Battle Road (16 page)

THIRTY ONE

Dylan stood at the top of the ladder, trying to push the manhole cover up with his left hand. It wouldn't budge. Shoving the flashlight into his pocket, he balanced himself on the ladder while pushing with both arms against the cover. It moved up by an inch before falling back down. The steel cover weighed at least a hundred pounds and he didn't have much leverage. He took a breath and balanced himself again. This time using all of his strength, he managed to push the manhole cover up and away.

He peeked his head up through the opening. It was dark out, night time had already fallen. A car sped by, then another. The manhole opened to a busy street. Cars drove past in both directions. Lucky enough, though, the opening lay directly in the center of the road. Luckier still there was a nearby streetlight, enough to see.

At first Dylan ducked his head down with every oncoming car. Then popped it back up again when he thought it safe. He couldn't find an opportunity to climb up into the street. It didn't matter, he knew he had no choice but to move. He threw his duffel bag up onto the street, then practically jumped out of the manhole in one fluid movement. Cars swerved to miss him at the last second.

Dylan brandished his weapon at the traffic speeding towards him. Hoping that was enough to keep any of them from running him down. He fired a quick burst from the machine pistol into the air for one car that apparently didn't see him standing in the middle of the road. The car swerved to the side with a high pitch screech, then drove past without slowing down.

Tien reached the manhole opening, pushing her bag through first. She threw her left arm into the air, allowing Dylan to reach down to pull her out. No sooner had Tien got to her feet, she yelled, “Run!” They made it only halfway to the sidewalk before the explosive detonated. Fire and black smoke ejected skyward through the manhole opening. A fraction of a second later, another more powerful explosion rocked the street, knocking them off their feet. They fell forward onto the hard cement of the sidewalk. The street buckled in several places, fire and smoke billowed out all around them. The natural gas lines had ruptured. In all likelihood killing every soldier below in the sewer.

Tien was first to roll over and sit up. Dylan was slower to get up. “You OK?” Tien asked. He nodded his head. “Yeah, how about you?” Tien got to her feet. “I'm fine.”

Dylan was the first to notice them. Two hover drones flying down the street, in their direction. They flew in tandem, one flying directly above the other, probably on a standard sweep for the fugitives. “Drones!” he called out. Tien picked up her weapon. “Grab my bag,” she said, then ran into the street. She aimed the red laser sight at the windshield to the first car that approached. The vehicle wouldn't stop, it swerved to the right and sped up, nearly hitting her.

The drones flew past on the other side of the street. Flying no further than fifteen yards, before both drones stopped simultaneously, then headed straight for them. The drones stopped  almost directly overhead, hovering thirty to thirty five feet above street level. Within a second,  as if on cue, the drones separated, moving about fifteen feet apart. Once in position, their laser targeting beams shot down. One dot on Tien, the other on Dylan.

Time was up.    

“
Fuck!” Tien screamed, as she ran towards the next oncoming car. It was a Massachusetts State patrol car. Tien aimed the laser beam directly at the driver behind the windshield. The cruiser skidded to a stop. Dylan rushed to the passenger side, Tien to the drivers side. The State troopers were sitting ducks inside their unarmored vehicle. Tien squeezed off a quick burst of fire over the cruiser's rooftop. She lowered the gun, the laser directly on the officer behind the wheel. The troopers had no choice, they slowly climbed out, raising their hands into the air. Dylan took the sidearm from the cop on his side. Tien did the same for the cop on her side. “Get down! Lie down spread eagle!” Tien yelled at the men. She turned to Dylan. “You drive.”

Throwing the duffel bags in the back seat, Dylan jumped behind the wheel. Tien ran to the passengers side. She opened the back door, then fired on one of the overhead drones. Letting loose a sustained burst of machine gun fire, hoping to get lucky. Sparks flew off the drone, pushing it back and off kilter somewhat. But it didn't get knocked out. With her gun out of ammunition, she dove into the back seat. “Go, go, go!” she yelled, while slapping the back of  the drivers seat.

Dylan sped off, trying to figure exactly what street they were on. The hover drones followed in pursuit. Tien got the duffel bags opened as fast as she could. She bounced from side to side as Dylan swerved the cruiser past the buckled street and then around the street traffic. She reloaded her weapon, then reached forward, grabbed his machine pistol and jammed in a loaded magazine clip. “You did good, Dylan,” she said while cocking the firing mechanism to his gun and handing it back to him.

