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The clan commander’s bullets punch a neat line of holes across the tailgate, barely inches above the place where you are lying. Before he can fire a second burst beneath the first, Sergeant Haskell hits him with a single shot to the head, killing him instantly.
Realization of his death passes like a shock wave through the other clansmen, causing them to abort their attack and fall back. A few stop long enough to pick up and bear his lifeless body away from the street.
While there is a lull in the firing, you seize the chance to help Knott and Captain Frankland clear away the debris that is blocking your escape. A thick, wooden pole, which once supported overhead electricity cables in this part of town, is jammed between the wheel and the truck’s front fender. With your help they are at last able to shift it. Knott returns to the cab and starts the engine first time. Then, as he brings the truck over the mound, you and the captain leap onto the tailgate and pull yourselves aboard.
The street ends at a piece of wasteland but a few hundred yards beyond it lies a highway running east to west. The captain peers through the cab’s partition window and gives an ironic laugh when he sees the highway.
‘Make for that road and head west,’ he commands, and Knott obeys. Then he turns to the sergeant and says, ‘It looks like you’re finally outvoted, Haskell. Seems we’re on our way to Mimbres.’
