Chapter 8 - The Edge of the Pier
The black SUVs surged forward, the roar of their supercharged engines audible above the storm. Nora slammed her foot onto the gas pedal, the Mercedes lurching forward along the slick concrete of the waterfront pier. Abandoned shipping containers towered on either side like rusted metal monoliths.
""Detective Vance, they found me,"" Nora said into the phone, her knuckles turning bone-white on the wheel.
""Where are you?!"" Vance shouted.
""Pier 42. Two black trucks—they’re trying to ram me off the road!""
The first impact rocked her car violently from behind. Nora’s head snapped back against the headrest, her seatbelt locking hard across her chest. The Mercedes fishtailed across the wet road, the stability control warning flashing amber on the dashboard.
The second truck pulled up alongside her, attempting to pin her against the concrete barrier overlooking the dark, churning waters of the bay below. Through the rain-streaked side glass, Nora saw the driver: a broad-shouldered man wearing tactical gear, his face obscured by a balaclava.
Nora didn't panic. She had designed the structural layout of this entire commercial shipping port five years ago. She knew every turning radius, every loading bay, and every dead end.
Just fifty yards ahead, the pier split around an old hydraulic lift station with a narrow service ramp built only for low-clearance maintenance carts.
""Hold on,"" Nora muttered to herself.
She pretended to fight against the truck on her left, steering slightly into its side panel. Then, five yards before the concrete divider of the lift station, she violently yanked the handbrake and cut the wheel hard to the right.
May you like
The Mercedes spun in a sharp, controlled 180-degree drift, sliding backward down the narrow service lane. The chasing SUV, unable to match the sudden change in momentum, struck the heavy concrete barrier head-on with a deafening crunch of metal and shattering glass, flipping over into the bay.
Nora righted the car, breathless, but the second SUV slammed on its brakes, blocking the only exit from the pier. The driver stepped out, leveling a suppressed handgun directly at her windshield.