Dylan found his bearings, seeing the signs for the highway, and headed for it. He looked down at the instrument panel. “Shit! We've got less than a quarter of a tank of gas.” 

“Just get on the highway. I'll get the electronics going. If we can get to the O'Neil Tunnel before being hit by a Hellfire, we've got a chance. Let's just hope this jamming device works,” Tien said. Dylan didn't ask any questions, he was focused on getting to the on ramp as fast as their stolen State patrol car could take them. The hover drones still trailed behind. Sometimes falling back, then catching up, depending on the traffic. Tien continued to bounce around in the back seat as she rummaged through their bags. She retrieve the remaining ammo clips for the machine pistols, only two left. She pulled out the M4 assault rifle. She counted six self propelled rockets and five ammo clips for the rifle. She quickly arraigned everything for quick access. Lastly, she got out the stainless steel case for the German made electronic jamming device. She opened the cover and powered it on. The device made a humming sound as it initiated it's power on sequence.

The hover drones fell out of laser targeting range. Dylan found the switch to the patrol cars sirens, turning it on momentarily to get some slower moving cars out of the way. “OK, jamming is operational,” Tien called out. They had almost reached the on ramp to the highway when a Homeland Security cruiser swerved out from a side street with it's sirens blaring. A State police cruiser followed seconds later. More sirens could be heard in the background. A whole lot more sirens.

Dylan made the turn onto the ramp. He floored the gas, bringing the car up to sixty, then seventy miles an hour. The DHS cruiser screeched as it followed onto the on ramp. The State cruiser close behind. Dylan brought the patrol car up to eighty miles an hour by the time they reached the highway. The police cars following in pursuit.

Tien held the jamming device on her lap. Keeping an eye on the screen for any sign of target lock by an airborne Reaper. She knew the device had flaws. It could only jam the guidance signals of an inbound Hellfire III missile. It couldn't change the flight path of the missile. Once a Reaper fired it's missile, it could fly anywhere including the trajectory it was heading on. She put the device carefully to the side.

Dylan kept the gas petal floored, pushing their speed up to ninety seven miles per hour. The more powerful Homeland Security cruiser closed in. Tien shouted to Dylan, “Block your ears.” Before he knew what she was talking about, Tien blasted out the glass of the rear windshield with her machine pistol. Shards of safety glass flew everywhere inside the car and out.

Tien loaded a rocket into the M4. She twisted around and crouched on her knees in the back seat, aiming the assault rifle through the rear window opening. She pushed glass away from the top of the seat as she took aim at the approaching DHS cruiser. The M4 made a swishing sound as the rocket exited the launch tube. The armored DHS cruiser swung hard to the left, the rocket missing by no more than two feet. “Damn!” Tien yelled out. She opened fire with the weapon, sustaining her fire till the ammo was out. The cruiser swerved right, then left, sparks flew everywhere with the onslaught of the automatic weapons fire. The bullets had no effect.

The State Police car in pursuit pulled up even to the Homeland Security cruiser, as if they were racing to be the first ones to take down the fugitives. Tien slid back into the seat, reloading the rifle. She called out over noise of the rushing wind to Dylan, “Drive straight when I tell you to!” At just that moment, a hail of bullets slammed into their car. Shards of glass from the passenger side window blew inward, covering Tien. Dylan ducked his head. “Motherfucker!” he screamed, while steering the car from side to side to prevent the patrol cars from overtaken them.

Tien got up, swung the M4 out the back window, and took aim at the State Police patrol car. She yelled to Dylan, “Drive straight.” The trooper in the passenger side of the State patrol car, having reloaded his gun, stuck his machine gun out his window and began firing. Bullets flew past her head, hitting the car all around her. She took a breath, aimed at the the grill of the State police car, and squeezed the trigger. The rocket hit the front end, causing the car to explode in flames. It swerved to the side hitting the DHS cruiser, knocking it to the side and almost off the road. The State Police car swerved in the other direction of the road, crossing over several lanes before hitting the vehicle barrier. It rolled side over side before coming to a rest as a mangled wreck of smoke and flames.

