Holy Terror by Graham Masterton Read Free Book Online Page A

Darrell shook his head. ‘
Lardass
!’ the Angel Gabriel insisted. ‘
Can you hear me, lardass! We’re going for it
!’
    Three or four more rifle shots echoed across the perfume department. Counters shattered, mirrors burst apart, display bottles of perfume exploded. A huge Lalique statue of a woman combing her hair blew up like a bomb, and scattered fragments everywhere.
    â€˜Hold fire!’ yelled Conor. ‘For God’s sake, this is insane!’
    Ray hunkered down next to them, still panting and still sweating. ‘Holy shit, man, this is a massacre!’
    Conor ducked between the counters. He came right up to the Angel Gabriel and said, ‘Give this up! In the name of the Lord thy God, give up!’
    â€˜Come on, man,’ said Ray. ‘We don’t have any goddamned choice!’
    Doris mewled in terror and kicked her feet. The Angel Gabriel jabbed the Uzi’s muzzle even harder into the side of her head and whispered, ‘I’ll kill her. I swear on the Holy Bible that I’ll kill her.’
    Ray was babbling, ‘Save my ass, Jesus whatever you do, save my ass Virgin Mary, don’t let me die here today.’ Abruptly he stopped babbling and fell forward, his arm flopping across Conor’s legs. As Conor turned, blood sprayed all over the side of the counter. Half of Ray’s head was missing and a piece of skull like a coconut shell was rocking backward and forward on the floor.
    The Angel Gabriel was screaming something at Sergeant Wexler. While his attention was distracted,Conor pried open Ray’s bloodied fingers and took his .44. He unfastened the bottom two buttons of his uniform shirt and shoved the gun into his belt. He paused for a moment to catch his breath. Then he shouted, ‘Sergeant Wexler! Do you hear me, Sergeant Wexler?’
    â€˜I hear you.’
    â€˜I’m coming out! Do you hear me? Our friend here wants to make a deal.’
    Gabriel hissed, ‘
Deal
? What the fuck are you talking about,
deal
? I’m not making any goddamned deal. Either they let me out of here, or the woman gets it. That’s all.’
    But Conor pressed his finger to his lips. ‘Trust me, OK? I want to get you out of here as much as you want to leave.’
    He cautiously stood up, with his hands half raised. ‘Come on, then,’ said Wexler, beckoning him forward.
    Conor made his way between the counters. Sergeant Wexler holstered his gun as he approached and said, ‘Get this straight. I’m not going to be making any concessions here, O’Neil.’
    â€˜You don’t have to. I just want to take this firefight out of the store before any more civilians get hurt.’
    â€˜So what’s the proposition?’
    Conor leaned forward as if he were going to say something quietly; and Sergeant Wexler leaned forward too. Without warning, Conor seized him around the neck and dragged Ray’s gun out of his waistband. He jammed the muzzle into Wexler’s love-handles. The surrounding officers swung their rifles around and screamed out hysterically, ‘
Drop it
!’but Conor kept so close behind Sergeant Wexler that none of them dared to shoot.
    â€˜What the hell do you think you’re doing, O’Neil?’ Wexler raged, in a strangled voice. Til have your guts for this!’
    â€˜I’ll be having your guts first. Tell your guys to back off.’
    â€˜The hell I will. You won’t shoot me and you know it.’
    â€˜Try me. When did you ever know me to make a threat and not carry it out? I mean,
ever
?’
    Sweat was glistening between the prickly folds of Sergeant Wexler’s neck. He was panting as if he had just run up and down a fire escape.
    â€˜OK,’ he said. ‘But I swear on my mother’s life that you’re not going to get away with this.’ He took a deep breath, and then ordered, ‘Everybody lower your weapons and hold fire. Miskowtec – that means