Backtracker (78 page)

"
I won
'
t say
anything
,
"
shot Billy,
"
because it won
'
t
happen
that way!
"

"
Oh,
okay. Right.
You
know what
'
ll happen.
"

"
It
'
s common
sense
, you dumb
shit
!
"
raged Billy, smacking a fist into his palm.
"
It
'
s so damn
obvious
, but
you
can
'
t
see
it, so you wanna
'
do the
stupidest
thing I can
think
of! And
meanwhile
, that crazy
asshole
'
s
getting further
away
so it
'
ll be even
harder
for the cops to catch him!
"

Dave fell silent. Heart pounding with the force of his anger and frustration, he fought with himself, tried to untense and think clearly.
He'd
gotten too involved in the argument, and his mind was thick with smothering emotion; hammering away at the same points
wasn
'
t
doing any good, but
he'd
been too caught up in the confrontation to notice.

A new tack was needed. Dave had to stop shouting and say some magic words, win over Billy with ingenuity instead of volume. There had to be something, some persuasion which he
hadn
'
t
though of yet, some dynamic stroke which would swing Billy
'
s vote.

There had to be something.

Burying his face in his hands, he tried to sift an answer from the muddle in his head. At first, he tried to relax, ease the pressure, gently uncover a hidden piece like an archaeologist brushing sand in search of fragile relics. Then, he combed through his brain more rigorously; his hunt became desperate, haphazard, soon developed into a frantic flurry. He ripped at his mind, battered it from within; he clawed at the fabric, hoping to wrench out inspiration in a lucky, violent clutch.

Finally, he gave up. He slumped, both within and without; he
couldn
'
t
find the magic words that he needed, the words which would change Billy
'
s mind.

And then,
he had
an idea.

Perhaps, there was one last thing that he could try, an appeal not to Billy
'
s reason, but to his loyalty. It would be risky, could very well fail...and if it failed, there would be no other opportunity to convince Billy; still, it seemed to be the only thing that Dave could do, his only chance. He could think of nothing else to try but the last
-
ditch tactic, the all
-
or
-
nothing approach.

He drew his hands from his face and took a deep breath. Staring at Billy, he wondered what would happen; he wondered what he would do if Billy
wouldn
'
t
concede after the final attempt.

He
didn
'
t
know what he would do.

"
Okay,
"
he said with a shrug.
"
That
'
s fine, then. You don
'
t want to go after Larry, that
'
s fine with me.
"

"
Good
!
"
blew Billy, still fuming.
"
Good
, because I
'
m
not
going after him!
"

"
I see your point,
"
nodded Dave.
"
I can understand why you don
'
t want to chase after the guy.
"

"
There
'
s nothing to understand! It
'
s just common sense!
"

Dave shrugged and sighed.
"
I can
'
t make you do something you
'
re against. I
'
m not going to keep trying to twist your arm.
"

"
Good
!
"
snapped Billy.

"
Good,
"
sighed Dave, and then he started walking.
"
See you later,
"
he said, striding over the stone, waving as he moved away from his partner.

There was an instant
'
s pause before Billy hollered after him.
"
Hey! Whatta
'
you
mean
,
'
See you later
'
?
"

"
I mean I
'
ll see you later,
"
replied Dave.
"
I
'
ll see you when I get back.
"

"
Get back from where
?
"
barked Billy.

"
From tracking down Larry.
"
Dave continued to walk briskly over Wolf
'
s Rock,
didn
'
t
want to give even the appearance of uncertainty.

"
Aw, shit
!
"
belted Billy.
"
What
is
it with you? I thought you finally agreed I was right!
"

"
Nope,
"
Dave returned over his shoulder.
"
I just said it was fine with me if you didn
'
t want to go. I didn
'
t say
I
wasn
'
t going.
"

"
Will you cut it
out
!
"
yelled Billy, taking several steps after his departing partner.
"
You
know
you can
'
t go after him
alone
!
You
'
ll get yourself killed for sure!
"

"
I
'
m
going
,
"
Dave said firmly.

"
Geez
!
"
Billy cast angrily, taking a few more steps.
"
Why are you so damn
stuck
on getting yourself
killed
?
What
'
s with this
death wish
shit?
"

"
I don
'
t want to die,
"
replied Dave,
"
but if that
'
s what I
'
ve got to do to save my family, you better believe I
'
ll
do
it.
"

For a moment, Billy said nothing, and Dave
didn
'
t
hear any footsteps from behind. Drawing and releasing a tremulous breath, he continued to walk,
didn
'
t
slow his pace; he kept moving, listening for footfalls, hoping that he
wouldn
'
t
have to figure out what to do if Billy
didn
'
t
cooperate.

At last, there was the sound of pursuit, the quick padding of feet over stone.

"
You don
'
t even know where he is
!
"
shouted Billy.
"
How the hell are you gonna
'
find
him, huh?
"

"
Don
'
t worry about it,
"
answered Dave.
"
I
'
ll find him somehow.
"

"
You said you don
'
t
know
how you
'
ll find him
!
"
hollered Billy, getting closer.
"
You said all you
know
is that he
'
s out of
town
somewhere!
"

"
I also said I found a clue,
"
recounted Dave.
"
I haven
'
t figured out what it means yet, but when I do, I think I
'
ll be able to track down Larry.
"

Still running to catch up with his partner, Billy
didn
'
t
speak for a moment, then burst back in with an angry barrage.
"
So
great
!
So you
'
ll just take
off
after the guy! So how
'
re you gonna
'
defend
yourself, huh? What
'
re you gonna
'
do
when he comes
at
you like a damn
locomotive
?
"

"
I
'
ll just have to cross that bridge when I come to it,
"
replied Dave.
"
I
'
ll improvise.
"

"
Aw, come on
!
"
huffed Billy.
"
You don
'
t get a
chance
to
imp
rovise
with a guy like him.
He
'
ll put you away so damn
fast
,
your
head
'
ll
spin!
"

"
Maybe,
"
said Dave.
"
Maybe not.
"

"
Hey, listen
!
"
hollered Billy, slowing his approach from a run to a walk.
"
We
both
know you
'
re no fighter!
"

"
Right,
"
Dave nodded as he neared the edge of the rock formation.
"
I
'
m
not
a fighter.
"

"
So how do you think you
'
re gonna
'
stop that maniac from
killing
you?
"

"
Beats me,
"
Dave said simply, and then he was at the edge of the mound, the corner which he and Billy had originally ascended. For a moment, he paused there; he again reconsidered his strategy, wondered if he ought to proceed or recant his stated course. Then, he heard Billy approaching from behind and he moved ahead, started down the slight incline which led from the rim.

"
Hey, Dave,
"
said Billy, his voice changing, becoming more conciliatory than confrontational.
"
Listen a sec, huh?
"

Dave gave no acknowledgement. Crouching, he moved slowly down the short slope.