A ripping sound came from where the girl was, then he felt her reach up and wipe sweat from his forehead, using a piece of her cotton shirt.
Footsteps pounded behind them as the men chased after them, swearing and yelling for them to stop, occasionally firing their guns in Logan and Isabella’s direction. Fortunately, the bridge was cluttered with vehicles, giving them countless opportunities to ensure something was between themselves and the shooters, but little by little the shots were getting closer, striking spots on cars and trucks not far from where they were.
They were three-quarters of the way across the bridge when a bullet ricocheted off the pavement and caught Logan in the meat of his right calf, tearing a hold in the muscle. Unable to help himself, he fell forward, releasing Isabella so that he wouldn’t trap her legs under him as he landed. She tumbled free as he slid on his chest and hands, feeling bits of gravel embed themselves in the flesh of his palms.
Mustering all of his remaining strength, he was making his way to one knee, relying solely on his will to keep going, when the men chasing them surrounded the two of them, leveling their weapons at Logan and Isabella.
“You muthafuckas…” a tall, lean, muscled man said, leaning over and resting his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. After a moment, he stood upright, bringing a hand up to wipe sweat off his clean shaven scalp. “...make me wish I didn’t like Cuban cigars so much,” he finished, revealing several gold teeth as he smiled widely.
Still one one knee, Logan reached down and pressed his hand against his bleeding calf, trying to stop the bleeding. He could feel the bullet deeply embedded in the muscle, pressed against the bone, and it sent a nauseating wave of pain through his body. He lowered his head for a minute, breathing deeply to gain control over the pain, then looked back up at the men around them.
“Kill me if you want, but let the girl go,” he said through gritted teeth.
The man with gold teeth scoffed, looking towards the men he had with him. “This muthafucka thinks he can tell us what to do!”
The men laughed in response, lowering their weapons momentarily. Looking at the gold-toothed man, Logan measured the distance between himself and the man’s weapon. If he could get a good push off with his left leg, he might be able to -
Pain exploded in his side as one of the other men kicked him in the ribs, knocking the wind out of him and sending him to the ground once more.
“Sonofabitch was eyeing your weapon, Skull Crusher,” the man who’d kicked Logan said, sneering down at him.
The one the man referred to as Skull Crusher held up his weapon, smiling again, his gold teeth shining brightly in the morning sun. “Looking at my gun? Shit, this fucker probably couldn’t even handle a gun like this.”
Lying on his side, Logan was still struggling to catch his breath as the man spoke. His eyes found Isabella, who had pressed herself up against the side of a Subaru hatchback. Her face was filled with fear, again.
The last day and a half had been hard on the girl, harder than anything a preteen child should ever have to go through, and the week prior to that had been even tougher, beginning with the death of her parents.
Noticing his gaze, Skull Crusher stepped closer, bringing his boot forward to nudge Logan’s shoulder. “Hey,” he said, looking down at Logan. “I know about her.”
Feigning ignorance, Logan groaned before saying, “What about her?”
A boot slammed into his side again, jarring him and driving the air from his lungs again.
“Stop fucking around!” A voice barked.
Skull Crusher laughed. “Easy, there Trey. Don’t wear yourself out.”
“Ain’t no trouble,” Trey responded, chuckling. “I kind of like it.”
“I know, bruh, but let me talk to this fucker fo’ a minute.”
“A-ight.”
Skull Crusher nudged Logan’s shoulder again. “Oh yeah, I know about her, man. See, I know she’s immune. And I’m fin’ta get somethin’ for her.”
Still struggling to catch his breath, Logan looked up at him. “She’s just a kid,” he said, wheezing. “Let her go.”
Skull Crusher shook his head. “Obviously, you don’t understand bidness, bruh. Look,” he began squatting down.
Crack!
Blood burst outward in a spray from the head of the man behind Skull Crusher. He crumpled to the ground as Skull Crusher, Trey, and the other remaining man dove for cover.
Looking at Isabella, Logan saw her frozen,still leaning against the side of the Subaru.
