Buddha's Money by Martin Limón

Author:Martin Limón
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Crime Fiction / Mystery
Publisher: Soho Press
Published: 2015-06-30T17:47:49+00:00

20

“Try to drive!” I shouted, “get this thing moving.”

I figured our best chance was to stay in the car, keep it rolling forward, try to break loose from the crowd. But Mr. Peik was a complete wreck. He was crying and moaning, and the little sedan still idled in park, a stationary target for the enraged students now surrounding us.

Ernie reached across Mr. Peik, popped open the door, and began shoving the gambler out of the car. “Move!” he shouted.

Mr. Peik clawed at Ernie in terror. Ernie propped his back against the far side of the car and, using the soles of his dirty sneakers, kicked the gambler out onto the street. The protesters pounced. But when they realized their prey was Korean, the punches and kicks stopped. By then Ernie had slammed the door and slid into the driver’s seat. He popped the clutch: The little Hyundai sedan lurched through the sea of students. We moved like a giant frog, leaping a few feet forward whenever Ernie found a small opening.

Demonstrators swarmed toward us. We were the center of attraction for the mob now. Ernie gunned the engine, ground the gears; swerving, slamming on the brakes, and cursing all the while.

Lady Ahn sat rigidly still, the bag containing the jade skull strapped around her neck.

Glass splintered into the car. Lady Ahn let out an invol­untary murmur but quickly composed herself.

“Get down on the floor!” I shouted.

She sat up even straighter. “No. I will not kneel to these people.”

The road ahead was clogged with students. Those in front—even if they wanted to—would be unable to move because of the surging crowd pressing behind them. Ernie swerved again, a confused bull surrounded by picadors.

Like a tidal wave, the bodies engulfed us. More win­dows smashed; hands reached into the car. I slapped at them, punched them, twisted them, broke them, but still more hands seeped in. Tentacles from a thousand-armed beast.

Fingernails scratched me everywhere. Blood started to trickle down my forehead into my eyes. Blinded, I felt Lady Ahn being pulled from me. I hugged her waist but there were too many arms pulling against me. She was dragged across the jagged shards of broken glass and out through the window.

That’s when I got pissed off.

I jumped out of the car and started punching and kick­ing, feeling the hard rock of skull and bone against my flailing fists. A few demonstrators backed off. That gave Ernie enough space to back up the Hyundai. While he did, I leapt at the students holding Lady Ahn. I was scream­ing, clawing, slavering at the mouth, insane with panic and anger.

They let go of her for just a second. I kicked one, he went down, and I yanked her back toward the sedan.

Ernie had managed to clear some space and was driving in a tight circle. We moved into the center of the circle and Ernie kept moving around us, gunning the engine fiercely, widening the gyre, backing off the sea of shouting students until Lady Ahn and I stood in the center of a human whirlpool.

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