Jack Stratton: Jacks Are Wild Part 45

She'll have to go all the way down and then cross over to the road. There's another dirt road that runs straight down. I can cut her off and get in front of her.

Jack's feet fumbled with the brake pedal as he furiously raced down the curving roads. He scanned ahead for the turn and gritted his teeth when he saw it. Both feet jammed down on the brake, slowing him down enough to take the hard right.

No one would call it a road-it was a logging path that ran straight down-but it was his only chance of getting to Marisa in time. Rocks pinged off the undercarriage of the Impala, and branches raked the car. One deep pothole tossed him sideways, and his head slammed into the window. His vision blurred, and he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. His eyes burned, and he blinked rapidly. He glanced at his hands and saw they were covered in blood.

After he swerved right around another pothole, the whole car lurched left as he clipped a tree. The sound of crus.h.i.+ng metal filled his ears as the car sc.r.a.ped along the pine trunk. In the rearview mirror, he saw his quarter panel spin off into the woods.

The road curved slightly left, and he fought the wheel as the front end kicked in the air off a rock. As the Impala shot forward, he was pushed into the seat belt, and pain exploded from his side.

The s.h.i.+rt came out. d.a.m.n.

His left hand shook as he reached again for his wound. Gulping for air that would only come in the smallest amounts, he struggled to see as branches raked the winds.h.i.+eld. He grasped the fabric and swore as he crammed it into the hole in his side.

A huge branch ripped off the driver's side mirror, and the winds.h.i.+eld spider-webbed with a loud crack. The wheel pulled left, which brought him swinging dangerously toward a tree, and he yanked right hard with both hands. The Impala straightened out, and so did the road. Jack tried to press himself back into the seat as his left hand started to shake.

Through the woods he saw the sedan. He was ahead of it now. If he went a little farther, he could double back. He floored it, and the shocks groaned in protest. The main road approached, and he locked up the brakes and cut the wheel.

His vision blurred, and his right hand trembled as he reached over and picked up the heavy Magnum.

He jammed the gas pedal down and the Impala surged forward. Jennifer's car came around the corner up ahead.

The sedan has an air bag. I have to hit her hard enough that Jennifer's not getting out. No way I live.

Jack rubbed the dashboard.

Sorry, baby. I don't think either of us makes it out today.

Jack steadied Paolo's gun on the dashboard as the speedometer's pointer raced up.

I'll never be able to hold the kick. I'll only get one shot.

The shot blew out the winds.h.i.+eld, and Jack winced as the huge gun jerked back. The Magnum spewed smoke and fire. Jack let it fall to the floor and put both hands on the wheel.

Steady.

Prescott's car kept coming straight at him.

She'll try to cut right.

He could see Jennifer now, and she looked scared.

Marisa's in the back with a seat belt. She should be safe.

Jennifer was shooting now, and bullets pinged off the Impala.

Jack made sure he flashed her a b.l.o.o.d.y grin.

For one split second, everything froze. He saw Marisa. Her head rose. She was in the backseat, and she looked directly at him.

Love. Guilt. Anguish. Anger.

Jack didn't know whether he could actually see all of those emotions on her face, or whether he just knew her so intimately he could tell her thoughts.

Please let her live.

Jennifer hit the brakes.

Jack hit the gas.

Tires screeched. Gla.s.s shattered. Metal exploded.

Everything went black.

Fool's Bargain Jack coughed and blood flew all over the dashboard. His head rested against cold gla.s.s. Puzzled, he opened his eyes. His vision was blurry but he could see the driver side window of the Impala somehow hadn't broken. As he looked around, he saw everything else had.

The whole front seat was at a strange angle; twisted metal rods poked through the firewall into the leg section of the pa.s.senger seat. Gla.s.s was everywhere, and the pa.s.senger door was gone.

Jack let his head roll to the left. Prescott's car was fused together with the Impala. His eyes searched for Marisa, but he could only see a small empty portion of the sedan's backseat. His breath was ragged and, as he exhaled, he could hear bubbling in his chest. He let his head fall back against the window. Smoke rose from the engines of the cars, but Jack could no longer move. His right hand twitched uncontrollably, and his legs were numb. He closed his eyes and listened to the hissing from somewhere in the wreckage.

The metal clinking on the road caused him to open his eyes. Someone stood where the pa.s.senger side door had been. Jack groaned as he tilted his head. Marisa stood there with tears running down her face. She shook her head. She knelt on the front seat where broken gla.s.s crunched beneath her.

"It's okay, Angel." Jack wheezed.

"No, not you, baby. Not you..." She touched his hand, but he couldn't feel it.

