And then Mr. Shine and Rabbi Stark together leaped forward and tackled the Boss

For a moment, Elchanan’s vision blurred; he couldn’t see a thing. Then his mind cleared, and the scene in front of him began to take shape — the Boss, turning wildly from facing his father and Mr. Shine to face the newest threat: the members of one of the search parties, who had just emerged from the forest.

“Careful — he’s armed!” Avi yelled, from his position on the ground. Elchanan took the opportunity to roll out of the way and jump to his feet. There were so many of them, and only two of the gang, surely they could overpower the criminals and call the police?

“Avi, let’s jump him,” he hissed, while the Boss stood, frozen, facing the Chaverim search-and-rescue volunteers who poured out of the forest and surrounded the car.

A moment later, there was a hand on his shoulder, and Mr. Shine half dragged him away from the scene. “You boys get into my car, now!” he ordered. He turned to do the same thing to his son, who was struggling painfully to his feet. “Avi, run!”

And then Mr. Shine and Rabbi Stark together leaped forward and tackled the Boss.

Caught by surprise, the Boss collapsed to the ground. But Gregor was there too, ready to defend his leader. He reached into his jacket pocket. One of the volunteers reacted first, knocking his arm away. Something metal clattered to the ground, and a Chaverim volunteer gave it a mighty kick, sending it flying into the undergrowth surrounding the forest, where it was lost from sight.

Three men fought Gregor to the ground, until he was lying side by side with the Boss. Cries came from all sides:

“Call the police!”

“Hold him!”

“Watch out!!! He’s trying to get you from behind!”