“Get behind the car!” He yelled, waving his hand in that direction.
Nodding, the girl slid sideways, tightly pressed against the vehicle. When she reached the car’s rear, she slid around its end and moved behind the vehicle, putting it between her and the men who were firing at them indiscriminately. She stayed there, frozen in place, shaking with fear as bullets whizzed by, pelting the cars around them.
From where Logan lay on the ground, he turned his head in the other direction and found Skullcrusher staring at him. “Yo!” the man yelled. “Dey witchu?”
“Fuck no!” Logan yelled. “If they were, they’d be trying to save us, not kill us!”
“You best not be lyin’” the man replied, rising to one knee and firing back at their attackers. His gun rattled as he held down the trigger, sending round after round towards the other end of the bridge. Emboldened by his actions, the men with him joined in, firing their weapons as well.
Glass broke, sparks flew, and spent shells chimed on the surface of the bridge as they exchanged gunfire with the other men.
The man named Trey cried out as a round caught him in the leg, knocking it out from under him. He fell to the ground, holding the leg with one hand as he kept a firm grip on his rifle with the other. Realizing it was only a flesh wound, the man shrugged it off and rose to feet again, favoring the leg as he leaned forward, rested his elbows on the hood of a truck, and began shooting again.
Suddenly, the gunfire coming towards them stopped. Skull Crusher put his hand out, causing the men with him to hold their fire as well.
Leaning his back against a bullet-riddled van, Skull Crusher raised his voice and yelled, “Hey, the girl here is immune!!”
Something metallic bounced along the pavement, tumbling end over end before coming to rest near Logan, Isabella, Skull Crusher, and his men.
It was a grenade.
“We know!!” A man’s voice called out.
“Shit!!” Skull Crusher said, his feet sliding on the spent casings that littered the bridge.
Logan burst into action, ignoring the pain in his calf as he rushed forward, scooping up Isabella before leaping forward, trying to reach potential safety behind a nearby taxi.
The grenade detonated, its concussive force sending a wave of energy outward, lifting cars and throwing Skull Crusher and his men into the air before shredding their bodies with shrapnel. Weakened and bloodied, the gang members landed hard, breaking bones as their bodies struck the concrete.
Still airborne with Isabella in his arms when the grenade exploded, Logan felt his legs being lifted upward, towards his head, by the power of the blast.
‘This can’t be good,’ he brain told him in that split second.
When the railing of the bridge passed by underneath them, all doubt was removed.
There was nothing between the two of them and the blue-green surface of the water, eighty feet below.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Palo Alto, California
Turning onto Middlefield Road, the white SUV glistened in the mid-morning sun. Though most vehicles in the San Jose areas were dirty, the Mercedes-Benz G550 was spotless, thanks to the efforts of the workers assigned to cleaning it each evening. Well over an hour was dedicated to the effort, with their work being evaluated by Clint, who didn’t hesitate to smack one of them in the head if he found evidence of anything less than perfection.
The Scorpion demanded it.
“That’s Dirty’s ri
de there,” the big man said, pointing towards the low rider parked next to the curb.
Curious, the Scorpion cocked her head to the side. “Are those fuckers in that liquor store drinking?”
“Maybe, no, wait,” Clint said, peering ahead, “I think I see them in the car.”
“Probably getting high and eating munchies,” Lizette interjected, shaking her head. Looking over the woman next to her, she watched as the Scorpion scowled, transforming her face from one of beauty to one of intense anger, which, if Lizette was being totally honest, was still hot as hell.
“Fuckers.”
As Clint drove the SUV closer, he noticed something was amiss. The shapes inside the car hadn’t moved at all since he’d first been close enough to make them out. Looking closer, he was able to make out broken glass on the sidewalk near where the car was parker.
Speaking to the man next to him, he asked, “Yo, Mario, you seeing what I’m seeing?”
Lifting his sunglasses, the man leaned forward, squinting. After a moment, he said, “Yeah. Stop up here,” he said, pointing at a spot along the curb about twenty yards away from the low rider.
