I raised Kasiah’s hands and her handcuffs to the side of the bench, and the steel exploded into thousands of tiny fragments.
Kasiah rubbed her wrists. “You’re a very interesting person,” she remarked.
We turned around to find the entire SWAT team pressed against the far corner of the van, quivering in fear.
More gunfire erupted outside, further away this time. The shooters were being pushed back. Something heavy hit the van doors, rocking the van. A second, harder thud broke the doors open. I wasn’t surprised to see Rain on the other side. The scene behind him was a typical Rain rescue mission: a car on its side, a fire hydrant shooting a forty foot geyser into the night sky, and bursts of gunfire to set the mood.
“You guys waiting for an invitation,” Rain asked casually, just as two bullets struck the door a couple inches from his head. “Hey, what’s with the SWAT guys? They look like they’ve seen a ghost.”
“Long story,” I said, jumping to the ground and turning to help Kasiah down.
We crouched and ran behind an overturned FBI cruiser that was flipped up on its side. Bullets rattled into the roof of the car, our shield.
Ember flew low behind us, keeping next to Rain.
“Tell me this isn’t where your plan ends,” I asked Rain.
“I don’t recall mentioning anything about a plan.” Rain replied, ripping the gas tank from the underside of the car.
Kasiah moved around me, next to Rain. “Where’s Aerona and Jade?” she asked, covering her head.
“Safe,” Rain replied, casually tossing the gas tank over the car as if it was weightless.
The gunfire intensified.
“Your idea of safe…” Kasiah yelled over the gunfire, “or mine?”
A bright flash of fire filled the night sky as the gas tank exploded above the street.
Rain slammed his shoulder into the underside of the car, gripping the frame. “Trust me,” he insisted, “they’re in the safest place in this city.”
He started dragging the car to the side of the street. Rain’s brute strength was astonishing. Gunfire continued to pelt the car as Rain pushed, only stopping when the bumper hit the curb.
“Now what!” Kasiah shouted.
We all heard the monstrous armored SWAT vehicle at the same time. It turned the corner two blocks behind us, and it was moving fast. The driver maneuvered wide, smashing through a bus stop as the bright light from the helicopter rounded the same building.
As though on cue, the black Raptor truck from earlier in the night blasted through the alley, sliding sideways to stop less than feet from our faces. Several bullets dented the truck’s bed, leaving silver bullet marks in the black paint. Two rounds hit the tinted side window. The glass crumpled around the bullets, absorbing the impact, but leaving the glass intact—it was bulletproof.
The helicopter hovered above us, shining light on our position.
The Raptor’s driver-side front and rear doors swung open together. Loud rock music belted out of the truck. Nothing compliments gunfire better than heavy guitar riffs and heart-thumping drum beats.
To my surprise, Ashes emerged from the Raptor. “Move!” she yelled, firing an automatic rifle over the truck’s roof as cover before turning to fire at the helicopter, forcing it to retreat.
Rain and I looked at each other, shocked.
“Now that’s sexy!” Rain grinned.
We all sprinted to the truck. Rain launched himself into the truck’s bed, and Kasiah jumped face first into the back seat. Ember flew in behind her. I dove into the front seat, sliding across to the passenger’s side. Ashes shoved in the smoking gun beside me, then floored the accelerator. The Raptor roared to life, forcing the driver’s door shut.
The Raptor’s engine growled like a grizzly bear. The rear wheels dug into the pavement, rocketing us forward like a dragster, throwing me back into the seat. I put my head above the dashboard just in time to see Ashes steering with her knee while loading a full magazine into the rifle. She jammed the magazine into position and cocked the first round into the chamber.
I looked back to check up on Kasiah and Ember. “You guys good?” I asked, turning down the stereo.
Ashes gave me a disapproving look for touching her truck.
“We’re fine,” Kasiah replied. “No bullet holes here. You?”
I gave myself a quick inspection. “No blood.”
