He’d briefly considered knocking the entire windshield out, but just as quickly realized a missing windshield would cause more problems than it might solve. He’d have a clear view of the road, at the cost of dealing with a sixty-mile-per-hour wind, along with hundreds of loose fragments. He could deal with this arrangement for another thirty minutes.
A grouping of signs appeared in the distance.
“We’re coming up on an exit,” said Alex.
A dim red light bathed his peripheral vision for several seconds before vanishing. He didn’t bother trying to see through the windshield while Ryan examined the map. The light reflected off the glass, obscuring his view.
“This should be exit 161,” said Ryan. “Puts us on Route 7.”
“I think we should get off this highway,” said Ed. “Do you have to lean on my arm that much?”
“It’s the only way I can see,” said Alex. “Ryan, how far until Newport?”
“Four miles, maybe a little more.”
“I want to get past Newport before we get off the interstate. It’s not a big town, but it’s big enough to hold trouble. After that, we’ll look for a way to get onto Route 2. Take the back way home,” said Alex. “Still looking clear behind us?”
“You’ll know if it isn’t,” said Charlie.
“We’ll have helicopter support in less than ten minutes,” said Alex, squinting through the goggles.
Something didn’t look right, but it was impossible to tell from this distance.
“Slow down a little,” Alex instructed Ed.
An overpass materialized in the green image, followed by a clearer picture of the southbound lane. Alex studied the scene for anything out of place. He’d experienced the same feeling of dread approaching the previous two exits.
“Everything okay?” asked Ed, slowing the SUV further.
Alex gave it a few more seconds before making a final determination. He didn’t see anything out of place.
“Yeah,” Alex said. “The exits make me nervous.”
“You think? That’s why I want to get off the highway. Anything could come barreling down one of those on-ramps. We’re too exposed out here,” said Ed.
“I know, but I feel safer here than on some constricted back road,” said Alex.
“I don’t feel safe on either,” said Ed.
“I said safer,” added Alex. “We won’t be safe until we’ve made contact with those helos.”
They drove under the concrete overpass, their silver SUV a shadowy phantom in the weak light of a late third-quarter moon. Ed brought the vehicle’s speed back to sixty miles per hour, which was as fast as his friend would drive without lights. Alex didn’t blame Ed. Without night vision, the gray strip ahead of them barely extended the length of a semi-trailer. Alex had to announce the slightest curves, which was another reason he couldn’t take his eyes off the road for a second.
“Shallow left curve starting in about ten seconds,” said Alex.
“Got it,” said Ed, easing his foot off the accelerator.
The SUV stayed in the middle of the two-lane interstate for most of the curve, drifting slowly right.
“You’re drifting to the right. Just barely,” said Alex, immediately feeling Ed’s arm muscles tighten.
The vehicle eased back into the middle of the road, settling into a straight section of highway a few seconds later.
“You’re good. It’s a straight shot from—” Alex saw more signs ahead. “Ryan, is there another exit right after 161?”
His view through the windshield disappeared as Ryan checked the map.
“Shit. Sorry, Dad. Exit 159. Doesn’t seem to lead to any major roads,” said Ryan, dousing the light.
Alex could see part of the overpass. How had Ryan missed this? It must have been separated by a centimeter on the map. Before he could continue to mentally chastise his son, a row of vehicles appeared on the road.
“Stop the car!” said Alex, lowering his window. “Windows down. We have—fuck!—Humvees blocking the highway. Turn us around!”
The SUV screeched to a halt on the asphalt, the acrid smell of burnt rubber filling the car as Ed executed the quickest three-point turn he’d ever witnessed. Alex unfastened his seatbelt and leaned out of the window, searching the tree-lined median for a way to cross into the northbound lanes. When the SUV gained momentum, he spotted a sizable gap in the trees.
“Follow my laser,” he said, triggering the visible red laser pointer attached to his rifle.
He aimed the light, which appeared green in his goggles, toward the middle of the gap. The car tugged right, slowing as it hit the roughly paved shoulder.
