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Ross Hunter, driving conservatively fast, swung the sedan around the last curve Now the road lay straight along the high o hit his shoulder and pointed at a small open door in the first corner of the fence

Hunter didn&039;t slon "No good," he grunted "I&039;d try for a gate that can take the car"

"Hurry it up," Hixon urged from the back seat

The landscape turned suddenly spectral The big cloud-bank had cut off the sun There was thunder Through the thunder, guns cracked ahead A police car ca clipped in the freeway fence, plunged down a little slope, and headed in their direction, bue of the burned car-crush at the mouth of Monica Mountainway A second police car ca fast, and followed the first

Hunter slowed There was a big gate with an eh it as a third police car, this one front end first, escaped froray gravel toward a wide black door in the biggest of the three white buildings

Beyond the in through a little door in it

Hunter pulled up Hixon and Margo piled out There were three concrete steps, a narrow porch, then the black double door with a tag of white on it

Hixon and Margo ran up the steps She tried the door It was locked Hixon pounded on it with the butt of his rifle and yelled: "Open up!"

Hunter started to turn the sedan around

The first police car cah the clouds of dust the first raised, the second police car followed, still backing

Hixon ran to the nearestand sh it, then chopped away at the big fangs of glass left

With a squeal of brakes, a surge of springs, and a ten-foot skid, the first police car drew up beside the sedan Two officers jumped out, their faces soot-sun

"Drop your guns, all of you!" he yelled

The other covered Hunter "Get out of that car!"

Hixon, holding his rifle muzzle away from the police, yelled: "Hey, we&039;re on your side!"

The officer let off a couple of shots that holed the stucco over Hixon&039;s head He dropped the rifle

Margo was holding the revolver behind her

Hunter climbed out of the car and ca police car drew up behind the first More officers piled out of it The third police car drew up outside the gate

Soh the sedanand bounced on the seat Soainst the windshield of the first police car, and hissing flames jetted out in a blue-yellow burst

The police fired around the side of the building frouns returned their fire

Margo was looking at the white tag on the black door She ripped it down and crued out of it, face arm-shielded from the flames There were fla his hands raised, cao and Hixon

The Molotov cocktail that had fallen unbroken into the sedan exploded Big, blue-yellow flame-jets flared from the four s

Hunter said: "Let&039;s run for it The little gatefirst"

They did The police didn&039;t shoot at the back into their second car Thunder ruo and Hunter and Hixon ran past the last white building just as a bunch of teenagers caust of their crazy high spirits like an electric wind, and for a ravel jumped ahead of Hunter, there was a crack, and she realized one of the kids was shooting They aving bottles and knives and one of theun It was still ers cairl threw a bottle

As she ran, Margo shot at them three ti the third shot, she tripped and sprawled on the gravel The thrown bottle hit beside her and broke She threw up her hands to shield her face from the flames, but there was only the smell of whiskey

Hunter yanked her up and they ran on Ahead, Hixon was pointing at soht at them, but a dozen or so raced ahead toward the little door, cutting the at: a bright red car with a black hat at the wheel co at the turns