Adventure of Dallas Fontaine 2

Jackson Temple kills the headlights, then flicks them back on in a hard strobe that paints Professor Dayton's study in white stripes. The alley mouth gapes beside his vehicle, engine idling low, while the study door shudders under fists and a pry bar.

Murderbone lunges to the open window, teeth bared at the dark beyond the glass. Dallas grips the evidence under his coat and shifts toward the rear exit, the alley light catching the brim of his fedora.

Inside the hall, the forcing stops for one beat, then resumes with a rage of wood and metal. A shadow crosses the frosted pane, and someone barks for the others to cut off the alley.

Jackson holds the driver's door open with one hand and gestures with the other, already choosing the alley's blind corner as his next move. Dallas reaches the threshold with the files tight against his ribs, the city waiting beyond the rain.

Dallas slips along the blind corner as the first shove hits the study door, putting the wall between him and the hallway. Rain hisses at the window glass behind him, and Jackson keeps the car light hard and erratic, making the alley read like moving shadow.

The evidence stays tucked tight under Dallas's coat as he clears the corner and gains the alley side of the building. The line of sight from the hallway breaks cleanly, leaving the intruders with a door, a window, and no easy angle on him.

Murderbone peels away from the window and drops to the floor by the threshold, still bristling at the dark inside. Behind him, Dayton flinches at another slam, the bookshelves rattling under the impact.

Jackson swings the open door wider and steps off the pavement line, clearing a path to the car. The alley is open now, but the study entrance keeps bucking under pressure, forcing the next choice fast.