“You got it?” said Alex.
“I got it, but I can’t see what I’m driving into!” yelled Ed.
“It’s a slight dip. You might want to put us into four-wheel—”
The SUV’s nose dropped, the front tires crunching into the hard ground spanning the median.
“—drive,” Alex continued, relieved when the SUV lurched forward again.
“They’re shooting at us!” screamed Charlie as bright flashes streaked past the back of the SUV.
“Gun it, Ed!” said Alex, watching tracer flashes ricochet through the trees to their right and skip off the highway behind them.
The SUV careened into the northbound lanes, skidding to a momentary stop before accelerating away from the overpass. Alex turned in his seat to see dozens of tracers punch through the thick pines and sail harmlessly behind them. He didn’t see any vehicles blocking the northbound side near the overpass, so they were temporarily in the clear.
“Hit the lights and drive as fast as this thing will go,” said Alex.
“Are you sure the lights are a good idea?” asked Ed, jamming the accelerator.
“It’s more important to gain some distance. We need to get to the last exit before they can put those guns to use against us. If we can get off the highway, we should be able to hide on the back roads until our air support arrives,” said Alex, checking his watch. “Which means we need to stay alive another seven minutes.”
Alex slid into his seat as the SUV picked up speed and the wind outside of the window became unbearable. Ed activated the headlights, switching to high beams and illuminating the empty highway. The lights didn’t matter at this point. Not on the highway. Alex flipped his NVGs out of the way.
“How we looking back there?” he asked, looking over his shoulder.
“Clear so far,” said Charlie, his face buried in his riflescope. “If they get behind us, we’re screwed.”
“We’ll be off the highway before they get into effective range,” said Alex.
“I’m worried about the place between effective and maximum range,” said Charlie. “You know, the place where you can still hit shit.”
“Ed, be ready to jump the median again,” said Alex. “Just in case.”
“Shit,” muttered Ed.
A few seconds passed before Charlie yelled, “They’re coming! Three Humvees.”
Alex stuck his head out of the passenger window and scanned ahead for signs of the upcoming exit. Beyond the headlights’ aura, he saw what might be a white U-turn sign coming up on the left.
“How far back are they?”
“Hell if I know,” Charlie replied. “You left the range finder behind.”
Alex muttered a curse. “I’m looking for a ballpark figure, Charlie.”
“Looks farther back from where we broke through.”
Ed looked at him and shook his head with an annoyed look. Alex met Ed’s glance and raised his eyebrows, silently mouthing, “Charlie.” Alex did the math. A quick dashboard check told him Ed had pushed the SUV to ninety-three miles per hour. They had at least twenty miles per hour on the Humvees, maybe more depending on the weight of the armor kit installed on the government vehicles. They had a speed and distance advantage on the interstate, but Charlie was right. If they hit a long, flat stretch, the turret-mounted M240s could reach out and touch them in a
very bad way. He remembered they had a long, shallow curve coming up, which gave him an idea.
“Forget the U-turn. We should fall out of their line of sight when we hit that long curve,” said Alex. “Charlie, let me know when we break their line of sight. We’ll look for an opening in the trees. If we can cross over without them seeing, it’ll buy us more time.”
“We’re going too fast to spot openings,” Ed pointed out.
“We’ll slow down once they can’t see us,” said Alex. “Kill the lights before we turn, and I’ll do the laser trick. Good to go?”
“I guess.”
Alex patted Ed’s shoulder. “I feel like we have the band back together.”
“I preferred retirement,” said Ed, pushing the SUV to one hundred miles per hour.
Alex braved the wind for a few seconds, feeling it tug on his night-vision straps. They couldn’t afford to lose the NVGs, especially if they needed to maneuver on the back roads. He steadied them with his right hand and stared ahead, watching the U-turn sign fly down the left side of the SUV, followed by a paved break through the median.
“I lost them!” said Charlie. “They can’t see us.”
