Hoodie pelts ahead of me, dodging bag-laden shoppers, women with strollers, men with briefcases.
Barging between a pair of suits yammering over take-away coffee cups, he staggers as he knocks one down onto the sidewalk. I hurdle the fallen, ignoring the indignant yells of the other as he tries to wipe coffee from his shirt. He lashes out, grabbing me at the shoulder, but I lash back, propelling the rest of the coffee over him…
And in the two seconds it’s cost me…
Crowds mill and push, and Hoodie has vanished in among the surge.
But he can’t have gone far…
Another squad car appears, but not now squealing by. Instead, it meanders, both driver and passenger scanning the milling crowds.
Dropping once more to a dogtrot, I weave through the hordes. At a corner ahead of me, a police officer
