Run Baby Run by Michael Allen Zell Page A

With his dropped head and raised swinging arms, he was a sight.
    At one car length, the group got frightened and attempted to move but stumbled into each other.
    Hutch turned wide shoulders slightly to his left in preparation. The jeep was steps away.
    At impact, he dropped his head so that the crown was facing straight ahead like a battering ram. Then in quick motion he lifted it. "Uhhhh!" he snarled.
    Hutch sent two of the men airborne into a beige BMW whose alarm promptly screamed through the night. He hit them so hard it would've stripped white from rice.
    Olson, on the other hand, was so top heavy by his stance that he went into and over one of the men before performing a series of misshapen somersaults. His high arms served to protect his head.
    A voice from across the street called out, "Look at that muthafucka roll."
    Hutch regained open field and was to the jeep in seconds. He looked back while pulling the keys from his pocket to see Olson spinning down the street, a bewildered group of drunkards, and Big T gaining ground.
    Hutch opened the door, set the beer case on the passenger floor, and stepped back out to stop Olson and pull him to his feet.
    "C'mon, Clint," Hutch ordered.
    Meanwhile, a big white SUV was screeching as it turned from Burgundy against the one-way street St. Peter. A cab was in its way, so the Ford Explorer veered off to the right, drove up on the sidewalk, and sped past. A man wearing a beret and a leather vest stepped out of the Gold Mine and shook his head.
    Hutch and Olson quickly got into the jeep. The second Hutch started it and prepared to pull out of the parking spot, he began honking to clear the khaki hoard from the street.
    This time they listened. Big T planted himself in the path of the jeep, but as he saw it careening at him, he dove out of the way, still holding onto the bags of skims he'd picked up earlier.
    Hutch hit the gas even harder. He had them to Canal in a matter of seconds. By this time, Johnny had picked up Big T. The SUV was barely a block away.
    Hutch's plan had been that they'd cross Canal, get on I-10 going west, and take it all the way to Houston. At Canal, though, they had a red light and too much traffic in the left and middle lanes, so he tore around the corner to the right.
    He wanted to get over but was stuck in the right lane. He ran the lights at Rampart, Basin, Treme, and Marais. Cross traffic was light, so there were no problems. A young security guard in a beat-up Honda Civic was looking down, texting his girlfriend that he was on the way home, so he didn't see how close he was to a collision.
    The light at Claiborne was green, and Hutch made a quick right, hoping to throw the Sicilians off, but it didn't work.
    "I'm gonna get away from 'em. Belt up," Hutch said. Olson ignored him but whined, "I'll never get to San Diego."
    Hutch knew the cross streets by the cemetery rarely got traffic, so he chose those blocks to click his own seatbelt in place. The SUV stayed firmly on their heels, not trying to pass, merely following.
    Hutch was dreading the next light. Night life was hopping on Orleans. There were good-timers, high-rollers, and wanna-be's dotting that stretch, in and outside the clubs.
    He started honking in advance. The light turned in his favor, but a man was walking with a woman across Claiborne. He was old, tall, and skinny, with a fresh high and tight trim, leaving only hair on the top of his head. She was young, thick-bodied, and had long braids. They were both high and ready for each other's action. Like all good New Orleanians, they didn't look up at the source of the honking, figuring it could just go around them.
    Hutch kept blasting away.
    Tall and skinny was trying to seduce. "I ain't gonna lie. Matta fact I think you... Oh my!"
    He saw the jeep bearing down on them and pulled her forward with him in a big jump. Hutch swerved past them. She tottered on her heels and went down sitting. Her light long summer dress typically extended to her