Alex scoured the farthest reaches of the SUV’s headlights, looking for a sign of a break in the trees. He spotted what looked like a gap, but it snapped past them a few seconds later. They were moving too fast.
“Count to ten and slow us to sixty!” he yelled over the rushing air.
The signs for the exit appeared as distant green dots by the time Ed reached seven. Still too far—and they were out of the curve.
“Kill the lights and slow down. We need to get across now!” said Alex, craning his head farther to find an opening.
As the SUV slowed, he found what they needed. Alex flipped his NVGs into place.
“Slow down! There’s something coming up!” he yelled, pulling his rifle through the window and kneeling on the seat.
The SUV decelerated, and he triggered the laser, guiding Ed to the gap in the median.
“I see it,” said Ed.
Alex braced himself for the drop off, but Ed eased them off the road at a shallow angle, slicing through the gap. They emerged from the trees heading north in the southbound lanes, less than fifty feet in front of two oncoming vehicles.
Instinctively, he dropped into his seat as the two dark cars buzzed past them. Ed never saw the cars appear, which probably saved their lives.
“What the fuck was that?” yelled Charlie moments before the sound of screeching tires filled the cabin.
Alex twisted in his seat in time to see one of the cars skid sideways down the middle of the highway. Before he could respond to Charlie’s question, the truck’s right-side tires dug into the asphalt and flipped the vehicle. He watched it tumble down the interstate, throwing off sparks until it vanished on the far side of the road. The second car had disappeared altogether, as far as Alex could tell. He felt instantly nauseous.
“Woo-hoo, fuckers!” screamed Charlie. “You see that shit?”
The SUV’s sudden acceleration pinned him to the seat. He took a moment to fasten his seatbelt before getting his head back in the fight.
“Holy shit,” whispered Alex.
“What the hell just happened?” asked Ed.
“You don’t want to know,” said Alex, still not sure himself.
“We just played chicken and won! That’s what happened!” said Charlie, slapping Ed on the shoulder.
“Watch your sectors,” said Alex. “We’re a long way from safe.”
“What’s up with you, man?” said Charlie. “We just cheated death!”
“I know,” he muttered, his hands trembling.
Ed croaked, “Now what?”
Alex leaned his head out of the window, scanning ahead.
“I see the overpass for the exit. We’ll drive up the on-ramp. No lights,” he said.
“Let me know when,” said Ed.
“Yeah,” said Alex, still dazed by their run-in with death.
If they had emerged a second later, they’d be dead from a head-on collision. A second earlier, and they’d be in a running gunfight—with the same result. Less than thirty seconds later, they hit the on-ramp.
“Stop us at the top,” said Alex. “Facing north.”
“Left turn or right turn?” said Ed.
“Left,” replied Alex. “Anything, Charlie?”
“Nothing. They must have missed the commotion.”
“The other car disappeared. I figured it burst through the trees. No way they missed that,” said Alex.
“There were two cars?” asked Ed.
“Yeah, we cut right through the middle of them,” said Alex.
“Jesus. I’m glad I didn’t see any of it.”
“Hold on, Alex. I have something happening back there,” said Charlie. “One vehicle just cut through the median. Heading south. That’s odd.”
“They’re probably backtracking. They have no idea which direction we took,” Alex said. “That still leaves two on the other side.”
“I say we head north on Route 7 and disappear until the helicopters show up,” said Ed.
“Sounds good to me,” said Alex.
“Alex,” said Charlie, “the southbound Humvee just stopped.”
Tracers flashed past Alex’s window, causing Ed to jerk the wheel left. The SUV swerved off the road and scraped a jagged wall of ledge running along the ramp. Alex heard and felt one of the tires blow out, the car leaning to the left. Ed pulled them off the rocks and gunned the engine, speeding the damaged SUV toward the top of the ramp. Streaks of light flew overhead, visible through the moon roof.
“They don’t have a shot!” said Charlie. “The ramp curves around the rock wall you hit. They can’t hit us right now.”
