Attack

Back at the restaurant, the guy behind the counter gave us Sarah’s phone number. Kieran called her, but her phone was switched off. We spent the afternoon staking out her apartment, but like her neighbour said, she had moved out. It was soon getting late. There were no streetlamps outside Sarah’s apartment. As several hooded figures started roaming down the street and glancing our way, Kieran and I decided it was time to leave. There was no taxi stand anywhere in the neighbourhood. We walked for minutes. My heart thumped in my chest as a thunderous noise boomed out two blocks away. It sounded like a gunshot. I gripped Kieran’s hand. He picked up his pace. ‘What’s wrong?’ I asked. ‘Don’t look back,’ he whispered. ‘We are being followed.’ I resisted the instinctive reaction of trying to look over my shoulder. ‘What should we do?’ Kieran glanced around. ‘There’s an alley up ahead. I’ll lead them there.’ ‘What about me?’ ‘See the vending machine over there? When I tell you to move, go hide