“I don’t understand!” I said. “Please, let’s talk calmly.”

“Fuck you!” She fired a round, shattering my left kneecap. I collapsed on the floor, pain shooting through my nerves, my eyes forced shut from the sensory overload. “We were supposed to kill Jessica, her guards, and the cop. Then Mess would kill you with Jessica’s weapon, so that it looked like there was nobody else involved!”

She fired another round, into my right leg. I was amazed at the fact that I could actually experience more pain than I had before.

“But now you’ve fucked it up! Mess is dead, the guards are gone, and who knows where that fucking cop-” Marli’s forehead exploded, splattering bone and blood all over me and the wall I had fallen against. She collapsed in a heap.

“That fucking cop,” said Kevin, “is right here. And he keeps a spare.”

“Thank God,” I said, “help me up, we’ve got to go!”

“Not so fast, Mister Young.” He aimed his pistol at me.

Oh, Joe, I thought to myself. How could you have been so stupid?