Ed stopped the vehicle.
“What are you doing?” Alex roared.
“They’ll be able to hit us at the top of the ramp,” said Ed. “It curves back.”
“We can’t stay here,” said Alex. “Get us onto Route 7.”
Ed shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Ed, we can’t stay here. They’ll drive right up on us. Please get us moving,” demanded Alex.
The SUV pitched forward, the engine whining as the RPMs climbed.
“Use your lights. They already know we’re here,” said Alex.
The vehicle gained speed as they approached the top of the winding ramp. Alex watched the interstate through his window, trying to anticipate his enemy’s next move. They had fired from the outer limit of their effective range, which meant focusing gunfire at the top of the ramp would not be the best option. If Alex were in command of the group, he’d keep one gun stationary, focused on the ramp, and send the other vehicle up the highway. The nose of a Humvee appeared on the highway.
“Get us through, Ed,” said Alex.
The SUV raced toward Route 7, chased by an erratic stream of tracers. The bright green flashes struck the rock wall and ricocheted in every direction, bouncing off the road behind them. By the time the gunners adjusted their fire to compensate for the SUV’s speed, the vehicle flew past a stop sign, taking a hard left turn. A second set of tracers seared through the SUV’s rear compartment, puncturing the thin metal chassis.
Several red-hot tracer fragments bounced through the cabin, hissing and crackling as they dug into the leather seats and fabric lining of the roof. One of the tracers imbedded in Alex’s headrest, igniting the material. Alex ignored the fire, calmly urging Ed to move them out of the kill zone at the top of the ramp. Each tracer represented five 7.62mm steel-jacketed projectiles, which had mercifully passed through both sides of the cargo compartment without deflecting. If the burst had struck the SUV five feet forward along the left side, the result would have been catastrophic. The SUV shot forward, Ed flooring the accelerator to get them to safety.
Seconds later, the rear driver’s side wheel exploded, pulling the vehicle to the left. Ed wrestled with the wheel to keep
them on the road, slowing the SUV to thirty miles per hour. A low-grade rumble reverberated through the chassis, the rough asphalt road grinding through the flattened tires. With their speed and maneuverability advantage eliminated, they’d have to come up with a different plan to survive the next several minutes. Trying to evade Humvees on shitty back roads with two flat tires wasn’t going to work. Alex scanned the roadside, looking for turnoffs or businesses. If they could get off the road unobserved, they might be able to hide long enough for the helicopters to arrive.
A long chain-link fence on the left side of the road led to an open gate. Beyond the gate, a row of large open-bed stake trucks led to a one-story building with six closed garage bays. A sign supported by two posts labeled the facility as a Maine Highway Department Public Works Depot. The jagged tops of a distant tree line rose above the building. He had an idea.
“Follow the laser,” said Alex, unbuckling his seatbelt.
He directed the rifle-mounted laser at the entrance, guiding the SUV into a slow turn into the compound. The driver’s side tires dug into the packed gravel surface beyond the fence, slowing them considerably.
“Can you see the outline of the building in front of us?”
“Barely.”
“Head toward the far right side. I think this is one of those public works places where they store sand and salt for the winter. We’ll go all the way to the back and hide near the trees. If they follow us in, we’ll head into the forest on foot,” said Alex.
“On foot?” Ed echoed.
“It’ll buy us plenty of time for Grady’s team to get here,” said Alex, pointing the laser at a tight opening between the trucks and the public works garage.
“Hey, Alex?”
“Yeah, Charlie?” said Alex, focusing on the laser.
“We should count on them following us,” said Charlie. “We’re kicking up dust.”
Alex turned his head to look behind the SUV. A light green plume followed them. Shit. There was no way they would miss that.
“Looks like we’re on foot, then,” said Alex.
“Damn it, Alex,” muttered Ed. “We should have kept going.”
THE ALEX FLETCHER BOXSET: Books 1-5 Page 149