"Listen." Jack wheezed.

Crying, she pulled herself closer. She winced and gritted her teeth.

"No regrets." Jack coughed.

Marisa's hand reached out and softly caressed his face.

"No. Please, Jack. I can't lose you, too. Not because of me."

Jack tried to shake his head, but the pain cut off what little air he was getting.

"Favor?" His throat tightened.

Marisa nodded and tears fell on his shoulder.

"Live."

She sobbed and sat back on her haunches; she held up a hand while the other went to her mouth. Weeping, she nodded and moved out of the car.

"Hang on. I'll get help. I'll get help," she repeated as she stumbled backward.

She has no shoes.

Marisa started to run, and Jack's eyes narrowed. At first he thought she ran the wrong way but then he realized the impact had spun the cars around almost one hundred eighty degrees.

Marisa's hair fanned out as she raced away. She ran down the hill, and Jack smiled as he thought of the little girl in the picture.

She'll be okay.

Jack coughed and could feel the cold gla.s.s against the side of his face. He looked over at Prescott's car, and he could see Jennifer slumped over the steering wheel.

She's dead.

He watched as Marisa disappeared in the distance.

Fool's bargain.

He closed his eyes.

"JACK, JACK!"

Someone stood next to the driver's side of the car and beat on the window.

Jack's eyes slowly opened. Replacement pulled at the door with all her might. Her eyes were huge, and tears poured down her face. Jack lifted his head. He coughed, but no blood came out. Replacement ran around the car so she could crawl onto the seat. Her hands hovered over his broken body.

"Jack, what can I do?" she pleaded.

"Marisa...ran...down."

Replacement looked back, and he could see Kiku standing there.

"Kiku? Kiku, what can I do?" Replacement begged.

Kiku lowered her eyes.

Tell her.

Replacement's hand touched his head. "I'm going for help. Don't you give up. d.a.m.n it, Jack, please don't leave me."

"Alice..." Jack swallowed. "Thanks."

"Please?" Replacement begged.

Jack stopped and just looked at her. He could make out little gold flecks among the emerald green in her eyes. His eyes started to close but he forced them open and drew in a ragged breath.

Replacement turned and bolted. Her legs were a blur as she raced away. Her arms pumped, her feet kicked up, and he knew she was giving everything she had trying to save him. He knew she couldn't. She never looked back.

"I love you," Jack whispered.

His breathing became shallower. He looked over at Kiku, and she had her gun in her hand; it shook.

"Are you suffering, Officer?" Tears hung off her long lashes.

She can end this. End me.

He looked over at Jennifer's body.

I'm not afraid to die. I'm going to. It would be quick. Painless.

"I'm good." He managed a wink.

"You're in pain."

Pain. I'm suffocating. I can't feel half my body, and the parts I can I wish I couldn't.

"Pain and me, we're old friends." Jack coughed.

"Shall I tell Alice?"

"If I die."

Kiku nodded.

"Take care...of her..." Jack coughed, "from a distance."

Kiku started to weep.

Jack Stratton closed his eyes.

Very good hands Jack's eyes fluttered open, but he couldn't see. The light was so bright he had to shut his eyes again to let them adjust. He listened and heard a faint beep from some machine on his left. He felt sheets underneath him. The smell of antiseptics and medicines reached his nose, and his stomach churned.

Hospital.

Slowly, he opened his right eye. Marisa was asleep in the chair next to the bed. Her hand lay on the rail of his bed. Her cheeks were much thinner, but...

She's alive.

Jack gave up on thinking. There was a dull pain behind his eyes, and he could only imagine what it would feel like if he wasn't on whatever pain-killer they'd used to numb him.

He was covered in tubes and wires. When he tried to open his mouth, he realized some tube was even down his throat. The realization brought a quick panic, but his fatigue overrode his pain.

With considerable effort, he slid his hand over to b.u.mp Marisa's. Her eyes lifted like a sunrise, and her chest rose as she inhaled. Her lips pressed together, and the corners curled up as she closed her eyes again and settled back into the chair. Jack lifted his finger and rubbed it against hers. She gasped and sat bolt upright. He tried to smile, but the movement hurt his throat.

"JACK." Marisa jumped up and leaned close to him. "Don't move. Don't move. Doctor! Doctor!" She ran out into the hallway. He heard a crash in the corridor and running feet.

"Is he awake? JACK." Replacement sprinted into the room.

She ran so fast she didn't stop in time, and slammed into his bed. If it wasn't for the pain medication, Jack was certain he'd be crying like a baby as he felt a numbed ripple course through his body.

"Alice," Marisa snapped.