Ashes turned the truck sharply to the right. The tires screeched on the pavement as we slid around the corner. I thought for sure we were going to roll over. Ashes pinned the accelerator down to the floor, redlining the RPMs. She looked perfectly calm and in control behind the wheel of the 600-horsepower beast.
Rain hammered on the cab’s rear window.
Ashes slid open the power window.
“We’ve got company!” he yelled.
Ashes checked the rearview mirror. “Wonderful,” she said, swerving past a parked car. “We’re getting out of this city. Where’s the blonde girl you’re so ready to die for?”
Rain passed his cell phone through the back window. “I marked her location on my phone,” he said, pointing to a small flashing red dot. “Hand me that M-4.”
Kasiah grabbed the rifle off the seat next to her and handed it through to Rain.
I grabbed Rain’s phone and zoomed in on the map. “Take the next left,” I directed.
“Hold on back there!” Kasiah shouted to Rain. “We’re hanging a left!”
Ashes hardly slowed down at the corner. The back end of the truck swung out wide. Ashes compensated by cranking the wheel to the right. The Raptor’s engine let out a thunderous roar as Ashes muscled it around the corner.
I looked back at the vehicles chasing us. The helicopter’s light shined brightly as one of the cars spun out at the corner, hitting a light post. A shower of sparks sprayed down in the street, slowing the other car and armored SWAT vehicle as they maneuvered around the crashed car.
In the truck bed, Rain crouched to one knee and wrapped the rifle’s shoulder strap around one arm to tighten his grip and steady the weapon. He fired a quick, three-round burst at the second car around the corner. The bullets found the center of the car’s windshield. The car’s driver veered from left to right. That rifle could never stop the car without hitting a vital engine component, but Rain’s shots discouraged the driver from advancing. He fired several more quick bursts at the car and a few at the helicopter to keep the pilot in check.
I wasn’t surprised that Rain was good with a firearm; it was in his blood.
“Right in two blocks,” I instructed Ashes. “We need to lose these guys. We’re leading them right to Jade.”
Ashes swung the steering wheel and drifted the truck through the right turn. “Tell Rain to stop firing,” she said, “Let these guys get close to us. I’ll take care of them.”
Kasiah relayed the message to Rain, and he lay down flat on his back.
Ashes slowed down, intentionally allowing the car and armored SWAT vehicle to catch up. They split side by side and were on our bumper.
I leaned back in my seat. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“Seatbelts,” Ashes insisted. “This could go one of two ways.”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Kasiah added, clicking her seatbelt in place.
An intense flash of light filled the interior of the truck. By the time I recovered and looked to the back seat, Ember had transformed into her full human size.
“Seatbelts don’t work well with a one-inch waist-line,” Ember said, clicking her shoulder strap in place.
My passenger side mirror shined brightly from the car on the right. Ashes drove with the tires inches from the curb, so the SWAT vehicle behind us couldn’t see what was in front of us. Then, she veered hard to the left, barely missing a line of parked cars. The SWAT vehicle didn’t have time to react. The driver tried to avoid hitting the parked cars but failed miserably. I saw a ball of fire exploding in my mirror, rolling the SWAT vehicle.
The helicopter flew high and wide to avoid the fireball.
“One down,” Ashes said calmly, as though she was playing a video game.
The car to our left didn’t slow down at the sight of its partner’s accident. They attacked the left rear side of the truck, rocking it sideways. Several gunshots hit the back bulletproof window, leaving quarter-sized circular fractures.
“They’re trying to pit us!” Kasiah shouted from the back seat. “Don’t let them get alongside us or we’re done!”
The car struck us again, causing the truck to fishtail. Ashes quickly regained control and sped up.
“Pit?” I asked.
“Precision Immobilization Technique,” Kasiah clarified. “PIT. It’s typically not effective on larger trucks, but these guys are out of ideas. They’re going to try aligning themselves with the rear wheels.”
The car caught back up, desperately trying to get alongside us.
