Backtracker (87 page)

*****

Chapter
40

Dave hoped to kayo Billy with the first punch, bowl him over and be done with it. That strategy was almost successful.

Bursting from the ground where
he'd
played possum so well, Dave slung his fist at Billy
'
s head, putting all that
he had
into the sudden strike. Billy was kneeling, not looking in Dave
'
s direction; the punch was true, and by all rights, it should have connected.

At the last possible instant, though, Billy ducked his head to one side, away from the blow. Dave
'
s fist shot through empty air,
didn
'
t
even stir a hair on Billy
'
s head.

Having missed its mark, the fist kept going, lurching Dave around with its momentum. Surprised, unable to compensate, Dave flopped over on his stomach.

As Dave went down, Billy spun and gaped at him, looking stunned. Apparently, Billy
hadn
'
t
expected the attack,
hadn
'
t
been watching for it; he must have spied the blow from the corner of his eye, or simply dodged by pure chance.

Recovering as quickly as he could, Dave jerked his arms in close and thrust himself up on his elbows. Realizing that
he'd
lost the element of surprise, he again struck swiftly, swinging a fist out and back in an arc.

This time, the blow made contact, clipped Billy on the chin; he
didn
'
t
take the full force of the shot, but what he got was enough to push him from his knees, heave him onto his side in the dirt.

Dave pressed the attack. Scrambling on the ground, he forced himself up on his hands and knees; whirling around, he pounced, throwing his full weight onto his partner.

Billy was churned from his side onto his back. Dave grabbed his left arm and pinned it down, meanwhile pulled back a fist and lashed it toward his head.

With his free arm, Billy deflected the incoming blow to one side. For a split
-
second, Dave was distracted by the miss; his grip on Billy
'
s left arm relaxed just a bit, and Billy exploited that opening.

Jerking his trapped arm in the dirt, Billy broke his partner
'
s hold. Dave had been leaning heavily on the limb; when it came free, his own arm slid forward and he dropped, slumped halfway off his opponent. Before Dave could react, Billy twisted out from under him.

With a grunt, Dave struggled to his knees, but he saw that Billy was already ahead of him. The wiry guy had shot to his feet in a flash, effortlessly snapped straight as if he were made of elastic.

Lifting himself to a crouch, Dave charged as soon as
he'd
gained his footing. Billy ducked to the right, but it was a feint, and Dave anticipated it; when Billy made his real move and sprung to the left, Dave caught him across the chest with an outstretched arm. Both combatants toppled back to the ground.

Again, Billy ended up on his back; he
wasn
'
t
pinned, though, had fallen in such a way that Dave had only a limited grip on him, a single arm over his torso. It was a simple matter for Billy to roll away before his attacker could better his grip, sink his fingers into more than dirt and twigs.

Failing to hold on to his partner, Dave pumped himself from a prone position to hands and knees. As Billy stopped rolling, Dave brought his right knee up and dug his foot into the earth beneath him; pushing off from the purchase, he dove at Billy, mashed him back down just as he was in the process of rising.

Sputtering, Billy squirmed on the ground,
couldn
'
t
immediately get free.
He'd
landed on his stomach, with Dave on top of him; though Dave
'
s hold
wasn
'
t
secure, his greater weight crushed Billy into the dirt.

Face knotted in a grimace of determination, Dave levered himself up on one hand, pulled his other hand back and balled it into a fist. He swung at the back of his friend
'
s head...but Billy writhed dramatically, jolting Dave enough to send the blow astray. When the punch missed, Dave
'
s weight shifted to one side, following the momentum of his fist; Billy detected the change and bucked to the other side, tossing Dave from his back.

Jarred by the abrupt ejection, Dave floundered, grabbed blindly at his comrade; he managed to snag the hem of Billy
'
s shirt just as Billy was climbing to his feet. Dave yanked at the shirt, trying to pull Billy back down; Billy tugged with equal force,
didn
'
t
drop...but
didn
'
t
wrench away, either.

The shirt stretched and tightened. Still sprawled in the dirt, Dave swung his other hand over and doubled his grip on the hem.

Hunched and grunting, Billy strained to break away, but Dave
wouldn
'
t
let go and the shirt
wouldn
'
t
rip. Billy bucked to the right, then the left, then focused a fierce surge straight ahead...and then, he suddenly lessened the force of his resistance.

Dave felt the tension in the shirt slacken, and he correctly guessed what Billy would do next. Instead of trying to take advantage of the slackness by pulling harder, Dave released his grip altogether.