The DHS cruiser lost some ground with the hit. But quickly continued the pursuit. Tien reloaded her assault rifle with another missile. Dylan steered the car sharply to the left to avoid hitting a slower car in their path. The DHS cruiser changed lanes to follow. The soldier in the passenger side reached out and fired his machine pistol. Bullets flew wildly about. A few hitting the car. Tien aimed her M4 for the cruisers front grill. Took careful aim, and let the missile fly. At just the instant she took her shot, Dylan took a sharp turn to the right to avoid hitting another car in his path. The missile flew wildly off target. “Arghhhhh!!!!!” Tien screamed bloody hell while emptying the magazine of the rifle, hoping to hit a tire. There was no effect on the cruiser, the bullets bounced harmlessly off the armored plating or bullet proof glass.

Dylan swerved the car to the left, changing to the center lane. The DHS cruiser changed lanes to follow. The soldier in the passenger side stopped firing momentarily, probably to reload. Tien sat back in the rear seat and grabbed her duffel bag. She rummaged through it until she found the one grenade she had asked Dylan to pack. She yelled up to Dylan, “I'm going to blow that fucker to hell!” 

She knew she only had one chance. She pulled the pin to the grenade and began counting. It had a six second fuse. The soldier in the DHS cruiser recommenced firing. This time with another more accurate weapon. Bullets tore throughout the fleeing car. Tien counted to two, lifted herself up to throw the grenade out the rear window. At the count of three, while in motion to throw the grenade, a bullet ripped into her right shoulder. She screamed in pain, dropping the grenade out of her hand and onto the trunk of the car. It bounced around until finally sliding off. It landed on the road, bouncing a few times, before exploding under the DHS cruiser. The patrol car burst into flames, flew out of control, and slammed into the median strip concrete barrier.

“
Are you alright? Are you hit?” Dylan asked, yelling above the noise of the rushing air through the broken windows. He tried to look at her in the rear view mirror. She managed to sit down in the seat to inspect the wound. “I took a bullet in my shoulder.” She opened her shirt to see the blood beginning to ooze. There was no exit wound, the bullet was lodged in her shoulder blade. She looked around to find something to act as a bandage, there was nothing other than her own clothing.

“
I'm going to pull over,” Dylan yelled.

“
Don't you dare. You keep going. Do you hear me!”

He knew she was right. He had no choice. He had to keep driving.

Tien slowly removed her jacket, grimacing with pain on every movement. The sound of more police sirens in the distance grew louder. The blood continued to flow out of the wound. With her left hand she pulled at the front of her blouse. Ripping off the buttons to the top of the shirt. With the second pull, she managed to rip off the remaining buttons, and get her blouse off.

She rolled the shirt into a ball, pressing down hard to try to stop the blood. Dylan again looked at her in the rear view mirror. There was nothing he could do.

Tien leaned back in the seat. Unbearable pain shot through her shoulder. A warning signal emitted from the electronic jamming device. She pulled the case over with her bloody left hand. “A Reaper has target lock on us!” she yelled. Dylan didn't need to be told. He knew as soon as he heard the warning tone.

Another, different signal tone emitted from the device. “We have an incoming Hellfire!” Tien yelled. She punched in the command with her good hand to disrupt the missile's trajectory. “Six seconds to impact!” Dylan swerved to the right as far as he could go.
Is this evasive enough.
He didn't know. Then it dawned on him. “Hold on,” he screamed, then slammed on the brakes as hard as he could. The car's tires locked up, laying rubber on the roads surface. The car slid to it's side. The missile flew directly overhead, slamming into the highway in a ball of flames twenty yards ahead. Debris from the explosion rained down on their car.

“
Get moving. That Reaper still has another Hellfire!” Tien called out. Dylan punched the gas, screeching the tires. He steered in the wrong direction of the highway. There was no oncoming traffic, all the cars having halted with the explosion of the State Trooper's vehicle. Dylan counted to six. “Hold on again!” he said, then slammed the brakes while spinning the steering wheel. The jamming device once more signaled a warning alarm. Dylan floored the gas. “The second Hellfire is on it's way!” Tien screamed. She punched in the commands to the device once more.