past the SUV and the BMW . T he car fill ed w ith the smooth growl of the engine and the sound of pavement under the tires.
The speedometer climbed past ninety. Selena wove in and out of the traffic and clip ped a red Honda . It skewed across the highway and flip ped over onto the grass median. In the side mirror, Carter saw a gray sedan slam into an old pickup filled with furniture . C hests and chairs spilled across the roadway .
A quarter mile ahead a blinking yellow arrow on the back of a truck and a s tring of orange and white barrels funneled three lanes into two . They were about to run out of room. The cement streamed by on the right, a blurring , silent ripple of gray outside his window.
Shit, he thought . He calm ed himself, lowered his heart rate , getting ready for whatever was coming. T he gun rest ed on his thigh. He was out of control, but the car was so comfortable. Carter glanced at Selena. She gripped the wheel, her face set, absorbed in the traffic and the road. The speedometer h ung at a hundred .
A long, wide gap in the cement barrier open ed along the right onto a n excavated parking area with neat rows of equipment and stacks of supplies . Selena slowed, shifted down , sto od on the emergency brake and wrenched the wheel over. The rear end slid smoking to the left in a howl of burning rubber. In one fluid motion s he released the brake and whipped the wheel back to center. The Mercedes shot through the gap and went ai rborne over the edge of the road and down hard onto gravel .
The front tires blew out. The car corkscrewed and slewed sideways and sprayed g ravel and dirt in a wide arc . They fishtailed across the lot . The car slammed to a jarring halt against a pile of rebar and steel . Steam erupted under the buckled hood.
The BMW and Suburban caught up and stopped on the highway . Two men jumped from the car , guns in their hands. Two more piled out of the Suburban.
Carter pushed Selena down into her seat and fired twice at the windshield . The shots deafened him inside the car. The glass spider-webbed . H e fired again. A large piece of the windshield blew out. He fired at the first man out of the BMW and missed. He fired again and the man spun backwards, arms splayed wide.
Carter s hot the second man in the chest , then turned toward the others . He ducked. The two from the Suburban opened up with their pistols . T he car windows disappeared in a shower of flying glass. Bullets thumped into the sides of the car .
Something clip ped his ear. Selena was bent low behind the wheel with her hands covering her ears . He let off three more rounds over her head . A third man doubled over and fell face down on the pavement. The fourth ran back behind the Suburban. Carter made out a driver hunched down behind the wheel and shot him.
The B MW drove away , fast . The last man pulled the body of the driver from behind the wheel of the SUV . He climbed in and took off on smoking tires. Carter fired a fter him until the slide locked back on his pistol.
For one or two seconds the Suburban kept going straight. Then it heeled right in a tilting, impossible turn and flipped over onto the driver ' s side . It slid along the pavement showering sparks and shedding pieces of metal, glass and chrome until it came to rest. With a loud thump, it burst into flame.
The BMW was gone, out of sight.
" Are you all right? " His words sounded flat and far a way. H is ears rang from the pistol shots.
" What? Yes, I ' m okay, I think. " She sat up, brushed glass from her hair, and looked at him . " You ' re bleeding. "
The Suburban burned with fierce, red beauty . A black column of smoke rose into a sky scattered with clouds turning pink and gold from the lowering sun. He felt blood dripping on the side of his neck .
He wanted to look in the rearview mirror but it was gone.
On the highway , p eople were getting out of their cars. Holding the .45 high , Carter ejected the empty magazine and inserted a fresh one . He
The speedometer climbed past ninety. Selena wove in and out of the traffic and clip ped a red Honda . It skewed across the highway and flip ped over onto the grass median. In the side mirror, Carter saw a gray sedan slam into an old pickup filled with furniture . C hests and chairs spilled across the roadway .
A quarter mile ahead a blinking yellow arrow on the back of a truck and a s tring of orange and white barrels funneled three lanes into two . They were about to run out of room. The cement streamed by on the right, a blurring , silent ripple of gray outside his window.
Shit, he thought . He calm ed himself, lowered his heart rate , getting ready for whatever was coming. T he gun rest ed on his thigh. He was out of control, but the car was so comfortable. Carter glanced at Selena. She gripped the wheel, her face set, absorbed in the traffic and the road. The speedometer h ung at a hundred .
A long, wide gap in the cement barrier open ed along the right onto a n excavated parking area with neat rows of equipment and stacks of supplies . Selena slowed, shifted down , sto od on the emergency brake and wrenched the wheel over. The rear end slid smoking to the left in a howl of burning rubber. In one fluid motion s he released the brake and whipped the wheel back to center. The Mercedes shot through the gap and went ai rborne over the edge of the road and down hard onto gravel .
The front tires blew out. The car corkscrewed and slewed sideways and sprayed g ravel and dirt in a wide arc . They fishtailed across the lot . The car slammed to a jarring halt against a pile of rebar and steel . Steam erupted under the buckled hood.
The BMW and Suburban caught up and stopped on the highway . Two men jumped from the car , guns in their hands. Two more piled out of the Suburban.
Carter pushed Selena down into her seat and fired twice at the windshield . The shots deafened him inside the car. The glass spider-webbed . H e fired again. A large piece of the windshield blew out. He fired at the first man out of the BMW and missed. He fired again and the man spun backwards, arms splayed wide.
Carter s hot the second man in the chest , then turned toward the others . He ducked. The two from the Suburban opened up with their pistols . T he car windows disappeared in a shower of flying glass. Bullets thumped into the sides of the car .
Something clip ped his ear. Selena was bent low behind the wheel with her hands covering her ears . He let off three more rounds over her head . A third man doubled over and fell face down on the pavement. The fourth ran back behind the Suburban. Carter made out a driver hunched down behind the wheel and shot him.
The B MW drove away , fast . The last man pulled the body of the driver from behind the wheel of the SUV . He climbed in and took off on smoking tires. Carter fired a fter him until the slide locked back on his pistol.
For one or two seconds the Suburban kept going straight. Then it heeled right in a tilting, impossible turn and flipped over onto the driver ' s side . It slid along the pavement showering sparks and shedding pieces of metal, glass and chrome until it came to rest. With a loud thump, it burst into flame.
The BMW was gone, out of sight.
" Are you all right? " His words sounded flat and far a way. H is ears rang from the pistol shots.
" What? Yes, I ' m okay, I think. " She sat up, brushed glass from her hair, and looked at him . " You ' re bleeding. "
The Suburban burned with fierce, red beauty . A black column of smoke rose into a sky scattered with clouds turning pink and gold from the lowering sun. He felt blood dripping on the side of his neck .
He wanted to look in the rearview mirror but it was gone.
On the highway , p eople were getting out of their cars. Holding the .45 high , Carter ejected the empty magazine and inserted a fresh one . He
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