Page 19 - Demo

1 8 JAGGEDEDGE
the flaming inferno as fast as he could and ran-limped toward the alley behind it. A few onlookers saw the spectacle and turned abruptly, looking casually as if this was a natural occurrence. Boom! The van exploded and onlookers gathered and slowly closed in for a better look.
In the alley, Tom leaned against the wall to soothe the mind- exploding pain. Almost spent, he tore a strip from his pants, and wrapped it tight around his thigh. He limped toward the far end of the alley realizing the wound was not as bad as he suspected because he could walk. Gradually he started to feel very weak, very dizzy. The loss of blood and sweat was now starting to take its toll. He knew he had to hold up somewhere soon. His new mission: find temporary refuge. He checked his side for his piece and was relieved It was still there. He continued down the alley. As he limped, new thoughts came to his mind and as long as he was living they had to be addressed.
“Damn,” he thought, how I hated Tina,” his now dead boss. “And to think I once believed I was in love with her. Now I just wished she were still alive. Why did she have to be such a damn hothead? Why couldn’t she just listen once in a while? She knew damn well, you don’t just waltz into a raid with a frontal attack. But there they were dying like flies because the boss’s daughter was in charge. It was really a waste of talent because she was smart and could deal on the level with any man. He knew that since she was dead, Corin would never believe that it was her fault the plan was a flop. Hell, if Corin knew how we actually pulled it off I might be shot on the spot for letting her do it. Corin had to take part of the blame himself. It was his daughter and he had to know she wouldn’t listen to me. Why would the kingpin of the biggest designer drug since crack allow family to participate in this kind of operation anyway? Trust. Ooh!
He tripped on a metal pipe and fell into a trash pile thinking without looking ahead. His body felt as if it would explode or implode. He didn’t really know which. It would be so easy to just lie here and die he thought. Suddenly, he heard voices from the