Chapter 7 - Pursuit in the Rain
Headlights cut through the blinding sheets of rain behind them. Two heavy armored trucks were closing in at lethal speed, their front bumpers fitted with steel ram bars.
""Get down!"" Julian yelled, pushing Elena and Leo onto the floorboards and shielding them with his torso.
The first impact hit like a sledgehammer. The SUV fishtailed violently across the slick asphalt. Frank fought the steering wheel, his knuckles white, but the second truck swung out to their flank, attempting to run them off the road and down the rocky embankment.
Frank rolled down his window just an inch, leveled his sidearm, and fired three rounds into the pursuing truck's front tire. The tire blew out with a sharp pop, sending the vehicle violently spinning into a guardrail where it exploded into a fireball.
""One down!"" Frank yelled.
But the second truck accelerated, surging forward to ram their rear again. The crunch of metal tore through the cabin. Julian grabbed Frank’s spare pistol from the glove compartment. ""Keep her steady!""
Julian climbed halfway out the passenger window into the whipping wind and freezing rain. Rain lashed his face as he took aim at the truck’s windshield. He fired until the slide locked back. The driver slumped over the wheel, and the truck swerved sharply, tumbling end over end into the darkness of the ravine.
Frank exhaled heavily, easing the battered SUV back to cruising speed. ""Good shooting, kid.""
Julian pulled himself back inside, drenched and shivering, his hands trembling with residual adrenaline. Elena looked up from the floor, tears streaking her face, holding their sleeping child against her heart.
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""Are we clear?"" she whispered.
Before Frank could answer, the engine coughed violently. A cloud of white steam hissed from the mangled front grill, and the steering wheel locked rigid in Frank’s hands.
