"Hey! Stop!"
The cop fired.
The round ricocheted off the wall next to her.
She heard him shouting into his radio, calling for backup just before he fired another shot.
"I said stop!" he shouted again.
Adriana bent her run toward the end wall to give her a better approach.
She neared the corner and jumped.
Her right foot planted against the side wall and pushed off. She did the same with her left foot on the end wall, back to the side wall, and once more until she landed on the top. The cop fired one last time as she dropped over the side.
Adriana gripped the concrete top of the wall with white-knuckled fingers, lowering herself to a safe distance before she let go and fell to the ground.
Her feet hit the asphalt hard, and she rolled to a stop on one knee. Her chest expanded and contracted, taking in big breaths of air. She couldn't take a break, though. The guy was nowhere in sight, and if he got away, she feared no one would catch him.
She pushed herself to get up and run again. Her legs felt like they were tied to bags of sand, but she kept going.
Up ahead, the next street was quieter than the last even though the sounds of sirens still echoed through the concrete-and-brick canyon.
There was no sign of the guy, and when she hit the sidewalk, she'd have to make a decision if he was out of sight.
She ran by a blue dumpster and was about to reach the corner when a garbage can flew at her face, striking her square in the forehead.
The blow knocked her onto her back. The buildings, the sounds, the smells of days-old garbage all swirled in her head.
The man she'd been chasing stepped out of the shadows and loomed over her. He was about to speak, but she kicked her foot up and planted the top of her foot right in his groin.
He doubled over with a grunt.
Adriana managed to roll onto her side and kicked again, this time striking the man's heel and knocking him on his back.
She planted her hands on the cold asphalt and spun to a fighting stance as he scrambled to recover. Her next attack was swift, but he was ready, easily deflecting her right jab, left, right again, and then swatting away an attempt to kick him in the gut.
He countered with a right hook that caught her in the jaw and knocked her back a few steps.
Her left ear rang from the blow, and a stinging, throbbing pain pulsed through her face. He charged, aiming to dig his shoulder into her midsection, but she sidestepped the attack and stuck her foot out. It hit his shin and, combined with the momentum, sent him stumbling onto his face.
Adriana moved fast in spite of the aching in her jaw and forehead, rushing to where he clambered to get up. She swung her foot again, this time striking him on the side of the head.
The shot sent him back to the ground, this time with a series of low moans. He scratched at the pavement, desperately trying to claw his way free of the attack.
Adriana pounced, driving her elbow into his upper back then pounding both sides of his face with one hammer fist after another.
He tried to cover his head with both hands like a prize fighter who'd all but lost.
Her arms felt like Jell-O and grew heavier with every punch.
"Stop right there!" a man's voice yelled.
Adriana panted for air. Her heart was racing. Strands of her brown hair had broken loose of the ponytail and hung around her face and ears. She didn't look up immediately, instead just staring down at the groaning man.
"Put your hands up high where I can see 'em," the cop said.
A second later, three more cops appeared around the corner with weapons drawn.
The first one stepped cautiously toward her, approaching as he would a venomous snake coiled under a tree and ready to strike.
Adriana's eyes darted from one cop to the next.
"I said put your hands up!" the leader ordered once more. "Don't make me tell you again!"
Adriana gradually straightened her spine. She raised her hands as smoothly as she could, careful not to make any sudden movements.
"This guy is the one you're looking for," she said. "He was in the ballroom when the shots were fired. I think he's the one who tried to kill the president."
"Be quiet!" the cop yelled.
"But he's the one you want."
"I said be quiet! Now, nice and easy, get off him, and stay on your knees!"
Adriana didn't try to hide the confusion on her face as she moved one leg over the beaten man. Once both knees were on the ground next to him, two of the other cops moved in while the first to arrive and one other officer kept their weapons trained on her.
"Aren't you going to arrest him?" she asked.
The two approaching her, grabbed her by the wrists, and shoved her face into the pavement. The cold, jagged asphalt scratched her cheek. The arresting officers didn't try to be gentle.
They forced her hands behind her back and secured cuffs tightly around the base of her wrists.
"Why aren't you arresting him?" she asked again, pushing the issue. "I've done nothing wrong. He's the one you want."
"If you say anything again, I will put a bullet through your head."
The threat silenced her for the moment. She'd never heard a cop speak that way and was fairly certain that wasn't standard operating procedure.
"Your car close?" the one in charge asked.
The two apprehending Adriana stood up, lifting her with hands underneath her armpits.
"Yeah, just right out there," the one on her right said.
"Good. Get her out of here."
"Take her to the precinct, sir?" the one on her left said. He was younger, probably in his mid-twenties. His face gave off the appearance he was still a teenager.
The cop in charge shook his head. "No. She's not under arrest."
The young cop looked confused. "I don't understand, sir. What are we doing with her, then?"
The lead cop turned his weapon and fired a bullet through the young man's forehead. His wide eyes froze permanently in shock as he fell over onto his side.
"We have an officer down. Repeat, officer down. Please send backup." He rattled off his location as the cop on Adriana's right tugged her toward the street.
She watched in horror as the one in charge turned his weapon to the gunman on the ground. He tried to push himself up on all fours, but another shot rang out, planting a round in the back of his skull.
He collapsed, prostrate on the pavement, and went completely still.
The lead cop turned to the remaining two. "Johnson, stay here with me. Tulley" — he turned to the other—"get her out of here. Dump the body. Then report back to the hotel."
The men nodded.
Adriana didn't need to ask what was going on. Now it was clear. The police — at least some of them — were in on the assassination attempt. Who knew how deep the rabbit hole went?
Another thing was certain: the second she got in the back of that squad car, she'd be dead.
She knew police procedure. She knew their moves, their defenses, how they would react to resistance from a prisoner. So, she did the one thing they wouldn't expect.
She waited until they were out of the other two cops' view. Just feet from the back door of the squad car, her arms and legs suddenly went limp. The cop handling her felt her body suddenly get very heavy, and he strained to keep her up.
His grip slipped off her forearm as she fell to one knee.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" he asked.
He didn't realize he'd already fallen into her trap.
The cop bent down to force her onto her feet, and that's when she struck. Her right heel kicked backward, digging deep into his groin. His head lurched forward from the abrupt and terrible pain. She sensed his head close and snapped hers back, crunching his nose with the top of her skull.
He howled in agony, dropping to his knees with one hand on his man parts, the other on his now-bleeding nose.