Chapter 12 - The Iron Gate
"Hold on!" Emilio shouted, shifting the steering wheel two inches to the left. He wasn't aiming for the center of the reinforced steel gates anymore; he was aiming for the brick pillar anchoring the southern post.
The impact was cataclysmic.
The reinforced bull-bar of the armored Mercedes slammed into the century-old brickwork at forty-five miles per hour. The masonry shattered into flying red fragments, mortar turning to dust as the heavy iron pillar snapped at its foundation. The car violently tilted onto its two left wheels, the sickening scrape of metal against brick screeching through the cabin, before slamming back down onto all four tires on the exterior access road.
The blocking tactical truck fired its headlights, attempting to reverse to pin them against the school’s perimeter wall, but Emilio didn't brake. He sideswiped the truck’s rear quarter-panel, sending sparks cascading across both windshields as the Mercedes broke through into the empty four-lane boulevard beyond.
Behind them, the school grounds erupted into a sea of fire. A third mortar round had struck the central boiler room through the roof, igniting the leaking gas mains. A towering pillar of orange flame roared hundreds of feet into the night sky, illuminating the entire valley like a false dawn.
Inside the car, the air was thick with the smell of scorched transmission fluid and burning rubber. The severed belt squealed relentlessly, and smoke poured from the punctured radiator through the dashboard vents.
"Upload at sixty percent!" Maya screamed from the back seat, holding the satellite antenna against the cracked rear window glass. "Don't lose the satellite line-of-sight!"
"I'm keeping it steady, but the block is dead in two miles," Emilio grunted. His left hand was clamped over his ribs, blood now dripping freely between his fingers onto the center console. His skin had taken on a grayish, waxy tint. "Toby... take the wheel."
"What?" Toby shouted.
"I said take the wheel!" Emilio barked, his eyes rolling back slightly before he forced them open with sheer willpower. "I'm going into shock."
Toby leaned across the center console, seizing the thick leather-wrapped steering wheel with his bandaged right hand. He shoved his left foot across to manage the accelerator while Emilio slumped sideways against the driver's door, his breathing shallow and rattling.
In the rearview mirror, two sets of high-intensity pursuit lights appeared around the burning perimeter of the school. Apex interceptor SUVs—fast, light, and completely unhindered by damage.
"They're closing," Vance warned, peering through the spider-webbed rear glass. "They'll pit-maneuver us before the upload finishes!"
Donovan lunged from the passenger seat, his hands clawing at the laptop keyboard. "Cancel the transmission, you stupid girl! If that ledger goes public, I'm dead! You're all dead!"
Toby didn't hesitate. He took his right hand off the wheel for half a second, driving a vicious backhand elbow straight into Donovan’s jaw. The corrupt executive’s head snapped back against the window, his body going limp on the floorboards.
"Eighty-five percent!" Maya cried. "Ten seconds!"
The lead interceptor SUV pulled alongside their rear bumper, its heavy steel push-bar aligning with the Mercedes' rear tire to execute a tactical spin. The driver of the SUV leaned out his window, leveling a shotgun at the glass.
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Suddenly, Emilio’s right hand shot up from his lap. In his grip was Donovan’s nickel-plated revolver—he hadn't thrown it into the mud; he had palmed it inside his sleeve.
Emilio leveled the weapon through the shattered edge of the driver's window and fired three rounds into the interceptor's front tire.