Kasiah sat up and looked through the back window. “They’ll make contact with the back of the truck,” she explained, “then steer sharply into us. If done correctly, it will cause the rear tires to lose traction and start to skid. Then, they’ll push the nose of their car into us, forcing the truck into a 180 degree spin, most likely stalling the engine.”
Ashes reached the dash and pressed the four-wheel drive button. It emitted a bright orange light. “I’m not used to being the one chased,” she suggested.
That gave me an idea. “We need to get behind them,” I said.
Ashes looked at me with her blue eyes as if I had lost my mind.
“Slow down,” I said, checking the side mirror, “and let them position for the PIT.”
Ashes looked at me from the corner of her eye. “And then?” she asked.
I hesitated, piecing the scenario together in my head. “Hit the brakes hard and let them pass you,” I said, momentarily uncertain of my half-baked plan.
“That’s just crazy enough to work,” Kasiah said.
Ashes grinned, slowing down just enough to let the car think it was catching up. She moved the truck into the left lane to feign blocking their attack.
The car shifted to the right, edging its nose alongside the rear of our truck.
“Hold it,” I said, gauging the car’s distance, suddenly not so sure of this idea.
“NOW!” Kasiah yelled.
Ashes hit the brakes, and the truck’s nose dove down hard as the FBI car shot past us. The truck growled back to life, once again throwing us back into our seats. I heard Rain’s boots hit the tailgate. I hoped the bed didn’t have one of those coarse bed-liners.
Ashes didn’t give the car any time to recover from our surprise move. She effortlessly maneuvered the front of the truck to the left of the car. They knew what was coming, and even tried to reposition, but it was too late.
Ashes smashed the truck into the rear of the car, causing it to lose traction and skid sideways. She hammered the gas pedal to the floor, burying the front of the truck into the driver’s side of the car. The grill crashed against the driver’s door as it began spinning sideways.
The driver fought frantically to stop the car from skidding, but it was useless. Ashes used the Raptor’s incredible power to push the car for at least half a block, until the car’s right side hit a manhole cover, lifting the driver’s side and flipping the entire car. Ashes slammed the brakes and let the car roll to a stop.
We left the overturned car and turned down the next street. Ashes skid the truck to a stop.
“What are you doing?” I yelled.
The helicopter’s spotlight illuminated the entire street.
Ashes opened her door and jumped out.
“She left us!” Kasiah exclaimed.
A red streak of light shot into the sky, followed by a trail of fiery sparks. Ashes shot a flare at the helicopter, hitting the rear rotor. The spinning blades spread the flare’s fuel over the entire tail of the helicopter. We watched as the pilot struggled to keep the injured helicopter under control as it spun out of view behind a building.
Ashes jumped back into the driver’s seat.
“Women drivers,” Rain commented, climbing into the back seat with Ember and Kasiah.
Ashes ignored Rain. “Let’s go get your little princess and get out of this insane city.”
THIRTY-SIX
“You have arrived at your destination” scrolled across the screen of Rain’s phone. I stared blankly out the window at the illuminated sign at the front of the building: Missoula Police Department.
“Safest place in town?” Kasiah muttered. “Did you lock them in a cell?”
Rain turned toward me and Kasiah. “You two didn’t exactly give me much time to plan a proper rescue when you got yourselves captured and thrown into a SWAT van.”
“Good point,” I said, stepping out of the truck. “So, where are Aerona and Jade?”
“That’s a good question,” Rain said, walking towards the front of the police station. “The place was deserted when we ran past it. I guessed the officers were all out, chasing after… well, us. It seemed like the best idea at the time.”
A young uniformed female officer ran out of the revolving glass door to the police station.
“Stop right there!” she demanded, removing her gun from her hip holster.
The gun shook in her hands as if it was set in vibrate mode. I was sure she had never fired her weapon in the line of duty.
“Our reputation precedes us,” I said to Rain.
“You two don’t move!” the officer ordered, holding the radio to her lips. “This is 125 requesting backup at headquarters. Two suspects in custody. Require immediate assistance.”
The dispatcher responded, “Confirmed 125. Units in route. Hold for assistance.”
