The Moses Legacy - Adam Palmer [57]
As Goliath pulled up level with her and shouted something out at her, she threw the Molotov cocktail as hard as she could through the open driver’s window of her car and the passenger window of his. She had been intending to throw it through the rear window, so that it would shatter on impact and explode. But at the last minute, she realized that she couldn’t be sure that it would penetrate. It would depend on how strong or reinforced the windows were. Within seconds, the interior of Goliath’s car was ablaze, including his clothes, as he screamed with pain and skidded this way and that.
But Sarit had no time to survey the results of her work. She put her foot down and pulled away quickly, casting a brief glance in her rear-view mirror to satisfy herself that the job was done.
What she didn’t see was the old man with the donkey and cart on the side road. But he had seen her and was surprised that she didn’t stay to help. It was for that reason that he whipped out a pen and wrote down what he remembered of her registration number on his hand.
Chapter 41
‘My name is Daniel Klein!’ Daniel shouted. ‘I’m a British professor and a friend of Akil Mansoor! This is Gabrielle Gusack! She’s also a friend of Professor Mansoor! We’re unarmed!’
‘I don’t think that’s going to help,’ said Gabrielle.
‘Why not?’
‘I don’t think they’re in a mood to listen.’
‘But they surely can’t think we did anything to harm Mansoor. We were the ones who summoned help, for God’s sake!’
‘Listen, Daniel, there’s no time to explain now, but on the count of three, get up and run to the left. There’s some cover there by those trees, and then some buildings. We can make it to a side street and get clear of them; they’ll have to drive the long way round.’
‘But if we run, it’ll just make it look as if we’ve got something to hide.’
‘And if we don’t run, we’ll be the subject of endless discussions and debates on the news and talk radio long after our funerals.’
And with that she started her quiet countdown. ‘One, two, three!’
She raised herself only as high as she needed to in order to run and sprinted to the left, just like she had said. Danny barely had time to admire her speed, for – against his better judgement – he found himself running too.
Keeping his head down, he couldn’t see the flashes of the guns or the streaks of the bullets. Neither could he see where the shots were landing. It was only when the gunfire subsided and he felt safe enough to slow down, that he saw Gabrielle turning back towards him, almost smiling with exhilaration.
For a moment, Daniel’s mind returned to the thought that maybe the police did think that they had deliberately harmed Mansoor. But even if so, shooting at them still made no sense. Why not simply tell them to put their hands up and surrender?
‘I don’t understand why they’re firing at us,’ he said in desperation.
He was about to say more, when he noticed that Gabrielle was bleeding from the shoulder.
‘They’re afraid of coming into contact with us,’ she said, grimacing from the pain.
Chapter 42
The bitch! thought Goliath. The fucking evil bitch!
He didn’t know who she was. In his agony, with his clothes on fire, all he knew was that she was the enemy.
The searing pain enveloped his body.
Get out! his mind was screaming. Get out! But it was easier said than done. To get out he would have had to use his hands and he couldn’t even feel his hands.
Neither, for that matter, could he see. His eyes were closed and his eyeballs were so hot it was as if they were melting in their sockets.
He heard the door opening and felt hands upon him, under his armpits. The hands were small, yet their grip was surprisingly strong.
‘Wa ismaholiya mousa’a aidatica.’
He didn’t understand the words. But he could tell from the tone that someone was trying to help.