Chapter 11 - The Roar of Two Wheels
Gabriel sprinted back through the tunnel, emerging into the smoldering hangar.
The battle was over. Five mercenaries lay disarmed and tied on the floor; Dutch and Bones were patching up minor shrapnel wounds, while Marcus stood guard with a smoking shotgun.
"Gabe!" Bones stepped forward. "The chopper went down—what happened?"
"Miller set the spillway locks at the old Black River Dam," Gabriel said breathlessly, strapping Maya onto his chest using his heavy leather riding harness, securing her tight against his heart. "Sarah is locked in the chamber. The automated gates dump at four. We have thirty-five minutes."
Marcus cursed. "The mountain pass is washed out! A truck will never clear the switchbacks in time!"
Gabriel walked past them toward the tarp in the corner of the hangar. He ripped the canvas off.
Sitting beneath was his custom Harley-Davidson Panhead—a roaring mechanical beast stripped of every non-essential piece of metal, rebuilt for raw, unadulterated speed and violent terrain. A flat-tracker built to conquer rock, mud, and highway alike.
"I don't need a truck," Gabriel said, sliding his helmet onto Maya’s head and buckling the chin strap tightly. The helmet was comically large on her, but it was Kevlar-lined. "Keep your arms inside my jacket, Maya. Close your eyes and don't let go, no matter what you hear."
"I won't let go, Daddy," she whispered into his chest.
The word Daddy hit Gabriel like a sledgehammer, steadying every shaking nerve in his body.
He jumped onto the saddle, kicked the starter down with savage force, and the Panhead exploded to life with a deafening, chest-rattling roar that echoed through the entire canyon.
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"Bones, Dutch! Take the canyon road and call the county medics!" Gabriel shouted over the engine's fury. "I’m taking the ridge!"
Gabriel twisted the throttle. The rear tire tore a trench through the gravel, and the machine launched out of the safehouse like a missile, hurtling straight up the nearly vertical goat trail leading toward the peaks.
