‘It might be a good idea. Kyle and the others must be going crazy by now.’
Alicia groaned. ‘Not yet. I’m enjoying myself too much. Let’s go up to Meridian Hill Park. It has a great view of DC and every weekend there’s a drumming circle.’
She waved to the waitress for the bill. Connor reached for his wallet.
‘No, I’ll pay,’ Alicia insisted, pulling a Platinum American Express card from her purse.
The waitress raised an eyebrow in surprise. ‘No cards,’ she said, thumbing towards a scrappy sign above the till stating CASH ONLY.
Alicia sifted through her purse and pulled out a 100-dollar bill.
‘Don’t you have anything smaller?’ asked the waitress.
Alicia shook her head. ‘Sorry.’
With poorly concealed irritation, the waitress took the money. While they waited for their change, the two youths at the counter sipped on their Cokes but didn’t order any food. Connor’s sense of unease grew.
The waitress returned and managed her first genuine smile when Alicia left a hefty tip.
‘Come back soon,’ she called.
Unlikely, thought Connor as they stepped on to U Street.
Turning right, Alicia headed north again on 13th. But they’d only gone one block when Connor had the distinct feeling they were being followed. Pretending to watch a car pass by, his eyes swept the road and sidewalk. Among the scattering of pedestrians, he instantly recognized the Latino youth with the gold tooth walking several paces behind, nonchalantly slurping on his Coke. Connor told himself it could be pure coincidence. The lad probably lived nearby. But, to leave no doubt, Connor decided to employ some anti-surveillance techniques.
‘Let’s cross the road,’ he suggested to Alicia. ‘Stay out of the sun.’
‘Sure,’ said Alicia.
At the next junction, they switched to the other side. Connor snatched a look over his shoulder.
Gold Tooth had crossed the road too. Connor felt his heart rate increase. ‘Mirroring’ was one of the key signs. But this could still be an innocent matter of circumstance.
‘Hold on, Alicia, my shoelace has come undone,’ said Connor, bending down.
As he pretended to retie his lace, he glanced behind. Gold Tooth had also stopped, appearing suspicious as he hung around a parked car. But then he finished his Coke and dumped it in a trash can.
‘Not far now,’ said Alicia, oblivious to their tail. ‘It’s left here. Then just two blocks down on the right.’
They stopped at a crosswalk on the junction of 13th and W Streets. For Connor, this was the moment of truth. If Gold Tooth followed them towards the park, he knew they were in serious trouble.
The seconds counted down with excruciating slowness as Connor waited with Alicia for the pedestrian signal to turn green. A few metres behind, Gold Tooth loitered on the corner, yabbering into his mobile phone. Connor’s alert level had rocketed to Code Orange and he was ready to react at the slightest threatening move from the gangster.
The signal turned from red to green and Connor followed Alicia across the road, ensuring he was between her and Gold Tooth at all times. On the far side they bore left and made for the park. There were no pedestrians on the sidewalk ahead, so Connor risked a glance back. Gold Tooth still had his ear clamped to the mobile phone and was walking on past the junction.
‘Have you listened to anything I just said?’ asked Alicia.
‘Sorry,’ said Connor, allowing his awareness to return to Code Yellow.
‘The Meridian Hill Park is nicknamed “Malcolm X Park”. It has a thirteen-step waterfall –’
Alicia came to a sudden halt as a youth stepped out from behind a van and blocked their path. Connor cursed himself for letting his guard down. He’d been so focused on Gold Tooth, he’d forgotten about the other gang member with the crew cut. The lad was a good foot taller than Connor and his arms not only boasted tattoos, but vicious scars from numerous knife fights.
In the second that followed, Connor instinctively applied the A-C-E procedure from his training.
Assess the threat: gang member, high probability of carrying a knife or gun, one hundred per cent certainty of an attack.
Counter the danger: priority one – provide body cover for the Principal, then …
Escape the kill zone: evacuation options (A) fight way through the threat but risk injury; (B) turn round and retreat but danger of exposing back to knife or gun attack; (C) take side street to next busy road and find safety in numbers.
Grabbing Alicia by the shoulder, Connor took option C and pulled her towards the side street.
‘RUN!’ he shouted, keeping himself between her and the gangster.
Alicia was too stunned to do anything but obey. Yet no sooner had they begun to flee when Gold Tooth jumped out from a nearby alley and cut off their escape route.
‘Where you going so fast!’ he said, grinning to reveal his gleaming tooth.
Connor spun to take Alicia back the way they’d come. But Crew Cut was bearing down on them from behind.
‘Yo, girl, give us the bag,’ Gold Tooth demanded.
Connor looked around. There were no other people in sight to call for help, the two gang members having picked their mugging spot carefully. Panicking, Alicia became frozen to the spot and Connor recognized the symptoms of ‘brain fade’. He, on the other hand, was already pumped with adrenalin and able to think straight.
‘Do as he says,’ urged Connor, hoping that would put an end to their predicament. It was far better to lose a fancy bag than an invaluable life.
Alicia moved as if to comply, but as she unshouldered the bag she dived her hand in. Gold Tooth grabbed the Prada bag and wrenched it from her grip.
‘No tricks, girl,’ he spat. ‘You ain’t using no mace spray on me. That’ll cost you your necklace.’
‘No,’ Alicia protested, her hand going protectively to the silver chain. ‘It was my grandmother’s.’
‘Well, it’s mine now.’
Gold Tooth snatched for his prize. Connor instinctively stepped in to protect Alicia. But Gold Tooth got his fingers round the chain. Alicia jumped back, her wig and glasses dislodging as she fought to free herself. Her long dark locks tumbled out and Gold Tooth, taken by surprise, let go.
‘What the –?’ he yelled. Then his eyes widened in recognition. ‘I know you –’
Seizing on the distraction, Connor made his move. The situation demanded an all-or-nothing approach and he drove the edge of his hand into Gold Tooth’s throat. The sudden attack cut off the gangster’s air supply. Gold Tooth’s eyes bulged as he fought to breathe. He dropped Alicia’s bag, its contents spilling across the tarmac.
Connor immediately followed up with a hook punch to the solar plexus, then a lightning-fast upper cut to the jaw. There was a bone-jarring crunch and the gangster’s gold tooth flew from his mouth. Over in less than five seconds, the final punch knocked the former Gold Tooth unconscious and he collapsed to the sidewalk in a heap.
Alicia dropped to her knees, scrabbling for her bag’s discarded contents.
‘Leave it,’ said Connor, his priority her escape.
‘Behind you!’ cried Alicia as Crew Cut now charged in.
Connor spun to face the other gang member. In Crew Cut’s hand flashed the ominous steel glint of a switchblade. Alicia screamed as she saw the knife plunge into Connor’s side.