…Minus 040 and COUNTING… They traveled five miles before peop

Richards and Amelia Williams travel five miles north before people begin running onto lawns to watch them pass. Many spectators carry cameras, which reassures Richards because public attention makes it harder for the police to kill Amelia openly. Amelia insists that the earlier shooting at the roadblock was only a mistake, but Richards rejects that explanation.

As the car enters the residential outskirts of Rockland, Richards observes summer homes, warning signs, private roads, and faces peering from behind trees. The crowd’s excitement and the sound of Free-Vees create a carnival atmosphere. Richards tells Amelia that the onlookers only want to see blood, whether his or hers.

Richards briefly breaks into laughter when an older man rushes out to photograph them but forgets to remove his lens cap. The absurdity contrasts with the growing danger as parked cars line the shoulders and the road descends toward Rockland, a town divided between commercial sprawl, middle-class homes, and waterfront slum.

At the bottom of the hill, two police cars block the road, and an armored car aims a cannon at Richards and Amelia. Amelia realizes Richards may be finished and asks whether she must die too. Richards tells Amelia to stop fifty yards from the barricade and lean out, relying on the crowd’s presence to protect her from being shot.

Amelia hesitates in terror, and Richards momentarily imagines an impossible peaceful conversation with Amelia before pressing her forward with mocking encouragement. When Amelia leans out, Richards sees that six police cars and another armored van have closed in behind them, cutting off retreat. Richards concludes that the only escape left is death.