Sure enough, Billy burst forth with far too much thrust and plunged right to the ground.
He'd
been feinting, trying to surprise Dave by first reducing and then redoubling his exertion; Billy had applied a tremendous surge of energy to tear himself loose,
hadn
'
t
expected Dave
'
s well
-
timed disengagement.

Puffing, Dave jumped up and darted over to where his partner had fallen. Billy was shaking his head, trying to sit up; Dave finally got in a solid punch, bashed him squarely on one side of his face.

With a pained gasp, Billy dropped back, his head pasted left by the blow. Eyes closing, he winced and groaned, clutched with both hands at the side of his face which Dave
'
s fist had clocked.

Standing over his friend, Dave felt a stab of guilt for having hurt him. Billy
didn
'
t
deserve such treatment; as necessary as it was for Billy
'
s protection, the beating seemed to Dave an unforgivable betrayal.

Staring sadly at his wounded companion, Dave wished that there was another way to guarantee his safety. For an instant, Dave
wasn
'
t
sure that he could strike Billy again, even if
he had
to do it for Billy
'
s own good.

Finally, though, Dave overcame his reluctance, reminded himself how vital it was that Billy stay out of the confrontation with Larry. Taking a deep breath, Dave raised his fist, started to swing.

Suddenly, his legs were kicked out from under him. He toppled facedown in the dirt, hit the ground hard.

Billy had borrowed Dave
'
s own trick, played possum; he
hadn
'
t
been as incapacitated as
he'd
looked, and now
he'd
regained the advantage. When Dave went down, Billy hastily scuttled over and slung himself atop him, straddling his back. Before Dave had fully realized what had happened, his right arm was wrenched behind him, his wrist pinned between his shoulder blades.

Grunting and grinding his teeth, Dave struggled to throw his opponent, to no avail. Billy
wouldn
'
t
budge...and he made it clear that his captive
shouldn
'
t
budge, either; when Dave squirmed, Billy jerked the trapped arm, yanked it hard enough to send a bolt of pain shooting from the wrist to the socket. Dave cried out, feebly thrust his shoulder back in an attempt to reduce the awful pressure.

"
Why
?
"
Billy grated angrily, locking Dave
'
s arm at an agonizing angle.
"
Why the
hell
'
re you
doing
this?
"

Dave
didn
'
t
answer.
He ha
d
no idea what to say to his friend,
hadn
'
t
prepared for the possibility of defeat.

"
What
'
s got
into
you, you dumb
shit
?
"
snarled Billy.
"
What
'
s the
matter
with you, huh?
"

Dave felt his captor
'
s grip lighten just the tiniest bit. Desperate to break free and gain control of the situation, he put all his strength into one great heave which he hoped would fling off Billy.

The latest bid for liberty was no more successful than that which had preceded it...and it had the same end result: more pain. Billy
wasn
'
t
bucked; Dave
'
s arm was again twisted behind his back.

"
Damnit
!
"
blasted Billy.
"
What
'
s
with
you, man?
"

Howling, grimacing, clenching, Dave
couldn
'
t
even consider making a coherent reply.

"
I don
'
t
get
it
!
"
pelted Billy, his voice a mixture of rage and confusion.
"
Why
'
d you
come
at me like that? You go freakin
'
crazy
or something?
"

Despite the pain in his arm, Dave made another escape attempt. He thrashed his upper body from side to side and kicked spastically at the dirt, fighting to get a footing from which to push.

"
Stop it
!
"
commanded Billy.
"
Cut it
out
, you
asshole
!
"
With that, he again yanked Dave
'
s arm, using more force than ever.

Dave wailed at the influx of fresh pain; he ceased struggling, stiffened as the contortion of his arm became unbearable.

"
Shit
!
"
barked Billy.
"
Am I gonna
'
have to
break
it? Am I gonna
'
have to snap it
off
to make you
settle
, man?
"

"
No,
"
gasped Dave, shaking his head.
"
I
'
m done.
"

"
You better
believe
you
'
re done
!
"
hurled Billy.
"
You aren
'
t going
anywhere
, man
!
"
he added, and then he stopped pulling Dave
'
s arm.

Dave released a great sigh of relief and slumped, let his face fall to the ground. Though his arm was still gripped tightly, Billy was no longer twisting it; mercifully, the current of pain had ceased.

"
Now
tell
me
!
"
ordered Billy.
"
Tell me what the hell
'
s going
on
here!
"

Breathing heavily, pinned beneath his friend, Dave wondered what he should say. He struggled to come up with a good lie, something which would explain his actions and appease Billy; in the end, he could think of no mistruth which
wouldn
'
t
make matters worse.