The Prince of Blades

Having taken a few gunshots throughout the course of adulthood, he immediately recognized the sensation as a bullet wound. The fact he did not hear the sound that usually accompanied a gunshot told him it was likely fired from a suppressed weapon. Without turning to see who was shooting at them, Chapman instinctively grabbed Carly’s arm, motioning for her to follow him. Damn! The old fool is sturdier than I anticipated! Zudam immediately began pursuing his prey as the two attempted to elude him. Sprinting the distance between him and where he wounded the male, Zudam quickly followed them across the space separating two houses. Seeing a walkway between tall hedges, meant to depict a boundary, a figure poked out from behind the foliage. The visible flashes expelled from the muzzle of a pistol alerted him to gunfire returned from his target, which he avoided by diving behind a barbecue grill. The pings of rounds impacting the grill’s metal frame made him look up just in time to recognize the familiar white exteriors of two propane tanks. He leaped up in a burst of forward movement that ended in a dive. Then came a loud whoosh, an expanding white gas cloud, and the sporadic flying tanks propelled by escaping propane, all of which justified his reason for escape. The following flash of ignition, probably from a wandering round, warranted his egress. Realizing no other bullets were aimed in his direction, Zudam jumped up to continue the chase. The Marquis Armory Model 28 suppressor Chapman had acquired from the precinct armory, which was normally issued to SWAT, increased the overall length of his KW S6C pistol by about half. Its internal tacticium construction absorbed almost all sound waves produced by the internal explosion of a round’s detonation. The only noise came from the cycling of the weapon. Chapman had chosen this particular handgun model as his police-issued sidearm because it perfectly coincided with the U.S. military’s standard issue M33 pistol, right down to the threaded barrel. The near silence of the weapon kept any law enforcement in the area from hearing the sounds of a gunfight, which would draw them like a moth to the flame. It was also only fair given their pursuer employed a suppressed firearm as well. The wisps of projectiles breaking the sound barrier told Chapman their assailant had caught up again. He tried his best to overwhelm their attacker, returning fire while still trying to run. The detective was careful not to fire wildly because the surrounding shrubbery and wooden fences would do little to absorb the impact of fast-moving metal. A kid playing in his backyard could become the victim of a stray round. This husky old man is more of a pistol marksman than I expected! The sound of bullets cutting through the air prompted Zudam to stay low and out of the open as he chased his targets. They seemed to be making their way to the coast, causing him to speculate they had access to a boat, rather than escaping by vehicle. He would need to catch them before they got away. Rounding the corner of a house, staying close to the cover of the wall, Zudam spotted the two moving laterally down a street. He could see the waters of the Atlantic Ocean in the distance, indicating he had little time to waste. More projectiles funneled him to the side of the street, and he took cover behind a large oak tree. Before completely disappearing behind its trunk, a sharp sting plagued the side of his upper right arm...