Excerpt from Chapter 17 ~~ CHASE
Ten minutes later, Jillian was navigating the back streets of outer Atlanta. I wedged my briefcase over the back of the seat into the cargo space, trying to make more room where I sat. Next to me, Chang was already sleeping, a few black crumbs decorating the corners of his mouth.
Jerry turned part way around. “Wanna’ tell me what’s going on now?”
“Shutting it down sooner than expected, Floppy. Can’t be helped. I’ve got a crew coming to load up all the equipment and truck it to Murphy. It’ll just sit there until we get the new building done.”
“But, what’s the rush?” Jerry asked, swaying a bit in his seat as the Escalade took a turn a little too fast.
“My new project is a big one, Flop. It’s going to attract a lot of attention. Not all of it good.”
“Oh, boy… what have you got me into?”
“Don’t worry, ol’ buddy.” My arm mashed against the door panel as the SUV swerved around a slower car.
What’s she doing? This is a residential area.
“I can’t be around anything illegal, Dak. You know me well enough to know that.”
“Same here. It’s not illegal. Trust me. It’s just so… so… big and unexpected. We can’t take chances on any leaks before we lock it down.”
“You keep saying big. I could use another adjective. Something a little more informative would be nice.”
“How about huge? One of a kind. Earth shattering with global appeal.” I suggested and felt Jillian jab the brakes and swing us suddenly to the left. “Hey! What are you doing? This ain’t the way to the interstate!”
Jillian’s eyes caught mine in the rearview mirror. They weren’t playful. They were intense. They flashed Trouble.
Oh, shit.
My neck snapped forward and my head rocked backward, bouncing off the Enterprise as the Escalade was rocked hard by a rear impact.
“What the… ?” I blurted out. Jerry slouched, his knees braced against the dash board. I scanned our surroundings. Houses were zipping by – too fast.
I looked back in time to see a black Hummer closing in from behind. The Escalade rocked again and I was thrown into the back of Jillian’s seat. Past the Enterprise, a large grill and headlight were visible through the rear window. The Hummer was riding our bumper.
G forces tossed me back into my seat as Jillian tromped the gas. In the rearview mirror, her eyes were wild, but intent. Jerry was white knuckling the door grips.
“They’re ramming us!” I exclaimed. “What are you doing?”
“Saving your ass!” she responded through gritted teeth. A hard right slung me against the door again. “Better hang on! Jerry! Put your seatbelt on!”
“Hell no! I ain’t lettin’ go of this door handle!”
I looked back. The Hummer stayed in our wake, never falling more than a few feet behind. Car horns blared as Jillian slammed the SUV into a drift at the next right, tires squealing and leaving a trail of smoke. No doubt about it. She could drive.
I’ll give her props later… if I live.
“Gun it, Jillian!” I yelled. The Hummer rammed us again and I heard glass shatter. “Head for the interstate!”
The surroundings had transitioned from residential to business. Strip malls and fast food joints flew by the windows. My head spiked and my vision blurred. Jerry was saying the Lord’s Prayer under his breath. The Escalade bounced over the center median to avoid a stopped truck at a red light. The turbulence bounced our heads off the ceiling and dropped us roughly into our seats.
“Son of a bitch!” I shouted. “Where’s our flippin’ security?”
In the wrong lane now, Jillian maneuvered into oncoming traffic. I peered over her at the LED display that showed our speed at 74 mph. I gripped the arm rest and looked back. The Hummer made contact again and the rear window of the Escalade dropped out of sight in a million pieces.
“They’ll be here! Don’t worry!” Jillian replied in a pitchy voice. Her eyes in the mirror showed resolve. “I just have to keep ‘em off us until the boys get here!”
Her arms jerked the wheel hard and the SUV lurched across the median, bucking like a wild bronco and bouncing us off the ceiling again. We sideswiped a Coke truck, Jerry’s shoulder hitting the passenger window with a sick thunk! I saw a shower of sparks fly by the side window and heard the sound of buckling metal.
Jillian regained control and floored it out and away from the truck. Horns wailed from every direction, cars screeching and sliding into each other while the Escalade blazed through the next red light.
My head swiveled from front to rear, eyes wild with panic. There was a four car pile up back at the intersection, one on its roof. Then the Hummer blocked my view. “Fuck! Here they come again!”
The shiny black monster pulled along side, its front left quarter panel slamming the Escalade behind the rear wheel. A rocking motion followed the impact and I was thrown to my knees behind Jillian’s seat. She struggled with the wheel, fighting the violent fishtail that swung her vehicle’s rear from left to right.
Hugging the front seats, I tried to pull myself up. I was about to yell again when, without warning, Jillian threw the SUV into another drift. Two wheels left the pavement as we banked to the right, directly into the path of the Hummer. The tires screamed for mercy, then caught traction and shot the SUV forward.
