When Evan regained consciousness, there’d been no sign of his target, but he heard sirens from the nearby freeway. His whole face was excruciatingly painful, and his nose was bleeding heavily. He picked up the dart g*n, dripping more blood on the ground as he did so, and a wave of dizziness almost made him fall.
Next, he carefully removed his T-shirt, making sure not to catch it on his damaged face. He balled it up and pressed it gingerly against his nose. Even the gentle pressure caused the pain to intensify. While feeling nauseated and with a splitting headache, he held the shirt in place as he stumbled back to his car, careful not to leave a blood trail for the authorities to follow.
He could feel his left eye swelling shut, further intensifying his feelings of failure and self-loathi
