Free Line of Fire by Franklin W. Dixon Page A

us anyway?
    He ducked around several racks of shelves, zigzagging to make sure George couldn't get a clear shot. The strategy seemed to be working, until Joe reached an aisle that was blocked by a forklift truck.
    He had to backtrack. He crept along a line of shelves, straining his eyes and ears for any sight of George. Maybe this could work out. If he could get behind George, he'd be able to sneak out the exit he'd originally been aiming for. Then he could get the cops and nail the killer.
    But it didn't turn out exactly as he had planned. He was behind George, but George knew exactly where he was.
    Joe's first warning came when he heard the snick of a revolver being cocked behind him. He rolled across the floor as the laser's red aiming beam flashed past his face. There was no explosion of gunfire though. George was saving his bullets for a clear shot.
    Rising to his knees, Joe scuttled backward behind the shelter of a storage bay. He retreated across one aisle, heading toward the wall of the warehouse. Maybe he could sneak past George this way. He crept to the side of another bay, preparing to leap across the narrow alley to a third set of shelves.
    Joe peeked around the corner — and found George waiting for him. Again, the laser flashed past his face, and Joe retreated. He decided to work his way toward the central aisle and slip past George that way.
    But when he tried to go down another alley, George was there again, flashing his laser. Joe retreated once more.
    Every time he tried to make a break for it, he ] encountered an aisle patrolled by George. Slowly he realized what was happening. George was positioning himself at the corners of bays, where he could check down two aisles at once. He was using the beam of his laser to block Joe's escape and herd him backward into a corner of the building. Once he had moved Joe back far enough, he would have no cover....
    Joe didn't want to think about it. He had to figure out a way to get past George. Maybe if he showed himself, then stayed in place ... He poked his head out, then pulled it back as the familiar red flash came again. Joe counted to ten, giving George enough time to move. He peeked around again, and found that George had indeed moved—closer to him.
    The red laser flash was accompanied by a bullet this time. Joe pulled back into a zigzagging retreat again. George's laughter followed him.
    Of course. George would orient on the last point where he'd seen Joe. He'd walk down that alley, since Joe couldn't cross it, checking out the cross alleys so Joe couldn't sneak around. No matter which way Joe tried to go, he'd be cut off from the doors. With George moving in, whichever way Joe went, he would soon end up in a corner.
    It reminded Joe of chess games he'd had with Frank, where he'd be reduced to moving his lone king around the board as Frank's pieces closed in. With every move, there were fewer and fewer safe squares.. . .
    He'd never been able to come out of those games a winner. But this was real. There had to be some way to break out of his box.
    Joe looked up at the wall of the warehouse, had an arrow pointing up, with a sign saying Stairs. He started running for it.
    If he could reach the stairs, he'd break free of the game board. George would have to search three dimensions. If he could just make it upstairs ... There were only six steps to go when he heard the voice behind him saying, "Nice try, kid."
    Slowly Joe turned around. George stood at the bottom of the stairs, his pistol out and ready. It was a chrome-plated revolver, and its barrel looked long enough to reach out and touch Joe on the chest.
    "Let's have it," George said.
    Joe stared at him. "Have what?"
    "Look, don't play cute with me. I want the bullet you picked up."
    Now Joe remembered why George was chasing him. He thought Joe was carrying the bullet that would link him to Vittorio's murder!
    "I don't have it," Joe said.
    The gun was aimed straight at Joe's chest, and George clicked back the