Gideon's Corpse Read Free Page A

armed —but he kept walking until he was less than fifty yards from the front door.
    “What the hell are you doing? Get back behind the barrier, he’ll kill you!” Hammersmith shouted into his earpiece.
    Gideon plucked the earpiece out, held it up. “Reed? You see this? You’re right. They were telling me what to say.” He tossed the earpiece on the asphalt. “But not anymore. From now on we talk straight.”
    “ Three, four, five— ”
    “Wait, for God’s sake, please .” Gideon spoke loudly. “He’s just a child. Listen to him screaming. You think he’s faking that?”
    “ Shut up! ” Chalker screamed at the boy, and, remarkably, the boy stopped. He stood, trembling and pale, his lips fluttering. “ My head! ” Chalker shrieked. “ My— ”
    “Remember when those school groups came to see the lab?” Gideon said, struggling to keep his voice calm. “You loved those kids, loved showing them around. And they responded to you. Not to me. Not to the others. To you. Remember that, Reed?”
    “ I’m burning up! ” Chalker screamed. “ They got the rays on again! I’ll kill him, and the death will be on your head, not mine! You HEAR me? SEVEN, EIGHT— ”
    “Let the poor boy go,” Gideon said, taking another step forward. It deeply frightened him that Chalker couldn’t even count straight. “Let him go. You can have me instead.”
    With a brusque motion, Chalker turned, aimed the weapon at Gideon. “ Get back, you’re one of them! ”
    Gideon held his arms out toward Chalker almost beseechingly. “You think I’m in on the conspiracy? Take your best shot. But please, please , let the kid go.”
    “ You asked for it! ” And Chalker fired.

4
     
    A ND MISSED.
    Gideon dropped to the tarmac, his heart suddenly pounding so hard it seemed to knock itself against his rib cage. He squeezed his eyes tight shut, waiting for another explosion, a searing pain, and oblivion.
    But a second shot did not come. He heard a confusing welter of noise, voices shouting over one another, the rasp of the megaphone. Slowly, slowly, he opened his eyes, looked toward the house. There was Chalker, barely visible in the doorway, holding the boy in front of him. He could tell from the way the man handled the weapon, his shaking hand, his stance and grip, that it was probably the first time in his life he had fired a handgun. And he was shooting from fifty yards.
    “ It’s a trick! ” Chalker shrieked. “ You’re not even Gideon! You’re a fake! ”
    Gideon got up slowly, keeping his hands in sight. His heart refused to slow down. “Reed, let’s just do the trade. Take me. Let the little boy go.”
    “ Tell them to turn off the rays! ”
    Don’t argue with his delusion , they had told him. It was good advice. But how the hell should he respond? “Reed, everything will be all right if you just release the boy. And the little girl.”
    “ Turn off the rays! ” Chalker crouched behind the boy, using him as cover. “ They’re killing me! Turn off the rays or I blow his head off! ”
    “We can work it out,” Gideon called. “Everything’s going to be fine. But you have to let the boy go.” He took another step, and another. He had to get close enough for a final rush—if it became necessary. If he didn’t rush Chalker, tackle him, the little boy would die and the snipers would take Chalker out—and Gideon didn’t think he could bear seeing that happen.
    Chalker screamed as if in agony. “ Stop the radiation! ” His whole body was shaking as he waved the gun around.
    How do you respond to a lunatic? Desperately, Gideon tried recalling the advice Fordyce had given him. Engage the hostage taker, stimulate his humanity.
    “Reed, look into the boy’s face. You’ll see how truly innocent he is—”
    “ My skin’s on fire! ” Chalker cried. “ I was counting! Where was I? Six, eight— ” He suddenly grimaced, his face contorted with pain. “ They’re doing it again! The burning, burning! ” Once