Page 134 of The Devil's Advocate

Bloch adjusted her aim, squeezed the trigger.

The hole in the wall was lower, but close to the first one, and to the left.

Denvir screamed.

She had only needed two shots.

Bloch looked at her phone screen. Denvir was on his back, the assault rifle lying beside him on the floor. She heard glass breaking, and then Anderson was on top of Denvir.

Bloch retrieved her phone and followed Berlin through the window that Anderson had broken.

In the hallway, Denvir lay on his back, screaming in pain. He kicked at the floor with his right foot, digging his heel into the floorboards, his arms pumping.

His left foot was ten feet away, in the living room. The boot still attached.

There was a rack of assault rifles and two full bags of ammo by the door. Once she saw that Anderson had kicked away Denvir’s weapon, and relieved him of a pistol from his belt holster, Bloch put away her gun. Blood already soaked through the floor. Anderson retrieved a curtain tie and strung it around Denvir’s left calf, cinching it tight.

Berlin stood over Denvir.

‘We can get medical assistance here in two minutes or twenty. It’s your choice. I don’t think you’ve got twenty minutes, Mr. Denvir. I think you’ll be lucky to last five, even with the tourniquet. Couple of big arteries are pumping here. You don’t have much time, so tell me who the Pastor is, and you just might survive this.’

‘This is illegal ! This is deep-state shit !’ cried Denvir.

‘It’s not illegal because I say it’s not illegal. Where were you going with all those guns, Mr. Denvir? I see there’s a list on top of that bag. Are those targets?’ asked Berlin.

‘Fuck you,’ said Denvir.

‘Mr. Anderson, cut the tourniquet. Mr. Denvir is not co-operating—’

‘No !’ he cried.

Anderson bent down, flicked open a long, thin blade and held it to the curtain tie. It was the only thing stopping him from bleeding out.

‘Last chance, Mr. Denvir. Who is the Pastor?’

‘He’ll kill me if I tell you,’ said Denvir, through gritted teeth.

‘Mr. Anderson will kill you if you don’t. You decide which is the more immediate threat.’

‘I’m not telling you shit. I don’t care who you are.’

Berlin turned and walked toward the front door. As he did so, he said, ‘Mr. Denvir is too stupid to stay alive. Help him out, please, Mr. Anderson.’

Bloch turned away. She followed Berlin through the front door, and as soon as she got outside she heard the sound of police sirens.

‘Let’s get to the courthouse,’ said Berlin.

Mr. Anderson closed the front door behind him, used his key fob to unlock the vehicle. As he made his way to the car he threw the curtain tie in the long grass.

CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE

EDDIE

‘I think you like it down here,’ said Berlin.

‘So you and Harry keep saying,’ I replied.

We were descending the steps to the cells in Buckstown courthouse about an hour after the court bailiff took Korn down here in handcuffs. Kate and Harry took Andy and Patricia back to the hotel to get away from the crowds in the courthouse and the reporters. And the FBI, who had descended on Buckstown in droves since the news of the attempted bombing had gotten out. They had checkpoints all over the town and the outskirts.