Pushing aside all traces of emotions, I aim the next shot at a closer van. Boom! This time, I’m spot-on. The vehicle flips, exploding in the process, and the two Sullivan SUVs directly behind it smash into it at full speed.
Eight enemy vehicles left.
I point the launcher again, doing my best to compensate for the constant zig-zagging of the limo. I know that Lucas is weaving all over the road in an effort to make us a more difficult target, but that also makes them more difficult targets for me.
Boom! I take the shot, and another Sullivan SUV explodes, taking out the one behind it in the process.
Six enemy vehicles left, and I have two more grenades to launch.
Taking a deep breath, I aim again—and at that moment, both Hummers spit fire. Two of our SUVs fly into the air, rolling off the side of the road.
Three guard SUVs left.
Suppressing my fury, I hold the weapon steady and aim at the Hummer that’s gaining on us. One, two . . . boom! The grenade hits its target, and the massive car careens off the road, smoke rising from its hood.
One Hummer and four enemy SUVs left.
I have one last grenade.
Taking a deep breath, I aim, but before I can squeeze the trigger, one of the enemy cars swerves and crashes into another. My men must’ve shot the driver, improving our chances some more. The Sullivan forces are now down to one Hummer and two SUVs.
Relieved, I take aim again . . . and then I hear it.
The unmistakable roar of helicopter blades in the distance.
Looking up, I see a police chopper coming from the west.
Fuck.
It’s either more dirty cops, or the US authorities caught wind of this skirmish.
Either way, it doesn’t bode well for us.
Chapter 35
Nora
As the new sound reaches my ears, my adrenaline levels spike. I didn’t know it was possible to feel like this—numb and acutely alive at the same time. My heart is racing a million miles a minute, and my skin is tingling with prickles of icy fear. However, the panic that gripped me earlier is gone; it disappeared at some point between the second and third explosion.
Apparently one can get used to anything, even cars blowing up.
Gripping the weapon Julian gave me, I hold on to the seat with my free hand, unable to look away from the battle taking place outside the car window. The road behind us is like something out of a war zone, with crashed and burning cars littering the empty stretch of narrow highway.
It’s as if we’re in a video game, except the casualties are real.
Boom! One press of a controller button, and a car goes flying. Boom! Another car. Boom! Boom! I catch myself mentally directing each grenade, as though I can guide Julian’s aim with my thoughts.
A game. Just a realistic shooting game with stunning sound effects. If I frame it like that, I can cope. I can pretend there aren’t dozens of burning corpses behind us, both on our side and on theirs. I can tell myself the man I love isn’t standing in the middle of the limo holding a grenade launcher, his head and upper body exposed to the hail of gunfire outside.
Yes, a game—in which there’s now a helicopter. I can hear it, and when I climb up on the seat and lean closer to the window, I can see it too.
It’s a police chopper, heading directly for us.
It should be a relief that the authorities are trying to intercede—except the blockade we just went through didn’t seem like an attempt to restore law and order. I saw the police cruiser pursuing us right alongside Sullivan’s forces; they weren’t trying to arrest all the criminals involved in this deadly chase.
They were trying to take us out.
A new wave of terror washes over me, puncturing my false calm. This is not a game. There are people dying all around us, and if it weren’t for the armor on this limo and Lucas’s driving skills, we’d already be dead too. If it were just me, it wouldn’t matter as much. But everyone I love is in this car. If something happens to them—
No, stop. I feel myself starting to hyperventilate, and I force the thought away. I can’t afford to panic now. Glancing toward the front, I see my parents huddling together on the seat, gripping their seatbelts. They’re so pale, they look almost green. I think they’re both in shock now, since my mom is no longer screaming.
The limo takes a sharp right turn, nearly throwing me off the seat.
“I’m going for the hangar!” Lucas yells from the front, and I realize we just turned off the highway onto an even narrower road. The small airport looms directly ahead, beckoning with the promise of salvation. The roar of the helicopter is directly above us now, but if we can get to our plane and take off—
Boom! My vision goes dark, all sounds fading for a second. Gasping, I clutch at the edge of the seat, desperately trying to hang on as the limo swerves and speeds up even more. As my senses return, I realize that the guards’ SUV directly behind us was hit. There’s now a gaping, smoking hole in its roof. I watch in horrified shock as it careens into another one of our cars, colliding with it with shattering force. Tires squeal, and then both cars are rolling off the road in a tangle of crushed metal.
The police chopper shot at us, I realize with a jolt of panic. It shot at us and took out two of our cars, leaving only one guard vehicle to protect us.
Turning, I cast a frantic glance at the front window again. The hangar where our plane is parked is close, so close. Just a few hundred yards, and we’ll be there. Surely we can survive that long—
Boom! My ears ringing, I twist to see the Hummer behind us go up in flames. Julian must’ve hit it, I realize with relief. There’s just the helicopter and two SUVs pursuing us now, and we still have guards in that last SUV. Another couple of shots like that, and we’ll be safe—