Rafferty said, "They're always one and the same."
Across the street Henry Oteas crouched in his truck. As the ambulance rushed past him, he started his truck and followed it. He would not abandon his grandson.
The Sheriff drove while Rafferty sat alongside.
Rafferty said, "I talked with Jimmy Quint. He came down from the hills to tell me he's up at the Quint house waiting for the killers to return to the scene of the crime."
Hartman scoffed. "Lester is the only one left, and he's holed up mauka somewhere and you need a crowbar to pry him loose. He's not stupid enough to come out of hiding."
"But he needs money to escape." Rafferty then wondered, "Where are we going?"
"Mauka," Hartman said.
"If you go mauka, maybe you never come back."
"Maybe you not come back."
Sheriff Hartman parked his car deep in the Quint yard, near the compost pile. Before Rafferty and Sheriff Hartman could leave the car, the police radio crackled with a message.
Sheriff Hartman grabbed the microphone. "Go ahead, Dispatch."
The dispatcher said, "Tomo Oteas just died."
Angry, Sheriff Hartman fisted the dashboard. "Son of a bitch!"
In the woods Jimmy Quint woke up from a restless sleep and heard the police car. He pulled on some pants and grabbed up his arsenal.
Rafferty and Sheriff Hartman walked towards the Quint house.
"He was a pawn for the Rahlers," Rafferty said.
Hartman said, "That doesn’t excuse him."
Lester Rahler stood in their path, his feet apart and both hands outstretched holding a .357 Magnum aimed at them.
Lester told the Sheriff, "Unbuckle your gun belt. Let it drop to the dirt."
Sheriff Hartman reluctantly did as he was told.
Lester said, "Now step back."
Rafferty and Sheriff Hartman moved back.
Lester picked up the Sheriff's gun. "Police Special. A pea-shooter. It's hard to kill a man with this, Sheriff."
Hartman said, "We just want to stop them. We don't want to kill them."
Lester hefted the Sheriff’s gun. "I can keep you alive for a long time, just taking my time killing you."
Using the police special, Lester shot the Sheriff in the right leg. The Sheriff gasped and toppled over. He held his leg and tried rising to his feet, but the pain kept him grounded.
Lester stopped Rafferty from moving at him, then shot the Sheriff in the right shoulder. The Sheriff floundered in the dirt from the pain, then laid there gasping for strength.
Rafferty tried going to the Sheriff's aid, but Lester fired the gun at him, just missing him. Rafferty stopped in mid-stride.
Lester said, "There's this game my daddy said his cellmate played in 'Nam whenever he took prisoners. See how many bullets it takes to kill a man."
Lester shot the Sheriff in the other leg. The Sheriff cried out in agony. Sweat poured off his face.
Lester aimed his gun and snarled at Rafferty, the muscles in his neck standing out.
"You're next. Come here!"
Unafraid, Rafferty approached Lester, whose rage spilled out.
Lester said, "You killed my daddy -- "
Lester sucker-punched Rafferty in the throat with the butt of the Magnum as hard as he could. Rafferty fell to the ground and started gagging and choking.
Lester said, "Get up!"
When Rafferty was slow, Lester kicked him in the side of the head. Then he reached down and grabbed Rafferty's forearm and yanked him to his feet.
Rafferty sucker-punched Lester in the testicles. Lester howled from the pain. Rafferty brought clasped hands up at his exposed throat. Lester deflected them, but lost one of his guns in the process.
The Magnum landed beneath the police car.
Rafferty and Lester fought for the Police Special. Rafferty got it once, but Lester knocked it from his hand. The gun landed at Rafferty's feet, accidentally firing. Lester went for it, and Rafferty kicked him in the face.
Rafferty ran stumbling away from him and towards the gun in the dirt. Lester came after Rafferty and caught up with him. He punched Rafferty's already battered face and kept punching until Rafferty's nose and mouth were bleeding and his left eye was closed and starting to swell. Rafferty sank to his knees.
Lester picked up the police special, aimed at Rafferty who was sprawled in the dust, and fired. But the gun was empty. Lester threw it away, then hauled Rafferty to his feet, shook him and slammed him against the police car. Lester smacked him, banging his head against the car.
Jimmy Quint arrived in the woods near the Quint House and saw Rafferty being battered by Lester. Jimmy grabbed up his rifle and started loading it. He didn’t realize how far he was from the action.
Rafferty sandwiched his hands and gave Lester a roundhouse swing that slowed him. Then Rafferty devastated him with a palm up his nose. If Rafferty's strength had been there, Rafferty would've killed Lester then. But Lester fell to one knee, grabbed him and tried pulling him down to the dirt. Rafferty pushed him away.
Fifty yards away Jimmy Quint took careful aim at Lester's head, then very carefully squeezed the trigger, just as he was trained.
Rafferty was shot in the thigh. He fell to the ground, landed hard, landed wrong, right on his pelvic bone, right above where the bullet has struck him. A pulse of pain cut through him and almost stopped his heart.
Rafferty cried out, "Oh God!"
Jimmy was horrified at his bad shooting. He tried firing again.
Lester hit the ground, as the next bullet kicked up dirt beyond his head.