A bright white spark ignited at the officer’s neck, and the smell of ozone filled the air. She began shaking violently, causing her to finger to pull the gun’s trigger and fire a single shot wildly into the air. The officer fell convulsing to the ground.
Aerona, with a police issue stun gun in hand, stood over the stunned officer, blowing the stun gun’s electrode tips off as if it were a smoking gun.
“That was kind of fun,” she smiled.
I shot her a look of disapproval.
“What?” Aerona asked innocently. “Like I was supposed to know it would make her pull the trigger.”
“Aerona,” I said, kneeling to check the officer’s pulse, “it’s a stun gun. It stuns people with an electric shock. You didn’t think sending an electric current through an armed woman’s body might be a bad idea?”
“That’s why they have training classes,” Rain pointed out.
Aerona put a hand on her hip. “Well, yeah, but—”
“Well, yeah, but what?” I asked, cutting her short. “I thought I told you to get Jade out of the city, to keep her safe. You’re lucky this cop is still alive.”
“You’re welcome,” Aerona scoffed, storming past me. “That’s the last time I save you. Let’s get the hell out of here before her friends show up.”
“Men,” Jade said, storming passed us, following Aerona.
“Great,” I grumbled, turning to Rain. “We left Jade alone with Aerona for ten minutes, and she’s already corrupted the poor girl’s mind.”
“Nice ride, little brother!” Aerona yelled back at us, opening the door to the Raptor. She jumped back immediately, shoving Jade to the side when she saw Ashes in the driver’s seat.
I reached past Aerona and grabbed Jade’s bag. “Don’t worry,” I assured Aerona, tossing Jade’s bag into the back seat. “Ashes is with us.”
“What do you mean with us?” Aeron asked, peeking around me into the truck. “Am I in some kind of alternate reality where up is down? Isn’t she the same Shadow Vampire who attempted to arrest us less than thirty minutes ago?”
“Yes,” I replied, “and no, you’re still in the same screwed up reality you’ve been stuck in for the past hundred years. Now get your ass in th
e truck. I’ll explain on the way out of the city.”
Police sirens could be heard echoing in the background.
“Please?” I begged Aerona, not wanting to deal with her right now.
“Oh!” she snapped, “Well, if you put it that way, then no! I’m not getting in there with her!”
Jade stood uncomfortably next to Aerona. “I’m with her,” she said. “That scary girl wrecked my apartment.”
I put both hands on the truck’s hood and hung my head between them, muttering to myself. “This is nuts.”
Ashes revved the engine to get our attention. “Thirty seconds and I’m leaving with or without you,” she warned.
Aerona looked at Ashes, then back to me. “OK,” she finally relented, “but we’re in the backseat behind the vamp.” Aerona triggered a bright spark across the electrodes of the stun gun. “Be advised, I think I kind of like shocking people with my new toy.”
Ashes shot Aerona an unconcerned look that basically meant bring it on.
“Great,” I said, “now that we’re all friends, get in!”
Once safely outside the city limits, we joined up with Morgan and Whisper, stopping just long enough to let Rain and Ember switch vehicles. We raced east towards the mountains, keeping off the highways. Tall evergreen trees lined either side of the road, which made it feel like we were driving through a never ending evergreen tunnel.
“So what made you change your mind?” I asked Ashes.
“Change my mind about what?” she asked as she fiddled with the radio.
I checked my side mirror to make sure the SUV was still following. “About taking Aerona and me back to the Shadow World.”
“What makes you think I changed my mind? You are both in my custody.”
I looked crossways to the backseat at Aerona. “You raise a good point,” I said uneasily.
Aerona held up her new stun gun toy and happily pointed at the trigger.
I shook my head.
“Good choice,” Ashes agreed, not taking her eyes off the road. “That situation had rapidly deteriorated. Interference by law enforcement units threatened to compromise my objective and forced me to improvise. At the end of the day, my intentions remain the same.”
The Blood of a Stone Page 27