“Alright.”
Clint drove the SUV a bit further along the road, then pulled the Mercedes over to the curb. Leaving the engine running, he glanced back at the Scorpion and Bang. Pointing ahead, he said, “We need to check it out real quick.”
Leaning back in the plush leather seat, the Scorpion nodded and said nothing.
The two men grabbed their guns from the dash, then exited the vehicle, closing the doors behind them. Keeping their guns in front of them, they moved towards the car, walking slowly and carefully as they approached. When they got closer, they widened the space between them, with Clint heading towards the driver’s side and Mario heading towards the passenger's side.
Before they were abreast of the doors on either side of the car, they were able to tell what had happened. Shaking their heads, they backed up a few steps and paused. After a moment, Clint pointed towards the liquor store. Mario glanced that way, then nodded in response. He disappeared into the store for a few minutes, then returned, shaking his head.
The two men exchanged a few words, then Clint made his way back to the SUV.
Opening the door, he leaned inside and said, “You’re gonna need to see this, Scorpion.”
Nodding the woman opened her door and got out, while Lizette exited the vehicle from the other side. Together, the two women walked towards the car, looking in every direction for any indication that this could be a trap. It was clear through Clint’s tone that something bad had happened, and if it had, there was a possibility that the perpetrators of the assault were still in the vicinity.
When they reached the lowrider Sanchez and Javier favored, the Scorpion saw what the others had: both men had shot at close range with what was clearly a shotgun, based on the amount of blood, bone, hair, and brains that had been splattered throughout the front part of the car’s interior. Some of it had been sprayed out onto the sidewalk as well, leaving a speckled pattern of brownish-rust colored stains and bits of grey or off-white bits of skull and brain on its surface.
“Motherfuckers....” the Scorpion muttered, shaking her head. Looking up, her eyes were filled with anger when they found Clint’s. “Whoever did this is going fucking pay.”
The man nodded in return. Looking up and down the street for clues, he saw nothing at first, then: “Hey, that looks different, don’t it?
Following his gaze, the Scorpion’s eyes found what he did. “Definitely,” she said, nodding. “For one, the driver’s body is missing.”
“Whaddaya think it was? Dogs, maybe?”
She shook her head as Lizette came over to stand next to her. “No. There’d be something left.”
Coming out of the liquor store, Mario winced in response to the sun’s brightness before sliding on his sunglasses. “What’s going on?” he asked.
Clint answered. “That armored truck. Remember when we took out the driver and emptied it out? Look - the driver’s body is gone.”
Mario looked in the direction of the truck, then nodded. “Yeah, I ‘member.”
“Looks like somethin’s hooked up to the engine, too,” Lizette said.
“Let’s check it out,” the Scorpion said, staring at the truck. “Might be the fuckers that killed Javier and Sanchez. Someone get the Benz,” she ordered.
Without saying a word, Clint turned and jogged back to the SUV, using one hand to hold up his sagging pants. A minute later he was alongside the others, who got in and rode with him down to the end of the block and across the intersection. He slowed in advance of the armored truck as his eyes looked for any signs of movement. Seeing none, he slowly brought the SUV alongside the front of the big truck.
“Looks like someone’s trying to charge the battery,” he said, looking at the bright yellow portable charger that had been balanced inside the engine compartment.
“That truck’s on our turf,” the Scorpion stated flatly, “it's ours.” After a moment she asked, “Anyone inside the thing?”
Clint shook his head. “Not in the front. I can see into the cab, but there’s no one there.”
Looking behind them, Scorpion said, “Back up and park by the curb in front of this thing, then you two check it out.”
“Okay,” the man replied, putting the vehicle in reverse. He parked as she’d instructed, then got out of the SUV with Mario. Together, they circled the vehicle, disappearing from sight when they got to its rear area. When they didn’t return immediately, the Scorpion knew they’d found something. After a few moments, Clint made his way back to the SUV. Reaching in, he turned off the engine as he looked into the backseat area, his eyes finding the Scorpion’s. “Someone’s in there.”
