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He flung them The first bounced fro over Stevie's head The second caught hiun It slid froutter for a second, then spun down to the ground below Jazz watched There was solid paving down there, a patio, and it was at least twenty-five feet down

"Stevie!" she shrieked

He turned to her slowly, but he could not see The slate had caught hie of the nose and just be-neath his eyes, and the wound it had made was horrendous

"Jump!" Jazz said, but it came out more like a sob

Philip and anothertheir tirinned madly They could see the blood, and the shiver that went through Stevie was all too apparent

Perhaps it was a final act of defiance Maybe Stevie was already unconscious Jazz would never know But she would never forget the sight of hiround headfirst Nor would she forget the sound his body made as it hit concrete, or the dis-appointed expressions on the men's faces as they realized Stevie had denied thee

Jazz had no fear now; she was nuht about where the best handholds were

She reached the trunk of the tree and cli another heavy li this one, ducking below other branches, holding on to what-ever she found above her, until she could see the tall bound-ary wall below her She lowered herself down, ju to the left

Hands grasped her shoulders

"Couided her across the road, and she followed in mute acceptance She knew that if there was any chance of escape, it would be with hi Jazz as though she were a bit of baggage

Terence ripped off her hat and glasses and buried them in a bin, ruffled her hair, tried to wipe her tears away Unable to stop herself, she cast one last glance at thestood on the street corner, beside the open rear door of a black BMW He seeh the events that had just unfolded --the sound of gunshots and the appearance of Jazz from the branches of that tree-- had been no surprise at all Uncle Mort held so to his ear, a radio or a phone From that distance she and Terence could easily have outrun him, but he didn't make any move to pursue theh he had a secret

"What the hell is that about?" she said

Terence looked back as Uncle Mort slipped into the backseat of the BMW The car pulled away

"What's what about?" Terence said

Jazz didn't reply Her lances down alleys and into parked cars, even looked up at the s of houses The back of her neck burned with the feeling of being observed Her mother had raised her to be paranoid, but she couldn't shake the idea that this was

Why hadn't Mort chased her? Only two possibilities presented themselves to her: either he did not want to, or he did not need to Either way she felt confused and uneasy, even in the rief about what Stevie had done and how he had paid for it

Jazz and Terence alking along a tree-lined street now, the houses not as opulent as in theAt the wail of a siren, they slipped into an alley to await the passage of a speeding police car

"Did you see it?" he asked, as they set out walking again

"Yes," Jazz said Her voice sounded empty and flat "Shot him in the head"

"The battery!" Terence said "Did you see the battery?"

Jazz frowned, thinking for a moment that perhaps Terence had lost it But she could see the knowledge of what had happened in his face He knew He was not stupid

"The battery?"

"When you saw the mayor, before Stevie killed him, did you see the battery?" They'd stopped on the street and Terence held both of her shoulders, ready to shake If they'd wanted to attract more attention to themselves, she supposed they could have stripped and started screwing on the pavement

"Stevie's dead," Jazz whispered "He fell I watched him fall, and --"

"Fuck it!" Terence shouted He looked around then, shook his head, and ran a hand over his ruffled hair, as if flat-tening it doould smooth over the fuckup this had be-coain, Jazz said, "Did you hear me? Stevie's dead"

"His fault," he said

"What?"

"And Harry's Harry's more than his, I suppose That old bastard steered hiht into a narrow lane that led to the rear of the houses, passed several parked cars --Audis, BMWs, sporty soft-tops--then Terence vaulted a fence and held out his hands for Jazz to follow

She hesitated, looking around The presence of the BMWs troubled her In her mind she could still see Mort's s?" she asked

"Tube," he said "I have a flat in Colliers Wood; we can hole up there for a while" He see, and she sensed him ready to boil over

"I don't know you," she said Terence looked at her, then away again, straining over the fence

"Come on!" he said "I won't wait all day"

Tube, Jazz thought Safest place for ht now She was round as safe, but there were things down there she was starting to understand s up here she knew less and less Her world seeht those changes or follow

"I believe you," she said "I just don't know you any-rasped his hands and he pulled her over the fence

As they walked, her legs hurt more and more She had cut herself on the top of the security wall and gashed her shin on a broken roof tile but barely been aware of the in-juries until now In spots, her trousers had turned dark with blood, but her injuries were not serious; nothing a few ban-dages and some antibiotic cream wouldn't cure They hurt when she walked, but she welcomed the pain, because Stevie could not feel pain any because she was still alive, and even though she had just seen two people die, she felt aeuphoria A bee buzzed theain, and when they reached a busy main street she looked up at clouds, colorfulboxes, and the way life filled this place

A police car cruised by, and Terence turned her to face a bookshopShe saw his reflection, and even there his eyes seemed dark