Claude cursed profusely as he watched Harvey Sinclair escape across the open stretch. He'd had him cornered. It had taken severe effort to sneak up on them. Then with one wrong step, he cracked a branch, and they took off in a sprint. He pulled the trigger out of frustration. Sending a bullet in a Hail Mary attempt to hit the running target. It was a wasted shot, and he knew it. Now he only had three rounds left.
He watched from the edge of the woods as they neared the side of the opposing forest line. He couldn't just run after them; it'd leave too much up to chance and luck. He had an advantage close range, revolver against rifle, if they indeed only had a gun, but if they dropped to the ground in the woods and turned, an excellent marksman could pick him off as he charged. He had no way of telling the capabilities of his opponents and didn't want to leave it up to chance. Why were there two of them? Were they both armed?
He'd take his time, work his way around again. It'd take a while, but he still had twenty-four hours to work with. He'd have to go back into the forest then entirely around the town, keeping cover the whole trip. His tracker hadn't been working since he'd entered the city. Since he'd been able to sneak up on Harvey, he only assumed his tracker quit working as well.
Just as Claude got up to move, an officer joined the scene catching him completely off guard. He was running towards the opposite forest line after Harvey. The officer had his gun drawn and an odd bounce in his step.
Would the officer do his job for him? Claude laid behind a bush and watched. If the officer killed Harvey, he'd be off. He'd be free, almost. Eventually, the airport would be able to identify him when he was identified on the tape. Maybe the clerk wouldn't recognize him? He quickly pushed the thought from his mind. He needed to focus on this moment, then the repercussions of his past day later.
If the officer killed Harvey, it'd be over, but if he simply reprehended him, it'd be nearly impossible to kill him while he was in custody. He couldn't take the chance. He needed to move fast. Finish this himself. He wanted absolute certainty that his kids would live to grow up. He'd thought about shooting himself once the plane landed, but he couldn't take the chance of his kids being raised by someone within The Company. He had to be the one alive with them at the end of this. Even if he was imprisoned for his actions. He'd at least have time to fly them as far away from The Company as possible.
They'll have to shoot the officer first. He gripped the revolver in his palm and charged across the open town.