The two Agents slowly folded up, one of them shot through the head and the other in the middle of his chest.
Raven said, “Keep moving.”
He ran her along the passage, but there was no one about. They went downstairs. At the bottom of the stairs the night clerk lurked, staring up with terrified eyes.
The sight of Marie’s naked body seemed to mesmerize him. Raven shot him between the eyes.
He shoved Marie down the stairs fast and they crossed the deserted lobby. Through the open door he could see the Chrysler still parked outside. Another car stood near it, but it was empty.
His brain worked swiftly. The clerk would have reported to the Federal Field Office that he’d come to the hotel. The Feds would send out the alarm and then come on over. In a town like Odessa it was nearly a safe bet that there were only two Feds. The talk of surrounding the place was bluff.
Cautiously he pushed Marie out into the street. No one fired at him. Taking a deep breath, he ran her across to the car. “Get inside,” he snarled. “Quick.”
She pulled open the door and climbed in. Raven looked over his shoulder, saw something move in the shadows, fired once and then scrambled under the wheel. Desperately he trod on the starter, and as the engine sprang into life he set the car bounding forward.
Marie sat crouched away from him, covering her breasts with her arms and shivering as the cold wind bit into her body.
“Sit still and hold your trap,” Raven said, “or I’ll finish you.”