The kid with the gun was staring at him with hollow eyes, sweat dripping off his chin. Nick saw desperation in his eyes and knew exactly how he felt. He drew the .44 and aimed it directly at the kid’s face.

“Let the woman go,” he said in a cold voice.

Panting hard, the kid swallowed. “No way, man. If I let her go they’re gonna kill me!”

“No, they won’t kill you. But I will.”

The kid was trembling so hard he was choking the woman. Nick heard her gagging for air.

“Let her go or you both die.”

“You back off! I’ll shoot her if you don’t!”

Nick smiled slowly, looking as evil as he knew how. “Promise?”

The kid blinked. “What?”

“Promise me you’re going to kill her.”

“What—why would you want me to do that?”

“Because I can’t legally shoot you unless you do.”

“You—you mean, you want me to shoot her?”

Nick nodded eagerly. “Oh, yeah, I really do. Then I can blow your head into tomato soup. I haven’t killed anybody in a couple of weeks, and I’m getting edgy. The minute you shoot her, I can kill you and nobody will care.”

A yellow puddle began to spread around the suspect’s feet. His voice became even more ragged.

“You’re crazy, man! You’re fucking crazy!”

Nick licked his lips like a famine victim looking at food. He tightened his grip on the .44 and pulled the hammer back with an audible click. He shook his head.

“Not crazy, just desperate. I really need to do this, so please, go ahead. Shoot the woman.”

Nick’s gun began to tremble, as if he were desperately trying to control himself.

The kid stared at him another ten seconds, every other consideration forgotten. The puddle of piss continued to spread across the sidewalk.

“Please!” Nick repeated. “Do it. Shoot her! Give me a legal excuse.”

“Get the fuck away from me, man! Hey!” The kid glanced over his shoulder. “Somebody shoot this guy! Help me out here!”

Nick edged closer, his whole body shivering.

“I can’t wait much longer! If you don’t do something, I’m just gonna fire, even if I hit the woman too.”

But the kid was shaking his head. “Go away, will you? The cops are handling it! Let them do their job!”

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