350 deadtime

. heswung his left hand and the .38  forward . but the motion was more about balance  than to his leg. the barrel pointed toward his feetr . it was as though the revolver suddenly weighed too much .he couldn't lift it any higher .
the cops had stopped firing . they were waiting for eoden either to die or to channeel rasputin and refuse to die . all thecops' weapons stayed trained on the man stading wounded , stunned , and defiant in the road .
five seconds became ten before he dropped to his knees .
the . 38 slipped from fingers and clattered to the ground . i didn't hear it clatter . i did see it bounce .
bloood was streaming from the end of the pinky of oden's right hand in a dark rivulet , like of espresso dripping into a cup .
he swayed for a few seconds before he fell onto his face with a splat that i heard clearly , hedidn't thrust out either hand to break his fall .
 the cops swarmed forward , gun ready . they were barking commands to a dead man , still wary about rasputin .
my eyes caught motion on the near horizone . on the rise beyond the bridge , a half dozen vehicles stormed over the ridgeline in formation , three abreast . reinforcements for the ambush .
i tried to turn my head back farenough to check on amy . i saw a bullet in the windshield . low , passenger side . right where i would have been had i not crossed theconsole to find the brake pedal; .
i said ," amy , i's over ."
she didn't re[ly .
"amy , wake up . it's over , come out of it ."
she didn't say a word .
despite popular misconceptions , hypnotic trances are typically not hard to break . my normal speaking voice woukld have done it .