The Scorpion smiled in the wicked way she did whenever she knew she was about to exact vengeance upon someone. Without saying a word, she got out of the Mercedes-Benz SUV.
She, Clint, and Lizette walked to the rear of the armored truck, slowing only to briefly examine the portable battery charger. When they reached the back of the truck, she saw Mario standing in front of the closed reinforced steel doors.
“When we got back here, I banged on the door with my gun, and we heard someone scream inside.” Mario explained.
“Sounded like it might have been a kid, probably a little girl,” Clint added.
The Scorpion nodded. After a moment, she shook her head. “Well, I doubt the little girl killed those two, so it must have been whoever was her.” With that, she stepped forward and banged several hard times on the door. “Open up!” She commanded.
Nothing.
The truck itself was completely silent, allowing her banging to reverberate in the quiet air that hung over the street.
She looked at Mario. “You sure?”
He nodded. “Definitely,” he replied.
Clint added, “I heard it too, Scorp.”
Irritated, she banged on the door even harder. “Open the fuck up!”
Still nothing.
Instead of bangin yet again, she yelled, “Hey, I run this fuckin’ city, and I can have people wait out her all fuckin’ day and all fuckin’ night. We can wait you out. Either you’ll run out of food or water, or you’ll get tired of shittin’ and pissin’ in a fuckin’ corner.” Bringing the gun up, she banged on the door again. “So open the fuckin’ door now!”
After several long moments, a woman’s voice called out, “Please, just go away! We don’t want any trouble, and we don’t have anything you want!”
The Scorpion chuckled. “Oh sweetie, you don’t know what I want, now do you? Open up and let me see who I’m talking to.”
“No! Go away!” the woman’s voice responded in a strong, commanding tone that irritated Samantha.
Who the fuck did she think she was talking to?
She was about to bang on the door again when Lizette reached out and stopped her.
“What is it, babe?” Samantha asked, looking at her lover
.
Lizette motioned with her head for the woman to step aside with her. Okay with letting the people inside wonder what was happening, the Scorpion did so.
“You wanna find out who’s inside, or just get rid of ‘em?” Lizette asked.
Looking back towards the armored truck, the Scorpion shrugged. “Ahh, I really don’t fuckin’ care.”
Lizette smiled. “Well, then, I’ve got just the thing to blow these fuckers apart.”
The Scorpion raised her eyebrows questioningly. “Really?”
Lizette nodded. “Yup. I was gonna use it to blow up the road back at the two-eighty junction, before we saw the roadblock whatshisface put up.”
The Scorpion pointed at the armored truck. “And it can blow this thing up?”
Lizette smiled enthusiastically as she nodded. “Easy. It’s more powerful than what I used on the bridge the other day. Like then, we’ll need to get far away. That’s why I’ve got a long range detonator.” she finished, holding up a cell phone. The young woman looked like she was on pins and needles, brimming with excitement as she stood there, smiling at Samantha as she waited for her response.
“You’re excited about this, aren’t you?” the Scorpion asked slyly.
“God, yes, baby. It’ll be the biggest explosion I’ve ever detonated. Serious,” she said, her eyes widening, “we’re going to have to be at least as far away as Sanchez’s car.”
“Damn,” Samantha said, looking in that direction to see how far it was. After a moment, she nodded. “Okay, let’s do it.”
Lizette bounced on her toes in excitement. “Really?”
“Yes, baby. Let’s blow these fuckers sky high.”
“Yay!” The younger woman wrapped her arms around Samantha and hugged her tightly. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
Knowing the two men were watching and that she needed to show she was in control, Samantha brought her hands up. “Okay, okay.” Turning to the others, she said, “Alright, Bang’s got a plan for this. Let’s get ready to clear out while she sets it up”
The Scorpion, Clint, and Mario waited in the SUV, listening to Latin hip-hop at loud levels while Lizette set things up. When she was done, she approached the vehicle.
Surviving Rage | Book 4 Page 22