The Hummer sailed past through the smoke. Jillian sped down a side street while I tried to remember how to breathe.
We took the next left, a little slower this time. I climbed back into my seat and caught the look in the rearview mirror. It wasn’t terror. More like astonishment. She saw something. I spun my head in time to see the Hummer barrel out of an adjacent side street and resume the pursuit, closing fast.
“Holy fuckin’ shit! Get us outta’ here, girl!” I was sucked deeper into my seat by a new surge from the powerful Cadillac engine.
“The boys should be here!” she yelled. “I’m running out of tricks!”
My heart tried to erupt from my chest cavity. My fingers ached from gripping anything within reach. I shot a look at Jerry. The guy was ghostly white. Not a good sign.
“There’s an interstate on-ramp just ahead!” Jillian shouted.
Grinding metal made me turn. The Hummer was matching Jillian’s efforts, its grill littered with SUV debris. It slowed just a little, dropping back about ten feet – then zoomed forward.
“Everyone hang on!” I screamed. I braced for the impact and heard an ear splitting screech of twisting metal and breaking glass. But, no jarring lurch to the Escalade.
The black Camaro appeared on the passenger side of the Hummer, side-slamming it aggressively. The Camaro swerved sharply and sideswiped again, left headlight shattering and the driver side window imploding on impact. It was like watching a Chihuahua nipping at a Great Dane.
“The cavalry is here! But it may not be enough!” I reported sharply. “Keep your foot down!”
The Hummer closed again, leaving the Camaro behind. As if on cue, a black BMW swept into view to my right. A puff of smoke escaped the open passenger window and I saw another puff on the Hummer’s left front tire, followed by a loud snapping sound a split second later.
I gazed intently and saw another puff of smoke at the window, the sound delay bringing the loud popping noise to my ears shortly after. I strained to see through the windshield, barely able to make out Isaac’s raised arm. Something shiny in his hand was pointed at the Hummer.
“Cheese an’ Rice! He’s shooting at them!” I yelled over the sound of another shot.
The Hummer kept coming, like a charging bull ignoring mosquitoes. The Escalade swerved suddenly to avoid cross traffic and I nearly landed on Chang. Behind us, the Camaro was back. It sidled up to the massive Hummer and the kid who had given me the Vulcan salute was slithering out the window opening, keeping one hand inside on the wheel.
“No way! No friggin’ way!” I was hollering out the back of the SUV. I watched the young man perch on the door frame briefly before leaping onto the Hummer’s running boards, clinging to the large side mirror.
The Camaro drifted away without a pilot. It careened lazily into a passing yard and abruptly smashed into a parked Honda Accord – flipped and rolled several times through the next yard and into a third.
“No, no, no! Son of a bitch!” I stammered to no one in particular.
Drawing back a fist, the young man plunged it into the door window, glass fragments hitting him in the face. From the Hummer’s interior, hands reached out and clawed at his face. I gasped in shock, unable to blink as the young daredevil pulled the passenger half way out the window opening, all the while balanced on the running board. It was all happening so fast. I couldn’t make out the man’s features, but he seemed pale.
If it wasn’t taking place before my very eyes, I would have sworn it was all just a well choreographed stunt in a big-budget blockbuster. But, there they were! Two real men in a very real life-and-death struggle at 70 mph.
Hang on, little dude! Hang on!
The BMW pulled slightly ahead of the Hummer and feinted a block, causing the Hummer to swerve in reaction to the dodge. Before it could recover, the BMW dropped back and plowed the rear of the Hummer, ripping away most of the BMW’s front fender. The fishtail motion of the Hummer now exaggerated and I could see the outline of the driver through its windshield. He was sawing back and forth on the wheel in frantic combat with the laws of physics.
The front wheel, full of bullets, finally gave out with a sound like cannon fire. That corner of the Hummer dipped and grabbed pavement, whipping the vehicle sideways and snapping it into a crushing roll.
“Oh my God!” I cried out. “We’ve gotta’ stop!”
I watched the Hummer roll 9 times, suffering more damage with each revolution. It came to a demolished stop, upside down. Thick black and gray smoke billowed upward. The BMW swung around it and kept coming. I watched the carnage get smaller and smaller behind us as we accelerated away.
“Stop the car!” I shouted again, spinning back around to face the front. “We’ve got to help that boy!”
“No.” Jillian replied calmly and kept her eyes on the road.
“But… that boy.” I sat stunned and horrified.
“He knew what he was doing, Dak. We have to get you out of Georgia. Nothing else matters.” She was so matter of fact about it that I fell back in my seat, afraid I might wretch. Barely audible, she added, “Isaac made it through okay.”
The Escalade powered up the on-ramp and merged into traffic on I-75 North. I watched the LED display flicker. 81. 83. 85.
“What just happened?” I finally asked in a quiet voice.
“The beginning,” she answered. “Caleb warned you.”
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