59

From such close range the pistol shots are deafening. You shake as each one explodes in your ears, and you scarcely dare to hope that you will survive being hit at point-blank range. So resigned are you to your doom that it takes you several seconds to realize that you have not been shot at all.

Tentatively you open your eyes to see Tyler kneeling in front of you, still holding the pistol, a coil of smoke rising lazily from its barrel. You pat your chest just to confirm that you have not been drilled full of holes, and then you glance over your shoulder to see where the bullets have gone. A T-shirted clansman lies face-up on the plaza, unmoving, his chest and stomach stained bright red. A dagger is clenched in one of his pudgy hands, and an iron bar is gripped tightly in the other.

‘Despite what you think o’ me, Cal,’ shouts Tyler, ‘I’m no traitor. If it’s a traitor you’re after, then look over there.’ And with that he points towards a street that borders on the plaza. There you see John Barlow running half-crouched towards a clan scout, who is sitting astride a motorcycle. The clansman is shouting encouragement, and as Barlow scurries nearer, he shuffles himself forward to make room for the traitor on the back of his riding seat.

If you possess a missile weapon and wish to fire at Barlow, turn to 14.

If you do not have a missile weapon, or if you choose not to fire at Barlow, turn to 157.