116

You pull the transceiver out of your Backpack, flick the power switch on, and key in the frequency that Pop Ewell monitors aboard the bus. ‘Red Phoenix to DC1,’ you say, using your emergency call sign. ‘I’m pinned down by sniper fire. It’s coming from the diner across the street. Suspect two clansmen. Request assistance.’

The tiny speaker crackles into life and you hear Cutter’s voice reply: ‘Hang in there, Cal. I’ll circle ’round the back and flush ’em out.’

A minute later you see Cutter jump down from the bus and scurry across the rock-strewn ground behind the diner, cradling a shotgun, which he loads as he runs. He disappears behind the building; then a few moments later you hear a burst of gunfire and see a swarthy-faced man, dressed in western clothes, come running out of the front door with a pistol in his hand.

If you possess a missile weapon, turn to 143.

If you do not possess a missile weapon, or if you do not have sufficient ammunition to use it, turn to 183.