires and a rack of black steel bumper bars right up front.
    The image was coming from a local news chopper following the chase. Coker could see the roof-rack lights on the patrol cars flickering red and blue.
    Coker twisted the VOLUME button and heard the hyperventilating commentary of a young female newscaster describing the chase. The image pulled back as the chopper lifted to clear a line of transmission towers, briefly showing a rolling blue country with low brown hills far off to the south.
    Coker was waiting in those low brown hills.
    He picked up the radio, keyed it.
    “So far no roadblocks, road is clear. Confirm you have four units. Two state and a deputy. The blue Dodge Charger is one of their chase units. A hemi, three sixty-eight mill, a roll-cage, those heavy-duty ram bars. They’ve got him laying back in the pack but at the first chance he’ll pull around and climb right up your tailpipe. He’ll use those bumper bars on your off-side taillight, put you into a spin. Don’t let him get close.”
    “We won’t,” said Danziger. “So nobody up ahead?”
    Danziger’s tone was still flat, but Coker could hear the tension in his throat. Coker was monitoring the police frequencies, listening to the cross talk between dispatch and the pursuit cars.
    “They’ve called for units from Sectors Four and Nine, but so far only two units can respond, and they’re twenty miles off, on the other side of the Belfair Range. They’re spread all over the county and most of their guys are up on the interstate, helping with traffic around the crash site. That’s where their chopper is too.”
    “Okay,” said Danziger. “Good—”
    Coker heard a solid thump, and the sound of glass cracking, and then Merle Zane’s voice, swearing softly.
    “Christ. They’re shooting at us.”
    Coker glanced down at the television, heard the announcer’s excited voice, her words tumbling out in a rush. The banner along the bottom of the screen read HAPPENING NOW! POLICE CHASE ROUTE 311 SOUTH SKYCAM NEWS POLICE CHASE! HAPPENING NOW! but the crawl did notname her. Coker figured whoever she was, she was having a hell of a good time.
    Good for you
.
    Get it while you can, kid
.
    “Like I said. You’re letting them get too close.”
    Coker heard the sound of a pistol firing, a series of sharp percussive cracks, and then Merle Zane’s voice.
    “Danziger’s shooting back.”
    “Well, tell him don’t, Merle. Shooting back just motivates them. He oughta know that. Tell him to keep his head down or they’ll take it off.”
    He heard Merle Zane barking at Danziger, heard Danziger’s heated reply, but the shooting stopped, and then Merle was talking again.
    “Mile marker 40. We’re two miles out.”
    “I’m here,” he said, and clicked off.
    He turned the sound on the plasma screen down and shut off the police radio. Didn’t really matter what the State guys were doing right now.
    Whatever it was, it was too late.
    The news chopper—now
that
was a problem.
    He looked at the TV screen, trying to get an idea of how high up the chopper was, the