Chapter 81
AS SOON AS the gun went off, I instinctively crouched and drew my duty weapon from my shoulder holster. The crowd that had been gathering around us instantly turned and fled. People were running in every direction. And most of them were screaming.
I scanned the area quickly. Valerie had disappeared. No one right around us seemed to be a threat. Tex was still lying prone on the concrete. That’s when I noticed Alain.
It looked like he was on his knees, pinning Tex to the ground. I instantly realized something was wrong. It was the way Alain was bent forward. Then I saw blood start to appear on the front of his colorful shirt.
Alain collapsed on top of the big man. I wanted to check Alain’s wound, but first I had to locate the shooter. I looked up and spotted a thin man standing at the main entrance to the hotel. He held a semiautomatic pistol in his right hand.
I pointed my Glock at the man in the doorway. I shouted, “San Francisco PD. Drop the gun. Do it now.” My voice had cracked at the end. These situations could be overwhelming.
The man in the doorway looked shocked. He was frozen in position. The gun was pointing at the concrete in front of him. Even an accidental discharge could send fragments flying in every direction.
I started walking toward him with my gun aimed at his chest. My finger was on the trigger now. The finger seemed to tighten on its own. The man still hadn’t moved. I shouted, “Police! Drop the gun now or I will shoot you.”
I was less than twenty feet from where he stood at the door. It was a moment of truth. Too many cops were forced into this position.
I started to squeeze the trigger.
Just then, the man dropped his pistol. The sound of it clattering onto the hard concrete broke through my tunnel vision.
I eased off the trigger. I quickly shuttled forward, at the same time telling the man to lie down on the ground in front of the doorway.
I scooped up his pistol and stuck it in my waistband.
I yanked out the handcuffs I had stuffed in one of the sweatshirt’s pockets. I had the man on the ground handcuffed and patted down in record time. I jerked him to his feet and shoved him along so I could go back and check on Alain.
I pushed the man onto the ground near the garden bed. I held on to his arm so he didn’t fall face first. By now, Tex was sitting up, trying to figure out what had happened. I barked at him, “Get out of the way.” He looked at me with groggy eyes. I shouted, “Move!”
I holstered my pistol, grabbed my phone, and checked Alain. It felt like I did all three things at exactly the same time. When I rolled Alain over to face up, I saw he was still breathing. But there was a lot of blood soaking his shirt.
I ripped open his shirt and saw the sucking chest wound.
I didn’t like it, but the only thing available was the palm of my hand.
I needed to stop the bleeding. I pulled out my phone with the other hand and tapped the speed-dial button I used all too often.
As soon as the dispatcher came on, I gave our exact location and said, “Officer down. Officer needs assistance.”
I knew that would get a quick response.