Page 30 (1/2)

2:35 PM

Agra, India

Gray hurried down the street The closer he got to the major intersection ahead, the worse the traffic snarled Pedestrians were now packed shoulder to shoulder, slowly flowing through the creeping vehicles The festival closed off the hfare Traffic was diverted to secondary roads

Horns blared, bicycle bells rang, people yelled and cursed

Behind them, the screarowl Even the hunters had beco of humanity Still, Gray made sure to stay low

Kowalski shoved closer to hion "Solanced back The three black ers had abandoned the bikes and now followed through the crowd behind them Two flanked the road, and one came down the center of the street

Three threats had become six

"Don’t like those odds," Gray mumbled He came up with a fast plan and told Kowalski what to do and where to h road You take the low"

The large man crouched in front of a truck He stared at the s from horse, donkey, and camel underfoot "How co white"

With a shake of his head, Kowalski dropped even lower, one hand on the asphalt In a crouch, he shuffled back toward the hotel

Holding the Panama hat atop his head, Gray leaped to the trunk of the taxi ahead and fled across the top of it toward the festival His boots pounded a timpani across the taxi’s rooftop and hood--then he bounded over to the next car in line and continued down the street, leaping and claons Shouts followed him, and fists shook in his wake But in the buh road was the faster lanced over a shoulder As he’d hoped, the hunters had spotted him In order not to lose hih road, too They came after him from three different directions, but at least they were too unbalanced to risk a shot at hi Masterson’s cane for balance and support, Gray leapfrogged his way toward the noisy, boisterous festival He had to lure the three foot across the roof of a van, Gray surveyed the congested sea of humanity behind him Only this sea had a new shark in its waters now Gray could not spot Kowalski, but he witnessed the side a truck When it reached the front, the cyclist suddenly jerked upright, his body shaking Gray heard a distant pop-pop-pop, like the celebratory firecrackers that echoed fro sea

Kowalski reht, it was easy for the large man to drop back, lie in wait, then jab his stolen M4 carbine into the rider as he passed Point-blank,these seas

Gray left the large man to his bloody work and continued toward the confusion and chaos that was the festival It sang, danced, cheered, laughed, and screa out with the clash of cymbals It was the festival of Janmashtae, he spotted patches of folks dancing the Ras Lila, a traditional Manipuri dance representing Krishna’s early, mischievous years when he had dalliances with milkhigh across the street The pots, called dahi-handi, were filled with curd and butter The game reenacted Krishna’s childish exploits, when he and his boyhood friends used to steal butter frohbors

Gray heard the traditional chant of support

"Govinda! Govinda!"

Another name for Krishna

Gray raced across the top of vehicles toward the festival With the road ahead blocked off and traffic diverted, Gray’s high road ended at the street party He leaped off the hood of the last taxi and into the crowd

As he landed amid thehis disguise and blending into the crowd He kept the cane in one hand and his pistol pressed to his thigh as he pushed through the e of the festival where shops and food wagons croith patrons lined the street square

The plan was to regroup with Kowalski at the northwest corner of the square They dared not continue to the rendezvous at the fort until they knew they’d shaken their tail Gray reached a building with a fire escape The metal ladder was pulled down, the balconies croith people enjoying the festival below Gray clie place to observe the crowds and watch for Kowalski

Reaching the level, Gray spotted one of his pursuers as he leaped from the hood of a truck into the mass of the festival His other two compatriots were already in the mix, readily discernible by their black helmets One bent down and lifted a soiled, traust and frustration

Gray hoped they’d realize the hopelessness of their situation and retreat But nothing was ever that easy

Kowalski burst into the crowd His suit jacket was a rumpled ruin His hands were eht The e partier He surveyed the croith a hand shielding his eyes against the glare as he pushed through the sea of revelry

Only this time, Kowalski wasn’t the shark in the waters

One of the hel hiood

Gray turned, but the balcony had grown even more crowded, the ladder jammed up with people He’d never reach the center of the crowd in ti back around, Gray , then leaped off it--straight up