Feral recognized the green Caddy as the same car parked by the loading bay. The same car from which he pilfered the gun, ammo, and condoms.
Marks watched the green Caddy slide around the corner, heading north up the alley, then eased the van into gear. "Not like we were going to be able to get out the main exit anyway." The van, however, didn't fit very well between the misplaced dumpster. Marks's eyes fluttered closed briefly when the passenger side of the van--Otter and Feral's side--brushed against the edge of the dumpster. Metal rent into metal, filling the air with a crass screech. Irritated, Marks mashed the gas pedal. The van took off with a groan. The passenger side mirror stayed in place, but only because the van's angle and height were sufficient to avoid banging the mirror into the dumpster.
Once the van cleared the dumpster, Marks cast a sideways glance at Otter and the BunBun. His eyes snapped back to the alley, his fingers gripping the wheel just that much tighter as Otter squealed at the toy. With practiced ease, Marks maneuvered the van into the alley, and headed north in the same direction as the green Caddy.
The green Caddy was half a long block ahead, paused at the intersection of the alley and a smaller thoroughfare. The Caddy shot across the intersection, heading behind a flower shop. Marks swore under his breath, and his eyes went a hair wide.
Otter and Feral spotted T-dawg trying to boost J.R. into a dumpster behind the flower shop, just as another pair of trouser-clad legs that had been dangling over the lip of the trash container disappear from view into the inside of the dumpster. The driver of the Caddy must've hit the gas, because the green car lurched forward in a fit of speed, its tires smoking.
T-dawg shoved Cyril's dangling legs all the way into the dumpster, then hoisted the wounded J.R. into the dumpster, too. The green Caddy sped past, not bothering to veer at T-dawg. T-dawg slammed closed half of the dumpster's lid and lumbered on top. The plastic warped under his weight but held. Alas, T-dawg wasn't fast enough to both help Cyril and J.R. and climb up himself and still have time to leap on the passing Caddy. He did, however, spot Buzz Cut behind the wheel of the green car. And headlights in the alley behind the toy store--half a block to the south--caught his attention. Looked like the white van driven by Marks was headed his way.
