Eleven Numbers: A Short Story by Lee Child

Author:Lee Child [Child, Lee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Amazon Original Stories
Published: 2025-02-02T00:00:00+00:00

Tyler sat for a long moment, battered by the airbags, bruised by the seat belt, deafened by the impact, sickened by the violent motion. He took a breath. And another. He made a list. Of things he should do. First, unclip his belt. Second, open his door. Then swivel. Then stand.

He accomplished the first item, after some thought. He accomplished the second, after a long struggle. He didn’t attempt the third or the fourth. He didn’t need to. The police did both things for him. They grabbed him and dragged him out. Two patrol cops, passing by. They stood him up and held him straight by the elbows. Other cops came and gathered around. They parked their cars and left the lights flashing and wandered over. Then an ambulance arrived, flashing red, with a deep barking siren.

“Thanks, but I think I’m OK,” Tyler said.

No reaction.

“I’m sorry, I don’t speak Russian.”

No reaction.

“Do you speak English?”

No reaction.

“I’m here for the Global Mathematics Congress.”

No reaction. The ambulance headed for the tipped-over police car. People were crouched near it, looking in, looking nervous. A cop with stripes on his epaulets walked over. A higher rank. The cops around Tyler stood to attention. Tyler was jerked an extra inch upright by the men holding his elbows.

The captain or lieutenant or whatever he was asked a short question in Russian. The oldest of the other cops answered, with what sounded like a summary, dry, detailed, nothing emphasized, no conclusions drawn. Just the facts. The guy with the stripes turned to Tyler and asked another short question.

Tyler said, “I’m sorry, I don’t speak Russian.”

The guy looked back at the cop who had submitted the report and issued what sounded like an order. Then he walked away. Tyler was levered forward by the elbows. He stumbled and hustled to keep up. They were headed for a police car. For a mad second Tyler wondered if he was being offered a courtesy ride to the conference hotel.

But no. His arms were forced behind his back and handcuffs were clicked in place and he realized he was being arrested.

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