Alan Dean Foster Read Online Free Page A

crammed with cans and packaged goods. He never had a chance. And there was no reason for it, no reason at all.
    As if to compound the craziness, as the oldster slid to the floor the thief leaned over the counter and pumped another round into the crumpled body.

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    " Aw, shit. " Sykes was rising from his crouch.
    Tuggle had almost made it across the street when the first shot was fired. He dropped instinctively, then raised his head for a clear look.
    As he did so a horn blared and both men looked in surprise down the street.
    Sedan, late model. The horn howled a second time, a disembodied voice fleeing the pavement. Sykes barely had time to see that the human driver was starting his engine before all hell broke loose.
    Reacting to the horn's shriek, the two aliens inside the market turned in time to spot Tuggle crouched out on the asphalt. They opened fire instantly, blasting through the plate glass. One shellburst struck pavement. Another hit a civilian car rolling through the intersection, perforating its radiator and bringing it to a halt nearby. The terrified alien driver had the good sense to stay inside and out of sight.
    Tuggle rose and made a dash for the cover of a nearby lamppost. As he did so, the human driver of the getaway vehicle emerged to level a machine pistol in the direction of the fleeing detective. Sykes immediately turned his attention to this new threat, hoping the two aliens would elect to stay under cover inside the minimart. As the driver fired at him, Sykes was forced to duck down behind the car that was providing his own cover. The rapid-fire machine pistol raked the metal and safety glass above his head.
    A moving van came trundling down the street, its driver unaware of the battle raging intermittently before him. The getaway driver grinned and came around in front of his car, a new clip punched into the belly of his pistol. What he failed to see was that as he advanced under cover of the slow-moving van, Sykes was already racing around its front. The driver of the van barely had time enough to look shocked as Sykes burst in front of him, leveled his revolver, and put the getaway driver on his back.
    Now the aliens had no driver and it was Sykes who was using their vehicle for protection. There was a potential hostage present in the person of the proprietor's wife, but they chose to ignore her. Sykes stayed low, occasionally rising long enough to get off a couple of shots in the store's

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    direction, ducking back down when an answering shotgun burst howled inside.
    And where the hell, he wondered frantically, was their damn freaking backup?
    With only the thin lamppost for cover, Tuggle was much worse off. Seeing this, the aliens were concentrating their fire in his direction and ignoring Sykes's wild shots.
    Sykes leaned around the front of the sedan. "Tug, get outta there! "
    Tuggle heard him and nodded, leaned left, and immediately drew back as twelve-gauge shot rattled off the post. "I can't! Do you mind?"
    "I'll cover you! Get outta there!"
    "Well, if you're gonna insist."
    Sykes made a face in his partner's direction, then rose and rapid-fired an entire clip in the store's direction. It was enough to make both robbers temporarily dive for cover. Seizing the opportunity, Tuggle scrambled out from behind the lamppost and ran like hell for the nearest real cover, which happened to be the radiator-pierced car stalled nearby.
    Throwing himself onto the hood and rolling down the other side, he got his feet under him before slowly rising for a look through the glass.
    His attention was distracted by the car's occupant. The elderly alien driver was still inside, lying flat on the front seat and breathing hard.
    He eyed Tuggle desperately.
    "Can I get out now?"
    "Come on, move it!"
    He all but dragged the oldster out of the seat, watched as the Newcomer scrambled for safety around the nearest comer. His legs were moving fast enough to belie his real age.
    "You okay?" Sykes's voice,